This process is called a clean install, which is ironic as there's nothing particularly clean about it: Microsoft has enshittified Windows Setup.

When you're planning a fresh Windows 11 installation, a bit of preparation can save you time and hassle later. From backing up important files to downloading drivers, getting everything ready makes ...

A fresh Windows installation takes time, and after all that effort, we want to use the device right away. While that’s fine at first, there are a few steps you shouldn’t delay for long—they help keep ...

I just installed a bunch of Windows 11 instances in a VM for product testing, and the amount of popups and notifications is making me livid. It. Never. Ends. At this point the culture at Microsoft is ...

PCs, for a long time, had a bloatware problem. The major PC manufacturers—Dell, Asus, Acer, and the like—had a bad habit of including "free trials" of software like Norton AntiVirus on new devices.

As part of its recent campaign to make Windows the platform of choice for "hybrid work," Microsoft is rolling out a new security feature. It's called Smart App Control and it's kind of like Windows ...

Above and beyond the benefits of a fresh do-over, clean installing Windows 11 improves security, exposes new features, and more. With the Windows 10 end of support date arriving on October 14, ...

For a certain kind of computer buyer, the first thing you always did with a new laptop or desktop from a company like Dell, HP, Acer, or Asus wasn’t to open the box and start using it. Instead, you ...