Should I Reformat my Brand New Notebook? (a Happy Birthday indeed!!!)

[ChonChon]

it comes with Windows XP Home Edition SP2, a full CD full of all the latest Windows updeates, and all this:

# Symantec? Norton Internet Security 2005? (including 60 days complimentary live update) (l)
# HP Total Care Help & Support Center
# Adobe? Acrobat Reader
# Recovery DVD
# Sonic Digital Media Plus
# InterVideo WinDVD
# Microsoft Zones.com
# Apple iTunes and Apple iTunes Music Store
# Adobe PhotoShop Album
# Muvee AutoProducer DVD Edition with Burning
# Microsoft® Windows® Movie Maker
# Microsoft® Windows Media Player
# Microsoft ® Works
# Microsoft ® Money
# Microsoft® MSN Encarta Plus
# Microsoft® Office 2003 Student and Teacher Edition: 60 day trial version

should i, or shouldn't i?

the thing is i hate how DELL, HP/Compaq, or any other company pre-loads a whole bunch of CRAP that is usually completely redundent in general, or specifically to you! For example, Works, Money, Movie Maker, Encarta, AutoProducer w/e, iTunes, i will never use this sh*t...

....?

 

[Frodolives]

I always did back when I had an HP, but it's manageable either way.

 

[ChonChon]

yea...

my concern isnt the fact that its managable or not, just the fact that the extra stuff is....extra...

and there might even be some things that are there that you aren't aware of...that''s another thing i hate, not knowing everything about my computer...

we'll see. i guess i can wait for some more advice, and/or use it a bit and see how i like it and we'll take it from there!

thanks. school time.

 

[Away]

I formatted my Thinkpad back to SP1 because I have software that conflicts with that security nightmare of SP2. Computer ran a lot better after I cleaned all the bloat off of there and I could not have been happier. Just make sure you have the drivers near by because Windows alone generally won't be able to provide one for everything.

 

[patentman]

WHy nto just uninstall the stuff you don't want? OK, it probably will leave some trace stuff in your registry, but for the most part that is not a big deal.

I would keep itunes, its more useful then you might think IMO.

 

[deathwalker]

The add and remove software function provided in XP is there for a reason. In the majority of cases it can take care of eliminating those add-on programs in new laptops without a format and reinstall. Hey what do you have to lose if you are leaning to a reinstall anyways? Delete the unwanted applications and see how it goes..if you dont like it you still have the reinstall options available to you.

 

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally posted by: deathwalker
The add and remove software function provided in XP is there for a reason. In the majority of cases it can take care of eliminating those add-on programs in new laptops without a format and reinstall. Hey what do you have to lose if you are leaning to a reinstall anyways? Delete the unwanted applications and see how it goes..if you dont like it you still have the reinstall options available to you.

We can take it a step further by "trimming the fat" out of the start-up group too. Type "msconfig" in the "run" box, check selective startup ... and then go and uncheck all those nice things you don't need so they aren't running in startup.

At any rate, I agree with the general concensus on this one ... Unless there is another reason you're considering a reformat ... why not just uninstall the programs you won't use and customize your start-up group. You can trim the fat and speed it up a bit in minutes compared to the hour or more you would spend (re)setting up the laptop.

 

[ChonChon]

oh i know msconfig, but thanks 😉

hmm....i guess then im gona do that. i will remove the excess fat, and then see if i like the performance. if not, byebye!

thanks a lot!

 

[deathwalker]

Originally posted by: DetroitSportsFan

Originally posted by: deathwalker
The add and remove software function provided in XP is there for a reason. In the majority of cases it can take care of eliminating those add-on programs in new laptops without a format and reinstall. Hey what do you have to lose if you are leaning to a reinstall anyways? Delete the unwanted applications and see how it goes..if you dont like it you still have the reinstall options available to you.

We can take it a step further by "trimming the fat" out of the start-up group too. Type "msconfig" in the "run" box, check selective startup ... and then go and uncheck all those nice things you don't need so they aren't running in startup.

At any rate, I agree with the general concensus on this one ... Unless there is another reason you're considering a reformat ... why not just uninstall the programs you won't use and customize your start-up group. You can trim the fat and speed it up a bit in minutes compared to the hour or more you would spend (re)setting up the laptop.

Excellent observation...point is ..there are options!

 

[WdnUlik2no]

funny you mention this.

We have 3 of these things at work (V2405 to be exact). I took one home to play around with and test some of our software on there. It was slow as hell, I finally got fed up when stuff just would not work. Even notepad would freeze up. I finally formatted the drive and installed a fresh copy of XP on it. No problems since. Its a pretty nice laptop without all of that extra useless garbage (CRAP) on there.

 

[freehunter]

For the most part, if you remove iTunes, you remove Quicktime, which is just about essential. I wouldn't advise the removal of that unless you are sure you are not planning on watching movies or listening to music on it.

 

[ChonChon]

unfortunately, the laptop was screwed. i dont know what was wrong with it, the 3rd or so time i turned it on it would just never work. so, i took it back to the place, and got a brand new Acer AL1916W, which is a 19" TFT LCD WIDESCREEN Monitor, @ 8ms response time and 1440x900 resolution.

i also got a 3200+ and a temporary motherboard that i will be using with it for the long needed upgrade (i will have those a little later).

the monitor, which is not setup yet and wont be for a little bit because im SOOOOO busy (not home right now), is SOOO nice (saw it setup at a store)!! i cannot wait till its hooked up to my system baby!! woo!!!

thanks guys for everything.