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    Clean Install on an Inspiron 8600

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by dolemite, Jan 28, 2005.

  1. dolemite

    dolemite Notebook Enthusiast

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    I just got my new Inspiron 8600 (2.0GHz, 1024MB RAM, 60GB 7200RPM HD, ATI 9600, Dell 1450 WLAN Card, DVD-RW, XP Pro) and it came loaded with all kinds of extra software I will never use (AOL, SOnic, WordPerfect etc.) and I would like to do a clean install to speed things up as has been advised in several threads here. I have done several clean installs of XP on desktops but never on a notebook.

    My question for the resident 8600 experts here is are there any tricks to doing a clean install on this particular machine? What Dell software is essential other than what the OS install CD has and what is the best procedure for the clean install?

    Thanks for any advice on this.
     
  2. drumfu

    drumfu super modfu

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    if you've done it before, you can do it on a notebook. if you're installing xp; drivers should update automatically. device manager (or icon in taskbar) should tell you what drivers xp couldn't automatically install. use your dell supplied driver disk to install them

    viola

    good luck