⚠Warning: This and all previous WinRice versions have reached End-of-service.

WinRice is being continually updated and as a result I have scrapped the releases system. This will enable me to redirect focus from other branches and/or releases and focus exclusively in the main branch.

This will result in:

• You (the user) using the latest and the greatest WinRice. Ever.
• Faster than ever bug fixes.
• Continual addition of new features, security enhancements and more.
• Less chances of facing bugs.
• Extended support from me as your device is no longer tied to a particular release of WinRice.

How to run WinRice?

What's new?

• This release of WinRice is primarily aimed at improving UX, fixing bugs and adding new necessary features.

• Now when you start WinRice, the questions it asks you are easier to understand.

• WinRice now has Express settings which are predefined and are easy to use for people who don't want to spend time configuring their options.

  • Ofcourse, if you don't want to use Express Settings, we provide you full control over those settings. WinRice now asks more easy to understand and fluid questions than before.

• WinRice features a new icon and banner. Thanks @vancelmusic.

• WinRice now generally supports Windows 11. This specific version was tested in Windows 11 Pro OS build 22000.292 in General Availability Channel.

• The overall UX is greatly improved. Thanks @KenHV for ideas!

• I've created a document that describes what job each function is responsible for. Read refer to Functions in the Wiki. This is part of an ongoing effort to make WinRice documentation easier to understand.

• This release features a ton of fixes over the last WinRice release.

Apps

• We'll now ask if you want to uninstall OneDrive.

• If you don't select which apps you want to uninstall, we'll now also uninstall Microsoft Teams.

• WinRice now asks you if you want to uninstall apps. If you say yes, it will ask if you want to select which apps you want to uninstall. If you choose that you don't want to select which apps you want to uninstall, it will uninstall a pre-defined set of apps.

• If we detect a file called uninstallapps.txt in the same folder as WinRice, we won't ask you any questions about uninstalling apps.

  • What is uninstallapps.txt?

• I have omitted the following apps from pre-defined app uninstall list:

  • 3D Viewer
  • Clock / Alarms & Clock on Windows 10
  • Films & TV
  • Groove Music
  • Microsoft To Do
  • Messaging
  • Network Speed Test
  • Paid Wi-Fi
  • Sway
  • Skype
  • Sticky Notes
  • Paint

Explanation: if you choose to uninstall apps but you don't select which apps to uninstall, we will no longer remove these apps. However if you select which apps you want to uninstall, you will still be able to uninstall these apps.
The reason behind this change is simple: WinRice isn't a "debloater tool", hence our goal isn't to remove every single inbuilt app. Also, some apps like Skype, Sway, etc. no longer ship with newer versions of Windows, hence they have been omitted from the uninstall list.

• If you have chosen to select which apps to uninstall, and the app selection menu has opened up as a background window, WinRice will now inform you to switch to that window.

• WinRice now installs the latest GitHub release of WinGet from microsoft/winget-cli.

• If you select that you want to install apps using WinGet, it will proceed to ask you the installation method between WinGet Import and Winstall. If you don't choose anything, Winstall will be used.

• With this release of WinRice, I have replaced 7-zip with NanaZip - an open source derivative of 7-zip that comes with support for modern Windows context menu and comes packaged as MSIX (MSIX implies clean uninstalls which in turn prevents Windows rot).

  • Note: You must be signed in to Microsoft account in order to install NanaZip, as WinRice installs NanaZip using WinGet from Microsoft Store. WinRice won't install NanaZip if you're not signed in to a Microsoft account.

Windows optional features

• WinRice will no longer change a feature state if its already changed. This is what it means:

  • Say you've chosen to install WSL. There might be chances that WSL is already installed on your device but you're not aware of it. Now, WinRice will alert you if WSL or any other feature like .NET 3.5, Windows Sandbox, etc. is already installed.

• We'll now ask you if you want to uninstall optional features. It's a simple y/n question, but if you go ahead without answering it, we'll uninstall the optional features.

• Now, we will first perform individual feature deployments (that is, installing/uninstalling .NET 3.5, WSL, Sandbox, etc.) before we proceed to the mass feature uninstallation section where we uninstall a pre-defined set of features.

  • Clarification: We don't serve you a menu to choose which optional features we uninstall. Only the pre-defined set is uninstalled.

• We now use the classical method to deploy WSL since the newer wsl --install method does not allow us to override system restart warnings.

OS

• WinRice now enables Storage Sense. In previous releases, WinRice unintentionally ended up disabling Storage Sense.

Privacy

• WinRice will now disable Windows Error Reporting. This setting only applies to Windows users in the Semi-Annual/Annual channel, and will have no effect users in the Windows Insider channels.

• WinRice will no longer turn off Feedback notifications and telemetry if device is detected to be flighting in Windows Insider program.

Fixes

[Apps]

• I've addressed an issue where WinRice would freeze on Installing 7-zip.

