Clean Vista install WITH NO ACTIVATION

if i dont have the Vista DVD i cannot do this, correct?

 

You will need the "Anytime Upgrade" DVD, which cames along with many laptops. You can also buy it from Amazon or other places for less than $10.

 

Fujitsu, worked like a charm, thanks

PS shouldn't this be a sticky for all laptops?

 

It should be a sticky in all the "Notebook Manufacturers" threads. I'm getting tired of referring everyone to this thread.

 

workeddd for me!!!!

gj ^^

 

OK, I believe I have resolved the issues with 64 bit Vista, and have updated the release to beta2. The download link is on the main page.

Please let me know of successes and failures! Thanks.

 

It worked perfectly on my dv9500t with 64-bit Vista. Thanks Orev!

 

I don't want to be critical of the great work of the author, and maybe I'm missing something here, but it seems to me that the end result of a clean system could simply be accomplish by uninstalls, deletions and running a registry cleaner. Sure the cleaner might miss a few things but those things would be largely insignificant.
This process of a clean install and then reinstalling all the drivers seems like twice the time and work. Aren't we just talking about bragging rights for a pristine initial system?

 

Uninstalling will never give the same performance of a system built from scratch. At least in the windows world...

 

Aside from which, Vista installs faster than XP and has the majority of drivers which are lacking in XP. I found it to be rather easy IMO.......

 

Sounds like you fall into the "It feels so much faster" group of users. I've done many tests with XP and Win 98 over the years and never found this to be the case except in older systems that just suffered from too many install/uninstalls. And I am not trying to be a pain here, it's just that I have never seen this mentioned in the technical articles and discussions I have read.

Anyone have links to actual performance tests or perhaps credible sources that say this a preferred installation?

 

And every single power user does a clean install when they get a system. That should tell you something.

I, and the rest of us, DO notice a difference. Not just performance, but little weird things here and there that crop up. Besides which, reinstalling is often easier than trying to clean up a system, and the end result is always better.

 

It's not about bragging rights for me. Have you been to the Lenovo forum lately. So many unexplained BSODs and system freezes/instability. Seems that a clean install has fixed the issues for most. While uninstalling aplications and registry cleaners just don't cut it. It doesn't take that much more time to do a clean install. A clean install seems like less work to me... Install the OS and install the drivers... that's it. The method you describe involves manually selecting and uninstalling one application at a time. Then tinkering around in the registry. Nah... we have different definitions of "work".

 

WHy would anyone want to deny me the joy and satisfaction of a clean Vista install on my HP dv9500t . . . not only was it faster than trying to remove all of the bloatware . . . but I got three things out of it:

1. Faster startup time;

2. No more crashes on my old software tthat I loaded and tried to run on on the new machine when I had the bloatware on it; and

3. By deleting the partition, and getting rid of the recovery disc partition which I can only back up one time (which I did), I got more hard drive space--somehwere aroudn 10GB + more of hard drive space!

In the future, when buying any and every new machine, step two after burning the recovery discs will always be a clean install!

 

The original guide says that the clean install was completed using a single hard drive. For those with dual hd's what steps have you taken for the installation/partition etc?

 

Even the OP mentioned that HP’s are remarkably clean, and I did not notice an answer to my question concerning performance tests/credible sources.
And it sure seems that we forgot some things in this process
· Download some software that may or may not work
· Purchase a USB flash drive or external disk, then install software on it
· Get a Vista Anytime Upgrade CD
· Burn recovery disks
· Burn backup dvd of c:\swsetup
· Fiddle with the partitions
· Do an “activation_restore” hoping everything was successful
· Update, by a quick count, about two dozen drivers

Hmmm . . . quicker than uninstall, deletions and a good reg cleaner?
Just not convinced, unless you’re crashing/freezing and can’t locate the cause.

With that said, I can see an advantage of a clean install, modifying & perhaps expanding the second partition in the process, installing most of the software you will use, testing for stability and then imaging your new setup to the second partition as an excellent restore point.

 

Bottom-line . . . look at the poll results above . . . Orev's instructions have worked for the overwhelming majority! It obviously did not work for everyone; at least, it did not work for on the first try. Perhaps, for some, it worked the second time--seems like there are alot of references to that possibility on this thread.

No one is required to do a clean install. Each to her/his own.

But me? Out of the box and after recovery discs were made, the dv9500t was sluggish on startup while using it--even after updating all drivers. I put my own must-have productivity software on, and other stuff like iTunes . . . some of it would not even load (like Office XP). iTunes continually crashed . . . and I saw no reason to simply lose 10GB+ to a partition with the HP recovery stuff that I could never burn a second time again.

Orev's post was simple and worked step-by-step. Since the clean install, for over a week now, I am loaded up, all software is working without a single crash, and the machine is fast--definitely faster than out of the box--and I have more usable hard drive. The proof for me is sitting on my desktop every time I use the new lappy.

