Maybe in the US/West when you bought prebuilt form the likes of Dell. But in my home of EE, most PCs we had for sale in shops were locally assembled with no OS, or just vanilla OEM Windows installed (sometimes even pirated).
Crap installed by default on PCs is not something I ever encountered where I live.
Maybe it's an EU thing that stopped all the preloaded crap, no idea.
This happened because no OEM license = cheaper. These days I don't think it matters anymore, because probably the OEM license is much cheaper than it was back then.
1. Format a flash drive with two partitions 2. Burn the Windows installer ISO to the first partition 3. Download all the drivers to the second partition 4. Flash the BIOS with the latest version 5. Ensure you are NOT connected to the Internet and boot flash drive 6. Install Windows, disallow the metrics they let you opt-out 7. Creating a local account works because offline 8. Install drivers avoid add-on software from manufacturer 9. Edit local group policy - enable "Turn off Microsoft Consumer Experience" 9a. Alternatively, edit the Registry, DisableWindowsConsumerFeatures in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CloudContent 10. Connect Internet, check for updates reboot a few times 11. Open Microsoft Store and uninstall any junk apps (stubs) 12. Install whatever other software you desire 13. Configure your update settings so it is less annoying
Creating a local account is basic sense (no, not common sense; we aren't common people), and not connecting to the internet during install is recommended but not a hard requirement.
Installing drivers while avoiding their bloatware is, again, basic sense.
Disabling "Microsoft Consumer Experience" does nothing as far as I've experienced (and it shouldn't, the setting is only effective on Windows 11 Enterprise and Education); I never modify that setting myself.
On the other hand, I turn off Automatic Updates (automatic Windows Update) and Microsoft Store's ability to automatically download and update programs via the Group Policies. This is probably what you want if Disney+ keeps bothering you.
This all said, if you're getting pestered by third-party crapware you are probably using Windows 11 Home. Just pay up for a Professional license and save your time and nerves. The cheaper price of Home licenses is offset by third-party crapware.
What on earth. This is stockholm syndrome in a nutshell.
Personally I use the community of version of Arch i3, not going to check the source on that, but will trust that community might keep an eye on anything nefarious.
Doesn't seem like Linux is completely immune from that either(i.e. XZ Utils).
But the build is amazingly stable and fast, and I will have to take it good faith that they didn't do anything that would harm me.
I can at least track down the author in various communities and seems to be semi-open about their identity. There is a forum thread any concerns I can bring up with the person responsible.
They are also taking donations. I would hope that exposes them to some liability and financial trail if they are found doing something illegal.
https://www.teamos.xyz/threads/windows-x-lite-optimum-11-24h...
It does not, I've been working with fresh installs a lot this year for one reason or another and no fresh Windows 11 Professional installation has had third-party crapware pre-installed. That includes an install I just did a few days ago using an ISO downloaded straight from Microsoft.
Windows 11 Home probably does have them, though.
Don't know if that is still true today.
Honestly, I think this situation is worse for consumers than anything Apple is doing. Technically you have more choice with Windows and Android but it can be difficult for the average consumer to make an informed decision because the device manufacture cram so much stuff onto these devices without your knowledge.