• I've fixed an issue where in some cases WinRice couldn't install the new Microsoft Store.

• I've fixed an issue where in some cases WinRice couldn't install WinGet.

• I've fixed an issue where WinRice would freeze on Uninstalling Microsoft OneDrive.

• I've fixed an issue where in some cases WinRice couldn't install HEVC Video Extensions.

• I've fixed an issue where WinRice wasn't able to install correct dependencies for inbox apps like Microsoft Store.

[Other]

• I've fixed an issue where WinRice would incorrectly display job messages to you.

• I've fixed an issue where WinRice would freeze while installing WSL.

Known issues

• WinRice might accidentally remove Microsoft Store in the process of updating it. Please download Microsoft Store from this link: Tap here and manually install it.

Release notes

• We've worked hard in creating a more seamless user experience in WinRice. Want to share feedback? Please scroll down below and switch to this release's discussion!

• WinRice feels like a finished product now. As such, I have been planning to move WinRice to a less frequent update channel. Maybe a quarter channel or semi-annual channel would work out. You all can share your thoughts on this by discussing on this release's discussion.

Contributors

• @Maitreya29 made their first contribution in https://github.com/pratyakshm/WinRice/pull/32

• @KenHV made their first contribution in https://github.com/pratyakshm/WinRice/commit/7184abd5ab5c76ca00570ecc7323a09bf7e9c37e and contributed to better UX including editing our documentation

• @vancelmusic made new banner and icon and tested

• @LinuxPanda for feedback on UX

• @vishalcj17 for reporting bugs

• @whyredFire for testing previews

I would also like to thank @ItsVixano, @violettodingus, @davesh121, @redline-soee and @lazydev1852 in no particular order for providing me necessary data which was used to improve WinRice!

• This list might not be complete. If I have missed you out, do let me know via Telegram!

Full Changelog

• For a full list of changelog, check https://github.com/pratyakshm/WinRice/compare/v0.4...v0.5.04112021

Last edited on 18th October, 2021 at 21:53 IST.

Fixes

• Windows 11: Fixed Windows Update policies not configured.
• Windows 11: Fixed incorrect OS detection.
• Windows 11: More misc. issues I don't intend to recall and list.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes optional features might not uninstall.

Changelog

General

CleanWin is now WinRice! ❤️

• Documentation has been vastly updated and moved to the doc folder.

• Added new Issue templates to file bug reports, suggest features, or file an issue with documentation.

• Added support for PowerShell 7.

• Added PE (pre-execution environment) where the program checks if updated criteria is met. If one or more of it aren't met, WinRice will exit.

• Update code logic (conditions, etc.).

• Improved code quality.

• Performance improvements.

• Declare absolute location of HKEY_USERS globally.

• Make major tasks optional.

  • Uninstalling inbox apps
    • App Uninstaller type to run - read more
  • Uninstalling optional features
  • Enabling dotNET 3.5
  • Installing Windows Subsystem for Linux
  • Installing Windows Sandbox
  • Using Winstall
  • Using winget import

• Remove unused functions.

  • DisableBrowserRestoreAd,
  • EnableBrowserRestoreAd,
  • DisableM365OnValueBanner,
  • RevertM365OnValueBanner,
  • DisableSuggestions,
  • EnableSuggestions

Apps & Features

WinGet

• Enable all experimental features in WinGet.
• Always install the latest available release of WinGet.
• Added support for winget import.

Winstall

• Add support to include friendly app names (like vscode or Visual Studio Code INSTEAD of Microsoft.VisualStudioCode)
• If no Winstall text file is found in current directory, open file picker window for user to select the file.

App uninstallation

• Add new uninstaller types - App Uninstaller GUI and App Uninstaller List
  Read more.
• Do not remove Camera app on laptops.
• No longer remove Xbox apps like Xbox Game Bar, Xbox Identity Provider, etc.

Feature (un)installation

• No longer uninstall Quick Assist.
• Check if features are in their intended state before forcefully changing state.
• Windows 11: Do not uninstall Snipping Tool since its bound to Snip & Sketch app.
• Windows Subsystem for Linux: Use Microsoft's updated method to enable the feature - read more.

Miscellaneous

• Execute app installation tasks before app uninstallation.
• Unpin Microsoft Edge from taskbar.
• Windows 11: If older versions of Microsoft Store and Widgets are installed, update them.

Privacy and Security

• Turn off Suggested content in Settings.
• Turn off silent installation of suggested apps.
• Windows 10: Turn off Suggested content from Start.

Tasks and Services

• Turn off Hibernation on desktops.

• Turn off Delivery Optimization.

• Do not run EnablePowerdownOnShutdown by default since they might cause bugchecks on some devices [uninvestigated].

• No longer disable some services because Windows 11 and 10 only run them on demand, not always. Disabling these services might as well result in reduced functionality and / or features.

