Formatting new drives gives me unremovable Microsoft garbadge

[DrMacintosh]

Hi all, so I noticed that in Windows 11 Home 23H2, when formatting drives, Windows will now add 3 folders to the root directory of every drive you format. Those folders are: Program Files, WindowsApps, and XboxGames. See below:

 

So my questions are: #1 Why? #2 How do I stop Windows from doing this?

 

When I hit delete on these folders, Windows does not let me and Program Files and WindowsApps remain. Only the XboxGames folder can be deleted.

 

When I hit format on a drive, I want that drive empty. I don't see why Microsoft feels its ok to start arbitrarily changing how computers work.

[8tg]

1) because of Microsoft’s stupid search indexing where it will benefit from having those folders there 

2) you don’t, uninstall windows 

 

[DrMacintosh]

1 minute ago, 8tg said:

uninstall windows

Do you have any idea how close I am to having a Mac as my desktop and only firing up my PC for playing games?

[8tg]

Just now, DrMacintosh said:

Do you have any idea how close I am to having a Mac as my desktop and only firing up my PC for playing games?

Then treat it like a game console and keep it a closed ecosystem of nonsense. 
Install windows 10 LTSC and disable windows update while the machine is entirely offline. Then just your core essentials to play games. Never attach anything else to that machine.

 

I like my gaming pc, and I use it for some other stuff. But nothing important is on it because windows is awful and takes too much control out of the users hands. Anything important work wise is done on Linux. And anything critical for security reasons is done on an iPad.

While windows insists on “let’s finish setting up your pc” on an install I did 2 years ago, because it wants me to turn Cortana on still. Linux doesn’t do anything I don’t tell it to. And the iPad never bothers me with doing anything I don’t tell it to either.

[da na]

Wow, so that's pretty terrible...

When I find these useless folders on Windows 10, I can right-click the folder, Properties, and under the Location tab I can bury it deep in the C: drive where it will never bother me again. Not sure if this works on 11 though.