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7 Critical Steps You Must Take After Clean-Installing Windows 11

A clean Windows install is a great way to keep your PC feeling snappy. However, every time you do this, certain critical features are reset to their Microsoft defaults—including some that could lock ...
Ars Technica

Dozens of things you can do to clean up a fresh install of Windows 11 24H2 and Edge

Microsoft should be the one to clean up a fresh install of Windows 11 24H2 and Edge, NOT the users. If they did just that I bet MANY Win10 users with suitable PC's would be willing to install 11. As ...
Neowin

This Windows 11 feature no longer requires clean-installing the system to activate it

When you clean-install Windows 11, Windows Defender sets Smart App Control into evaluation mode. It analyzes the apps you run and determines trusted software. After a few days of use, it switches to ...
Ars Technica

Clean Windows upgrade: Easiest/fastest way to backup and then reinstall software and data?

This weekend I have the task of moving a laptop from Windows 10 to Windows 11 (yeah yeah). As there are some quirks with the current operating system, I'm not going to do an upgrade, but go for a ...
TechSpot

Stop the Slop: 8 Tools That Clean Up Windows 11

There are several tools you can use to "debloat" Windows 11, which says a lot about how unpopular many of Microsoft's built-in extras have become, particularly Copilot and other AI-driven features.