  • DMWAppPushService
  • RetailDemo
  • DiagnosticsHub.StandardCollector.Service
  • MapsBroker
  • NetTcpPortSharing
  • RemoteRegistry
  • SharedAccess
  • TrkWks

Windows Explorer

• Turn off Chat from taskbar.
• Turn off Widgets from taskbar.
• Hide Recent files in Quick Access.
   

Known issues

⚠️HIGH PRIORITY: Execution gets stuck on "Installing 7-zip...". This has been fixed in main branch, please use method two to run WinRice.

• Windows 11: Apps are not unpinned from start menu. https://github.com/pratyakshm/WinRice/issues/16#issuecomment-863996526
• WinRice might fail to install HEVC Video Extensions. To workaround this issue, please manually deploy the latest version of HEVC Video Extensions from https://store.rg-adguard.net/. Choose the "PackageFamilyName" field and input Microsoft.HEVCVideoExtension_8wekyb3d8bbwe in the text field. Select your channel of choice and download and install the latest version.

Release notes

• GUI version has been deprecated and is now in its archived state. Hence, it will now no longer ship with WinRice releases.

Documentation

The documentation in main branch is constantly updated in sync with the latest changes to WinRice. Owing to this behaviour, documentation for each release is stored in the particular release tree.
Documentation for this release is stored in v0.4 tree.

Credits

• Thanks to @YaAlex3 for rewriting the entire pre-execution environment when it was under development with better code.
• Also thanks to @YaAlex3 for the second time for forcing me to update code logic and cleanup code.
• Also thanks to @YaAlex3 for suggesting WinRice as the new name for this project.
• Thanks to @vancelmusic for forcing me to deprecate GUI variant.

Last edited on 1st July, 2021 at 19:25 IST

Windows 11 is now experimentally supported!

Fixes

This release fixes the following issues:

• News & Interests don't turn off.
• Shell output freezing (CLI/GUI).
• Blurry app icon (thanks to Yohan).

Changelog

Apps & Features

Winstall Next is here. You can now install apps with their friendly names like "firefox" instead of "Mozilla.Firefox". Try it out! Read more here.

• Winstall will now inform user if WinGet is not installed on PC.
• Installation of WinGet is more intelligent yet more simple than ever.
• No longer uninstall Snip & Sketch app (subject to changes).
• Write "WinGet" instead of "Windows Package Manager".
• Do not forcefully remove web-app shortcuts.
• Purge the redundant CleanupRegistry function.
• Uninstallation of Microsoft OneDrive is now faster than ever.
• Download the latest available release of WinGet from its repository.
• Check if WinGet is already installed before installing it.
• Winstall now supports both Winstall.txt and winstall.txt filenames.
• [CLI] Print names of apps getting uninstalled.

General

Windows 11 is now supported! 😛

• Rename shell window to pratyakshm's CleanWin.
• If device is offline, CleanWin will auto-terminate itself.
• Detail device's current OS build properly.
• Update System Restore function to inform user.
• Hide Progress Bar from majority of the code, if not all. https://github.com/pratyakshm/CleanWin/commit/f51977873cafa86a17c9cb1b0d551c22d0455115
• Move active windows to foreground.
• Clearer app icon.
• Make a lot of code intelligent.
• Detect and avoid running incompatible code (for instance, code needed only for Windows 10 will not execute in Windows 11).

Privacy & Security

• Turn on and demo Clipboard history.
• Remove MeltdownCompatFlag functions since they are only needed by older Windows OSs.

Tasks and Services

• Windows Update: more intelligent than ever before, with the following changes:
  • Check for editions - if not Professional, Education, or Enterprise, do not set up policies and inform user about unsupported edition.
  • Do not delay OS flights if device is running Windows 11.
  • Delay OS flights by 2 days if device is enrolled in Dev channel of Windows Insider Program.

Windows Explorer

• Add 2ms sleep points.
• [GUI] Add "Turn off News and interests".
   

Known issues

• A small batch of users may experience Microsoft Store does not download or install any apps, including performing app updates. To workaround this issue, open an elevated PowerShell environment and paste the following:

Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ForEach {Add-AppxPackage -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppxManifest.xml" -DisableDevelopmentMode}

Warning: This command will re-register all Windows apps and so you might see some previously installed apps come back. You may use the GUI tool again to selectively uninstall those apps. The reason behind this has not yet been found, however if anyone has any idea regarding it, feedback is appreciated.

• Optional features don't get uninstalled.
• Windows Update policies don't get set up on Windows 11.
   

Release notes

This release of CleanWin was tested on Windows 11 Pro Insider Preview OS Build 22000.51 in the Dev channel and Windows 10 Pro RTM OS Build 19043.1052 in the Semi Annual Channel. Testing environment was virtualized.

Last edited on 21st June, 13:39 IST

Fixes

• Fix Windows Package Manager (WinGet) failing to install apps with error code. (#23)
• Fix broken installation of AppInstaller apps. (#26)
  Thanks to @riverar and @KriiXOne for reporting.

