Things to install/do fresh out of box

There may/may not be a thread for this, but I wanted to know some of the things you guys would install as soon as you get your m14x!

I just got my m14x and the only things I can think of installing right now is:
1) VLC
2) Java
3) Flash

Also, any settings or adjustments to default settings?
1) Changed background
2) Sleep/Display settings

I'm sure I'll think of more later, but would like to hear from everyone else what you would typically install on a fresh computer.

Thanks!

 

i did a fresh install of w7 when i got my m14x, but first and foremost I recommend you create a recovery dvd or recovery usb stick using alienrespawn. It already has an image of your system at its factory state when you first turned it on and you want to put that onto a disk for safekeeping. Then I say you do a fresh install of windows to get rid of unwanted materials however our M14x's allready come relatively free of bloatware so its up to you. I also downloaded:

CPU-Z
CPU-ID
HWMonitor
AVG Antivirus
Auslogics Disk Defrag

 

Is a fresh install of w7 a common thing to do? Why do some people do it? I'm curious.

 

It get rid of any crap installed or any services that came with the system you don't want. Basically you're starting fresh.

 

there are a number of reasons people do fresh installs. It is a great way to start new if you get a virus or if you have a computer that has wayy too much junk on it. I did it bc I wanted to get rid of the factory installed junk on my m14x and also bc I am ocd about my computer. I love having it totally customized to my liking down to the last file. I want to be able to identify every program installed on it as one which I installed. Also while fresh installing w7, you can recreate the hard drive partitions according to your own desired sizes and quantities. I deleted the recovery partition made at the factory which was 20GB (of course after creating my recovery disk) and split my total space of 465GB into two partitions 1st: 100 GB on which the OS, device drivers and all other administrative files have been downloaded and 2nd: 365 GB partition for all the remaining stuff, games, media, documents, supporting software etc...this is just one example why and how you can customize it....whatever you do, just remeber to first create the recovery disk using alienrespawn, that will always serve as a restore point for any tragedies in the furture...

 

That's great info soulhacker!!! I appreciate your insight!!

 

Fresh installs ensures you have a default Windows experience, kind of why many people like Android on Nexus phones and not other ones. Gets rid of manufacturer customizations, some of which you may not like, and lets you be in control.

For me, I just put in my 8 GB RAM and SSD when I got my laptop so I already had all my stuff. Updated drivers and everything was set.

 

I +1 this. For me 4gb of ram has been enough but upgrading the HD to anything other than the stock Samsung is a must. That drive is... not too good unless you are just goofing around on the net or watching youtube.

 

I would recommend disabling the alien control center (or whatever its called) once you have set the backlit colors you want. I know on my m11x r1 it ate like 10-15% percent of the resources. Just make sure its not running on startup. You can always launch the app when you need to make changes, and then quit back out.

 

how do you do that? Great idea by the way!

 

I believe you can disable it via msconfig (startup tab).

 

i just saw a service called...alienware fusion service...any info ..on what thats about.. ??

 

removed....

 

alien fusion is the program in alienware command center that manages your battery power plans