A few days ago, I signed into Windows 10, and upon conclusion of the boot, noticed that there was less space on my hard drive than normal. I always check this upon startup, just in case something unwanted has managed to make it through my firewalls and nest in my PC. I figured it might have been an update to Windows, but noted that I hadn't seen any "Updating Windows" screens during the boot sequence. So I pulled up Event Viewer, and found a good number of things being downloaded, none of which I wanted. Candy Crush, Witch Saga, Minecraft, etc. Upon further investigation, I found they were coming from the Microsoft Store, which I have never once used. Ever. I get my software from third-party sources. So, for the first time, I opened the application, browsed through the settings, and found only these settings:
- Update apps automatically (I switched this off)
- Show products on tile (The start menu tiles ; This setting was also promptly disabled)
- Play videos automatically (Also switched this off)
None of the other following options were valid, as I didn't have a Microsoft account signed in anywhere locally. I have Local Accounts on my PC, and none are linked to my Microsoft Account in any way, shape or form. After this minor nuisance, I uninstalled the unwanted software, and went about my business, but made a note to keep an eye on my drive, because Microsoft has done things like this in the past. Cortana being my prime reference here. Cortana, something else I don't want and never will, is so thoroughly implanted through the process trees and various registries that removing all of its keys and components would render the system inoperable. Microsoft has done something similar with Internet Explorer when Netscape sued them, and they integrated IE into Windows so they could claim that it was "part of the Operating System". However, you could then do very, very little without going through Internet Explorer, which was a pain in the neck. I'm getting off topic. Moving on..
A day or two later, I booted up my PC again, and lo and behold, right I was to keep an eye on things. The programs were not installed, but upon looking in Event Viewer, they WERE downloaded again. Upon opening the Store, I found them in the "Waiting to Be Installed" tab under Games and Software. I do not want these programs, nor will I ever want these programs, and while each is only between 10-150 MBs this adds up quickly, with almost 20 programs occupying space I don't want taken. I do have 850GB of free space on my drives, however, I intend to use this space for dual-booting Linux, Windows 10, and Ubuntu Server for a home server network. I do NOT want Microsoft Store to steal space, because I need every last bit if I'm going to have three separate OS's on my drives.
Does Microsoft intend to return to helping its users, or is this just another "Innovative Feature" created by Microsoft, which affects the unwary and unaware users who don't notice these things? The series of "Features" that have failed or been detrimental is growing. Windows Vista was a catastrophic failure full of bugs, glitches, sluggish operation, poorly implemented requirements, and a disturbing variety of Editions that has been going on for a while. Windows 7 had so many Editions that some people couldn't figure out what to get, and when they got the wrong one, oh well. The last three OS's with Home Edition have been missing the secpol.msc service, and for those who don't know what that is, it's a Microsoft Service Console that allows for customizing of Security Policies which is very, very useful for homegroups, home servers, and PC's with multiple outgoing and incoming connections, including Remote Desktop. You would have to buy Premium, Ultimate, Enterprise, or Professional to get those features. The difference between each Edition was the services you had included, or if you prefer to think of it in a more negative way, the services kept from you. I've used every edition of Windows from Windows 95, I've used DOS (which was actually amazing, and GDISK which is based off of DOS is a miracle worker for a computer technician when you have to format and partition multiple PC's in a workplace). Sadly, the quality of Windows is slowly dropping at a steady pace. Is there any chance of a bounceback, or is Microsoft determined to keep this up?
So, my final question for Microsoft is: Is there any way to possibly disable the automatic download of these unwanted apps, or am I going to have to simply not use Windows? There are some "fixes" that involve going into the registry and creating your own keys, but while I'm a competent user with fairly extensive knowledge, not every Windows user is, and a proper fix that can be accessed by normal, untrained users. A simple, understandable solution would be very beneficial to the users.
In hopes of avoiding the constant copy/paste responses of disinterested Microsoft employees and moderators, I'll address some of the most common points I've seen.
Yes, I've disabled automatic updates. No, I do not have a Microsoft account attached to the store. Yes, I have edited the Windows Registry as suggested in another thread. No, that clearly didn't help, otherwise I wouldn't be posting.