Changelog

This update of CleanWin does NOT fix any other issues apart from the critical issues mentioned above.

Known issues

• Both GUI and CLI still display v0.3.8 at the beginning. This was not intentional and I forgot to update the name. But since it isn't as easy to update the name to v0.3.9 (reasons later), I did not do it. Reason? I need to submit each new CleanWin release to Microsoft Security team for them to evaluate this for viruses and fix false antimalware detection, and it is a lengthy process that takes hours of time.
• Related links: CleanWin issue tracker dashboard and Windows 10 Release health.
   

Release notes

• GUI has entered servicing mode. This means, no new features will be added to it. Changes will only be made in features that both CLI and GUI share.
• Last release before Microsoft Windows Event.
• This release was tested on Windows 10 Pro Insider Dev Channel - OS Build 21390 and Windows 10 Pro Semi Annual Channel OS Build 19043.1052 (Windows 10 21H1 | May 2021 update).
• Thanks to @Pulkit077 for helping me out with git tag for this release.

Stay home and stay well. ❤️

Last edited on 20th June, 14:44 IST

Fixes

• [GUI] Fixed an issue where the sticky keys pop up was not turning off after Clean Windows Explorer was used.
• [GUI] Fixed an issue where Snip & Sketch overlay was not opening on pressing Print Screen key after Clean Windows Explorer was used.
• Fixed Windows Search was no longer responding properly after Turning off Background apps (thanks to @whyredFire for validating in Semi Annual Channel OS Build 19042)

Changelog

Apps & Features

• No longer remove Windows Terminal since it has become the default Terminal application in Windows 10 Insider Dev channel OS builds.
• Update Windows Package Manager (WinGet) to version 1.0.11451.
• No longer remove Internet Explorer since it results in false positive antimalware detection.
• Check package checksum of all packages that are required before installing WinGet.
• Intelligently install WinGet.
• [GUI] Do not let user remove Windows Terminal.
• [CLI] Intelligently install 7-zip.
• [CLI] Add the classic Windows Photo Viewer desktop app into the list of apps that can open Photos with JPG, JPEG, GIF and PNG extensions.
• [CLI] Install HEVC Video Extensions if they're not already installed.
• [CLI] Unpin Apps from Taskbar. This is the list:
  • Mail
  • Microsoft Store
  • Office
  • Xbox

General

• CleanWin is now compatible with Windows 10 21H1 - May 2021 update.
• Displayed user messages are more consistent than ever (thanks @vancelmusic for suggesting).
• Improved UX.
• Check for internet status on startup.
• GUI variant enters Servicing mode, read Release notes below for more info.

Tasks and Services

• Add PowerDownAfterShutDown - this is a simple registry edit to fix an issue where some computers might automatically start up after commencing a shut down.
• [CLI] Turn on Storage Sense.
• [CLI] Turn on Num lock on startup.

Windows Explorer

• [CLI] Unpin Apps from Taskbar.
• Remove duplicate and redundant code.
   

Known issues

• WinGet might produce the following error on installation of apps. Issue filed in CleanWin repo and WinGet CLI repo:
  
  To remedy this, run Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DoSvc" -Name Start -Type DWord -Value 3 -Force in an elevated PowerShell environment and reboot your PC. If the fix does not seem to work, join the release discussion below and let me know.
• Windows 11 only: Apps do not get unpinned from the Start menu: https://github.com/pratyakshm/CleanWin/issues/16#issuecomment-863996526
• Related links: CleanWin issue tracker dashboard and Windows 10 Release health.
   

Release notes

• GUI uses Windows Forms at its core, which is deprecated tech. Hence, GUI variant enters Servicing channel starting this release. In short, this means that GUI variant will no longer be updated apart unless it needs bug fixes. Hence, users are strongly recommended to switch to CLI variant for a better and updated experience.
• As I announce the starting of Servicing channel for GUI variant, I am also looking forward to update GUI to a newer technology (NOT WPF) in a not-so-near future. Suggest your ideas, take a peek here.
• Some personal stuff: I'm currently in high school, and by the end of July this year, my final exams will begin. The months that follow will be an academically important period in my life. Hence, I might be unable to regularly update CleanWin for during that time. I'm sorry for any inconvenience that might be caused due to this, and I appreciate your patience. Wish me luck! 😁
• This release was tested on Windows 10 Pro Insider Dev Channel - OS Build 21390 and Windows 10 Pro Semi Annual Channel OS Build 19043.685 (Windows 10 21H1 | May 2021 update).

