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I have a HP Windows 7 machine, and just like most computers it comes with a bunch of preinstalled software that I guess is supposed to make life easier for you somehow.

However, not all people are enthusiastic about this type of software, and I certainly don't like that HP Support Assistant consumes memory, freezes the computer when running its autoupdating processes, and constantly nags me about rebooting. In addition, the "assistance" that it offers doesn't make any sense to me.

So, can I safely uninstall the HP software and rely on the updating features of Windows, or is an uninstall an unwise thing to do for some reason?

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    You can probably rip it out without too many issues. I routinely run vanilla windows installs, and they are so much less annoying.
    – Journeyman Geek ♦
    Aug 13, 2013 at 6:29

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Reset to default
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I would pull it out personally.

Not only does this type of software spend a lot of resources "monitoring" your PC. When an error does occur, it usually still doesn't have a clue what's wrong.

The only advantage I find it carries is that for driver updating, it will point to the latest and greatest released that has been tested to be compatible with your device. Saying that, Windows does a pretty good job of keeping drivers updated.

Most of the parts in these sorts of machines aren't made by the vendor so you can usually find drivers on the manufacturers sites.

Worst case scenario. You go to the HP site and have to download and re-install it.

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    +1. I upgraded a new HP Envy lapper from Win 8 to Win 8.1 and the HP Support Assistant is constantly popping up, asking to restart my computer. I do that, and it comes up a few minutes into the new session, asking me AGAIN to restart my computer. Rinse and repeat. Totally annoying. Some research shows that the HP Support Assistant is not yet compatible with Win 8.1, so all the messages and restarting hype is for nothing, really. I just uninstalled it after reading your post and I hope that the annoyance will go away. -- HP, how much notice do you need to get your stuff to work with a new OS?
    – teylyn
    Jan 30, 2014 at 8:14

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