When buying a new computer or reinstalling the operating system, most people will need to install a lot of third-party software. Each one has to download the installation file separately and perform the installation steps. This is not only troublesome but also time-consuming. This article will recommend a super easy-to-use “Winutil” PowerShell script that can be executed through the built-in PowerShell of Windows without downloading or installing anything.
This script provides a wide range of functions, including installing and removing commonly used/Windows built-in software, turning off unnecessary Windows functions, and other useful settings, such as setting to automatically log in to the Windows operating system without entering a password.
A must for new computers! Winutil installs all commonly used software, closes and removes unused Windows features with one click
Speaking of PowerShell, some people may think it is a little professional and difficult to operate. In fact, it is not at all. You only need to open PoweShell as a “system administrator” and enter a command to open Winutil. I will teach you step by step below.
The Winutil script was created by Chris Titus and is available in GitHub It is open source for sharing and provides two versions, stable version and developer. The commands entered in PowerShell are different:
Stable Branch (Recommended)
irm "https://christitus.com/win" | iex
Dev Branch
irm "https://christitus.com/windev" | iex
First, enter the PowerShell keyword in Windows search. When you find it, remember to click “Run as administrator” instead of opening it directly:
Enter the version you want to enable. It is recommended to use the stable version, that is:irm "https://christitus.com/win" | iex, after pressing Enter, Winutil will open:
The interface is only in English, so don’t worry if you don’t understand it. The operation is very simple, and you will mainly use the first three. “Install” is used to install and remove commonly used software, as well as Windows built-in software. “Tweaks” turn off some built-in Windows features that you don’t want/use. “Confing” has some practical settings, such as automatically logging into Windows:
There are many types of software provided, ranging from browsers, communication, files, media tools, games, development software, and other tools.
Check the name of the software you want to install and click the Install/Upgrade Selected button above. The installation will start. If it is already on your computer, it will update:
The installation status will be displayed in PowerShell. Many software are downloaded and installed automatically. You don’t need to operate any functions, which is quite good:
I installed Firefox, and PowerShell showed that after the installation was completed, I found it:
If you want to remove it, check the software you want to remove, and then click Uninstall Selected on the right:
Firefox will pop up the removal program, which requires manual operation:
You can also remove built-in Windows software. For example, if I don’t need OneDrive, I just check OneDrive and press Uninstall Selected:
After removal, sure enough the OneDrive app disappeared:
Tweaks can turn off many functions of Windows that you don’t use. However, because it is an English version, if you are not sure what it is used for before operating it, you can Google all the English names first. It is better to know what functions are turned off before operating:
Disable Location Tracking is location tracking. If you don’t want to track, just check it and press Run Tweaks below:
The same goes for Config. If you don’t know what the settings are, it’s safer to Google them first. If you want to log in automatically, click Set Up Autologin:
This script has many functions, and the rest is left to the readers to play around with.
Source: KOCPC Chinese