Disable apps that can’t be uninstalled on Windows 8.1

I like W8.1 so far, I think is better than W8 in some aspects and a lot worse on others. Like for example, I don’t use any of the native apps that Windows 8.1 pre-installs like Camera, Store, Video, Music, Photos, and several others. Maybe these are necessary for Tablet and Phone users, but for a lot of desktop users, this is a waste of time and space.

The good thing is that you can remove several of these apps very easily by right-clicking them and hitting Uninstall

But some apps are now mandatory and can’t be uninstalled, such as Camera, Photos, Skydrive, and Store. And since you can’t uninstall them, you need to disable them manually so they can’t be accessed and launched by third-party apps (been there) or even disable them to keep your information safe. For one reason of another, here’s what you need to do.

Let’s start with the camera, to disable it we need to know where is stored:

C:\Windows\Camera

As always, just rename the folder to something else, or the .exe inside, you call. I always go for the root.

Now, you just need to do this for the other three (Photos, Store, Skydrive), and just in case, here’s the location of the folders or files you need to rename:

• Camera: C:\Windows\Camera
• Store: C:\Windows\WinStore
• SkyDrive: C:\Windows\System32\SkyDrive.exe
• Photos: C:\Windows\FileManager\PhotosApp.exe

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BTW, what I did in this thread is a horrible thing to do. By doing it you’re making the Store and all other apps completely useless, and in some cases (the Camera) didn’t work by returning the name to normal. But that may be my computer alone.

Anyway, I repeat, do this only if you actually want to do this and are completely desperate, like if you have a small Hard Drive and want to remove useless crap, or want to ruin someone else’s computer…’