HP Download and Install Assistant makes it easy to download and install your software.* Use HP Download and Install Assistant (recommended). Computer and/or printer configuration; Hardware and software diagnostics; HP/Non-HP ink and/or HP/Non-HP Toner. Download multiple files at once. View, edit and download your entire list of software.
If you ever had to set up a new Windows computer from scratch, you know how time consuming it can be to install all the programs you need on the machine.
While you could use specifically prepared Windows images to install all the required programs automatically during the installation of the operating system, it is not something that most users do as the process itself is rather technical.
Things are easy if you use portable software predominantly, as you can simply copy all the programs you require from one source (a DVD, Flash Drive, other storage devices) to the system and be done with that.
Some programs are not available as portable versions though, and not everyone wants to use them either. This would mean to run installers left and right on the system, carefully monitoring the installation process to make sure that adware does not slip by, until all programs are installed.
A better way, at least when it comes to popular applications and programs, is to use multi-installers.
Ninite
Ninite is a simple tool that you configure on the project website. Basically, all you need to do is select the programs that you want to install on your system on the homepage, and click on the get installer button afterwards to create a special installer for the selection.
The service supports over 100 different programs for Windows currently including Chrome, Firefox, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, Eclipse, VLC Media Player, 7-Zip, TeamViewer, KeePass 2 Everything, or SumatraPDF.
Ninite promises that the installer will always include the latest version of the selected program, and that individual program installers won't include toolbars and other third-party offers. It downloads the programs from the official developer website, and will check digital signatures or hashes to verify the authenticity of the application.
All programs are downloaded and installed without user interaction, and the custom Ninite installer can be run again at a later point in time to install program updates if available.
Chocolatey
Chocolatey is a package manager similar to apt-get, but for Windows. It offers more packages and features than Ninite, but is more complicated to use as you run the commands from the command prompt.
This becomes obvious right from the get go as you need to run a command from an elevated command prompt to install Chocolatey on the system.
You can then browse the available packages on the official website and install those that you want added to your system.
The core command to install a package is 'choco install' followed by the package name. Chocolatey supports additional commands or installer arguments that you can make use of, for instance to add parameters to the installer or install multiple programs at once by adding their names after the install command, e.g. choco install notepadplusplus googlechrome atom 7zip.
Chocolatey is powerful but at the same time not nearly as easy to use as Ninite. Good news is that it supports thousands of programs instead of just the hundred that Ninite supports, bad news that it will take longer to set it up and find the correct names for the programs to get them installed.
Silent Install Helper
Unlike the programs that we have reviewed so far, Silent Install Helper does not limit you in regards to the applications that you can install using it.
While that is a positive, it means more work for you initially as you need to download the program installers to your system first before you can create a new batch installer job using Silent Install Helper.
What you do is add all the installers you have accumulated to the application. The program attempts to detect unwanted offers and will display information about those to you in its interface when it recognizes those. While that is not a surefire way of making sure junk does not get installed on your system, it may help you automate the declining of said offers.
You can customize the program installer, for instance by running commands before or after installation, or setting the unwanted software flag.
We have reviewed Silent Install Helper back in 2015, and suggest you check out the review for additional information.
Silent Install Helper does not restrict you to a collection of programs. Instead, it lets you create batch installers for any program you may come across.
Silent Install Builder
This is a commercial program but a fully functional evaluation version is provided on the developer website.
Each package you create contains one or multiple installer files or scripts that you want executed on the system.
As the name suggests, packages will be installed silently in the background, and you can create unattended installations as well.
Silent Install Builder recognizes popular application installers, and provides you with options to automate the installation of software using scripting language which allows you to record an installation process (which is mostly handy for installations on multiple computer systems).
As is the case with Silent Install Helper, this program requires that you download all programs that you want to install in one operation before you can do so.
RuckZuck
RuckZuck is a portable program for the Windows operating system that you can use to install multiple software programs or to update them.
Simple mark the programs that you want to install on your system, and hit the 'start installation' button afterwards.
RuckZuck will download the applications using PowerShell and install them on the system once downloaded.
Programs are sorted into groups like Imaging, Audio or Security, and you will find many popular programs listed by it. All in all, a couple hundred programs are supported currently by the application.
