PC Recovery & other included software

What software does Gateway included with new notebook purchases? Do they include a PC Recovery tool similar to HP's? What other software is preinstalled? What's Gateway BigFix?

Thnx

 

Hey Nix.

I don't recall what Gateway puts on, mainly because it is better to reformat the harddrive when you first purchase.. Leaving all of this 'bloatware,' as they call it, can greatly cripple system performance. Therefore it is recommended that it be removed.. That doesn't mean that you can't keep it all. Just that you have to feel that the convenience is worth the loss of performance.

Gateway BigFix is a program that supposedly 'determines problems before they occur.' I myself have never used it before (it wasn't even available when I purchased my laptop). Maybe someone else has some experience and can shine some light

I don't know how Gateway does it now, but my laptop did not come with the drivers on a disk. You should back up all of your drivers on a disk before proceeding to reinstall windows, if you decide to do so.

I hope this is of some help.

 

The problem with reformatting is that you don't get a lot of choice in your OS install when you're stuck with using the recovery DVD or secured HDD partition. I had an eMachines with the same situation: a recovery DVD was my only version of Windows and it installed a lot of crap. Big Fix is one of the WORST - it's an annoyance program and constantly pops up dialogue windows for the user.

Usually I go through the windows install/uninstall process to get rid of what I don't want, then I backup as is and create a rescue CD at that point. It's a lot of work uninstalling Windows based programs because of the registry entries - there's a lot of babysitting dialogue boxes and restarting/logging in.

To answer the original poster: unless Gateway has changed, they included a "recovery DVD" with the purchase of a system. This recovery DVD allows you to run diagnostics on your system and to restore to factory default.

Big Fix is something you can live without if you know even a little about maintaining a computer. Windows has enough system update stuff going on that you don't need another aftermarket software fighting with it too.

 

Oh I should add here.... Gateway likes to install a generic version of windows on the machines when you send them in for service, too. It's a pain because it's difficult to navigate the backup DVD to find drivers for the on board stuff, like your wireless NIC and your touchpad. I always had to reformat my computer when I got it back from DEX or Arima so I could have the software/OS specific to my machine. This of course was a problem after I ended up having the motherboard replaced - the system thought it was a new computer and my software which was a year old at that point thought it was stolen and wouldn't authenticate.

Technicalities are fun, fun fun. If you have a good system though, with no manufacturing defects, you'll really like the system. I loved the look and functionality of my eMachines (which was a twin at one point, and have now been absorbed by Gateway). They build nice machines if you can get a good one.

 

Ok thanks a lot for the help!

 

I don't know what HP uses but I have been very impressed with the Gateway recovery partition. It will restore your computer to the factory defaults without having to use a disk. It will also automatically backup most of your hard drive. ie... when you get to the new OS there will be a folder called something like "backup of C:" and it will save most of your files.

At least that is the way that mine has worked.

 

OK thanks for the info. Hey, we have same # of posts (well, not any more).

 

Ha, well here's one more. Your Welcome.

 

Question. Did you by any chance get a recovery/rescue CD with your machine? I just bought a MX1023 (E-100) and the restoration CD seems to be missing.

 

The last Gateway, a cheap MX6121, came with a recovery creation software. I did use it to make my recovery cds then promptly formatted and installed a VLK version of XP pro that I got from work.
Does this mean I can sell my license to XP home?