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How to get rid of Candy Crush Soda Saga and other Windows 10 Start Menu junk for good!

Arthur

By Arthur
in Windows 10

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sted

sted

Posted
Posted
If I'm using MDT to deploy, do I actually need to re-package as an ISO? Or can I "just" import the original ISO and then put the customised wim in the deployment share?

if using mdt you just need a wim file it dosent need the iso just tell it to import it as a customised wim file (or whatever the exact wording is)

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  • 1 month later...
mavhc

mavhc

Posted
Posted

Windows 10 Pro 1607

 

So my bat file script removed provisioned apps with dism while installing, but there's a load of other apps, not provisioned, but assigned for all users.

 

Network speed test

Adobe photoshop elements

Power BI

Code Editor

 

They don't seem to exist in the image, so can I stop them being added whenever they are, or do I just need to run Remove-AppxPackage -allusers on them all at every boot?

  • 2 weeks later...
3s-gtech

3s-gtech

Posted
Posted

Just been playing with this. May be obvious, but I must add:

 

Won't work if you try it on your Windows 7 workstation (yeah yeah I know)

Won't work on an extracted ISO on a UNC share

 

I'd love to automate this further, as I know I'll forget to do it for the Creators Update (and that's the one we want to roll out).

mullet_man

mullet_man

Posted
Posted
Windows 10 Pro 1607

 

So my bat file script removed provisioned apps with dism while installing, but there's a load of other apps, not provisioned, but assigned for all users.

 

Network speed test

Adobe photoshop elements

Power BI

Code Editor

 

They don't seem to exist in the image, so can I stop them being added whenever they are, or do I just need to run Remove-AppxPackage -allusers on them all at every boot?

 

You need to turn off the consumer experience in group policy.

 

Details here

 

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/mniehaus/2015/11/23/seeing-extra-apps-turn-them-off/

 

I remove all removable apps for students during deployment via my MDT TS.

mullet_man

mullet_man

Posted
Posted
Just been playing with this. May be obvious, but I must add:

 

Won't work if you try it on your Windows 7 workstation (yeah yeah I know)

Won't work on an extracted ISO on a UNC share

 

I'd love to automate this further, as I know I'll forget to do it for the Creators Update (and that's the one we want to roll out).

 

What doesn't work?

3s-gtech

3s-gtech

Posted
Posted
What doesn't work?

 

Arthur's Powershell to modify the .wim won't work under those conditions. Works beautifully when run directly on a Windows 10 machine on a local drive though.

3s-gtech

3s-gtech

Posted
Posted

Just tried this on the latest (November 2016) Edu ISO, but I get:

 

app_removal.JPG

 

Does this latest ISO not have these apps in it? Or more likely, is something else amiss? The same Powershell script worked on a slightly older Windows 10 Edu ISO.

sted

sted

Posted
Posted
Just tried this on the latest (November 2016) Edu ISO, but I get:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]41742[/ATTACH]

 

Does this latest ISO not have these apps in it? Or more likely, is something else amiss? The same Powershell script worked on a slightly older Windows 10 Edu ISO.

the numbers at the end change so you need to redo the script and find out what the numbers now are

3s-gtech

3s-gtech

Posted
Posted (edited)

The script creates an array containing the current app version numbers (retrieved from the image), then removes them as listed - no need to change any version numbers in theory. That's why it's so much quicker than doing it manually. However, something else is playing up here.

 

Edit: just checked by running the script in sections. The apps listed with:

 

Get-AppxProvisionedPackage -Path "$ScriptDir\Mount" | Select-Object -Property DisplayName,PackageName | Sort-Object -Property DisplayName}

 

are the correct versions that the script then tries to remove, as I suspected. Still gives me WARNING: The system cannot find the file specified.

 

This is a fresh ISO downloaded from the VLSC. Have you tested with this one @Arthur ?

Edited by 3s-gtech
3s-gtech

3s-gtech

Posted
Posted
No, November 2016 (January 2017 isn't showing on VLSC for me). The other thing that may be slightly different is I'm using the English International version, but the script still sees the apps correctly.
jmak

jmak

Posted
Posted (edited)
No, November 2016 (January 2017 isn't showing on VLSC for me). The other thing that may be slightly different is I'm using the English International version, but the script still sees the apps correctly.

I had exactly this issue, but assumed I was doing something wrong... I was using the English International version - I may have used the English US version before - I'll have to check later.

