How to remove bloatware from gaming laptops?

Get rid of unwanted anti-virus trials, windows toolbars, plugins and other bloatware on your gaming laptop for more storage space and better performance.

By Mokshit Batra 03 Apr 2024 in Gaming PC

New Update

Bloatware in Gaming laptop.jpg — Remove Bloatware from Gaming Laptop (Image via TechFirstNow)

Bloatware refers to pre-installed software on a device. These software are mostly unwanted and do not have any significant use. Thus, many gamers want to remove bloatware from gaming laptops. Bloatware comprises trial versions of software such as anti-viruses, media players, and web browser toolbars and plugins already installed on your Windows device.

Not only do these bloatware take up precious storage space on your laptop, but they also consume a lot of system resources. This can cause performance issues even in the best gaming laptops. Additionally, software that launches automatically on startup can increase boot times.

The software may also be from unreliable sources, becoming a serious security threat or privacy concern. Hence, many wish to know how they can remove bloatware from gaming laptops.

Remove Bloatware from Gaming Laptops to boost performance and free storage space

While there are several third-party tools that you can download to help you remove bloatware from gaming laptops, the easiest method is to simply do it from your laptop's settings.

publive-image — Add or Remove Programs (Image via Pureinfotech)

Follow the steps listed below to remove bloatware from gaming laptops -

Go to the Start Menu.
Search for "Add or remove programs."
Click on the first result that shows up.
You will be prompted with a window that lists out all apps and features on your laptop. There will also be a search bar at the top, allowing you to search for a particular app or feature.
Locate the app or feature you wish to uninstall either by browsing through the list or searching for it.
You will notice three dots located to the right of the app/feature's name. Click on these three dots to open a dropdown list.
From the dropdown list, select "Uninstall."
Click on "Yes" or confirm any pop-up warnings that you might receive before uninstalling.
Repeat this process for all apps and features you wish to uninstall.

The App & Features list also displays the storage occupied by each app. This allows you to prioritise which app to delete in case you are running short on storage. However, there is certain bloatware, like the Widgets tool, that does not show up on this list. You will have to use Powershell commands to remove this bloatware from gaming laptops.

Use PowerShell commands to remove bloatware from gaming laptops by doing the following -

Go to the Windows PowerShell from the start menu.
Ensure that you are running the app as an administrator.
Type Get-AppxPackage into the command box.
This will open a list of the apps & features on your gaming laptop. Scroll through the list to see what you wish to remove.
Enter the following command - Get-AppxPackage *<Name>* | Remove-AppxPackage
Replace "Name" with the name of the bloatware to be removed.
Press the "Enter" key, and the bloatware will be removed.

You can also use the Powershell method to remove bloatware from gaming laptops, which you would normally find in the Apps & Features list. Note that you can only use this method if you are an admin. However, it is recommended that you avoid doing so unless you are unable to access the control panel due to some issue with your operating system.