Getting rid of bloatware on studio 15

Has anyone done this
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=157838
for a studio 15?

Or if anyone has done it at all, does the recovery still work?
edit: I guess in order to do a recovery all you would have to do is another clean install.

 

I'm planning on doing this. The only thing I'm unclear about is the AHCI/Intel Matrix Storage ManagerI drivers. There are two on the site, and I'm not sure which I'm supposed to install. Any thoughts?

 

I know a guy. Let me get back to you.

 

like many will say, installing a fresh copy of vista is a tottal waste of time and it like a placebo it psychologically appealing, but actually uninstalling the apps u dont want and using registry and crap cleaners will give you the very same results even might be better....

 

Levon, you sound like you know what you are doing. I am switching from OS X to Vista however, and for me having a brand new clean install is more appealing than having to mess with things I don't understand. Is there a disadvantage to doing a full reformat/reinstall? Other than the amount of time spent.


Also, what do we think of http://www.yorkspace.com/pc-de-crapifier/ the dell pc-de-crapifier? Comparable to a reformat?

 

I am the type that, in the past, would re-format the PC anytime I thought it was starting to run too slowly. I can tell you right now, that in my experience (as I am now becoming an old-noob), it is as effective to simply make a round of cleaning out your unwanted programs, and running a lean startup. If you search the registry very carefully you can delete any entries that your deleted programs may have left behind. Not usually a speed booster, but if they manage to sit in the add / remove programs list or anywhere else (and you are like me) it can bug the crap out of you.

A second rule is that You have more speed to gain from freeing up a significant amount of HD space then messing around with a re-install, only to dump everything right back onto your hard drive. That is because Hard Drive speed always declines as it fills up. If I were you I would make an image of your machine after you clean it up to your liking, and then I would delete the recovery partition that Dell sticks on there instead of providing recovery discs. I might back up said partition to disc first in case I thought I might need it. Especially in case I ever did need to re-format / install. That way I would have the proper drivers handy.

I can't think of anything else at the moment, other than the fact that bloatware is a problem, but you can get rid of that stuff without necessarily needing a complete re-install. I would probably only go through the trouble if I knew that I wanted to make some custom partitions or something like that.

 

Thanks for your advice, I'm probably just going to do what others have said and manually attack the bloatware. Any hints to doing that for a person new to Windows? Also, is there any program I could use to get rid of the partition and merge it with my main one? Sorry for the ignorant questions, I feel like I'm learning to walk again. All the stuff I knew how to do on OS X I now need to ask for help on!

 

click on computer / add remove programs. It will generate a list. Google anything that you are not sure about.

start > run > type 'msconfig' and select the tab for startup programs. Google anything that you are not sure about. You may want to take the Dell utilities, update manager and what not off your start-up, but you should probably keep the programs as they do serve a useful purpose (at least while you are under warranty). They just really don't need to be running constantly. Neither does adobe agent for example.

I forget that you were new to windows. There are many helpful guides out there for working with Vista, just search for what the issue is, and usually something will pop up. The Vista help and support, built in to the OS, can be a good way to help point you around until you get a feel for things. Also, Microsoft Technet or Microsoft windows support sites can have a lot of useful info.

 

I'm planning on installing Vista x64 right away, I don't want to use just 3.5GB of 4GB that I'll have, I'll post here guide (if necessary), because I found the x64 drivers in the Drivers website at Dell.com, that should make it a piece of cake...

 

I'm trying to find a program that will allow me to delete Dell's "recovery" partition and reallocate that space to my C: drive. Windows disk management won't let me do it since the free space is not adjacent, and I'd rather not pay $30 for Disk Director - just to move one 2gig partition. Anyone have any cost effective solutions? It's too bad Symantic has left Partition Magic to rot - it was a great tool in its day.