She saved the configuration as clean_start.hide . Then she emailed it to Derek with the subject line: "New standard image for all call center PCs. Stop letting Microsoft decorate our screens."

Mara sighed. She’d tried everything: disabling startup programs, running Disk Cleanup, even threatening the machine with a factory reset. But the clutter always crept back—toolbars from forgotten PDF printers, driver updaters that were actually adware, and that cursed "Search Enhancements" bar that took half her browser.

That night, Mara didn't go home. She stayed, hunting through every process that didn't need to be seen. The Windows 10 notification area—always threatening to show "Show hidden icons" like a junk drawer apology—was now pristine. Even Cortana's search box, which she'd never once used, disappeared with a single checkbox.

She checked "Weather Widget." Hide. The widget vanished—not closed, not uninstalled, but gone . Resources: freed. Taskbar: cleaner. She checked "News Feed Sidebar." Hide. Gone. "HP Printer Assistant Reminder." Gone. "Game Bar Presence Writer." Gone.

She clicked "Uninstall Program" from the now-clean Start menu. It opened instantly.