The OFFICIAL "What to do when I get my G73" Thread

Could we please get THIS THREAD going and get some of the senior experts here to post some how-tos, tips, and ideas for ways to go about getting the MOST out of the G73?

YES - I have read EVERY post in the triple-thread about the G73 as well as the owner's lounge...but I just decided to get one of these and going back through 1200+ pages of posts will be a nightmare.

Let's help to create a concise guide!


Here are my plans...

1) Boot the machine and get used to it. Test out some video, the blu-ray player, the lighting and the keyboard.

2) Create the recovery disk set (6 dvds).

3) Install my Anti-Virus software.

4) Play around some more on the web, test out wireless connections, and memory card slots as well as other outputs.

5) Use the machine for about a week (if I can handle it) without installing too much...then install Microsoft Office, Adobe CS4 Master Collection, Nero, and any Blu-Ray playback software. Install some games and test everything out again.


What else?

 

Test out some games on that badboy, then look into underclocking the cpu for some more battery life!

 

I inspect the box for damage then the laptop for any corresponding damage. (If the box has any obvious dents, gouges or holes that may have caused the contents to be damaged.) If it passes muster, I fired it up, do the usual 1st boot-up routine..."enter username, password, etc..." Then, I load a game up as well to test it out and check for dead pixels at the same time.

I was tempted to make recovery discs when I first turned on my G73. But, after I saw the six disc requirement...forget it! I was lucky enough to get a recovery disc with the OS and a separate disc for the included apps. No need for six discs when four of them probably are for the bloatware.

Thought about a clean install but determined it's not really necessary with this machine. The G73 doesn't have that much bloat in my opinion. I just uninstall everything at once then do one reboot. Never had a problem with this method. Besides, if you never open the bloatware apps, they uninstall pretty cleanly with little to no traces on your system...maybe a folder and some registry entries that are easily, manually deleted.

Well, I guess I would add "physically inspect your machine for damage/defects prior to powering it on" to your checklist. I'd imagine anyone here would be hard pressed to do an RMA because getting an actual replacement in a timely fashion may not be possible right now.

 

It should be noted that the factory install is unique and can not be recreated with the Recovery and the Driver and Utility discs. However, that doesn't mean that the factory install is ideal.

Since ASUS is no longer including the Recovery disc, if something should happen to the hard drive, at least making one set of the AI Recovery discs provides an option to get the system backup quickly. You can't have too many backups.

What I don't know for sure is whether the AI Recovery is simply a backup of the hidden partition (static) or whether it is a backup with all current changes of the active partition. I have not needed to use the ones I created. I would hope it's the latter and that would greatly reduce the amount of discs needed after removing the bloatware.

Also, the AI Recovery is simply making a multi-disc ISO of the partition, I doubt there is much compression used. This is where Acronis True Image Home would be a better choice. AI Recovery is free, Acronis isn't.

Personally, I would still do a clean install (see sig for instructions). I like the idea of starting off fresh and not having to meander around the drive looking for orphans.

 

I'm restarting this thread because I have a question.
Everywhere it says Asus recovery discs take 6 DVDS.
To do mine I used only 4. It did not ask for more.
Is that normal?
I did mine when I frist started the laptop.
It asked for it.
SO i dunno if I used AI recovery or what .....
thx for your answers