What exactly is "HP One Agent" and how do I stop Windows from reconfiguring it daily?

[BV92]

By comparing in the "reliability history" what happened

for the update of HP Inc. - SoftwareComponent

between version 1.64.3626 and version 1.64.3630.0 :

I see this in the "reliability detail":

version 1.64.3626
- HP Inc. - SoftwareComponent 1.64.3626.0     Windows Update was successful
- HP One Agent                                                             Application installation successful

version 1.64.3630
- HP Inc. - SoftwareComponent 1.64.3626.0    Windows Update was successful

There was therefore no new installation of HP One Agent for version 1.64.3630 (version 1.1.0.45421 of HP One Agent included did not change between the two).

This explains the findings described in my post of 02-25-2024 08:55 AM.

To be continued ...

[codger65]

Well after boot up today HP One Agent is back with a vengeance and it created no less than 6 restore points. **bleep**!!! I can't get any useful help from HP tech people and HP does not seem to want to be a part of any discussion on this problem they have created. I'm left with two choices it seems - try to do a complete from scratch install of the Windows 11 OS (not the one created by HP that has all the HP bloatware) and hunt down each driver individually and hope I can spot which one has the HP One Agent hidden in it and not use that driver or wipe my HP laptop and sell it and go back to a brand I have had good mileage out of in the past such as ASUS. I am so angry at HP right now that I am considering starting a media campaign to alert anyone who will listen not to buy HP computers because of this malicious HP One Agent software  that is installed without our knowledge or consent and cannot be uninstalled by any traditional method and HP is totally silent on this.

[JBRATI]

My thoughts lead to same directions

[JBRATI]

HP One Agent tried to reinstall today, detected and blocked  by Nirsoft startuprun https://www.nirsoft.net/utils/what_run_in_startup.html

Going to buy non HP PC.

[JYV]

This does not work it keeps reinstalling itself !

[Javier54]

Haz lo que explico más arriba, en el driver, C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\hpcustomcapcomp.inf_amd64_18c14e57f0966c7f, entra en X64 y  borra la aplicación HP One Agent, le cambias en seguridad la propiedad " system" por tu usuario y luego la eliminas, con eso solucionado hasta nueva actualización o se cansen de poner programas escondidos sin avisar, ni explicar. Un saludo 

[codger65]

An update - today I finally connected to a HP tech agent that was willing to listen to what I had to say without summarily dismissing me or saying "that is not their job" kind of thing and he was willing to escalated it to a higher level (after doing a remote session on my laptop). He did all the previous stuff suggested and tried by myself and others on this posting (task manager, task scheduling, group policy, etc.) and it did not show HP One Agent as re-installing itself after a re-boot but as experienced in the past it will probably reinstall itself after a Windows update. My own research into the company that makes "One Agent" seems to suggest that the software was meant to be used in companies that have a group of computers used by employees and it is a way to keep tabs on what these company computers are being used for. Hence the constant creation of restore points and reinstalling itself etc. It is/was not created to be used for personnel computers  - just corporate computers. How it became a part of a Windows update download is the mystery here. Whether it is an app hidden within a driver or not has not been confirmed but it does make me wonder as I do have a newer HP all in one desktop computer that does not have the HP One Agent installed after a Windows update but my HP laptop does? I have also finally got through to a Microsoft tech agent that was willing to escalate this problem to (I hope) someone that is in the know about this app and can offer a solution - we will see when I get the call back.  As a side note - as a  part of my discussion with the HP tech agent I mentioned that I had done an in place Windows upgrade to Windows 11 Pro from the Windows 11 home version (so that would keep all the HP apps that the laptop came with) and he thought that because Windows Pro is considered a business OS by Microsoft that  might be the reason HP One Agent keeps re-installing after a Windows update. After I hear from HP tech people at a higher level I will try to post the results of that communication and I also await to hear from Microsoft on this.

[Tallman69]

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@codger65 wrote:

...he thought that because Windows Pro is considered a business OS by Microsoft that  might be the reason HP One Agent keeps re-installing after a Windows update. 

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But that would not explain why I have had to uninstall HP One Agent twice on my HP laptop that is running Windows 10 Home on it, and the last time it was installed was around the same time as a Microsoft update.

[JBRATI]

I have Windows 11 Home and HP One Agent. It is attached to HP PC not HP printers.

Seems to be linked to  HP Support Assistant, HP xxx Analytics and all HP xxx HSA xxx apps.

I removed all those via different ways (some by deleting them from Nirsoft autoruns). HPOA was still in installed apps. I removed it with Revo uninstaller manual uninstall (suppressing registry entries and disk files).

[Ortho_Fan]

There is a way to prevent it from being reinstalled. 

Going back several years and versions of Windows, users had the option to block unwanted updates by manually showing them or hiding them.  That disappeared a number of years ago.  HOWEVER, in trying to block a troublesome Realteck driver from being reinstalled last week, I stumbled upon a handy tool for Windows 10/11 users that few know about -- The "Microsoft Show or Hide Updates tool", which can be downloaded from this site -- https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/microsoft_show_or_hide_updates_troubleshooter.html

After you download it, uninstall HP One Agent, then run the troubleshooter app.  When you click on the "next" button, it will check for Windows updates, and provide a list of pending updates, but will not automatically download and install them the way Windows Updates does.  Instead, you'll be given the option of hiding them.  Once hidden, the update will not reinstall itself.

You can find out more about Microsoft Show or Hide Updates here -- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/1341898/how-to-block-specific-windows-updates -- or via a Google search.

Hope this helps,

David