Windows 10: Removing Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Settings from all apps list

Discus and support Removing Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Settings from all apps list in Windows 10 Software and Apps to solve the problem; First off Hello everybody and sorry this is my first post I am normally just a lurker. This forum, even though I have never posted ,has been a huge... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Software and Apps' started by Kabby, Nov 14, 2015.

  1. Kabby Win User

    Removing Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Settings from all apps list


    First off Hello everybody and sorry this is my first post I am normally just a lurker. This forum, even though I have never posted ,has been a huge help with quite a few things and a great resource in general.

    Trying to clear out the All Apps list on the start menu. Most apps I have uninstalled and utility folders deleted. The 3 things left on there that I would still like to remove are Cortana, Microsoft Edge, and Settings. I do not want to uninstall Cortana or Microsoft Edge. I simply do not want those three things to appear in the list. i.e. I deleted the Administrative Tools folder from programdata/microsoft/windows/startmenu which stops the shortcuts from appearing in the list but I still have access to all the things within.

    I know its small but its important. On a side note I could have sworn i read somewhere that microsoft was going to be updating their upgrade system so you no longer had to do an in place upgrade before you could do a clean install. Does anybody know anything about that or is that not a thing. I do not seem to be able to find the original article I was reading and may have misread.

    :)
     
    Kabby, Nov 14, 2015
    #1

  2. I still can't get rid of my password.

    You can only remove the password if you disconnect from all online services such as:

    Email App

    Cortana

    Xbox App

    Calendar App

    Weather App

    Microsoft Account

    Settings Sync/Backup

    Edge Browser Favorites Sync & Backup

    and many more

    Since these services all connect online to your account, they require a password.

    So, here's how to do it:

    • Go to the Settings app, choose Accounts
    • Click "Sign in with a local account instead" (this transforms your account back to the "Windows 7" style local account, which has no requirement of a password)
    • Now you will be able to remove your password

    ----

    Instead of disconnecting and using a local account, you might want to just switch to using an easy PIN number instead of a password.
     
    Shawn 'Cmdr' Keene [MVP], Nov 14, 2015
    #2
  3. windows 10

    How do you remove ALL windows 10 crap including edge, cortana, apps from my computer.
     
    kevin cookie, Nov 14, 2015
    #3
  4. davefaz Win User

    Removing Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Settings from all apps list

    Bit of a late reply here, but the issue is still relevant so I thought I would reply.

    As yet there still seems to be no solution to this problem. Microsoft have bypassed the normal folders that list apps in the start menu so that some apps can't be removed from the list. This includes Edge, Cortana and the more recent Connect. As far as I am aware there is no folder, so there must be a registry thing going on here. I will continue to look in to the problem and will get back if I ever find a solution.
     
    davefaz, Sep 6, 2016
    #4
  5. dalchina New Member
    Hi, if you want start menu flexibility, you'll need to choose an appropriate 3rd party start menu.

    Removing things like that is all very well, but as soon as you get a new build upgrade, they'll be back, as they will be if you do an in-place upgrade repair install.

    There's not a great deal of logic to that in my mind.

    Are you perhaps thinking of an in-place upgrade repair to fix problems in upgrading to the next build so the upgrade might then succeed?
     
    dalchina, Sep 7, 2016
    #5
  6. davefaz Win User
    But I am one of those people who is seriously annoyed by the way Microsoft is forcing things on us. I don't think it will be too much longer before I disable updates completely. Sure, some time in the future I may well face the issue again, but I will deal with that when it happens.
     
    davefaz, Sep 7, 2016
    #6
  7. dalchina New Member
    Agreed about the way MS is treating its customers.. and making the PC less P - just can't personalise it as freely as used to be. Making sudden changes without informing people, and introducing problems and significant bugs.

    As regards the Start Menu- that's easy. Don't use it. Get Classic Shell (for example). Hugely better and familiar, flexible and configurable. And did I mention it's free? And you can launch universal apps from it if you wish? (No tiles though).
    classic shell start menu - Google Search
    Good search, and you can still use the rubbishy Win 10 start menu if you really want some frustration. Look:


    Removing Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Settings from all apps list [​IMG]


    Shortcuts extracted from subfolders and listed in alpha order. Hmm.

    And just hide the Cortana search bar.

