Bloatware

[Telstar]

I have heard this term mentioned in relation to the Windows OS (Usually by Apple users:} ) It never really occurred to me what it all meant though. For a simple user like me it is not that quantifiable, not tangible.

However after a new HDD install, I was loading up drivers etc, and I got to the one for my HP printer/Scanner. The disc that was supplied, comes with a Cd which has a suite of HP apps, which is "Strongly recommended". just shy of 700mb.

I searched the web and found that you can get the bare bones drivers, which still Scan and print through the standard windows options, and do everything I need. 40mb.

Is that a record for Bloatware?

[Keef]

The vintage HP Laser printer I use for most of what I do has a driver that is under 1MB in size.

The Canon colour printer has a driver that's something like 100MB - that's what I call "bloatware".

Some of the stuff on those freebie "included software" disks is indeed bloated. I've loaded many over the years, and removed them within a day or so.

It's not the hard disk space that matters (that's cheap); it's the way they all insist that they must load at startup, slowing the machine down to a crawl. They can be prevented from loading, but most of them will then reinstate themselves the next time you run them.

[Bushfiva]

HP's drivers and associated baggage are freakin' ludicrous. If you don't know when to say "no" during the install, you end up with a monster that wants to second-guess everything from printing, through scanning, to connecting a digital camera.

[The Flying Pram]

They can be prevented from loading, but most of them will then reinstate themselves the next time you run them.

I tried to disable a number of non essential apps using msconfig, but found, as you have, that they just re-instate themselves next time the P.C. is started. I spotted a tip on a help forum which gets round this: tick the "selective start up" box. The next time you reboot a window will advise you of this, but click on the "don't remind me in future" box and you won't be troubled with every app on your P.C. trying to run on start up.

Hope this helps.

[Keef]

I have "Selective Start Up" running - it's essential. About once a month, I run msconfig and "untick" the stuff that's added itself back in the meantime. The machine runs a lot faster after that treatment.

The worst offender is Quicktime QTTask.exe which adds itself in with alarming regularity. If there's one already there but unticked, it adds another and ticks it. I think it's something to do with Apple or Itunes or some such, but I've never knowingly run it.

Then there's Canon Easy-Print Toolbox (I think I've got that one sorted now).

Plus RealSched which I think is an updater for Real Time Player which I don't use but haven't removed yet.

I managed to get rid of the three Symantec Update Checkers, but it took time and Registry editing.

There are 12 items right now in my "Don't you dare!" unticked list (counting the QTTask.exe examples as one).

[Tarq57]

Ditto for "selective startup".
I use an HP Photosmart 3110 scanner/printer/fax, and it is totally undemanding - able to be configured within its own program settings not to take over at start, didn't have to use msconfig at all. I think some of the worst items of bloatware are Quicktime (as mentioned) and Adobe's PDF program. Got rid of those two real smart! If anyone still uses Real player, that's pretty bad, too. Oh, and then there's Norton....
But the OS itself has quite a few services set to automatic that the average user will never need or want.Rather bloaty. There's a very good guide/tutorial for choosing what to disable and how (and why) here (http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/supertweaks.htm)
(Ironically, disabling certain items also has the side affect of making Windows more secure from some vulnerabilities.)