It worked fine for me at the time, but I think I will do some more testing. :D

 

Are you using the Jan 2017 1607 ISO now?

 

 

I had it running successfully on 1511. I encountered the problem when using the November 2016 release (the one that became available on VLSC in January '17).

 

Edit: I was running this on a VM

Edited by jmak
3s-gtech

3s-gtech

Posted
Posted
Woops, then yup it is that version. When I run the script on that version, but the US English ISO this time, it works. That would suggest either an issue with version numbers of the apps somehow, or the English International version doesn't come with these apps installed somehow (I haven't installed it to check). Worth noting anyway - the script doesn't (at present) work on the English International version of the November 2016 ISO/wim. That's a pain, as I don't want to roll out the wrong localisation as it bugs me, and I don't want to roll out the apps in the images either.
Arthur

Arthur

Posted
  • Author
Posted
When I run the script on that version, but the US English ISO this time, it works.

I have done some more testing (and googling) and it is looking like it's a bug with Microsoft's .wim images rather than my script. :(

 

If you take a look in the DISM log when removing apps from the en-GB (International) image you will notice the following errors.

 

[13564] ImageUnmarshallHandle: Reconstituting wim at D:\W10\Windows 10 Education (x64, en-GB) - 2017.02.26.wim.
[13564] ImageUnmarshallHandle: Reconstituting wim at D:\W10\Windows 10 Education (x64, en-GB) - 2017.02.26.wim.
2017-02-26 09:01:33, Error                 DISM   DISM Appx Provider: PID=30032 TID=14064 [color="#FF0000"]Failed to get staged packages for package[/color] 'Microsoft.OneConnect_1.1605.17.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe'. - CPackageAdapter::CreateForRemove(hr:0x80070002)
2017-02-26 09:01:33, Error                 DISM   DISM Appx Provider: PID=30032 TID=14064 [color="#FF0000"]Failed while initializing package adapter for package[/color] 'Microsoft.OneConnect_1.1605.17.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe' - CAppxManager::RemoveAllUserAppx(hr:0x80070002)
2017-02-26 09:01:33, Error                 DISM   API: PID=13564 TID=25240 [color="#FF0000"]Failed to remove package[/color] - CRemoveAppxCommandObject::InternalExecute(hr:0x80070002)
2017-02-26 09:01:33, Error                 DISM   API: PID=13564 TID=25240 InternalExecute failed - CBaseCommandObject::Execute(hr:0x80070002)

 

When Googling the error code I found other people with the exact same issue...

 

https://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/50572-MSMG-ToolKit/page30?p=1313746#post1313746

https://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/50572-MSMG-ToolKit/page30?p=1313763&viewfull=1#post1313763

https://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/50572-MSMG-ToolKit/page29?p=1312403&viewfull=1#post1312403

 

A potential solution might be to use the July 2016 v1607 ISO, integrate the latest servicing stack/cumulative update and then remove the unwanted apps. I am going to test this next. :D

 

sHQdBV.png

 

That would suggest either an issue with version numbers of the apps somehow, or the English International version doesn't come with these apps installed somehow

FWIW, apps and version numbers are identical in both en-US and en-GB images so it's not that. :)

 

