A few more questions about clean install of Vista

Well, MS forced my hand...system restore broke Outlook and Windows Explorer. All because of that new and unimproved audio driver-it halves my volume level (both HP and MS versions do this). I have had this PC for a little over a year, so its long past time.

OK. I have a DV6375us (Intel). F29 is the newest BIOS. I use F16-less fan running. Should I go with the newest even though the fan will run more? Isn't cooler better? How much battery life would I loose?

I have two partitions: the restore partition and the OS partition. Does QuickPlay use the restore partition at all?

I may include a separate partion for music and pictures, so if I have to reinstall again, I won't have to back them up. Recommendations?

 

1) Usually the latest BIOS has better a fan algorithm for better thermal protection. This will make your machines lifespan last longer. You wont loose much battery life

2) With Vista HP machines, Quickplay does not use its own partition. It just uses the OS's partition. You can delete the recovery partition when you do the clean install as this partition will become useless. Make sure you burn the recovery dvd's first as they do the same thing

3) Yes i suggest you have 2 partitions, specifically C: and D: drives. Put your OS and programs in C: and use D: as storage for your files, music,etc. This way if something goes wrong with your OS, your personal files wont be touched.

 

Less fan running = more heat
More fan running = less heat

 

Understood. What about the battery life? Noticeable decrease or not? Should I upgrade BIOS before clean install?

 

Probably a small decrease on battery, but its better than having motherboard failure.

You should flash the BIOS before the clean install. It will just be easier this way