Quickset and other Dell Preinstalled utilities and drivers- what to keep?

Hey guys
Im going to reformat my new dell soon, i was just wondering what all of you actually keep from dell. I called them and got all the reinstallation disks (now i feel dumb for actually paying 10 buck for a backup OS, cause they sent me another one anyway with all the other software... and didnt charge me)
Anyway, heres what im looking at:
Quickset- do i really need it? or will windows automatically conserve power without it
All the Drivers- Should i use what dell gives me, or go straight to the manafactures website and get the latest ones myself- ie. intel pro wireless, etc.
Video Driver specifically- Ati's or hacked? What do you all think about omegas.. and ive just recently heard of laptopvideo2go
Power DVD- should i stick with that or does anyone else know of something else better and free?
Firewall- now way am i sticking with that Pccillian thing. At home im connected through a router, but while on the road i plan on using some of the hotspots here and there. Is a firewall Really Necessary? what do you recommend for a real small footprint firewall?

I like my computer super clean and efficient- the less impact anything makes and the more it does the better.
And yes ive read the stickies- but its kindof hard to really find what im looking for cause there so many pages in them.
Thanks guys

 

Follow SG's install guide. Visit Dell and download all of the necessary drivers/software. Only use the drivers from Dell. If you are a gamer, look into the Omega video drivers. PowerDVD is fine for watching DVDs. Get a copy of ZoneAlarm for a software firewall when on the road.

 

I was actually wondering about that too. I know about the drivers but is there any other Dell system related stuff that I should keep? (and where can I get it? is it all on the resource CD?) I'd also like to know how to restore the Sound Card Audigy software after I do the reformat, since it costs $25

 

The best place to get the drivers is under your account on the dell website. Plug in your service tag and go to the Drivers and Download sections. The drivers on the provided CD are sometimes outdated.

 

how many of you guys keep the quickset?

 

Quickset isn't just for power management. I believe you need it in order to use some of the secondary buttons on the top of the keyboard.

Anyway, I kept it obviously. It's just a small process, so having it run in the background isn't that big of a deal. I'd rather have it than not have it.

 

And where do you get it? or is it included on the resources CD?

 

I would assume it's on the resource CD, but I'm not 100% sure.

After I reformatted, I downloaded quickset from the dell site. It's under the Applications category in the Drivers and Download section in your account. You just need your service tag in order to get to the drivers and downloads for your laptop.

 

Read SouthernGirl's install guide.
Download required drivers/software from Dell.

I can't make it any easier to understand.

 

I don't have a service tag, all they gave me was an order # and a customer # in the email(want to get everything before the system gets here.)

 

Assuming you get the correct one for your system [I say 'assume' as Dell is very hit-or-miss wrt sending out the proper disk]... Yes, it is on the Resource CD.

Mark

 

Yeah I found out today when doing a "practice" reinstall (just to get the experience) on one the Latitude D800's at my HS.

 

Some suggestions:

Dell Quickset is excellent for maximizing battery life if you're a traveller or always unplugged.

VLC player is excellent for MP3s as well as DVDs and streaming video.

I like Power DVD but the disk that came with my external DVD burner was full featured, unlike the Dell version.

 

Looking through my order summary earlier today I found the Sonic software and the Roxio MyDVD stuff, I guessing tha'ts the stuff I wan to keep?

 

well if you havent formatted yet, just give those programs a try and see if you like it. i think the only thing i kept on mine was the Dell Quickset. The resource CD should have all the drivers you need but they might be outdated. you can start with those and update them as you need to once everything works.

 

Yeah I guess I'll have to fiddle around with it for a tiny bit before reformating.