How do I optimize my new Vostro 1500?

Hi guys!

I just got my new Vostro, and I absolutely LOVE it! I lucked into getting the LG screen right off the bat, and I'm itching to play some games. However, I'm trying to get everything optimized and set up perfect so that I can make an image of the drive before I start installing all my games on it.

Having already updated my video drivers, what else should I do to get my system fully optimized? Do I need to do anything else? Should I worry about a dual core hotfix or anything, or is that already taken care of in XP SP2?


Also, as a sidenote, are there any suggestions on how to get the longest life out of my battery? Should I take it out when I'm using my adaptor, and only use the battery when I absolutely have to?

TIA!


Vostro 1500
1.6 C2D
2 GB RAM
8600M GT
9 Cell Battery
Win XP 32-bit

 

Congratulations on your new notebook.

There are a lot of guides around that will answer all those questions. A quick search would have answered all your questions.

If your notebook came with a lot of bloatware you could format your notebook and do a fresh install of windows XP. It's up to you.
Here's a quick guide on How to Optimize a Notebook Computer.
Follow most of those steps to optimize your notebook. Some people will argue that turning off System Restore is a bad idea, this depends on the person so make up your decision. Have a look at this topic for a short discussion on that topic.

I don't know if it was done already. Look at the Windows XP Multi Core config - Does your OEM do it for you? topic and follow the instructions to see if it's already set up. If it is not, just follow the steps to do it.

Have a look at the Battery Guide. It will give you lots of information on how to maintain your battery.

Here are some more useful links to get you started:
Have a look at the Guide to Cooling Down Your Notebook Computer.
Have a look at the Monitoring mobile ATI & nVidia Video Card Temps guide (it's a good idea to monitor your CPU, HDD and GPU (if possible) temperatures especially if you plan to play games).

 

Thanks for all the info! I did actually do a search, but I think it was just in the dell forums, and I didn't come up with much. Then again, I may have been searching the wrong terms. I find that so often you get about 1/2 of your question answered, and then spend hours trying to get the rest of what you need. Thankyou for taking the time to put it all in one play, I truly do appreciate it.

 

You're welcome.
If you have any more questions feel free to ask them and I (or other members) will do our best to help.

And I realize that searching for the guides on these forums isn't the easiest thing to do (mainly due to the huge amount of information available), I can imagine it's also hard to find it if you're new to the forums. I'm glad I could help.