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The Laptop Tweaking Guide - Page 2

post #21 of 77
8/24/05 at 2:57pm
reformatting is definetly the way to go...

after about 2 hours and and 19 registry cleans, i think i was finally free from "most" of the Dell softjunk
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post #22 of 77
8/24/05 at 4:27pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, I finished the color coding system and updated the link system so that everything checks up. Next up is updating the reformat section with extra partitions info for advanced users and adding more software to the Tweak Software list, especially video card/driver tweaking programs. But that's for later, I have a life to get back to now
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post #23 of 77
8/24/05 at 6:02pm
well, qtparted can not be used in a windows environment. so one just has to grab any linux live distribution, like Knoppix (http://www.knoppix.org/), burn it,reboot with cd inserted and start qtparted.

as for automatically.... welllllll....actually doing that is quite...complicated and NOT for novice users. In theory: create a 2GB partition, create a second data partion after that, install windows on the second partitition, install a bootloader in the mbr like grub/lilo; copy all ntldr(NT Loader) related files onto the data(or system partition) and adapt the mbr settings. It's not really convenient but,after all, possible
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post #24 of 77
8/24/05 at 7:58pm
great guide k-6 i found at exactly the right time when i needed it. so in my case you had good timing lol
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post #25 of 77
8/24/05 at 8:26pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colenbloker
so in my case you had good timing lol
Sweeeet.

Holy crap nubber. Hmm... I see what you mean... kind of . I tell you what, rather than me try to explain it (wrong) and getting new users confused, how about you type out the steps and I'll link to your post in the guide with something like
"More advanced users may wish to set up two separate partitions, a smaller one toward the center of the drive used for boot files and the page file, and a larger one for the rest of the windows and system files. For directions on how to do this, see nubber's post located here."

Sound good?

Also, what do you guys recommend besides partition magic? qparted sounds awesome but I'd hate to link to a linux distro since I'd imagine most users reading this guide don't have a linux distro lying around (hell, I don't even think I do, maybe mandrake 10.1 somewhere which I've never used). I'll try to find the program separately. I wish I could get maxblast 3 for you guys though, it's such a great program. Maybe Maxblast 4 does work, I'll try that out too.
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post #26 of 77
8/25/05 at 10:20pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, updated the Tweak Software list. I'm still looking for recommendations to the software list and for anything to be added to the guide, keep it coming.
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post #27 of 77
8/29/05 at 10:30am
thanks lots, i've bookmarked this and will definitely use it once my 9300 shows up! great work!
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post #28 of 77
8/29/05 at 11:51am
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system...t/bootvis.mspx

What's with that? So does it work or not?
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post #29 of 77
8/29/05 at 11:57am
Thread Starter 
Yah, I have no idea why microsoft doesn't support it anymore, but they usually give out info like that. However, if you analyze your hard drive in defrag (don't defrag obviously) after using bootvis, you will see that there are a few files placed in the middle of the freespace in the middle of the graph. These are the files that bootvis has moved. Presumably, these are the boot files that Bootvis has moved to the beginning of the second platter of the your HDD (please correct me if I'm wrong), but they are obviously isolated for a reason. I've used bootvis on XP for awhile and I can definitely see the benefits of it.
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post #30 of 77
8/29/05 at 4:06pm
Great guide, the only thing I'd change in it is the size of your page file.

While you recommended keeping the page file the same size at all times instead of having it vary by needs is a great idea, your recommended size was a little small. Your virtual memory should be 150-175% of your physical memory depending on preference. I personally use 150% (ie. 1GB physical memory = 1536MB virtual memory).
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post #31 of 77
8/29/05 at 4:49pm
Greet guide thank you =)
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post #32 of 77
8/29/05 at 6:40pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys

You see, saying that the page file should be such a % of your RAM doesnt exactly work because people with less RAM need more page file (inversely proportional you could say). Since they dont have the RAM to use, they have to use the page file, so they'll need more pagefile to run the same application/game at the same settings than a person with more RAM. However, no matter how little RAM you have, 2GB is a more than sufficient page file. Did that help clarify?
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post #33 of 77
9/2/05 at 10:10pm
mr. k6,

my i6000 isnt coming until next week, but what if im not gonna have internet access before i go to college and i just wanted to reformat my lappy with my security suite and office software and thats it... could i? or do i need to update windows and stuff.

maybe this is stupid, but, why would anyone partition their HD? is it just to cut down on the defrag process? organizing processes? i dont understand that at all.

after ive formatted and installed my security apps, office software and stuff, tweaked windows and put on the skins and everything... can i save its current state so that when i reformat 6 months from now, i can just put in a cd and install to this point??
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post #34 of 77
9/2/05 at 10:56pm
Thread Starter 
Hmm... sorry if I go to basic here, just making sure I cover everything. When one reformats a computer, you are essentially wiping all the data off it. THere's no programs, no operating system, not even a file system on the hard drive so that you can install an operating system. Starting through the process, you need to set up a partition on your drive so that you can create a file system on it. A file system essentially organizes the hard drive so that you can install an operating system (Windows XP) on it. Therefore, reformat when you have time as it usually takes a couple of hours to get your system to where you like it again. I would wait until you have a free weekend at college or something and do it then. The internet connection is important for many reasons, which is another good reason to wait. First, you'll have to activate windows, and doing it over the phone is sometimes a pain in the ass (damn machines). But the main reason is that updating windows is the most important. I've found that you get the best performance by installing the windows updates, especially service pack 2, right away. Also, having all the security updates, DX 9.0C, etc. etc. makes everything else easier. That way you can just install your drivers afterwards because all the prerequisite software has been installed. Hence, I would recommend waiting.

And yes, you can create a copy to back up to, you might want to post a thread on it as I don't have much experience in this area. Norton Ghost I've heard is good, but I'm sure there are other programs that can be had for little to no cost.
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post #35 of 77
9/2/05 at 11:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingraft
maybe this is stupid, but, why would anyone partition their HD? is it just to cut down on the defrag process? organizing processes? i dont understand that at all.
Well for starters you want your OS to always be on the first partition and it should be a farely small partition like 20-40GB at the most. This is because that is the fastest part of the hard drive because the heads are only having to travel a short distance instead of clear across the disk. Having partitions also makes it easier to defragment certain partitions that will get fragmented more quickly so that you dont have to defragment the whole drive all the time. Maybe you just want to defragment your OS partition where your installing and uninstalling files. The parition where your just saving stuff wont get fragmented very quickly in comparison. I've got a link to a really good guide to partitioning that i will post later if i can find it in all my saved bookmarks from my transition from the desktop.
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post #36 of 77
9/3/05 at 7:03pm
Nice Guide!
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post #37 of 77
9/15/05 at 10:47am

dancing leds

one of the coolest tweaks for the xps is the Dancing LEDs from this site http://membres.lycos.fr/knimp/

posted here http://www.notebookforums.com/forums...&highlight=led


be nice to add this to the guide
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post #38 of 77
9/27/05 at 5:06pm
I asked for the Microsoft Windows XP Professional backup CD and I got something like:

http://i10.ebayimg.com/01/i/04/dc/6f/cc_1_b.JPG

Is it the right thing? Can I make a clean format with this?
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post #39 of 77
9/27/05 at 7:33pm
Thread Starter 
Sure thing, I'll make a "cool stuff" section as soon as I have some free time. And that's the correct CD, it's the same CD microsoft puts out only with a Dell "Your Operating System" stick on it. Should be fine
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post #40 of 77
9/30/05 at 1:01am
Hey Mr. K6! If you are out there somewhere..Please respond to my thread!
http://www.notebookforums.com/showth...01#post1250101
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