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New laptop en route, but what needs to be done when it gets here?

post #1 of 13
5/5/10 at 11:58am
Thread Starter 
Hi all,

With my Dell XPS Gen 2 on the way out, I've bitten the bullet and ordered a Studio XPS 16:

Intel i7 820QM CPU
Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit
500GB Hard Drive
4GB 1333Mhz RAM
15.6 inch Full HD 1080p LED Edge to Edge Screen
1GB Ati Radeon HD 4670 Graphics


The question is, once I receive it, what's good practice to get the best out of it? I'm guessing reinstalling Windows 7 is a gimmie, but what else?

Ta

K
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post #2 of 13
5/5/10 at 1:31pm
I think most of good computer care is common sense. Don't block the vents, periodically clean out dust buildup on the inside, don't drop the computer, etc.

For some performance benefits, you can use msconfig to eliminate unneeded startup programs, and I've been told that disabling superfetch will extend battery life (although I haven't tried it yet myself).

You'll want a decent antivirus program if you didn't get one from Dell. I use Avira personally. The rest is really up to you.
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post #3 of 13
5/5/10 at 3:39pm
No need to reinstall windows, just dump all the junk 'free' software and trial stuff, esp Norton or Mcafee antivirus... Uninstall all that bloatware... Defrag the hard drive... And get a laptop cooler, or pad that you can sit on your lap with comfort - these stop the vital air vents from getting blocked...
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post #4 of 13
5/5/10 at 8:59pm
Get rid of bloatware, run pc-decrapifier from the internets, defrag, scan and just keep the air vents cleaned out every 6 months. You'll eventually clog the registry with shat though, along with other things. Essentially it'll preform fine in high intensive stuff always, but for like, loading windows, might get slower over time.

Just reformatting every 2-3 years should be fine...and replace the hd when it starts to die with a faster higher density one of that year.

That's what I do.
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post #5 of 13
5/6/10 at 2:45am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr T View Post
No need to reinstall windows, just dump all the junk 'free' software and trial stuff, esp Norton or Mcafee antivirus... Uninstall all that bloatware... Defrag the hard drive... And get a laptop cooler, or pad that you can sit on your lap with comfort - these stop the vital air vents from getting blocked...
Do you have any recommendations for a laptop cooler, one that you could use on your lap? Oh, and I have Norton 360 for the next 6 months; would you recommend that I don't bother installing it?

Ta
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post #6 of 13
5/6/10 at 2:49am
Norton today is actually pretty good. Previous versions were junk, but the current one is worth keeping for the 6 months you have it, in my opinion.
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post #7 of 13
5/6/10 at 2:51am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djembe View Post
Norton today is actually pretty good. Previous versions were junk, but the current one is worth keeping for the 6 months you have it, in my opinion.
Cool, thanks for that; I'll dig it out when my new toy arrives!
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post #8 of 13
5/6/10 at 3:28pm
I personally do not use a laptop cooler for my computers, sometimes i feel the laptop coolers do the opposite and instead decrease the airflow of the computer.

I like to reformat my computer when I first get it to make things simpler and cleaner. Dell installs a lot of dell branded system files onto the comp that i do not like personally.
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post #9 of 13
5/7/10 at 2:53am
Thread Starter 
Okay, so my new toy arrived yesterday, but I'm a bit lost with Windows 7 to be honest, plus all these preinstalled programs; what should I uninstall?
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post #10 of 13
5/7/10 at 2:54am
Thread Starter 
Oh, and any beginners tips for Windows 7?
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post #11 of 13
5/7/10 at 8:23am
I tend to disable the gadets on Win 7, and you can setup the look and feel to be some what close to Xp if you want,

I also am one who likes to o a clean install and get rid of dells crap.

but you can also use control panel - Programs & Features option and remove any pre installed items from there

Enjoy your new laptop
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post #12 of 13
5/7/10 at 8:54am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave-p View Post
I tend to disable the gadets on Win 7, and you can setup the look and feel to be some what close to Xp if you want,

I also am one who likes to o a clean install and get rid of dells crap.

but you can also use control panel - Programs & Features option and remove any pre installed items from there

Enjoy your new laptop

When you say 'Dell crap', I think I saw a load of drivers there, but with their name attached; would you suggest I uninstall those then download them from the supplier's website? Oh and what's Fast Access? Is that something I can ditch?
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post #13 of 13
5/7/10 at 1:43pm
I cannot find a link from it, but I got a load of them from Staples - Laptop Risers... Just a simple design, no electronics and I have not lost a laptop yet to overheating...

Quote:
I personally do not use a laptop cooler for my computers, sometimes i feel the laptop coolers do the opposite and instead decrease the airflow of the computer.
In that case, use a book or one of the risers I mentioned, I see more laptops and netbooks killed by a duvet than anything else... The thing needs airflow around it...

If you uninstall the bloat ware, you don't need to reinstall... If you do a clean install of windows, you have to find drivers for video/motherboard/webcam/wifi etc and to a novice this is no easy task... If you recover the system (easy way) it recovers all the bloat ware for you too... So my advice is always uninstall the stuff that is a 'trial' version, stuff that you'll never use apart from device drivers and then create a restore point...
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