Maybe a new poll? Show of hands? Who did the clean install, maybe even twice, and is thrilled with it? My hand is up!

Thank you, Orev, for some incredible help, and for the step-by-step instructions that moved me, certainly no expert--easily and quickly through the clean install process, especially after the first two days out of the box of fighting and tweaking my new machine and trying to load and run my productivity software.

Like I said . . . no one is required to do a clean install . . . but it is a great option, especially for anyone software and conflict trouble and speed issues in start up, like I was.

If I was hesitant at all, I would not do a clean install. But knowing from doing it, with a user-friendly map, I wouldn't hestitate again, especially after wasting two trying to tweak it out of the box with the HP configuration and bloatware.

Kudos and many more kudos to Orev and all those who have contributed to his tweaking the process outlined at the beginning of this thread!

 

As a long time Windows driver writer, (and admitting that I actully wrote a piece of the bloatware that gets installed on many of the HP systems), I can truthfully testify that this stuff does not go away easily, and uninstalling leaves all sorts of junk on your system, including thousands of registery entries that simply cannot be cleaned).

Unless you actually want all this 3rd party stuff (and I include HP as a 3rd party), a clean install is the only way to safely get rid of it.

IMEO (expert opinion, not humble), "unless you want it all, then do a clean install". If you only want some, then buy it.

I just got my 9500T today, and did an uninstall just too see what would stay. There is a *lot* still there! I am staring at adverts as I write this!

If your a home user, and you like all the "extras", then by all means, save some time and uninstall what you dont want.

It is also worth mentioning that some of this stuff hangs around, dials home, and bloats up your system with stuff running in the background.

If you are at all concered about having anything on your system that you did not put there, then clean install.

I will be popping in with a Vista drive image post, using an old reliable Ghost 2003 cd, but first, I gotta do a clean install

 

This worked like a charm on my Compaq Presario F577CL. Many thanks!

 

Worked like a charm! Thanks again orev.

Edit: ABRbeta2 success.

 

because norton is a good software to ruin your PC and there's no other way to clean it if you not perform a clean install . Deleting the registry won't help . It may be no proof or a credible source for what we do here , but you'll know and see the difference when norton installed in your pc.

 

simply? Yes! I've done this now with 4 HP laptops. 2 - DV6000's and 2- DV9500's. Manually removing everything takes 3hrs. Clean install takes 1 to 1 1/2 hrs. Time well spent, especially if you make a drive image when you're done.

 

Although I question what you are doing that it would make for a 3 hour cleanup, I think you are correct, that you have the best of both worlds with a clean system and a clean image to work with, and I plan to purchase a flash drive this week and will clean install on my dv9000.

 

I've uninstalled Norton many times on family and friends PC's because their license had expired and they did not want to renew. It's not hard if you know what you are doing and are willing to read. However I've also seen kiddies who just assumed they knew what they were doing botch up their systems.

 

I would like to do a clean Vista install but want to enlarge or extend the recovery partition a little bit to hold system images. Plan to burn the images to DVD's afterwards for backup purposes.

Has anyone performed this maneuver during the install, and do you have any tips? Did you encounter any problems?

 

It depends on how you plan on holding the system images. If you are going to use ISO files, I think it's better to have only 1 big partition, then store the images on there. Use an external USB disk for backup purposes.

IMO, the concept of partitions really has no place on a home system anymore. Even on servers, the benefit is debatable. All it does is waste disk space in one place while possible not giving you enough on another.

 

Costs are a factor here as I prefer not to spend more money than I already have on the notebook. I wanted to Ghost (2003) the image (split into dvd sized portions) and burn them, and then for an additional backup move them for storage onto my desktop computer via my network. My present desktop has 3 hard drives and the main hd, where all my programs and main files are located, is only using 35 gb at present so I don't think I will need huge amounts of space on the lappy.

 

I'm not really sure what your question is then. Here's what I would do:

• Backup everything on the laptop
• Burn the Recovery Discs using the software installed on the system
• Test the recovery discs by doing a full recovery from them
• Do a clean install. During the clean install, delete all partitions and make 1 big one
• While that's going on, make ISO images of the recovery discs and store them on your other hard drive somewhere.

You mention ghosting an image. Can ghost save to a network drive? If so, just do that once you've got the system setup.

BTW: If you have Vista Ultimate, the Complete PC Backup seems to work pretty well for this.

 

No my version of Ghost can't image to a network drive, and I have Vista Premium.
Since my Ghost can only image to a partition or separate hard drive, my question is "can I extend the recovery partition that is already there (during this clean install) to hold potentially larger images, and does anyone have experience with that"?
I will move the images over the network to a desktop hard drive and have an empty partition for the next image (restore point).

 

OK, I guess in that case, I would shrink the vista partition, then expand the recovery partition (maybe delete it and make a new one). Run the ghost image to the 2nd partition, then once that's all done, then copy those images over the network. I found this page on extending and shrinking partitions in vista.

