POSTED AS IS, USE AT OWN RISK. Remove most of Windows10-Build-10061 x64 apps without breaking Start Menu. 0.Install TakeOwnership, and Take Ownership of C:\Program Files\WindowsApps. / Hint - Enable Show hidden files, folders and drives. 1.Backup C:\Program Files\WindowsApps Code: Microsoft.Cortana_1.4.3.156_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe Microsoft.Cortana_2015.411.1537.4386_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe Microsoft.VCLibs.120.00_12.0.21005.1_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe Microsoft.VCLibs.120.00_12.0.21005.1_x86__8wekyb3d8bbwe to Desktop\WindowsApps folder. 2.Use Powershell cmds to remove apps. Code: Get-AppXProvisionedPackage -online | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage –online Get-AppXPackage | Remove-AppxPackage OR Download RemoveWindowsStoreApp. / Hint - RemoveWindowsStoreApp is for Windows 8 but can be used on windows 10. Settings: Code: 55,54,53,52,51,50,49,48,47,46,45,44,43,42,41,40,39,38,37,36,35,34,33,32,31,30,29,28,27,26,25,24,23,22,21,20,19,18,17,16,15,14,13,12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 3.Copy Desktop\WindowsApps folder to C:\Program Files. 4.Use Powershell cmds to install apps. Code: cd "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps" Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "Microsoft.VCLibs.120.00_12.0.21005.1_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\AppXManifest.xml"} Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "Microsoft.VCLibs.120.00_12.0.21005.1_x86__8wekyb3d8bbwe\AppXManifest.xml"} Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "Microsoft.Cortana_1.4.3.156_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\AppXManifest.xml"} Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"} NOTES: Repeat step 4. until Start Menu Works. Works for me.
Why would I want to do this? There will be another build in 3 or 4 weeks, after it is a Technical Preview.
Cortana is really required to use the Start menu? I remember uninstalling it in an earlier build and all that happened was just that search didn't work anymore. I'm waiting for someone who is curious enough (I am, but I don't have the time) to figure out a way to remove the system apps (they live in C:\Windows\SystemApps, as far as I remember) too, and how it affects the operating system. I wouldn't mind if I just lose the Start menu, the Notification center and some flyouts in the process if the system remains usable. Like people who want to disable the DWM. Anyone tried to block the ShellExperienceHost.exe from running?
Hey Sergey, it didn't work for me. Kept throwing a bunch of errors "Deployment failed with HRESULT: 0x80073CF6, Package could not be registered."
See if these cmds work for you, (Use Powershell to run cmds). Code: cd "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps" powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register Microsoft.VCLibs.120.00_12.0.21005.1_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\AppXManifest.xml powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register Microsoft.VCLibs.120.00_12.0.21005.1_x86__8wekyb3d8bbwe\AppXManifest.xml powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register Microsoft.Cortana_1.4.3.156_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\AppXManifest.xml Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"} OR Code: Open Regedit, and goto HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModel\Repository\Packages And change owner of registry key to system for Microsoft.VCLibs.120.00_12.0.21005.1_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe Microsoft.VCLibs.120.00_12.0.21005.1_x86__8wekyb3d8bbwe Microsoft.Cortana_1.4.3.156_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe then run commands again.
It's really annyoing that you have to use PowerShell and cannot remove some apps (like Music and Video) via the Start menu (right click and choose Uninstall), I didn't recheck on the most recent builds but it didn't work in 10041 and earlier. Even uninstall via the Settings app didn't work if I remember right. Why remove the apps? Because I don't need any of those, except for the Calculator app maybe since the old one is gone. Mail, Calender, and People are useless to me because I use Outlook on the desktop. Music and Video are useless to me because I prefer the Zune software for audio and VLC for Video. OneDrive is almost useless - I currently have some stuff in the cloud, but I'm gonna pull all that down gradually to my local network cloud. What else? The Photos app is pretty useless to me because I ain't got that many pictures and the few I have are already sorted via file system. The Alarms app is pointless to me on a laptop. The Xbox app is completely useless to me because I'm not a gamer. Cortana requires an MS account and since I'm planning to move back to a local account for Windows 10, I cannot use it (and probably won't because I don't really need an assistant to mind my little business). Spartan works with a local account but it has yet to prove to be an alternative to IE. The Weather app is pretty nice, but it doesn't get its data from my preferred online service (that provides more accurate results for my region) so it won't work out for me... But that's just my point of view. I guess there are people who find all the named apps useful, but personally, I don't care for them.
Iobit uninstaller can remove most of the crap with a mouse click. BTW, some "half metro", apps like the new mail and calendar are not uninstallable this way.
Tested Iobit uninstaller, and Iobit uninstaller only removes a few apps, the method i have posted, removes a great deal more apps, yes you can't remove every app as this would break the OS.
I don't prefer having useless apps on my computer. I don't sign-in with a MS account, and I disable UAC; those two things alone make most Modern UI apps useless. Meanwhile, those apps will take up space on my computer, make defrags take longer, and clog up my start menu. Hopefully this becomes "easier" to accomplish with RTM. I like being able to run a single command on 8.1 to uninstall the Modern UI apps