How I configure a new Windows installation

12 Sep, 2026

These are what I do. Doing them without thinking may permanently delete files.

During installation

• Skip customization ("interests")
• Skip use of phone from PC
• Skip backup of phone photos
• "Not now" to recent browsing data

Once installed

• Run Windows update (likely will require reboots)
• Run Windows update again until no more updates

Enable Bitwarden for all drives, being sure to save to a file on at least two portable storage devices or one portable storage device and to Microsoft account.

Disable OneDrive

• Right click on the OneDrive icon and open Settings
• Sync and backup -> Manage backup
  • Stop backup and choose where to keep files ("Only on my PC")
  • Turn off all settings that weren't turned off when disabling the different directories
• Account -> Unlink this PC
• Quit OneDrive

Run Add or remove programs, removing

• Logi Download Assistant (automatically installed when using Logitech peripherals)
• Microsoft 365 Copilot
• Microsoft OneDrive
• Solitaire and casual games (requires subscription to function)
• Start Experiences App cannot be removed
  • Select Advanced, then set Let this app run in background -> Never

Settings

• Windows Update -> Advanced Options
  • Receive updates for other Microsoft products -> On
  • Delivery optimization -> Allow downloads from other devices -> Off
• System -> Advanced
  • Terminal -> Windows Terminal
• Privacy & Security
  • Text and image generation -> Off
  • Recommendations & offers
    • Personalized offers -> Off
    • Recommendations and offers in Settings -> Off
    • Advertising ID -> Off

Disable OneDrive and Copilot using GPO

Run Turn Windows features on or off, turn on

• Hyper-V
• Windows Hypervisor Platform
• Windows Sandbox
• Windows Subsystem for Linux

If have Wifi 6E/7/7+

• Device Manager -> Wifi device -> Properties
• Advanced -> Preferred Band -> 6Ghz Band Preferred

Clean up GUI

• Unpin unwanted pinned apps
• Disable or clean up Widgets
  • Click lower-right widget
  • Settings -> Show or hide feeds -> Off
  • Requires Widget restart
  • Hide the unwanted feeds

LLMs in Apps

• Edge -> Right-click upper right Chat button -> Hide Copilot
  • Leads to Settings -> Copilot and AI -> Show Copilot button -> Off
• Notepad -> Settings -> Writing tools -> Off

Windows Terminal

• Winget install Microsoft.PowerShell
• Restart Terminal, then Settings -> Startup -> Default profile -> Powershell
  • NOT Microsoft Powershell, which is the old version guaranteed to be present on Windows
• Edit $profile to disable autocomplete, etc

Winget software

• TheDocumentFoundation.LibreOffice
• Mozilla.Firefox
• Mozilla.Thunderbird
• Microsoft.VisualStudio.Community

Firefox

• Log into Firefox
• Add-ons Manager -> Firefox Multi-Account Containers -> Options
  • Enable synchronization