 

Hey Orev,

I made an install guide specific to the Lenovo Thinkpad. Basically all I did is provide a link to this guide. I made it Thinkpad specifid by making a list of all the necessary drivers with the download links.

Link is in my sig if you wanna have a look.

Thanks!

 

I added some links at the bottom of the guide to some of the other guides out there. If you have suggestions for other guides to put there, please PM me.

 

I reinstalled clean, and everything worked for me. The only thing is now Device manager is saying I have an unknown other device on Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System. It's a Compaq f572us with a dual core amd. Any ideas?

 

Thanks Orev, this works fine for me. i do have a question though, i removed my partition when i was doing the clean install (i have 160GB HD) and when i checked my computer this is what i saw...



how come it only recognizes 149GB of the 160GB? i posted this in another forum but i just want to see if anyone else encountered this before. i was thinking that this is normal (ie 1024kb as 1mb) but don't you think 11GB is a lot to lose? Thanks in advance.

 

After I did the clean install on my Compaq I had 1 unknown device that turned out to be for the quick play program. Once I installed the quick play program it was fine.

 

It's normal. There's a table about this here.

 

so id be able to do this with a vista dvd if i dont have the anytime upgrade dvd?

 

What is a "vista DVD"?

A Retail DVD? or An OEM Vista DVD? or A factory Vista restore DVD? or something else.

 

oh sorry, I meant to stick retail in there. A vista retail dvd...

 

A retail DVD will work (as well as an OEM one)................

 

thank you. ill be cleaning my 9500t soon as i get home than.

 

There are a few types of Vista DVDs:

• Anytime Upgrade DVD: This is usually shipped with your computer, or can be bought at compusa for cheap. It contains all versions of vista for 1 architecture (32bit or 64bit), but includes no license.
• Vista Retail DVD: This is what you would buy in the store, and also comes with a new license key. It also contains all versions of Vista, and I think it also has both 32bit and 64bit versions on it. It's so expensive because you are buying a new license.
• Vista OEM DVD: This is a clean version of Vista, and contains all versions of vista for 1 architecture (32bit or 64bit)

Then there are the Recovery Discs, which contain an OS image, as well as all the additional software.

It seems very confusing, but here are some hints:

• There are only 3 Vista DVDs: 32bit, 64bit, and one that has both 32bit and 64bit (Edit: There are only 2 DVDs. 32bit and 64bit).
• The version of vista you install (premium, ultimate) is determined by the license key you type in.
• That means that all of the retail boxes in compusa contain exactly the same disc, they just have different license keys
• The Anytime Upgrade DVD is identical to the OEM DVDs, and the retail DVDs that only contain 32bit or 64bit versions.

 

Vista 32-bit and 64-bit come on separate DVDs. Whether it be the "anytime upgrade", retail, or OEM. So you need to look at the DVD and make sure you have and are using the version you want.

 

The Ultimate retail package comes with both 32bit and 64bit. I thought they were on the same disc, but I guess not!

 

Thank you orev! This worked wonders for me. When I got my dv6000t the first thing I did was familiar myself with the basics of Vista (new menues, folders, options, etc.) but the second thing I did was a clean install with a vista disc a friend burned for me. Of course I have a backup copy of the SwSetup folder which I may peruse (I have not driver issues currently) and I purchased a Recovery Disc should anything go awry. But great guide!

 

My thanks too orev. Nice guide and support as well.

To anyone interested, I was able to delete the recovery partition with the HP recovery tools. When I clean installed, I created a main partition about 17% less than max. That allowed me to use the tools in Vista to finish the job of making that blank space usable. (The recovery partition that was already there could not be expanded, I suspect from the placement of the windows page file).

I am happy as I will always have solid restore points along the way, and to have not spent additional funds for upgraded software.

 

Does anyone know if there are any local stores that sell anytime upgrade cd/dvds? cirrcuit city/bestbuy

Or a downloadable version?

 

The FAQ on the main page has links to where you can order them from compusa.

 

I'll be buying a new HP from the dv6500t series in just a bit.

I have almost memorized the instructions on how to do a clean install of Vista. I'm confident that I can handle the task. The only thing that worries me at the moment is the thought of having to re-install all the drivers from the back-up partition. Are the drivers clearly labeled? I hope they are easy to find. Another thing that concerns me is QuickPlay. Will it still work the way it did before the re-formatting, meaning without the need of starting Windows? If not, what more will I have to do to get it to work normally?

 

Glad you are excited about using my guide. No, the drivers are not labeled clearly. You'll have to poke around in each folder to figure it out. I usually download them from HP, but there's some stuff you can't get online, like the fingerprint software, etc.. BTW: the drivers are not in the backup partition, they are in the c:\swsetup folder that you need to save before you do the reinstall.

Quickplay on vista does not work that way. It must boot into Vista (as of this writing, HP may change that in the future), so that's not a concern right now. You will need the quickplay stuff in SWsetup to install it, as you can't download it anywhere.