Windows Debloat Tools – Do They Help?

Chris over at PCMag has put 4 Windows debloating tools to the test and published his results. We all know about Windows debloating tools. There’s a lot of people that are very much for them and many people very much against them. Some even say that Windows has no bloat at all, that it’s all lean and just part of the operating system and barely does anything. However, for many of us, we’ve always tweaked and customized our operating system, be it Windows, Mac, or Linux (SunOS, BSD, etc. for some of you). Many use various guides (including in our own knowledge base), tips, tweaks, scripts to make things just a little bit better for our own personal use. That’s where I see a good value in those debloating tools and customization tools, and I’ve even created my own.

Chris found that they do almost nothing to help with RAM usage. If that’s your reasoning for the tools, you may be very disappointed. If you’re looking for a nice GUI to enable/disable certain things, do those tweaks without having to manually edit the registry/GPO, and just flip a quick switch and hit “Apply”, then they may have some value. Some people have some reservations on the included features, utilities, and other things in Windows. Chris does go through what can easily be disabled and what can’t (or doesn’t make a difference). Some things can break and other things may “work” but cause issues elsewhere. If you do choose to use one of those tools, make sure to research what those options are doing and what the downsides can be. I never look at these tools to lower my RAM usage, save space, or run faster. I look at them more to make my PC more efficient and customized to my personal needs. A good example is my emulation machine, I don’t need the Game Bar, search, OneDrive, Microsoft account, notification bubbles, etc.. It doesn’t even load into the Explorer, just straight into the emulator front end. The others are a distraction and actually break the way I want it to work (notifications, Game Bar, etc. can stop the game or interface and with no mouse, only joystick, it can be troublesome).

Getting rid of ads, tips/tricks, notifications, suggestions, news feeds, internet search in the Start, etc. are all worthwhile and easy tweaks that are available in those tools. Tweaks like that are less “bloat” and more of a way to make Windows your own with less distractions and unwanted things on your PC. Removing Windows Update, Telemetry, disabling services, etc. are less helpful and aren’t saving much space. And as Chris observed, they aren’t really being disabled at times and can break other things in the OS.

I do find part of his conclusion a bit unnerving, though:

“But if you truly can’t get along with Windows, another way you can debloat your PC is to switch to Linux. It’s a capable alternative and worth a fair try. The lightweight ChromeOS Flex is another good option.”

Debloating and customizing is one thing. Changing to another operating system completely is something very different. Sure, Linux will run on pretty much anything these days (even if it’s not supported in the kernel now, it’s easy to run an older version) with a minimal foot print. But, it’s not Windows. If you can use Linux, know Linux, then it’s easily a viable option. But, if you’re just needing Windows to be a bit more custom and leaner and aren’t comfortable with editing the registry or GPO’s, then Linux may be a stretch. Linux is amazing and I use it daily (servers and workstation), but for many that can’t do much outside of the basics with Windows, changing the entire OS isn’t really much of an option. For many, sure. Learn a new OS and have a blast. But, working in IT for a few decades, I can easily say that the majority of people can use Windows to do what they want it to do, but when it comes to anything beyond those basics they’re calling someone else.

Give it a good read. They can be helpful, but know the downsides as well. Know what your reasoning is for running the tools. It’s not going to save you much RAM, if at all. But, it can make your Windows experience a little better.