One of the more tedious tasks during the PC build process is reinstalling all your desired programs and tweaking your Windows settings to your liking. Nobody wants to spend more time in the doldrums of menus and installation wizards than they otherwise have to. In the spirit of saving time, self-proclaimed IT guy Chris Titus created a lightweight utility to quickly install commonly used applications and make simple tweaks to your Windows installation that would otherwise be a bit of a pain to dig for. I love this tool, and think it's an essential tool to keep in the arsenal of both power users and casual computer builders alike.
Extremely lightweight
The best utilities on your PC are the ones that require the least overhead to run. That couldn't be more true about what Chris calls "The Ultimate Windows Utility." It can be run out of the box from a Windows PowerShell terminal, so long as you run it with admin privileges. Simply copy and paste the following line in, and it will open:
iwr -useb http://christitus.com/win | iexThe initial screen you're met with is where you can install commonly used applications. Everything from your favorite web browser, productivity staples, and must have utilities can be found here. There are very few things I use daily that aren't on this list. You can also use this tab to quickly uninstall any of these applications if you wish.
De-bloat and de-clutter quicklyThe next two tabs, "Tweaks" and "Config," are used to quickly disable features you may not need and get rid of common annoyances that come with a fresh OS install. These can be rudimentary things like clearing temp files, or more advanced tasks like removing OneDrive completely from your system. I would use caution when executing some of these; Chris provides detailed information on his GitHub for you to review what each tweak does, which can be found by clicking the question mark next to the name of the adjustment.
Chris also provides some recommended selections, ranging from "Standard" which includes almost everything, to "Minimal" which is just the essentials. Once you've dialed in your selection of tweaks and installs, you can export your configuration to a JSON file, so that the next time you re-image your computer, getting set up is as simple as copying over your config. More info on the tool itself can be found on
Chris' website.
Don't make it more painful than it has to beWhether you're setting up a fresh install, or tweaking some things on your existing machine, it's easy to get stuck in the mud. The bifurcation of Windows settings has turned the process of making small changes into a big annoyance. Don't torture yourself. Use this utility or look for another to simplify any changes you wish to make to your Windows install. This tool isn't exhaustive, and some things still require a trip to the Settings in Windows.
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