I finally did it. I used an LLM. A couple of months ago, MS added its Copilot to Windows. I turned it off. But the latest update shoved it back in my face and tried to get me to let it use my data. So I asked it a question: How do I get rid of Copilot? It suggested I uninstall it like any other program, but MS removed that option. But Copilot went on to tell me the exact registry key to change to block it from loading, and now it's gone.

ETA: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-to-uninstall-copilot-i-dont-want-to-disable-it/b301b77d-b879-4433-9979-f8795805e9f1

Redirecting

@WearsHats People dunk on linux users for using the terminal to install basic stuff, and meanwhile Windows require registry edits to - not even uninstall unwanted bloatware - just stop it from running automatically.