It’s the Perfect Tool for Setting up a New Windows PC
Setting up a new computer is annoying, especially if that computer has Windows installed. Microsoft adds a lot of annoying things to the operating system that you want to remove, as well as all sorts of applications that you really want but have to install yourself.
WinUtil is a free and well-established tool, maintained by Chris Titus , that does all of this at once. With it, you can install dozens of apps with a few checkboxes and make general settings, from deleting OneDrive to disabling privacy-invading telemetry.
There are two ways to start. The free way is to run Windows PowerShell as an administrator. To do this, right-click PowerShell in the Start menu and select Run as administrator. After that, you need to copy and paste the run command from the documentation into the shell. If you’d rather avoid this step, you can purchase the EXE file for $10 , supporting the developer in the process.
In any case, you will be presented with a window divided into five tabs. The first allows you to install a wide range of software in just a couple of clicks. Just mark the applications you want and click the “Install/update selected” button.
Now all applications will be installed without your request. There is a progress bar in the top right corner, or if you prefer, you can open the PowerShell window again to see how the installation is progressing there.
The next Tweaks tab allows you to make any changes. It’s probably best not to check anything unless you understand how it works – you can click the question mark next to each item to get more information. But some of the most useful tweaks include bringing back the classic context menu, removing the annoying Home and Gallery tabs in File Explorer, and disabling Copilot . Check all the settings you want, then click “Run Settings” to make those changes.
The right pane contains many general Windows settings that you can configure with just one click. Here you can do things like enable dark mode, disable Bing search in the Start menu, and show hidden files.
The next tab, Config , lets you install a number of common Windows features that aren’t enabled by default—such as .NET or the Windows Subsystem for Linux. You’ll find a button to automatically log you into your computer instead of requiring a password every time, which can be handy for a desktop computer that you don’t worry about others accessing. There’s also quick access to settings panels that are somewhat hidden in Windows 11, including the traditional Control Panel.
Another tab, “Updates,” allows you to quickly configure the frequency of installing updates. By default, Windows will install updates as soon as they become available. Instead, you can defer security updates for four days and feature updates for two years. This may be a good idea if you value stability over access to the latest features. You can turn off all updates, but that’s probably not a good idea.
Finally, there is Microwin , which produces stripped-down versions of the Windows Installer. You’ll start by downloading a Windows ISO from Microsoft, and this tool will remove all the features you don’t need.
This is a lot of functions combined into one small utility. There’s even support for exporting your collection of apps and settings, allowing you to run the same process on other computers. You can learn more about this and get detailed information about all the settings offered by reading the documentation .