Problems after Vista factory restore (Oct 2007) - Beyond Slow, can't download, etc

[marmasatt]

Edit:

Thanks for the previous replies.

I've managed to restore a used laptop I bought to factory settings of late 2007 (October). (The laptop is a DV6500t). I have a fairly new Vista laptop already and this thing has better/same specs as mine and it is ridiculously slow with Vista. Like I can't even use it slow. What are the first steps for security / updates / options that I need to adjust to make sure this thing functions appropriately? Wasn't this even pre SP2?

For instance, web pages will not load for about 30 seconds (on Cable). I tried to d/l Mozilla Firefox and it begins the d/l but stays stagnant at 0 megs indefinitely ..... etc. It's slow in general and I can't seem to get anywhere quickly on the ol' interweb thingy.

I ran PC Decrapifier and it didn't do too much for performance to be honest. Thanks again.

 

[Navid]

The recovery disks restore to factory settings.

Some laptops allow a one-time creation of a recovery disk. The user has to create this disk. In that case, the disk restores to the settings the system had when the disk was created.

For a clean install, and to get rid of all the useless software that the factory puts on the laptop, do the following.
Download the Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder and recover the key from the installation.
http://magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

Use a Vista installation DVD and install using the key you recovered.
You can also use the key from under the laptop. You will have to call to activate then.

 

[JK949]

You say you got no recovery discs with the laptop. If so you can restore it one of 2 ways.
On boot you will get, at the bottom of the screen, F key options. One of them is F11.
F11 is the default for all Compaq and HP computers for system restore. It will install
the factory installed drive image from the recovery partition. Yes this will install all of
the crap applications along with the essential drivers and software. The key that
Magic Jellybean finds is the HP oem license key that only works from a recovery
and will not for a ground up fresh Vista install from a cleaned hard drive. The key
on the bottom is the one to use for that. I would caution you about doing a reinstall from
scratch because Vista will not be able to get all the drivers you will need. You will
have to hunt them down yourself. HP is notorious for using propriety drivers and
software. If you have problems with the F11 key not working hit F8 and you will be
presented with several options including safemode ect.. one of them will be
" Repair your computer". This is the system restore you are looking for. Just
a little FYI: The restore discs that you create from HP do not include the Vista
operating system itself. You can not use them on a new clean hard drive. If your hard
drive dies and you pop in a new one your on your own. They only back up HP software
and factory drivers. I know because I have been through it with a new hard drive
and learned the hard way.

 

[marmasatt]

So I just took 3 hours to make recovery discs..... Are you telling me I just backed up his desktop/settings, lol?.......

I don't have a Vista disc of any sort so all the Jellybean stuff will not assist....

 

[Navid]

Get a retail Vista DVD from someone ...

 

[Blazer]

have you contacted HP customer service to purchase all the Cd's for your lappy ?

 

[JK949]

You can but the restore disc from HP as mentioned or you can use the recovery
option I mentioned. The disc will cost around $30. If you do a repair / recovery
you don't need a key. The key on the bottom if provided in case you should ever
replace the hard drive entirely or if the recovery partition becomes corrupted
and have to start from scratch. The F11 key will start the recovery process
if you can't get the HP software to work. Its that simple. It takes all of about an hour.

 

[marmasatt]

Thanks, I'm gonna do the F11. It's running right now. I'm going to get it to factory and then use Decrapifier.

 

[JK949]

Be sure and let us know how it comes out.

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: JK949
You will
have to hunt them down yourself. HP is notorious for using propriety drivers and
software.

Do you mind providing the model number of an HP (or Compaq) laptop that has come out within the last three years that does not offer updated drivers for every single device on their web site?

 

[JK949]

We are just a tiny bit further down the help ladder posts.
Please try to focus your energy on helping out marmasatt with his recovery.
Thank you. marmasatt thanks you too. Everyone here that needs help will thank you.
Keep up the good work.

 

[Navid]

In addition to helping, we can also learn. This would be a boring place if only those who needed help came to it.
You made a comment. I was curious in its validity and wanted to learn.
But, you do not have to answer.


What follows is a comment for everyone. As always, I welcome and encourage questions and corrections by anyone.

The drivers that are initially installed on a laptop by the manufacturer are often premature. That is why second or even third drivers are released by the manufacturers for some of the components. Many even release a more up-to-date chipset driver.
There is hardly an exception to this.
The recovery CDs restore to the initial drivers. You are better off removing those and replacing them with more up-to-date drivers from the manufacturer web site anyway.

 

[JK949]

Thank you.I'll make a note of that. Now, what answers do you have for marmasatt.
He has already pm'd me with a few more questions which I answered for him.
Please post any other tricks, hints or help in general so he can learn about the laptop
he needs help with. He will be forever grateful. Thanks in advance for all your help.
These forums are built on people like you doing your best to help out the people
in need of anwsers. Your participation is vital to their success . Keep up the good work.

 

[Navid]

You need to use paragraphs.

Originally posted by: JK949
Thank you.I'll make a note of that. Now, what answers do you have for marmasatt.

I thought all the questions had been answered already. If he has a question, he can ask.