I hope you too love this release of CleanWin as much as I do! ❤️ Stay home and stay safe! 💕

Last edited on 6th May 2021, 21:32 IST

Fixes

This release fixes the following issues:

• WinGet failing to install even on actually supported OS builds - turns out this issue is only reproduced when using prebuilt executables of CleanWin, and not when directly running .ps1 files. It has thus been fixed in both the use-case scenarios now.
• Inability to set Windows Terminal as default Terminal application in Windows PowerShell (affecting Windows 10 Insider Dev channel users only)

Changelog

This release does not contain any new features and is only provided to fix the issues mentioned above.
Other Known issues which are tracked here are not fixed in this release.

Contributors

I'd like to thank @vancelmusic for reporting that WinGet was not installing even on actually supported OS builds.

Last edited on 1st May 2021, 1900 IST

Fixes

This release fixes the following issues:

• Online speech recognition not turning off.
• Inking and typing personalization not turning off.

Changelog

Apps & Features

• Check for supported OS build before installing WinGet.
• Check filehash before installing WinGet.
• OneDrive 64-bit edition can now be uninstalled.
• Enable dotNET 3.5 (required to run a lot of legacy apps and games).
• Uninstall newer variant of Xbox app "Microsoft.GamingApp".
• Uninstall Windows Terminal.
• Do not enable Windows Sandbox by default.
• Remove leftover "Packages.txt" file after uninstalling Connect app.

General

• Use native environment variables instead of full path.
• Overhaul documentation.

Privacy & Security:

• Turn off websites' access to language list so that they can provide relevant content.
• Fully turn off data collection by sending no telemetry or diagnostic data to Microsoft, but still make Microsoft apps like Your Phone, Office sync, etc. work properly.

Tasks and Services

• Turn off Reserved Storage.
• Setup Windows Update: do not auto restart PC to install updates if users are logged on.
• Setup Windows Update: no longer exclude driver updates from Windows Update.

Windows Explorer

• Turn off News and Interests in Taskbar.

Known issues

• Background apps are not turned off by default because doing so results in Windows Search no longer updating file index properly - affects builds 10240 to 18363 (1507 to 1909).
• Input indicator in Taskbar does not turn off - affects builds 10240 to 18363 (1507 to 1909).

Release notes

This release of CleanWin was tested on Windows 10 Pro 20H2 Build 19042.928 in Semi Annual Servicing Channel and Windows 10 Pro Dev Build 21370 in Dev Channel. The Windows OS builds tested are the latest available builds at the time of releasing CleanWin v0.3.7.

Last edited on 18th April 2021, 17:56 IST

Fixes

This release fixes the following issues:

• Connect app not removing.
• Services not stopping for some users post reboots.
• OneDrive not uninstalling properly for some users.
• WinGet not installing properly for some users.
• Windows Search not working properly after running CleanWin.

Changelog

Apps & Features

• Add app "Microsoft.GamingServices" into the app removal list.
• Add Microsoft To Do into the app removal list.
• Add Power Automate Desktop into the app removal list.
• Enable Windows Sandbox and Windows Subsystem for Linux.
• Replace Chocolatey Package Manager with Windows Package Manager, while "properly" installing it.
• Remove "Web Browsing - Restore recommended" suggestion in Settings using ViVeTool in CLI.
• Cleanup a lot of duplicate code.
• Check for Winstall.txt file and inform user if file not found.
• For users who run the ps1 files instead of prebuilt executables, there's a separate function called "UnpinStartTiles" to unpin start menu tiles.
• Add the following Optional Features into Features uninstaller:
  • Hello Face
  • Internet Explorer
  • Math Recognizer
  • Microsoft Paint (Desktop app)
  • OpenSSH Client
  • PowerShell ISE
  • Quick Assist
  • Steps Recorder
  • Snipping Tool
  • Work Folders
  • Windows Media Player
  • WordPad
  • Windows Fax & Scan
  • XPS Viewer
  • XPS Printer

General

• CLI will now print the OS build version.
• CLI will create System Restore point of type "MODIFY_SETTINGS" if not created in the last 24 hours.
• Made CLI run faster than ever by removing all sleep points and making it fully unattended.
• Create logs in C:\CleanWin instead of C:\Temp\CleanWin.
• Add individual scripts folder called "scripts" (I could not come up with a better name) in the root directory of CleanWin repository (main branch) for users that might be interested.
• Do not allow resizing of GUI window.

Privacy & Security

• Turn off notifications from sync provider.
• Move "DiagTrack" and "DMWAppPush" services into Tasks & Services.
• Online speech recognition is no longer turned off because the code for it no longer works in newer editions (202H2 and up). I'm working on finding a fix, until then users are suggested to manually go to Settings > Privacy > Speech (on the sidebar) and turn it off.
• No longer disable background apps by default because it might make Windows Search not work properly. I am working on a fix for this.

Tasks and Services

• Add "Setup Windows Update" and "Reset Windows Update".
  • What "Setup Windows Update" does:
    • Turn off automatic updates
    • Delay feature update by 20 days
    • Delay quality updates by 4 days
    • Turn off drivers offering through Windows Update
    • Turn off installation of bloatware following Windows Feature updates
  • "Reset Windows Update" reverts all settings back to the stock settings.
• Unify "Disable unnecessary tasks" & "Disable unnecessary services" buttons in GUI.
• Print name of each task / service.

