ChrisTitusTech
Needs to be clear at purchase that the EXE will do nothing without internet
Ok so I was setting up another PC and remembered the Chris Titus thingy, so went to download it but it's pay. Ok, so I bought it. Well it just crashes, err, closes immediately at launch. I used my cellphone's slow-mo camera to see if there was a message, and sure enough, for about 1/240th of a second, or whatever, I see it's trying to get online and then just quitting without letting anyone know what's up. That sucks.
I know it used to work offline, and now it's not working. I would like a refund. If you come out with a totally off-line version that just debloats and makes a PC just tight, light, and secure as possible before connecting to any kind of internet, then I will reconsider, even if your price goes up.
I guess maybe this is what I need to push me over to Linux, which I FGGKIN' HATE. But if I can't get a secure windows PC before it's online, then I guess it doesn't matter how convenient it is if all it's good for is games.
A few things:
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Winutil is free to use, with the OPTION to pay for the executable, as a way to show support to Chris. If you want to use it for free then you can run (in powershell)
irm "https://christitus.com/win" | iex, as documented in the readme of this repository, but this will require internet. -
This is not intended as an offline tool (to the best of my knowledge). I believe you could clone the repo and build yourself if you wanted to use it offline, but I can't say for sure as i haven't done this myself. The other option is to create your own ISO.
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Winutil won't "make your pc secure", its main functionality is being a debloat tool (removing windows junk many of us dont want), and to make it easier for users to install commonly installed applications (which requires internet) without opening a browser.
Part of me also wonders if you are confusing this tool with the old "Ultimate Windows Toolbox"/win10script, which Winutil replaces.
Also, have you looked at the troubleshooting section at the bottom of the downloads page? It specifically mentions issues with launching the tool (though you say you see an error message for it being due to not having an internet connection)
I do however agree with your title.
It should be made clear to potential buyers of the .exe that winutil.exe requires internet (if this is true).
OPTION to pay for the executable, as a way to show support to Chris.
It didn't feel like a donation. If that's all it is, it could be called that? There were other support options for less money that sounded like a donation.
The EXE is doing exactly what your command line is doing. I mean, in my day, an EXE used to do a thing. Although in this age of useless stub downloaders I guess it's not uncommon.
This is not intended as an offline tool (to the best of my knowledge).
Seems it used to work off the internet. I don't know exactly when it stopped working offline as I haven't been following and supporting this as closely as perhaps I should have been. I just know this used to be working offline, and it could be made to return to doing so.
Winutil won't "make your pc secure"
My understanding(which may be flawed, but I don't think so) is that the existence of fewer windows components that you do not need or want, the more secure your PC is. Especially the ones they said they would reel in, and then now they're saying they'll be installed on every PC and it's mandatory.
I have to agree with the OP here. The EXE feels like buying a (very low effort) product and not a donation. If you wanted to make it a donation just make it a donation instead of selling a wrapper around irm https://christitus.com/win | iex.
The fact that it's not even offline isn't mentioned anywhere clearly other than the website saying it's a "wrapper".
This is nowhere near enough because this can mean two things: It's a wrapper around the actual script or it's just a useless program that runs a command in powershell.
Chris cannot use "but it's to support me" as an excuse because the button literally says "Buy Now" and not "Donate". He's selling a product, not asking for a donation.
I don't even understand what's the point of adding another layer of indirection when the script is being ran using a fancy curl already?
Thanks for bringing this to my attention @8086x64!
I too like to setup and debloat windows before connecting to the internet.
I was searching to find out if the executable needed to be purchased for each new release, but since it is only a wrapper for the online script, I guess not.
I would gladly pay ≥$10 for an offline version.
Is it possible to fork this repo and automate the ps2exe compiling of the forked repo when this repo is updated, in order to get an offline .exe of winutil? Or maybe there is some other method I am unaware of?
I would gladly make a donation to someone who could create winutil-offline.exe!
Jayz2cents said in the latest video about Winutil that the exe was fully offline, which is incorrect. However, due to the demand, I am working on making an offline version that will exclude online options like software installs and other online only parts of the toolbox.
