To buy or not to buy? Aspire 5672?

i was thinking of getting an acer aspire 5672 until i noticed all these threads on reformatting. being a complete notebook newbie there are two things i am a bit concerned about:

1. FAT32 partitions - i was concerned about converting these to NTFS but after seeing tutorials decided i still liked it enough to buy anyway

2. Bloatware - My biggest concern. I read a nice review by SSX here which gave loads of details on the 5672. in particular this looked really bad for a notebook fresh out of a factory, 60 processes

i completely with agree ssx that 60 processes taking up nearly half a gb of ram is not right. i'm quite happy to do a fresh install but i don't have an OEM disc. anyone know how i might get hold of one of these?

and after this, even if i manage to find an OEM disc, there are now threads appearing about the 5672 going wrong after a fresh install and problems installing drivers.

does anyone know if this volume of bloatware is the same for all 5672s? and if it is, should i still consider buying this notebook?

 

I can't really comment on the bloatware becuase I did a fresh install before really getting any use out of the factory install. Converting to NTFS is very simple. I don't know if there's a way to get ahold of an OEM disk without purchasing a license also.

 

Well, if you like the notebook enough to buy it, and if it's the processes that are bothering you, you can always go to Start -> Run -> msconfig and on the "General" tab, hit "Selective Startup" and go to the "Startup" tab and hit Disable all. Your system should be significantly faster after doing that.

If you have a little bit more time to spare, go here and do accordingly.

Now, getting an OEM disk can be a bit tricky. What you could do is slipstream the "i386" folder with service pack 2 and use that install disk. Get the instructions here (be warned - a mistake can potentially cost you to lose your OS, so follow it step-by-step).

If you have more time to spare, making a corporate modboot disk might also be a good idea.

 

yeah once you make a dvd copy youll be fine. Msconfig will help you a bit on the running process and ram usage at startup. But a fresh install is the total cure, and its not that hard to do just a matter of getting the right drivers and installing them. As well as using sp2 xp. Heres a link to the drivers in my "need to know" thread, its the top link.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=67959

I have a xp sp2 running very well on the second partition and it is a completely different computer.

 

One more thing to mention about my review over on DSLR. If you need / want help setting up your lappy with xp home and having it fully configured properly let me know.

I have found that there is NO NEED at all for an acer restore partition if you keep a digital .iso on your server and a DVD-R in your cd wallet. You will also notice that if you create a restore DVD and procede to delete ALL of the information off your HDD and use the DVD to restore your patition the DVD does 2 things.

#1. It re-creates a SINGLE NTFS partition with all of the previous restore information on it

#2. It modify's your bios back to default which turns off the F12 boot menu and sets your HDD-0 back to default instead of your DVD-Burner etc.

I use 3rd party backup software instead of well..... nothing. And how hard is it to install XP Home OEM and all of the drivers on your pc and then image it with Norton Ghost etc.

I get the latest drivers as well as removing any crap I don't want. So again I say if you need / want any help lemme help ya out

--ssx--

 

I'm not trying to be a stickler here or anything, nor am I trying to knock down people coming to this fourm for help (this is why the fourm exists). However as far as installing XP + Drivers back on a PC it "should" be a fairly straightforward process that does not require headaches etc.

1. Download all of the correct drivers before you format and put them on a thumb drive / cd-r - http://www.acerpanam.com/synapse/fo...m/us&siteid=7293&areaid=7&formid=3394#results

2. Create a DVD-R restore disk and once that is burned correctly I would go and put that dvd.iso out on a network somewhere (use nero or some disk to .iso application)

3. Format and delete all of the partitions on the PC (the 2 extra are NOT needed for anything if you back up you OS ahead of time!)

4. Install XP Home with an OEM disk. Use your valid CD-Key on the bottom of your laptop and finish the install

5. Call M$ and verify your install, you'll have to call India but that's painless enough.

6. Reinstall of the needed drivers and applications, however as I listed in previous posts I would NOT click the .exe file in the folder to install your drivers! They often install non-needed sh!t and throw themselves in your startup folder under the msconfig directory! If you need help instaling drivers by manually linking the files under device manager let me know please!

I've been seeing more and more of these problems come up recently, and this might be a good time for me to publish a simple "how to" guide involving the backing up and reinstalling of the 5670 series without the restore media.

7. Install all of your devices and appz and you are all set.

Hope this helps and informs you with your decision etc.

As always i'm avalible for help and support though a private message.


--ssx--