Windows Explorer

• In the GUI, a lot of individual buttons have been removed except Seconds in Taskbar, and have been unified into a single button.
• No longer enable Verbose Status by default.
• Add Unpin Tiles in Start Menu button in GUI.

Known issues

Please take a look at the tracker for currently known issues.

Contributors

• I'd like to thank @YaAlex3 for his suggestion to add Windows Update settings.
   

Release notes

• This release of CleanWin has been tested on the latest Windows 10 Pro virtualized environment (Build 19042.685) and my own host machine, running the same build, and additionally on Windows 10 Insider Preview Dev channel OS build 21354.1000
• With this release, the CLI variant of CleanWin is no longer in Maintenance state. It will receive regular updates like GUI.
• I also need suggestions on Windows Terminal as an inbox app
  - Please read more and voice your opinion here.

Thanks to everyone for using CleanWin and voicing your feedback to this great project. Have a good day.

Peace out! ☮

Released on 6th February 2021

Last edited on 14th April, 2021, 16:25 IST

Fixes

This release fixes the following issues:

• OneDrive not uninstalling.
• Disable Suggestions in Settings not working.
• Disable websites' access to language list not working.
• Hide Seconds from Taskbar clock not working.

Changelog

Apps & Features

• Integrate OneDrive uninstaller into "Uninstall all bloat apps".
• Uncheck the following apps in "Uninstall apps selectively" by default: Tap to expand/collapse- Access- Calculator- Excel- OneNote- Outlook- PowerPoint- Photos- Word- Xbox
• Automatically unpin all start menu live tiles properly in "Uninstall All Bloat Apps".

Privacy & Security

• Remove "O&OShutup10" and "Block Telemetry".
• Remove Disable Speech recognition in "Disable data collection" since the code no longer works with newer revisions of 20H2.
• Fix "Disable websites" access to language list" not working in "Disable data collection".
• Fully & properly disable app suggestions and silent install of bloatware in "Disable data collection".

Product

• Fix grammatical errors.
• Fix general padding issues.
• Cleanup a lot of code.

Tasks and Services

• Add SysMain service.
• Remove Disk defragmentation service.
• Update logic of "Disable services".

Windows Explorer

• Automatically unpin all start menu live tiles properly in "Clean Windows Explorer".
• Clean Windows Explorer will now no longer show seconds hand in taskbar by default.
• Remove individual revert buttons and migrate to a universal "Revert Windows Explorer tweaks" button to revert all Windows Explorer changes back to stock settings.
   

Contributors

• I'd like to thank Craft Computing for the code that unpins all tiles in Start menu (check him out on Twitter).
• I'd like to thank @UncannyJish for helping me fix an issue with the updated OneDrive uninstaller command. It was a very stupid error, but made a difference.
   

Release notes

• Regular drill: If you have a suggestion, feature request or a bug report, please go to the respective places (Issues and Pull Requests) and do the needful.

Released on 2nd January 2021

Last edited on 15th January 2021, 14:57 IST

Fixes

This release fixes the following issues:

• False-positive malware detection [needs mass testing].
• Uninstall apps using CleanWin-AppsList removing all AppX packages on system in GUI.
• Continuously looping app uninstallation message in CLI.
• Continuously looping registry cleanup message in CLI.
• Write-Host errors in some places in CLI.
• Avoid probable errors for re-appllying changes in CLI.
• Missing function errors in CLI.
• General inconsistencies across the entire codebase.
• A lot of errors located programwide that might arise in different usage scenarios.
• Random errors and crashes throughout program.

Changelog

Apps & Features

• Remove Office online web app shortcuts from Start Menu (currently exists within Uninstall all bloat apps).
• CLI: Drastically simplify the app uninstallation process.
• GUI: Cleanup of bloatware registry keys has been merged to Uninstall all bloat apps function.
• Switch from Windows Package Manager to Chocolatey Package Manager (this change might persist until WinGet will ship prebuilt with Windows 10 on general availability channel).
• GUI: Uninstall OneDrive (currently exists within Uninstall all bloat apps).
• GUI: Remove Install dotNET 3.5 (because really less people actually find it useful).
• GUI: Add Snip and Sketch to the list of apps that get uninstalled.
• Update strings to ensure consistency across functions.
• GUI: Don't produce errors on repeated functions.
• Random errors and unexpected crashes.

Maintenance

• Remove Network status.
• Remove System Restore (code currently seems to be nonfunctional with 20H2 update, tends to produce errors).

Privacy & Security

• CLI: Remove O&OShutup10 and Block telemetry using hosts code.
• GUI: Kill O&OShutup10 task before cleaning its executable.

