Removing preinstalled apps in Windows 10 Pro

A fresh Windows 10 Pro computer can feel crowded before you have even opened a document. Retail bundles and inbox applications may leave you with weather, maps, games, support tools and entertainment shortcuts you never use. Removing unwanted software can tidy the Start menu, reclaim disk space and reduce background activity while keeping the core features that make Windows useful. The goal is a practical cleanup, not a broken system.

Shopping in Australia makes this familiar: a notebook sold by JB Hi-Fi in Melbourne, Harvey Norman in Sydney or Officeworks in Brisbane may carry bundled utilities, even when the operating system is Windows 10 Pro. Australians often call this extra software “clutter” or “bloatware”; in casual conversation, “Can you get rid of the stuff I never use?” is a perfectly ordinary request. “No worries” does not mean every shortcut should remain.

The Microsoft Store also reflects the Australian market: for an Australian account, prices and subscriptions are generally displayed in Australian dollars, with GST included where applicable. Before removing a paid app, check its subscription separately, since uninstalling it does not cancel a renewal. If several people share the PC, ask the household or office before changing an account app. These checks let you remove preinstalled apps in Windows 10 Pro without losing data or surprising another user.

Understand what you can remove

Start by identifying what type of software you are looking at. Classic desktop programs, such as OneDrive, Microsoft 365, Office or a third-party security suite, normally appear in Settings and have their own uninstaller. Inbox apps, including Microsoft News, Get Help, Maps, Weather, Your Phone and Xbox components, are installed as AppX packages and may be visible in both the Start menu and Apps & features. A shortcut on the desktop is not always a separate program; it may point to an app you can remove through Settings.

Decide what the computer is for before you begin. A school student may want to keep Microsoft Store, Calculator, Photos and the browser, while a family gaming machine may benefit from keeping Xbox Identity Provider and the Xbox app. Removing a connected app can affect notifications, game saves, shared OneDrive files or a signed-in account. Office and OneDrive are safer to manage from their own settings, and a third-party antivirus should be removed with its own uninstaller so another security product can take over. On an employer- or school-managed device, follow the organisation’s policy before removing security or sign-in tools.

Before changing anything, copy local folders to an external drive and let OneDrive finish syncing; a restore point helps with system changes but is not a substitute for a file backup. If a file has already disappeared, this guide to recover deleted files explains a separate recovery-tool workflow, but restoring an intact backup is safer than experimenting on the only copy of important work.

Remove apps from the Start menu

The ordinary route is quick. Click Start, open Settings, choose Apps, then Apps & features. In the search box, type the app’s name and select the matching entry. Click Uninstall, then follow any confirmation prompt. Repeat this for each unwanted application. This works for many bundled and Store apps without a command line, and it removes the app for the current profile. Windows 10 Pro may show Move instead of Uninstall for some newer Store apps; moving it to the SD card or another drive can be useful on a notebook with limited internal storage.

If the Uninstall button is missing, the entry may be a system component rather than a removable program. Close the app, open Task Manager with Ctrl+Shift+Esc, end any related background process and try again after a restart. For an app with Advanced options, use Repair first if it only opens incorrectly; Reset clears its data and sign-in details but keeps the app installed. Reset is useful for a broken app, but it does not remove its clutter.

Classic installers can hide their own controls. OneDrive has a pause-and-sync icon in the taskbar, and Microsoft 365 or Office should be removed through Apps & features or Microsoft’s Office deployment tool rather than by deleting folders from Program Files. A preinstalled trial, such as an antivirus or a games launcher, may have its own removal link in Start > Installed apps. Never delete a Windows system folder by hand to make an entry disappear.

Use PowerShell for stubborn inbox apps

Some inbox apps are managed by Windows and expose no working Uninstall control in Settings. For those, use PowerShell as an administrator. Right-click the Start button, select Windows PowerShell (Administrator), and accept the User Account Control prompt. First locate the package with a narrow search, for example Get-AppxPackage *BingNews*. Read the returned Name and PackageFullName values rather than guessing at a large list of applications.

When the exact package is confirmed, remove it for your signed-in account with Get-AppxPackage -Name "Microsoft.BingNews" | Remove-AppxPackage. The package name can differ by Windows build or region, so use the Name shown by the search. Close the app before running the command. A successful removal removes the Start menu entry for that user, but a feature update, a new profile or a Microsoft Store deployment can put an inbox app back.

Removing it for every existing user requires an elevated command such as Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers -Name "Microsoft.BingNews" | Remove-AppxPackage -AllUsers. Apps still provisioned for new accounts are a different group. You can inspect those with Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online | Where-Object { $_.DisplayName -like '*News*' }, then remove only a confirmed match with the matching Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online command. Treat this as an advanced step: do not remove broad wildcards, and keep Microsoft Store, Calculator, Windows Security, Microsoft App Installer and core system components.

Protect files, accounts and peripherals

Uninstalling an app can also remove a shortcut, a background service or a device integration, so test the parts of Windows you rely on. If you print from the PC, keep the printer vendor software until you have printed a test page; the install a printer guide covers adding a printer in Windows 10 Pro without a disc. Do not remove a scanner, camera or graphics utility merely because its icon is unfamiliar, especially on an Australian home office with a multifunction device.

Sign out of apps only after their data is synced. In OneDrive, check the pause icon, make sure important folders show a green tick, and decide whether to keep Files On-Demand enabled before removing the desktop client. For Xbox games, check that achievements and locally saved profiles are backed up. For creative software, export a project or library before uninstalling the bundle. Apps bought through the Australian Microsoft Store may remain tied to your account, while subscriptions continue until cancelled.

Shared computers deserve a little extra care. A work laptop in a Melbourne office may be used by several colleagues, and a family desktop in Adelaide may have a separate profile for each person. Check the account type and confirm that nobody depends on a preinstalled utility for sign-in, printing or backup. Administrator access is not permission to remove another person’s account or personal files; it is simply the access needed for a few Windows commands.

A practical removal and cleanup checklist

Once the unwanted apps are gone, reclaim the space they occupied. Empty the Recycle Bin, review Downloads for installers you no longer need, and use Storage settings to see which categories are largest. Windows Disk Cleanup can remove temporary files and old update components; the clear temporary files guide explains how to use it in Windows 10 Pro. Be selective with cleanup categories, and keep a copy of anything you cannot identify.

These practical steps reduce the chance of removing something useful and make the result easy to verify:

• Start with weather, maps, games, help and entertainment apps that you do not use, rather than changing core Windows components.
• Keep Microsoft Store, Calculator, Photos, Windows Security and the app installer components unless a specific guide tells you otherwise.
• Back up local files and let cloud syncing finish before removing OneDrive, Xbox or productivity apps.
• Restart after a batch of removals and check Start, Settings, printing, sound, display and browser behaviour.
• Reinstall a removed app from your Microsoft Store library when you discover a missing feature; reinstalling is easier than repairing a damaged user profile.

Finally, open Settings > Apps > Apps & features and sort by date or size to confirm what remains. Some inbox apps are restored by a cumulative Windows update, while others remain removed until a new user profile is created. If an app is missing unexpectedly, use the Store library or the app’s repair option before attempting another command. A short check after each change is more reliable than deleting a large group of packages in one go.

Start the cleanup in Settings > Apps > Apps & features, choosing one low-risk app at a time. Keep a restore point, confirm that your important files are backed up, and test printing and updates before you close the window. If an app is genuinely useful, reinstall it from the Microsoft Store rather than leaving the system half-configured. Open the Apps & features list now and begin with the app you know you never use.