Question:
Bloatware. Pros/Cons of re-formatting new laptop.
I'll be purchasing a new laptop shortly and I want it to be as "lean and clean" as possible. I was actually thinking about re-formatting the HD and installing a new copy of WinXP Pro to get rid of all the bloatware that the manufacturer (Dell) puts on. I've done this type of thing countless times on my desktops so loading drivers etc. is nothing new to me. Are there any potential problems to doing this? Are the device drivers resident on XP for most or all devices that would load on a laptop or will I have to go out on the net and download drivers for specific pieces of hardware (sound, video, NIC, etc..)
Does DELL ship a WinXP disc? or is it just a recovery disc type of thing??
Maybe the safe approach would just be to go into msconfig or services.msc and just disable any processes running on the desktop that I don't want to have there.
thoughts?
Answer:
Re: Bloatware. Pros/Cons of re-formatting new laptop.
Dell does not even provide a recovery disc anymore, unless you call them up and ask for one. They just provide a hidden partition on your HD and ask you to burn the recovery discs yourself!!! :mad:
The best option in your case would be delete the programs you dont use, rather than just disabling them.
Answer:
Re: Bloatware. Pros/Cons of re-formatting new laptop.
if you've done it before, there is no difference on a laptop.
1. minimum necessary download prior to reformat/reinstall would be the NIC and Wifi drivers. download and burn to CD or removable storage device. after reformat/reinstall, install them and browse to dell's site and download the rest.
2. boot to xp cd and do your thing (u should be able to burn an xp cd 1 time with a provided dell utility - it will burn an xp cd with sp2 on it... this means the drivers will have to come from dell's site and it will not contain any bloatware.
if you've done it before, i'd highly recommend reformat/reinstall; all the hanging folders, registry entries and compressed executables leftover from just uninstalling... why even bother with all that effort, might as well just leave it as is.
Answer:
Re: Bloatware. Pros/Cons of re-formatting new laptop.
Get copies of any Dell-supplied software that you *do* want (if any), before proceeding. In my case it was PowerDVD which includes the dvd decoder, and the Sonic dvd burning utilities.
There was one cd I asked for which Dell never managed to send me - something called Sonic DigitalMedia LE - but after checking the related product on their web site I decided it was no big steal and went without it.
Answer:
Re: Bloatware. Pros/Cons of re-formatting new laptop.
Dell doesn't send the cds anymore with the systems. There is two options...they have a burning utility on the laptop which will allow you to burn 1 copy of OS cd (gives you clean install) or you can pay 10 bucks when your order your system for a backup CD which gives a clean system also. All of the extras, depending on what hardware you order, like CyberLink, Sonic, and all of the Dell stuff is available by request like SAkp said.
Its better to go with reformatting. Dell puts a bunch of trial ware on there for Quickbooks, AOL...its horrible. There has been alot of hassle about the OS cd, so its probably just alot easier to pay the 10 bucks and get a copy. The recovery utility gave me errors, and some users did not even have it installed on their system.
SG
Answer:
Re: Bloatware. Pros/Cons of re-formatting new laptop.
so, when i get it, somebody has got to help me get all the drivers burned to a cd, and the revovery thingy burned..........maybe explain it now so i know what i am doing next monday or tuesday when i get it......
Answer:
Re: Bloatware. Pros/Cons of re-formatting new laptop.
There is two options on the drivers. You can burn a copy of the dell folder from your C: drive or you can go to this site http://support.dell.com/support/down...=19&l=en&s=dhs
On the website, you just have to choose your laptop and operating system, and it will give you several categories with the drivers for your laptop. Go thru each category (some might not apply to your laptop) and choose your hardware, and download the driver.
I would go with the website method. If you choose to burn your dell folder, chances are that some of the drivers might be outdated. With the website method, you need to get either your ethernet or wireless card (both located under Network category) before you do the reformatting and burn them to a disk. This way you'll have access to the internet once you do the clean install. Some users have made a drivers disk with all of their drivers while they are waiting for the laptop to arrive.
The recovery utility is easy. Its listed under programs on your start menu. It might be in one of the dell folders, and its called Dell OS Recovery CD or something similar to that. Insert a blank cd and run that program, and it will do the rest. After you are finished and ready for a clean install, reboot and change your boot sequence. From there it is a normal windows installation.
SG
Answer:
Re: Bloatware. Pros/Cons of re-formatting new laptop.
So the Dell folder has all the device drivers that are applicable for that particular system that the Dell folder resides on?
So after I'm done re-formatting and after I reload the OS I could then just restore the DEll folder and all drivers would be installed again?
Aren't there some .exe's that I would need to run to have everything loaded properly?
Answer:
Re: Bloatware. Pros/Cons of re-formatting new laptop.
yes, if you burned the dell folder, then put it back on the clean system, it has all of the drivers. I can't remember if it will autodetect the drivers, or if you'll have to update each manually. Go to device manager, and verify that the drivers are installed. If you have a bunch of yellow question marks, then you'll have to make the hardware scan your c: drive for the drivers (very easy to do, but a little time consuming). You shouldn't have to run .exe files unless you are downloading from the web.
Answer:
Re: Bloatware. Pros/Cons of re-formatting new laptop.
Great! Sounds easy enough! (famous last words)
I'm going to be ordering a Dell Inspiron 9300 for my Daughter to use as a (mainly) desktop with infrequent trips to friends houses/college for homework assignments, etc.
I'll have to re-partition to get rid of the second smaller partition Dell installs for recovery purposes. I want to have one nice clean partition with a fresh OS install so that she'll have as few un-necessary processes running in the background to slow her system up.
I see you have a 9300 also.
How do you like it?