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Comment by CrossVR | Hacker News Reader

Since no one mentioned how to actually dismiss the notification forever:

OneDrive is treated as a normal app that is installed by default, you can actually just uninstall it through Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel.

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During a major update it will be reinstalled.

That's about as close to forever as you can get with Microsoft.

Nuts. Is this still true? I just setup a Win11 Pro machine for a very non-technical person. Uninstalled OneDrive, hoping to minimize future pain when 90% of the needs are just a web browser and storing camera pictures.

(No, Linux was not an option)

I have absolutely seen them reinstall components like that, force their AV back on, force Windows Update back on, etc. It's probably actually good imo for the users I've seen, but admittedly "computer says no" is infuriating if you're sure of what you want.

Try using Group Policy to disable it. I think Applocker is on Win 11 Pro now - if it is, you can block the execution of whatever programs and DLLs you want. I've used that to block Windows Update.

Well, I will at least throw in the Group Policy tweak when I have the chance. Thanks for the tip.

There is almost certainly a registry key you can set as well. 5 ways to do something, none documented officially.

Yeah for myself Pro licensing and domain is the way to go so I can configure Windows similar to my work network at home. But for people who have Home licenses I just set the registry keys. Windows Home doesn't have a UI to set policy, but it does obey it if the keys are there.

(This is a must-have to turn off web browser antifeatures as well, you can't block extension install from the browser settings for any browser but you can by policy.)

Not just in Win11, AppLocker can be used in Win10 too.

AppLocker is included with all editions of Windows except Windows 10 version 1809 or earlier.

Applocker can help prevent users from running unwanted software (including DLLs and scripts).

However, AppLocker requires Local Security Policy, which isn't available in Home edition of Windows, but it can be installed easily for free.

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/local-security-policy-missing...

Here's how to use AppLocker to block an unwanted app:

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/124008-use-applocker-all...

OneDrive has yet to reappear on my Windows machines, but I mostly only use 10 still, 11 could be that shitty

> Nuts. Is this still true?

Yes. Microsoft wants to protect you. /s

Along with Teams if you have Microsoft 365 for Business.

Bejeweled and friends tend to show back up again on consumer machines too, I've noticed.

Absolute headache...

I've started using Tiny11 on all my setups, then running DeBloat afterwards. This removes every piece of crapware* and none of them seem to try to reinstall on update (so far, fingers crossed).

https://ntdotdev.wordpress.com/2024/01/08/the-complete-tiny1...

https://github.com/Raphire/Win11Debloat

* be warned, this also removes Edge, so you have to grab your own browser installer of choice

I use Brave browser (a Chromium fork) on my old Win10 PC, and it is fast and stable even with tons of tabs/site open. One can disable its unnecessary features (VPN, Brave Rewards, etc).

Please note that Brave browser in mobile these days gives problems for some websites like Reddit.com, etc. Same sites open fine with Edge (another Chromium fork) and Firefox (Gecko engine).

I hate Chrome & Edge and their nasty of creating multiple instances and auto-starting and running in background even when I am not using the browser.

If I recall right, Chrome uses to have an nasty memory leakage issue so it will keep chugging for more memory even if not in active use.

Firefox uses to be sluggish, but it is better these days, and its extensions/plugins support (especially on Android!) is necessary to block ads & trackers (via uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger extension) is highly useful and necessary.

I prefer Brave for PC and Firefox for Android.

Or turn off all OneDrive notifications as a less intrusive method. It has worked for me well enough so far.

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