    Use disk imaging defensively, especially around upgrades as well as routinely (everyone should- it's invaluable in several ways).
     
    dalchina, Sep 7, 2016
    #7
  8. davefaz Win User

    Removing Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Settings from all apps list

    I might do that if they continue to limit us. I don't really use the start menu that much, it was just annoying me that there is all sorts of junk in there that I don't want...but that's Windows 10 all over. I have taken the step to disable updates on my PC's now.
     
    davefaz, Sep 7, 2016
    #8
  9. I found this powershell script that does exactly that, it removes Contact Support, Win Feedback, Cortana & Settings all in one swoop; it works like a champ. One thing though, GPO settings must be made to kill Cortana before the shortcut disappears from All Apps.

    Code: function Enable-Privilege { param($Privilege) $Definition = @' using System; using System.Runtime.InteropServices; public class AdjPriv { [DllImport("advapi32.dll", ExactSpelling = true, SetLastError = true)] internal static extern bool AdjustTokenPrivileges(IntPtr htok, bool disall, ref TokPriv1Luid newst, int len, IntPtr prev, IntPtr rele); [DllImport("advapi32.dll", ExactSpelling = true, SetLastError = true)] internal static extern bool OpenProcessToken(IntPtr h, int acc, ref IntPtr phtok); [DllImport("advapi32.dll", SetLastError = true)] internal static extern bool LookupPrivilegeValue(string host, string name, ref long pluid); [StructLayout(LayoutKind.Sequential, Pack = 1)] internal struct TokPriv1Luid { public int Count; public long Luid; public int Attr; } internal const int SE_PRIVILEGE_ENABLED = 0x00000002; internal const int TOKEN_QUERY = 0x00000008; internal const int TOKEN_ADJUST_PRIVILEGES = 0x00000020; public static bool EnablePrivilege(long processHandle, string privilege) { bool retVal; TokPriv1Luid tp; IntPtr hproc = new IntPtr(processHandle); IntPtr htok = IntPtr.Zero; retVal = OpenProcessToken(hproc, TOKEN_ADJUST_PRIVILEGES | TOKEN_QUERY, ref htok); tp.Count = 1; tp.Luid = 0; tp.Attr = SE_PRIVILEGE_ENABLED; retVal = LookupPrivilegeValue(null, privilege, ref tp.Luid); retVal = AdjustTokenPrivileges(htok, false, ref tp, 0, IntPtr.Zero, IntPtr.Zero); return retVal; } } '@ $ProcessHandle = (Get-Process -id $pid).Handle $type = Add-Type $definition -PassThru $type[0]::EnablePrivilege($processHandle, $Privilege) } function Take-Over($path) { $owner = [Security.Principal.NTAccount]'Administrators' $key = [Microsoft.Win32.Registry]::LocalMachine.OpenSubKey($path, 'ReadWriteSubTree', 'TakeOwnership') $acl = $key.GetAccessControl() $acl.SetOwner($owner) $key.SetAccessControl($acl) $acl = $key.getaccesscontrol() $rule = New-Object System.Security.AccessControl.RegistryAccessRule "Administrators", "FullControl", "ContainerInherit", "None", "Allow" $acl.SetAccessRule($rule) $key.SetAccessControl($acl) } do {} until (Enable-Privilege SeTakeOwnershipPrivilege) function Remove-Package($name) { $key = "SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages\$name" Take-Over $key Remove-Item -Path HKLM:"$key\Owners" -Force -Recurse & C:\Windows\System32\PkgMgr.exe /up:$name /norestart /quiet } # Remove Contact Support Remove-Package "Microsoft-Windows-ContactSupport-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~en-US~10.0.10586.0" Remove-Package "Microsoft-Windows-ContactSupport-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10586.0" # Remove Windows Feedback Remove-Package "Microsoft-WindowsFeedback-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~en-US~10.0.10586.0" Remove-Package "Microsoft-WindowsFeedback-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10586.0" # Remove Cortana Remove-Package "Microsoft-Windows-Cortana-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~en-US~10.0.10586.0" Remove-Package "Microsoft-Windows-Cortana-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10586.0" # Remove Settings Remove-Package "Microsoft-Windows-Settings-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~10.0.10586.0" Remove-Package "Microsoft-Windows-Settings-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~en-US~10.0.10586.0"[/quote]
     
    FLHTCU103ski, Feb 12, 2017
    #9
  10. Edwin New Member
    Settings!?!?!?
    You may want to include a WARNING that this probably will severely cripple the OS!
     
    Edwin, Feb 12, 2017
    #10
  11. Edwin, so far the OS hasn't been crippled, this is based on actual test and not an assumption such as "probably will". We run barebones since we don't need all the microsoft fluff such as Cortana & Feedback. Our system is a closed loop network, meaning there is not any contact with the outside world; therefore, these features are taking up space & act as an interference to the end user.

