NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Notebook Forums - General › how to wipe out all the crap?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

how to wipe out all the crap?

post #1 of 7
7/14/04 at 6:52am
Thread Starter 
i know my new notebook will come with a lot of stuff i don't need. stuff that's just going to take up space and slow the thing down. aol and earthlink trials for example.

what's the quickest way to get rid of all this factory installed stuff? i'm kind of a rookie. can i just stick in a reinstall cd as soon as i get the machine?
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 7
7/14/04 at 6:54am
Way I'd do it is slap in a Windows install CD, have it format the the drive and reinstall Windows again.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 7
7/14/04 at 6:55am
Thread Starter 
have it format the drive? i don't even know what that means, heh.

do you recommend doing something like this?
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 7
7/14/04 at 6:57am
An easier way would be to go to start menu, settings, control panel, then add/remove the junk. It might not be as thorough as formatting the drive, but should be easier.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 7
7/14/04 at 6:59am
Thread Starter 
thanks. i know how to do that; thing with that is, it's not as thorough like you said because i'm not sure which programs i need and which i don't.

i would like to do it the first way, but what does "format the drive" mean? won't i just be given the option to reinstall windows (without the extra garbage) once i pop in the cd?
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 7
7/14/04 at 7:10am
Well, when you pop in the CD while Windows is running it won't actually get rid of all the junk.

I haven't reformatted or reinstalled in a while so check to make sure if Windows gives you the option to format you hard drive when you do that. At one point it should ask you if you would like delete the data on the hard drive, you delete it, and then you pick the hard drive to install on.

It'll ask you if you want to format your hard drive in NTSC or FAT32, pick NTSC wait for it to finish and then it'll start installing Windows XP again.

Details of installing Windows can be found at www.blackviper.com

BEWARE, before reinstalling Windows this way you should first check to make sure you have all the drivers you need and possibly the programs that aren't junk but helpful for your laptop.

I'm not too confident in my advice since I'm not very experienced so hopefully someone with more experience will come along to help you better.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 7
7/14/04 at 1:55pm
yes windows will give you the option to format if you set your laptop to boot from the windows installation CD. (At least windows XP will). Formatting erases all the data on the drive, making it "new" before you install a fresh copy of windows. If you're a novice at this i suggest you read some guides first, or simply do the uninstall thing. If you're not sure which ones you need and which ones you don't, either open them up and decide if you need them, or just leave the system as it is (it's not that bad if you leave the junk they installed on there).
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Notebook Forums - General
NotebookForums.com › Forums › General Notebook Discussions › Notebook Forums - General › how to wipe out all the crap?