Windows 10 lets you delete a handful of its preinstalled apps directly, but the rest require manual intervention via PowerShell or external tools. We recently talked about Windows10Debloater for a general purge, and the Windows Privacy Dashboard focuses more on privacy, but if you only want to delete and reinstall apps at will, you should take a look at O&O AppBuster.
“Windows is a service.” That is one of the many official, canned responses that Redmond gives regarding Windows 10. Microsoft has made several decisions that go against the wishes of end users, starting with automatic updates (which cause terror and break everything) and the mandatory presence of irrelevant resources. Not a few suggest following the path of the LTSC edition (ex LTSB), but it cannot be obtained directly (unless you pirate), not to mention that there are several ambassadors (read: fanboys) who maintain a cycle of articles against LTSC with increasingly poor arguments. What is left for the end user? Fight, try to take control of the operating system by changing its interface (for example, with Open-Shell / ex Classic Start), blocking updates at deeper levels, and deleting preinstalled applications. O&O AppBuster helps us with the latter.
How to Delete and Reinstall Apps in Windows 10
All you need to do is download and open the O&O AppBuster executable with administrator privileges. The interface will show in a few seconds the apps that can be manipulated by the user. Mark the ones you want to delete, and click Remove. Some apps will become identified as Available, enabling their reinstallation in case you change your mind. This is perhaps the strongest point of AppBuster. When deleting, the program will ask whether the decision applies only to the current user or to all profiles registered in the operating system.
O&O AppBuster is another tool to add to our maintenance arsenal. It is a relatively recent development, and it is likely to receive one or two updates within the coming weeks. Personally, I would like both O&O AppBuster and other programs to gain the ability to attack apps that are kept under the provisioned category, which are generally removed only via PowerShell. If you are interested in a tutorial, leave a comment and we will prepare something for you.
Official site and download: Click here.
