Lean, mean geek machine

So I got me a pimped out laptop with nearly top specs. But it runs like crap thanks to the fact that acer bundled 123948904487428790823 useless software as default. I just spent an entire day uninstalling a million of them one by one. But unsurprisingly, there isnt a significant improvement.

So the big question is: Is it possible to do a fresh reinstall using the recovery cd while leaving out all the useless software? All I want is Vista and the drivers!

If that is not possible, I'm inclining towards a fresh install of XP. The only concern is that a lot of the hardware might be vista optimised. I sure don't want the drivers clashing/working improperly with the os. Should I really be concerned?

As always, thanks in advance.

 

From what other members have mentioned, you will need at least a Vista upgrade disc to perform a fresh install, a recovery disc won't suffice unfortunately. You then will need to download the drivers for your laptop from Acer, which could be a total pain. All in all, you'll have to decide if it'll worth the hassle.

Oh, and welcome to the boards. Enjoy your stay! Free continental breakfast is provided ever morning from 7-9.

 

You could just uninstall the programs through control panel.

 

I also would like to know how to do this .

When i first bought my laptop i did the Acer eRecovery backup but like the TS said , there's like a million programs and software i don't use and don't want .

I don't know much about this stuff , but surely it has to be possible to make a backup of a clean install the way I want it , and not how it comes out the factory ?

 

Indeed, although I'd personally go with a clean format of the whole system, repartition to my liking and install a fresh version of a desired OS ... because there is a possibility of the bloatware integrating itself too much into the system and messing things up unnecessarily (hasn't happen to me yet, but I just do a clean OS install anyway).

 

I felt the same with my 6920 so recently took the plunge. I bought XP Professional, located XP drivers for the 6920, many of which are on Acers site, and wiped the hard drive. I now have XP Pro running sweet as can be. All drivers are working fine (many of them more recent than Acers) with exception for the finger print utility (which I don't use anyway).

The sound is a vast improvement on XP than Vista, it seems louder and more defined and am able to customise the Realtek graphic equalizer to how I want it, not just presets as in Vista. All in all the system responds better.

Now the laptop is running as it should have been from day one, not Vista or Acer bloatware to be seen anywhere

 

I don't think it's possible to do an install with the recovery CD's but leave out all of the bloatware that acer include. The only way to do it without all of the junk would be to use an oem or retail version of Vista, then use the key from underneath your laptop.

One way to do this without purchasing a full copy of the operating system with licence is look on ebay for media only disk, and you can get it for relatively cheap. Download the drivers from Acer which is pretty painless, although can be slow at times. Then install without all of the bloatware. This way, if you wanted, you can format the whole drive, re-partition, and install, and you've got the backup in the media you got from ebay or wherever.

One thing you have to remember when you buy a machine from acer or the like, is they ruin the operating system with all they crap they put on it. So when people buy the machine, then start bashing vista for being crap, unresponsive, and slow, it's not vista (since SP1 it's been a brilliant O/S), it's the company who built the laptop destroying it.

 

Interesting , thx for the info .

Am i right that if i want my laptop to run as fast as possible and fully use my 4GB that XP 64 would be better then Vista 64 ?

 

Vista x64 has better support than XP x64. I think if you have look around the forum, most people will say go with Vista. Drivers are easier to come by, and I think stability is a lot better. I think Acer supply Vista x64 drivers for their newer models so if you did go the Vista route, you should be ok for drivers.

 

Thanks a lot for all the help guys. Pretty much confirms the two things I needed to know.

1. Can't reinstall using recovery cd without including the bloatware (I love that term, very apt ).

2. Fresh reinstall is the best as it eliminates the chances of bloatware seeping into the os/registry and making things messy.

I spent an entire day uninstalling every single bloatware but there is no noticable difference because I think the heart of the macine has been corrupted too much already.

The only thing is I would have loved to try vista. But since I have an existing xp cd, xp it is.

The part I was worried about the most turned out to be the easiest. Every single driver needed is just available on the Acer support website on one page.

Thanks again fellas.

 

I will just say get an disk of Windows 7 and get a fresh install , maybee it eats little bit more ram , but it's much better choise from XP ... I really loved XP in it's days .. but it's old .. and Windows 7 are very stabile and fast

 

Format, reinstall, reload drivers and just when you think the worst is over... BAMM! Goddamm Windows!

I used a friend's retail cd to install Vista HP (which is also the preloaded os on the laptop). But the freaking thing won't accept the product key that came with the laptop. I'm guessing the problem is due to me using a retail cd with an oem key, but it's really silly that it should create a problem at all.

The only solution Acer had was to reload everything using recovery. And the morons at microsoft were useless as always, parroting same useless solutions. Oh well, nothing new. The computer gods punish me for using ms product.