    If the OS crashes due to virus or hardware failure, we "reflash" using a Ghost image disk & the computer is back to our OEM specs in less than 30 minutes; quicker than a Domino's pizza delivery.

    A quick addition/edit:
    There are many hacks that we can perform to Windows, if there weren't any allowed, websites such as TenForums wouldn't exist. One such hack is "How to Remove All Built-In Apps in Windows 10". This works like beast too, but is not applicable to Cortana, Feedback, Settings & Contact, hence the reason why I posted the above PowerShell script. These cannot be removed by the Get- & Remove- AppxPackage PowerShell commands. If one wants to learn about the Get- & Remove-, search "How to Remove All Built-In Apps in Windows 10", there's a tutorial with ready-made commands.
     
    FLHTCU103ski, Apr 5, 2018
    #11
Thema:

Removing Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Settings from all apps list

Loading...
  1. Removing Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Settings from all apps list - Similar Threads - Removing Cortana Microsoft

  2. Removing Cortana from Alt+Tab list With Solution

    in Cortana
    Removing Cortana from Alt+Tab list With Solution: This is sort of more like documentation than question. Answers that build on this or propose better solutions are welcome, but please spare us the "Uninstall Cortana" and/or "Close Cortana using Task Manager" suggestions. Those are fundamentally broken, since they interfere...
  3. Removing Cortana from Alt+Tab list With Solution

    in Windows 10 Software and Apps
    Removing Cortana from Alt+Tab list With Solution: This is sort of more like documentation than question. Answers that build on this or propose better solutions are welcome, but please spare us the "Uninstall Cortana" and/or "Close Cortana using Task Manager" suggestions. Those are fundamentally broken, since they interfere...
  4. Remove default blue tile from Microsoft Edge on Start Menu app list

    in Windows 10 Customization
    Remove default blue tile from Microsoft Edge on Start Menu app list: I was able to either uninstall the other apps with a default blue tile Camera, Calculator, Photos, Paint 3D..., or use a third-party software to change the colour, but with Microsoft Edge none of the methods worked. So I know that Microsoft Edge is near-impossible to...
  5. Remove Cortana and Microsoft Edge Permanently

    in Windows 10 Customization
    Remove Cortana and Microsoft Edge Permanently: Hi, How I can remove Cortana and Microsoft Edge permanently from Windows 10 Pro? I did this successfully by renaming specific folder in "systemapps". But after feature updates installation, it started to work again. Please guide how can i permanently remove Cortana & EDGE...
  6. Cortana App not showing in All App list (Build 1903)

    in Cortana
    Cortana App not showing in All App list (Build 1903): In build 1809, I had the Cortana app show in my start menu, and from there I could go to App settings, and reset it. This would solve a lot of issues with search not working. When I upgraded to build 1903, it no longer shows on the start menu and have no way of resetting the...
  7. Remove microsoft apps from the start menus app list

    in Windows 10 Customization
    Remove microsoft apps from the start menus app list: Windows 10 includes something like 23+ programs which aren't likely to be commonly used. In my experience it will often drown out apps that I actually use. It gets pretty frustrating when it takes around 30 seconds to find an app I need to open. Sometime I may not remember...
  8. Is it possible to remove the Search shortcut from the 'All apps' list?

    in Windows 10 Software and Apps
    Is it possible to remove the Search shortcut from the 'All apps' list?: Hi, Is it possible to remove the Search shortcut from the 'All apps' list? I disabled Cortana by renaming the folder and clicking it does nothing so no point in keeping it. I've also disabled the Search service. I've kept Calc, Contact, Maps, Edge, Settings & Store, rest...
  9. How to remove certain items from "all apps" list?

    in Windows 10 Support
    How to remove certain items from "all apps" list?: Hey all, Another question I have about Windows 10. Back on Windows 7, under the all programs list I was able to delete anything I didn't want listed there. Unfortunately with Windows 10 I can't remove everything. So I am wondering how can I clean up the "All Apps" list...
  10. Add or Remove Articles from Reading List in Microsoft Edge

    in Windows 10 Tutorials
    Add or Remove Articles from Reading List in Microsoft Edge: How to: Add or Remove Articles from Reading List in Microsoft Edge How to Add or Remove Articles from Reading List in Microsoft Edge in Windows 10 Microsoft Edge is a new web browser that is available across the Windows 10 device family. It is designed for Windows 10 to...