He will be forever grateful.

How do you know he will be grateful? You can read minds?
Oh, sorry I forgot you do not answer my questions; only his.
That's OK.

 

[marmasatt]

Good grief man. You two need to stop and get back to the task at hand.......... helping me, lol. This slow POS that once was a $1300 laptop can't stay like this......

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: marmasatt
Edit:

Someone else may have the exact problem. They can benefit from your thread also. But, not if you keep editing the main post.
I would add a post to the thread or add to the first post if I have to without completely wiping out the original content of the first post. This is just a suggestion for your consideration of course.

I've managed to restore a used laptop I bought to factory settings of late 2007 (October). (The laptop is a DV6500t). What are the first steps for security / updates / options that I need to adjust to make sure this thing functions appropriately?

You need to take care of security (Windows updates, and virus scanner). But, I doubt that would speed up anything.

Wasn't this even pre SP2?

There is no SP2 for Vista yet. It is pre-SP1. Vista SP1 was not out in October of 2007.
Had the original owner loaded XP on it?

 

[marmasatt]

You need to take care of security (Windows updates, and virus scanner). But, I doubt that would speed up anything.

Yeah, but it's not letting me download anything. I've tried to d/l Mozilla and it stops. I then installed AVG and I hit update and it won't grab the updates and just times out. There has to be like a setting I'm missing or something. I heard that IE Explorer was just ridiculous when it first came out...

The guy before me had Vista that was running pretty damn snappy if I do say so myself. I've got to be missing a few things. Where do I look at start up items (and block/disable them) while I'm at it.

And incidentally I can get on sites albeit very slowly but this d/l thing is perplexing me.

Thanks.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: marmasatt
So I just took 3 hours to make recovery discs..... Are you telling me I just backed up his desktop/settings, lol?.......

Making a set of HP Recovery Disks is a pain. Especially if you use the CD version.

According to this HP site: Using HP Backup and Recovery Manager, the disk set created by the Recovery Manager is an image of the ORIGINAL state of the hard drive.

"Recover the PC to the original operating condition

If the hard disk drive fails or becomes corrupted, the HP Recovery Manager or the recovery discs can be used to restore the PC back to its original factory operating system settings. Because the Recovery process removes all software and files saved to the hard drive, HP recommends:

* Perform all of the other troubleshooting options before doing a complete system recovery.
* Perform a complete backup of all important data and files before starting recovery."

And, marmasat, as Navid suggests, please don't erase and re-write your original post. It gets very confusing and unclear what questions were being asked/answered. Adding additional questions and comments at the end of the topic makes the discussion flow much better.

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: marmasatt
Where do I look at start up items (and block/disable them) while I'm at it.

Click on Start and type "msconfig" where you see "Start Search" (under "All programs") and hit Enter.
In the System Configuration window that opens, select the "Startup" tab.

This window let's you see the start-ups and disable them for diagnosis. This is not meant to be used to permanently disable a start-up.

 

[marmasatt]

Originally posted by: Navid

Originally posted by: marmasatt
Where do I look at start up items (and block/disable them) while I'm at it.

Click on Start and type "msconfig" where you see "Start Search" (under "All programs") and hit Enter.
In the System Configuration window that opens, select the "Startup" tab.

This window let's you see the start-ups and disable them for diagnosis. This is not meant to be used to permanently disable a start-up.

Hmmm. I thought they took that out of Vista? I'll have to take a look. What about the slow d/l. Are there some security / firewall settings slowing me down?

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: marmasatt
What about the slow d/l. Are there some security / firewall settings slowing me down?

Many new computers come with virus scanners like McAfee pre-installed.

Is there anything like that on the machine?

 

[marmasatt]

Yeah, I did PC Decrapifier. It's all gone. I've done my Msconfig tweaks. Seems to be running a bit better and I'm downloading my first thing succesfully (Vista SP1), it appears to be going ok anyway. I couldn't even install my AVG because they wanted teh updated Vista patch.

 

[JK949]

Did you do the recovery from the boot option ? If so it should have been as fresh as the
day it was bought. No virus's, spyware or anything to " slow it down".
More info on how you went about the recovery and what you did since would be helpful.
If the recovery partition has been corrupted then you could be looking at
nuking the drive, erasing it completely, and starting from scratch with an OEM version of vista.

Navid, would you walk marmasatt through the process of doing a restore via the F11 key
repair option. It sounds like the restore was done either through the HP software
or previously created restore discs. Marmasatt, after you achieve a full restore first
thing is first. Antivirus. Download something like the AVG home and the updates
on another computer and install and update it before you plug in the ethernet cable.
Run some software programs to get a feel for how fast or slow it is. Then go online
and download Vista SP1 and all the other updates. If you are still having problems after
that then I think you may have a hardware problem. Be sure to check overall speed
and functions before and after going online. That will let you know where the problem
is.

Thanks for the help Navid.

 

[marmasatt]

You have EM JK. Thanks. This was just done through the F11 method incidentally.

 

[JK949]

Keep me posted on the outcome if you have time. I'm a bit interested in how it turns out.
You should probably end this post and email me if you need any more help.