First things to do on new E1505?

ok, so i just ordered my new E1505 and it should be here next week. I'm wondering what i should do right away to get it ready. Ive read alot here that you like to reformat and delete partitions and such... I'm not totally opposed to that option, just allitle frighened. Ive never reformated a computer and/or reinstalled windows. Expecially not on a brand new system. So should I or....Ive printed out the guide listed here, and i've already called dell and requested the install CD's. They told me to call back when the computer came so they could get a service number or something? so once I have thos, i might attempt it.

What is the "normal" screen resolution or what not. I got the 15.4" with the Truelife. It was the middle one on the list of options if that helps. Ive never had a wide screen before, and ive always used 1024 x 768 on my desktop.

Any other things i can do right away to tweak the system? any advice is helpful. Thanks!

 

I am sure the resolution for that lcd is 1280x800. So it would be like taking that 1024x768 you use on your desktop and stretching out the sides a little bit making it widescreen plus a few extra pixels on top and bottom.

 

The middle option with truelife is the WSXGA+ panel isn't it? That's 1600X1050.

 

You don't gotta be that quick about it. Just play around with it for a while, then reformat when you feel like it. It's really very easy and its basically automated. Southergirl's guide also helps a bunch if you plan to go through with it.

 

yea...im in the "play around" stage now, haha. im getting some benchmarks in mainly, but messing with some other things

 

its called "15.4 Inch TrueLife Wide-screenWXGA" that about all i know

 

your native resolution will be 1680 x 1050

 

No, it will be 1280x800 with the glossy screen. That's the middle option for that dell.

 

Like others have said, play around with the system before you re-install. Re-installing Windows is painless. The only thing that causes uncertainty is setting up one's partitions. SouthernGirl's guide will help you out immensely with that. I suggest you download TweakUI from Microsoft. You can use that to tweak Windows' settings that you normally don't have access to. Some tips to tweak with TweakUI:

-Turn off auto-play on all drives (unless you want it on your cd drive)
-Turn off auto-complete
-Use classic searching in Windows (gets rid of the silly dog searching)
-Logon screen customizations
-ect.

 

considering that there is only 1 option right now, it is kind of hard for us to tell what the middle option was. Here is the breakdown:

WXGA= 1280 * 800
WXGA w/Truelife = 1280 * 800
WSXGA+ w/ Truelife = 1680 * 1080

 

The first day I usually spend my time reformating and reinstalling the OS then I install all my programs and games.

 

well it says i have the "15.4 Inch TrueLife Wide-screenWXGA. so...does that mean it will be 1280 by 800?

 

Yeah the 15.4" WXGA = 1280x800
the 15.4" WXGA with TrueLife = 1280x800
the 15.4" WSXGA+ with TrueLife = 1680x1050

I just went back and clicked on the "Help Me Choose" link above the three options for the LCD and thats what it says. So it looks like you have 1280x800 as your native resolution. I am trying to post the link so you can confirm this info but it isn't working sorry.

 

Hello,

As other people are saying, play around with your system first. If that pleases you, good! Keep it the way it is! (I would suggest some clean up to remove junk preinstalled stuff, though).

I'm not sure if SouthernGirl's guide has it, but a good idea is to use Acronis TrueImage or Norton Ghost right away to back up your entire hard disk (including your restore partition). Burn it to a DVD or two and forget it. That way you can play with partitions and formatting as much as you want, knowing that it will take less than 30min to bring your system back to its factory settings if anything goes wrong.

edabe.

 

No need to swipe the hard drive and reinstall Windows. Just uninstall software that you don't need. Any speed gains that you might have from a clean Windows install can also be achieved by tweaking the factory install.

 

It's always best formatting though.

 

If you do decide to reformat, burn a copy of your Drivers folder. It will save you ALOT of time, because Dell does not always send out the right CD with all the Drivers you might need.

Or you can download it from the Dell wbsite. But, burning your own copy on a CD is definitely the faster way to go about it.

 

is the drivers folder located in the system folder?

 

Located in C:\Drivers

 

sometimes it is C:\Dell\Drivers. You should see a folder labeled drivers that contains several individul folders, named with a series of numbers & letters.

 

So while i'm waiting for my new laptop to arrive, ive decieded to download the newest drivers from the dell website. Could someone tell me which ones i would need to download? theres a whole list of them....

Applications
Dell MediaDirect Repair Utility \
Dell QuickSet do i need these?
Sonic Solutions DLA 5.x /


Audio Drivers
SIGMATEL STAC 92XX C-Major HD Audio i'm guessing need this too?


Chipset
Intel Mobile Chipset \
Ricoh R5C832 / Both of these?


Communication Drivers
Conexant D110,HDA,MDC,v.92,modem


Diagnostic Utilities
Dell 32 Bit Diagnostics (Graphical User Interface version)


Display Devices
Dell 1707FPc
Dell 1707FPt
Dell 1907FPc
Dell 1907FPt
Dell 2407WFP
Dell E156FPb
Dell E156FPc
Dell E156FPf
Dell E176FPb
Dell E176FPc
Dell E176FPf
Dell E176FPm
Dell E196FPb
Dell E196FPf
Dell E773c-ULD
Dell E773s


FlashBIOS Updates
Dell Inspiron 6400/E1505 System BIOS


Input Device Drivers
Synaptics Touchpad


Network Drivers
Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller
Dell _Wireless (Except US,Japan) WLAN Card
Dell _Wireless (Japan) WLAN Card
Dell _Wireless (US) WLAN Card
Dell Wireless 1390 WLAN MiniCard
Dell Wireless 1490 Dual-Band WLAN MiniCard
Dell Wireless 350 Bluetooth Internal Module
Intel Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection


Printer Drivers
Dell MFP Laser Printer 1815dn


Removable Media Storage Devices
M-Systems LF T5 128/256/512MB Memory Key
MEC ND-6650A slim 8x DVD+/-RW
SMART LF G2 128/256/512MB Memory Key
SMART LF G3 128/256/512MB Memory Key
TSST TS-L532B slim 8x DVD+/-RW


System and Configuration Utilities
Dell Notebook System Software


Video Drivers
ATI Radeon Mobility X1300
ATI Radeon Mobility X1400 -------------got this one for sure
Intel 945GM Graphics Controller

if you could just maybe copy that or something...just some way to tell me which ones i would need

 

Please check out the format guide. I have listed the mandatory drivers and the optional ones. The ones listed in red above are ones that you need. Also, you'll need at least 1 more network driver - depending on your wireless card and possibly one in the removable media if you cd/dvd drive is listed.

 

Before you reformat your hard drive, be sure to read the MediaDirect thread so you can recover that function afterward.

I also suggest you to download Quickset driver too.