Windows Explorer

• Add Hide Meet Now and Restore Meet Now icon from tray (currently implemented into Cleanup Explorer function) [CleanWin might be one of the first projects to implement that].
• Automatically restart explorer.exe after cleanup is peformed.

Contributors

• Thanks to @xSylla for testing fixes for false positive antimalware detection.
• Thanks to Siddharth for testing fixes for false positive antimalware detection.
• And many more people who have contributed to CleanWin. If I didn't credit you here, please message me on Telegram.

Release notes

• I'm confident to say that this release of CleanWin is one of the most stable releases since the very first release of CleanWin. It sets benchmarks on program reliability and stability.
• Each and every function of this release was thoroughly tested multiple times across diverse environments to ensure maximum stability, reliability, and a bugfree experience.
• With this release, CLI variant enters Maintenance mode. This means that features will no longer be actively worked on it, support will be dropped and only bug fixes will be provided. CLI variant will be fully dropped in a future release.
• Regular drill: If you have a suggestion, feature request or a bug report, please go to the respective places (Issues and Pull Requests) and do the needful.

Known issues

• Uninstall OneDrive might not work for some users.

Last edited on 18th December 2020, 03:24 IST

Fixes

This release fixes the following issues:

• Microsoft Store failing to install apps with the error code 0x800706D9
• The "Remove all bloatware" button in CleanWin GUI removes all AppX packages
• "Disable Telemetry" and "Enable Telemetry" does not show any effect
• Padding issues in GUI
• Text not rendering properly in GUI

Changelog

Apps & Features

• Add install WinGet
• GUI: Add remove office online web apps shortcuts from Start Menu
• CLI: Add winstall: lets you install apps using your own custom config (learn more)
• Add all sponsored apps to debloat list
• Custom debloat list now includes dynamic package names in a fresh new UI (#7)
• Do not remove Photos app
• GUI: Commonize Apps and Features section

Maintenance

• Add System Information and Network status (#6)
• Add System Restore
• GUI: Add Restart this PC and Restart Windows Explorer

Privacy & Security

• General improvements to quality of code
• Write code for DisableTelemetry and EnableTelemetry functions
• Add Release bandwidth and Reserve bandwidth
• Remove DisableSMB

Product

• Automatically set ExecutionPolicy to unrestricted only during CleanWin runtime, before jumping back to the default policy
• Cleanup the elevation request screen
• Proper categorization of sections
• Switch from 'Microsoft Sans Serif' to 'Segoe UI' font

Tasks and Services

• GUI: Add Disable unnecessary tasks and Disable unnecessary services

Windows Explorer

• Add turn off blur in lock screen
   

Known issues / bugs

• GUI variant triggers a false positive warning. Please temporarily turn off your antivirus provider and then proceed to downloading. This issue will be fixed in the next release.
• The "Uninstall apps using CleanWin-AppsList" button removes all AppX packages systemwide. Please refrain from its usage.

Contributors

• I'd like to thank farag2 for his Sophia Script, from where I fetched the initial code base of CleanWin-AppsList WPF GUI.
• I'd like to thank Avinash Reddy and royalturd for their respective contribution to CleanWin.
• I'd like to thank Keshav Joshi for creating the CleanWin app logo in this release.
   

Release notes

• Both the CLI and GUI variants of this CleanWin release are tested on individual fresh installs of Windows 10 Pro, Build 19042 with Revision 630, 64-bit (i.e. Windows 20H2 with the latest revision).
• In the previous release of CleanWin (v0.3.2), I promised that I would import all functions from CLI to GUI variant, but I'm calling it off. Here's why: For instance, in CleanWin CLI, there are certain functions such as Disable feedback and Disable maps updates. These are standalone functions in CLI, however in the GUI variant, these functions (and other privacy changes) have been squashed into one single button: Disable data collection, with a corresponding Enable Data collection button to revert back the changes. Owing to this, it's really unnecessary to add standalone buttons for the same.
  TL,DR: I will not import each and every function as a standalone one from CLI to GUI, since squashing them all into a single function where necessary would be better.
• Regular drill: If you have a suggestion, feature request or a bug report, please go to the respective places (Issues, Pull Request) and do the needful.

Final note

2020 has been an year unlike any other in so many ways. CleanWin has evolved in a really big perspective, from being a multiple-step run script, to now - a one-click GUI, and to so much more! I'm looking forward to 2021, and especially in ways that CleanWin will continue to evolve, and continue to bring even better experiences to you. Thank you to everyone for using CleanWin, and thank you for showing your love and contributing to this project. Stay safe, stay well, and have a great day.