DisplayName                            PackageName                                                                  
-----------                            -----------                                                                  
Microsoft.3DBuilder                    Microsoft.3DBuilder_11.0.47.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe                        
Microsoft.BingWeather                  Microsoft.BingWeather_4.9.51.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe                       
Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller          Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller_1.5.26001.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe            
Microsoft.Getstarted                   Microsoft.Getstarted_3.11.3.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe                        
Microsoft.Messaging                    Microsoft.Messaging_2.7.1001.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe                       
Microsoft.MicrosoftOfficeHub           Microsoft.MicrosoftOfficeHub_2015.6801.23751.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe       
Microsoft.MicrosoftSolitaireCollection Microsoft.MicrosoftSolitaireCollection_3.9.5100.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe    
Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes         Microsoft.MicrosoftStickyNotes_1.0.136.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe             
Microsoft.Office.OneNote               Microsoft.Office.OneNote_2015.6868.57981.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe           
Microsoft.OneConnect                   Microsoft.OneConnect_1.1605.17.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe                     
Microsoft.People                       Microsoft.People_2016.709.155.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe                      
Microsoft.SkypeApp                     Microsoft.SkypeApp_11.4.86.0_neutral_~_kzf8qxf38zg5c                         
Microsoft.StorePurchaseApp             Microsoft.StorePurchaseApp_1.0.454.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe                 
Microsoft.Windows.Photos               Microsoft.Windows.Photos_2016.511.9510.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe             
Microsoft.WindowsAlarms                Microsoft.WindowsAlarms_2016.622.2118.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe              
Microsoft.WindowsCalculator            Microsoft.WindowsCalculator_2016.606.1706.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe          
Microsoft.WindowsCamera                Microsoft.WindowsCamera_2016.404.190.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe               
microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps    microsoft.windowscommunicationsapps_2015.6868.41201.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe
Microsoft.WindowsFeedbackHub           Microsoft.WindowsFeedbackHub_1.3.1741.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe              
Microsoft.WindowsMaps                  Microsoft.WindowsMaps_2016.701.2235.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe                
Microsoft.WindowsSoundRecorder         Microsoft.WindowsSoundRecorder_2016.611.2.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe          
Microsoft.WindowsStore                 Microsoft.WindowsStore_11606.1001.394.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe              
Microsoft.XboxApp                      Microsoft.XboxApp_2016.623.248.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe                     
Microsoft.XboxIdentityProvider         Microsoft.XboxIdentityProvider_2016.616.818.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe        
Microsoft.ZuneMusic                    Microsoft.ZuneMusic_2019.6.19261.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe                   
Microsoft.ZuneVideo                    Microsoft.ZuneVideo_2019.6.19281.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe

  • Thanks 1
Arthur

Arthur

Posted
  • Author
Posted
A potential solution might be to use the July 2016 v1607 ISO, integrate the latest servicing stack/cumulative update and then remove the unwanted apps. I am going to test this next.

It actually worked! :D

 

I will post the script I used a bit later.

 

xc8I1x.png

  • Thanks 1
Arthur

Arthur

Posted
  • Author
Posted

@3s-gtech, @jmak. Here's the new script...

 

Download: CandyCrusher.zip

 

This works slightly differently to the old script so I have written some instructions. :)

 

  1. Save the script into the root of a new folder. e.g. D:\W10x64.
     
     
  2. Copy your Windows 10 v1607 July '16 ISO into this folder (same location).
     
     
  3. Create an Updates subfolder (e.g. D:\W10x64\Updates) containing three subfolders (CU, Servicing Stack and Flash Player).
     
     
  4. Download the updates linked below that match the architecture of your Windows ISO and save each .msu into its relevant subfolder within the Updates folder.
     
    [b]Cumulative Update[/b] (Janaury 2017, 14393.726)
x64: http://download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/crup/2017/01/windows10.0-kb3216755-x64_eba0675fd22087449c80b4d26df6b7035e9fb91f.msu
x86: http://download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/crup/2017/01/windows10.0-kb3216755-x86_0706d23dba493b295a32b9b56604aa0b08971ac7.msu


     

    [b]Servicing Stack[/b] (Janaury 2017)
x64: http://download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/crup/2017/01/windows10.0-kb3211320-x64_2abc94fceb4d1cdd908b3bdba473e28e0c061a3d.msu
x86: http://download.windowsupdate.com/c/msdownload/update/software/crup/2017/01/windows10.0-kb3211320-x86_b450a744674c27bf2871f8db28f0e2e13e874582.msu


     

    [b]Flash Player[/b] (MS17-005)
x64: http://download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/secu/2017/02/windows10.0-kb4010250-x64_fa7ad44be8dd1c65b51f07efbee478b0fbf82f5c.msu
x86: http://download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/secu/2017/02/windows10.0-kb4010250-x86_8e6459131457bd164eee5160d316d223ba599c2f.msu


     

  5. Amend the $AppsToKeep and $ISO variables on lines 17 & 18 of the script.
     
     
  6. Run the script from an elevated PowerShell or PowerShell ISE prompt on a Windows 10 PC. When it finishes you should end up with an image that contains the latest updates and no unwanted apps.

  • Thanks 2
3s-gtech

3s-gtech

Posted
Posted
As ever, you're a credit to the forum. I'll play with this - I would like to roll out 10 this Summer, but was hoping to do so with the Creators Update. This may be the compromise if that version is as late as they're expecting.
jmak

jmak

Posted
Posted
I'm guessing I now extract the July 16 ISO, put the modified .wim file that was created into it, then turn it back into a disc image?

If you're using MDT or SCCM you don't need to turn it back into a disk image - you can just import the .wim

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