Just Install
Just Install works in many regards just like Chocolatey. It is command line program that you use to install one or multiple of the 120 packages it supports.
It supports many popular programs such as Firefox, Chrome, KeePass, Adobe Flash, Steam or VLC Media Player to name a few.
Closing Words
All multi-software installers are useful. Ninite is without doubt the easiest to use of the four reviewed here but it is also the program that is limited the most in terms of programs that you can install using it.
Now You: Did we miss a program? Lets us known int the comments below.
Advertisement
Use the drivers Windows provides and you won’t have to worry about bloatware. If you do have to install the drivers provided by your manufacturer, here’s how to avoid all the heavy control panels and startup applications they include.
These applications are sometimes useful, but they often aren’t. Install a few different driver packages and you may find your computer takes noticeably longer to boot and has quite the collection of system tray icons.
Download and Install the Minimal Driver Packages
Install Multiple Software At Once Offline Printers
Device manufactures sometimes offer multiple driver download options. You may be able to choose between a smaller driver-only package and a larger package that also includes additional software.
For example, in the screenshot below, Brother’s website offers a large “full driver and software package” as well as individual drivers for printing and scanning with this particular printer. If you didn’t want Brother’s printer control panel and other software installed, you could just download the individual drivers.
Unfortunately, many manufacturers don’t provide this option.
Avoid Installing the Junk
Some driver installers allow you to choose exactly what you want to install when you go through the installation process. You can sometimes uncheck the additional tools and only install the drivers. Look for a “Custom” install option, if available. This option isn’t always available — don’t be surprised if you’re forced to install everything.
Extract the Drivers and Install Them Manually
RELATED:How to Use the Windows Device Manager for Troubleshooting
Even if the device manufacturer only provides a large package containing the drivers and other software, there’s still a way to only install the drivers.
First, download the full driver package. Next, extract the files to a folder on your computer. You can sometimes just double-click the driver installer and allow it to extract the files. They may extract to a folder you can easily access or a folder buried in your temporary files. You can sometimes open the drier installer in a file extraction tool like 7-Zip to view its contents and extract them manually.
Once you have the drivers, you can install them manually. Open the Device Manager by pressing Windows Key + R, typing devmgmt.msc into the Run dialog, and pressing Enter. Locate the device you want to install the drivers for. Right-click the device’s name and select Update Driver Software.
Click “Browse my computer for driver software” and point the tool at the folder containing the extracted drivers. You don’t have to locate the exact subfolder containing the drivers — just point it at the larger folder and Windows will find the drivers wherever they are.
Windows can locate and automatically install the driver files for the device, skipping the device manufacturer’s larger installation package.
Disable the Bloat
Install a large driver package and you’ll often have to disable the bloatware afterward. On Windows 8, you can right-click the taskbar, select Task Manager, click More details, and click the Startup tab. From here, you can quickly disable startup applications associated with drivers you’ve installed. These applications won’t load at boot up, speeding up the startup process and conserving your RAM.
If an application turns out to be useful, you can return to the dialog here and re-enable it. You may want to perform a search for an application’s name before removing it — just right-click an application’s name and select Search online to see what it does and decide whether you want to disable it or not.
Printer Offline Issue
On Windows 7, you’ll have to use a third-party startup manager for this. We like the Startup tool available in the free CCleaner application. Install it, navigate to Tools > Startup, and disable programs in the same sort of way.
RELATED:Understanding and Managing Windows Services
Expert geeks can also visit the Services application afterward and disable any unnecessary system services a driver application might install. We don’t recommend average Windows users mess with services — it would be easy to disable necessary Windows system services if you don’t know what you’re doing.
You’ll have to judge whether each utility is actually useful to you, or whether it’s just bloatware wasting resources. If you need an application later, you can always use the manufacturer’s driver installation package to install it. If you disabled a startup program or service, you can re-enable it from the same place.
Image Credit: Cheon Fong Liew on Flickr
Why Do Printers Go Offline
READ NEXT
Change Printer From Offline To Online
- › What Does “NSFW” Mean, and How Do You Use It?
- › How to Permanently Uninstall Microsoft Teams on Windows 10
- › Six Common Smarthome Mistakes Beginners Make
- › What Can I Do with My Old iPhone?
- › Free Download: Microsoft’s PowerToys for Windows 10