Last edited on 15:29 IST, 07 December 2020

Release Notes

General

• Fix issues related to Windows Subsystem for Linux
• Initial GUI release(5be4d9b)
• Purged user interaction where necessary
• Pull necessary files from GitHub
• Replace Write-Output with Write-Host
• Fix general bugs

Apps & Features

• Install Hyper-V (optional) (#3)
• Purge installation list to only four apps: IrfanView, Microsoft PowerToys, Revo Uninstaller and VLC Media Player
• Remove registry keys that are responsible for bringing back bloatware
• Turn on .NET 3.5 (optional)
• Uninstall more bloatware optional features (Internet Explorer, Math Recognizer, Windows Hello Face and Work Folders)
• Update Windows Package Manager to version 0.2.2941 Preview

Privacy & Security

• Fixed issues
• Rewrite a cleaner and more efficient code
• Set ExecutionPolicy to Unrestricted during runtime
• Turn off unnecessary services
• Turn off telemetry by adding IP addresses in hosts file (optional)

Tasks & Services

• CLI: Create a system restore point before beginning code execution.
• Fixed issues with some services
• Turn off DmClient
• Turn off DmClientOnScenarioDownload
• Turn off Disk Diagnostics Data Collector
• Turn off Feedback Notifications task
• Turn off Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser
• Turn off ProgramDataUpdater
• Turn off QueueReporting
• Turn off UsbCeip

Windows Explorer

• Rewrite a cleaner and more efficient code

This is the first release of CleanWin that ships with GUI. CleanWin now has two variants: GUI and CLI.
GUI variant does not yet have some features like app installation, additional privacy changes (like turn off maps updates, etc.), but in future releases of CleanWin, CLI and GUI variants are expected to flight together.
Please make a Pull request if you want a change to be made or create an Issue if you want to file a bug report.

Known issues/bugs

• The "Remove all bloatware" button of the GUI variant tries to uninstall all AppX apps.
• Microsoft Store fails to download apps because the Storage Service gets disabled. To remedy this, sequentially run the following commands in an elevated PowerShell environment:

  Set-Service StorSvc -StartupType Automatic   
  Start-Service StorSvc 

Changelog

Fixed:

• Errors related to Read-Host in v0.3 release
• Issues while re-enabling automatic Windows updates
• General bugs

New:

• Automatically install Windows Package Manager
• Switch from aliases to full commands
• Hardened data collection disabler
• Turn off speech recognition and access to language list feature for personalization
• Added optional O&OShutup10 configuration
• Added optional app installation
• Added optional essential apps removal
• Performed minor cleanup and updated a few strings

Release Notes

• This release has moved from Chocolatey to Windows Package Manager and is now flighting with Windows 10 October 2020 Update.
• Please make a Pull request if you want a change to be made.

Lists

Highlights:

• Turn off automatic installation and / or downloads of Windows updates
• Fresh, cleaner, more consistent and overall better UI which is more user-friendly than ever
• Automatically restore to last state after a Windows Update restart
• Fully turn off data collection and / or telemetry
• Show Ultimate performance power plan

Changelog:

CleanWin enters release tag, production ready status - since code dependent on Windows 10 October 2020 update has been replaced by alternatives

Changelog:

• Don't force enable theme aware tiles
• Added more apps to debloat, listing: Camera, Office (UWP), OneNote, Paint 3D and Weather
• Don't install the new Microsoft Edge
• Packed both files (CleanWin.ps1 and Start.bat) into CleanWin-$ver.zip for hassle-free usage.
• Rename project to CleanWin

Notes:

• CleanWin no longer forces theme aware tiles and installs Microsoft Edge since its staging Windows 10 October 2020 update ready and it already has both of these by default.

CleanWin continues to be pre-release in lieu of staging for the Windows 10 October 2020 update.

Changelog:

• Now, just run the Start.bat file and it'll do all the job. No more messing around with commands! 😃

The script is still in pre-release and as such has been tagged non-production ready. I'm currently staging this for release, expect release tag when the Windows 10 October 2020 is released to manufacturing.

Changelog:

Application changes:

• Debloat MSFT UWP apps.
• Install the new Microsoft Edge.
• Install 7-zip.

Privacy changes:

• Disable Maps updates.
• Disable feedback.
• Disable background apps.
• Disable location tracking.
• Disable advertising ID.

Service changes:

• Disable AutoPlay.
• Disable Autorun.
• Disable Defragmentation.
• Set BIOS time to UTC.

UI changes:

• Hide language icon from Taskbar.
• Enable Theme Aware tiles on Start menu.
• Hide known file extensions.
• Disable sticky keys prompt.
• Set Explorer to open This PC instead of Quick Access by default.
• Hide 3D Objects from Explorer and This PC.
• Hide Task View icon from taskbar.
• Show all tray icons on taskbar.
• Show seconds in taskbar clock.

Security changes:

• Disable Meltdown Compatibility Flag.

Misc. changes:

• Support update about current status during script execution.
• Fixed typos and syntax errors.
• Shutdown Windows Explorer before performing tasks.
• Restart Windows Explorer after performing all tasks.
• Support Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -Online method alongside Get-AppxPackage while performing uninstallation of UWP apps.
• Restart PC post script execution, only after reading user input.