I got a Dell Inspiron 7000 preloaded with Windows 10 for Christmas. The defaults were terrible. Here’s how I tweaked it. A picture is worth a weekend of my life, wasted:
Disable Encryption
Encryption was significant factor as to why things were slow. The recovery key is stored on Microsoft’s servers which I consider a risk not a feature. I turned it off.
Update Everything
I started by updating everything. Even though my Dell was brand new I spent several hours waiting for Build 1709 updates (Windows 10 Fall Creators Update).
Uninstall The Whole Lot
Next, after reboots and “don’t turn off your computer” progress bars from the previous step, I uninstalled all software I hated. Bloatware, crapware, things I didn’t want, my new computer came with a lot of it.
Apt / Yum / Homebrew
This is a new computer with nothing on it so a good opportunity to start off on the right foot with an apt alternative. I installed Chocolatey.
Sudo Make Me a Sudo
I created a new local admin user, logged in as the new admin, and deleted the old one. Clean slate in a usable state.
Privacy
Finally, I installed Shut Up Windows 10 and applied the recommended settings. Cortana was fun for five minutes, my seven year old thought it was cool, otherwise useless and drags the system down.