Useful Freeware and Tweaks

The Extended Phases List

I decied to list a few things that will help once you get you new lappy might want to go download some of the programs now just so you have them!

Phase 16 Reconstruction (Not requierd)
I do this with every new factory system I get FORMAT\REINSTALL OS
Then I can build my system my way not the way the Factory wants it!

Phase 17 Update!
Update everything Never assume you have lates drivers go find the newest ones and download them (Also suggest getting next to newest drivers just in case the new ones don't quite work). Un fortunatly the only place to get officail vidoe drivers is fomr Alienware. You can however get third party drivers from www.omegacorner.com taht seem to work fairly well although I prefer the oficail dirvers unless they really mess up your system.

Phase 18 Program Install \ Patches.
Powerstrip very nice overclocking and Video tweaking software (this came with your system if you have alien adrenaline if not get it here). unfotunalty the overclocking will not be under warranty this way but this program is still worth having!
http://download.com.com/3000-2086-10...ml?tag=lst-0-1

Power DVD 4.0 patch i had some trouble with power dvd found this patch did the trick it updates power dvd to work with newer hardware it may not recognize initaly. http://www.gocyberlink.com/english/...erDVD&ProdId=28

Remote Genie to get remote working!
http://www.gocyberlink.com/english/d...=120&ProdId=28

Futermark 3D Mark03 this is one of the best video benchmarking programs to date will fully tax your system to test its video prowess. This is the newest version untill 3D Mark 04 comes out. You can get it here.
http://www.futuremark.com/download/

Phase 19 Customization!
Style Xp this program allows you to do some realy neat stuff with windows Xp i highly recommed it for all your customizing needs you can make a truely unique desktop with this program.
http://download.com.com/3000-2326-10...ml?tag=lst-0-6

Phase 20 Tweaking!
(This is my never ending phase)

#1 tweak program Tweak UI If you don't have it get it!
http://download.com.com/3000-2341-28...ml?tag=lst-0-1

#2 Winpatrol This badboy lets you know eveything that is running onyour computer and ask you if you want it to run or not if you do not recognize the program i suggest clicking not. This will inform you if any nasty lil programs install themselves over the net when you inedvertantly clicked the yes button this will also let you pick and chose what programs launch when windows starts up and kill the ones you dont want.
http://download.com.com/3000-2092-10...html?tag=sptlt

#3 Not realy a program but a Services Tweak goto the link and look at all the services that are listed select the profile you want I chose Gamming and set your services accordingly. This was shown on The Screen Savers the other day and it will drasticaly improve your preformance.
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

Just thought of one more!
Phase 21 The Anti Annoying Adware phase
#1 Spybot Searchand Destroy
http://download.com.com/3000-2144-10...ml?tag=lst-0-2

#2 Adaware (get both one never catches it all)
http://download.com.com/3000-2144-10...ml?tag=lst-0-1

#3 Google tool bar (Catches all those nasty pop-ups)
http://toolbar.google.com/

Thats it for now if you can think of some more phases for people getting ready to recive their laptops please feel free to add.
(good thing about these phases you can do them now!)
Oh I forgot phase 15 1/2 Open the box ! (very imortant phase!)
Sorry my spelling is not the best hope this helps you guys pass the time a little faster. If not i gave you something to read!

(MOVED HERE WAS GETTING BURRIED IN WHAT PHASE AM I ON THREAD!)

If you have more Freeware or Tweaks ad them here!

Security Freeware

Here is some software to help keep the those you want to stay out out of your system.

First off the ever popular Zone Alarm Works wonderfully
get it here

http://download.com.com/3000-2092-10...ml?tag=lst-0-1

Test it here this site will hit all the open ports on your computer and tell you wich ones are wide open if you run zone alarm they should all be closed.

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

Want Anti-Virus software but don't want to pay for it well OK here use this works great and its FREE. (only bad thing is no tech support on free version)

http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php

Enjoy and stay protected!

Thanks!

I originaly posted this in the what phase are you in thread but it got burried so i put it here in its own. I will try to post any other neat and or useful freeware I can find here for allyou guys to use and if you have any you think is worthy please post it.

(Try to keep it to freeware though all that 30-day trial limited use stuff gets on my nerves!)

CD\DVD Burning Freeware!

Alcohol 120%
This will burn anything and gives you virtual drives soyou can back up your cds to virtual cd-rom drives great for laptops so you don't have to carry your cd's around with you all the time.

http://download.com.com/3000-2646-10...ml?tag=lst-0-1

Burn4Free
Got a CD burner with no software to make it work well this is software has got you covered and has saved me a few times when somebody for got to get software with thier cd burner.
http://download.com.com/3000-2646-10...ml?tag=lst-0-1

DVD shrink!
Want to back up your dvd movies to a single DVD-R then this will do it it will also take out any unwanted stuff like the different language audio tracks and the subtitles will compress any movie to fit on the 4.7gb required on a dvd+/-RW. This program works grea and I found if you back up your DVD to the hard drive and play it from there you can get a littel better battery poer out of your system because it reads fom the hard drive not the DVD-rom wich takes alot more power to run!

http://www.dvdr-digest.com/software/...file=dvdshrink

Sure

Sure Its fixed now!
some of the links got messed up when i moved it they should all work now!
This thread is great for me too incase of format i can come here and get all my stuff back! without having to search al over for it.

All will uninstall!

Just use windows add remove programs or the uninstall that comes with the program. All will uninstall and leave no trace such as addware or spyware if that is what you are worried about.

Audio Video!

More Freeware to Enjoy!

Divx player/ DIVX codec this file lets you play movies in the ever popular Divx format.

http://download.com.com/3000-2139-10...ml?tag=lst-0-6

Winamp 5.0
Just incase you have not tried it yet the new Winamp is now out and is much improved over its predecessor. (free version comes without MP3 Ripping and Burning but waht do you expect for free!) Wonder what happend to wimamp 4 oh well who cares this is a nice pice of software.

http://www.winamp.com/player/

Virtual Drum Machine.
Just incase you get a phat beat inyour head that just needs to be set free this little program lets you create great beats and copy them to .wav format and burn to cd. Great if you want to test out that new car stereo with your own original BASS CD. (This is just really fun to play with!)

http://download.com.com/3000-2170-90...ml?tag=lst-0-1

BTW: (to the powers that be) thanks for making this thread a sticky hopefully it will be in full view for all!

GIF's, CD Recovery, and Browsers

Here is some more Free ware from my brain Archive
I forgot them in last post.

Easy animated GIFs This tool lets you easily greate animated GIFs for websites, forums or jsut for fun.
UNfreez
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~cschaeff/unfreez.zip

Get Data back from scratched up CD's
This tool is awsome and will save you many times as it has me.
Exspecialy if you have any little ones running around that destroy CD's on site. You will be amazed at what you can get off some horibly disfigured discs. Unfortuantly it is Shaerware ( I know i said no free trail period stuff but this one is worth it). I am looking in to buying this software it really does do what it says it dose.
ISO buster (shareware) TRIAL
http://www.smart-projects.net/

Ok here are a few really neat browers just in case you are sick of IE.
Most feature tabed browsing and pop-up blocking built in.

Have not used but heard good things about this one.
Avant Browser
http://www.avantbrowser.com/

This one is my personal Favorite.
Mozilla Firebird
http://texturizer.net/firebird/download.html

Interesting and worth a try!
Opera
http://www.opera.com/download/

Sorry just had another brain dump of software that I have used lately!
If you guys ever get sick of all these links just say when!
I got tons of stuff. (mostly I get my freeware from the free files at tech tv)

www.techtv.com

Go there they got lots more stuff and great reviews on what the programs do and how to make them work!

Just a few more tools for the old tool box!

Veiw any and all images.
You can use this to veiw all those obscure and weird image files.
Will do standar jpg., gif., but also wierd stuff lie .png and others!

Infan View
http://www.tucows.com/preview/194967.html

Hard Drive Recovery made by seagate
but will work with just about any drive. I hae revived a
few that where thought to be long dead with this neat little tool you can even get it in bootable CD ISO.

Disk Wizard
http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/...s/discwiz.html


Just for fun

Adds some realy useful functions to your send to options.

Send to Toys
http://download.com.com/3000-2347-10...ml?tag=lst-0-6


Small Local Lan Chat program very small will fit on floppy disk!
Great for Chatting with people on your local network use to chat with my wife
while I'm in the living room and she is on the desktop
(Yes we are lazy thans for noticing.)
Great for lan parties Talk without shouting or using AOL or external Chat.

Lan Chat
http://download.com.com/3000-2085-70...ml?tag=lst-0-1

If You Reinstall Read This!

If you are having stuttering problems read this thread!


http://talknotebooks.com/showthread.php?t=10682

This thread refers to a common stuttering problem that occurs with the internal wirelss cards and shows how to fix it.

Many Thanks to DREW for this fix!

Uniwill Utilities

These are the same drivers and utilities that are on that Utilites CD you got from alienware except alienware dose not update as fast as this site does check here if you have issiues with your hard ware see if any of these utlites can clear it up!

http://www.uniwill.com/UserDownload/N766S/N766S.htm

Multi-Monitor Solutions

Ultramon
http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/download.asp

This little app rock for us multi-monitor lappers!
This thing lets you have 2 different wllpapaers on each monitor lets you extend your task bar all the way across your screens will even transfer the task bar itesm to the window they are on if you move them. YOUcan also run 2 diferent screen savers on each monitor. Have fun with this one guys I know I have.