Installing Windows 7 on my DM3

Hello,

My DM3-1105ea is due to arrive tomorrow. I've never owned a HP before and from what I've heard, there is quite a bit of bloatware pre-intalled. I've heard people fresh installing Windows 7, wiping everything and use the key that comes with it. My experience with such operation is rather limited therefore would very appreciate some advice.

First of all, is it safe to do a fresh install? Will there be anything I need from the pre-installed OS/softwares?

Apart from writing down the key, what else do I need?

It comes with W7 Home Prem 64bit. Where can I get a copy to perform the fresh install for free?

I'm not sure if the hard drive comes pre-partitioned. It has a 500GB drive so I'd like to partition it before I install the OS. When do I need to do this?

Should I be anticipating any problem with HP drivers etc after the fresh install e.g. integrate webcam, touchpad etc?

I've gone for a DM3 for its portability. It only has a SU2300 processor and I'd rather not have all the bloatware compromising its already weak performance.

Thank you in advance for everyone's input.

 

Quick pointers:

1. Copy swsetup folder because it contains all drivers and ancilliary software.

2. See this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-7-download-links-just-like-vista-before.html

3. Also see this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...-hp-laptop-out-box-guide-2-0-windows-7-a.html

4. And see this thread: Clean Install Windows 7 - How to Perform a Clean Installation of Windows 7 - Part 1 of 3

For anything else you will need to chat with DM3 owners to see what little tidbit and tips they may have about certain adjustments and settings.

 

• Take a 4GB (or larger) USB thumb drive.
• Download the Windows 7 Home Premium ISO as shown above.
• Download MS USB Tool and install the ISO onto the USB thumb drive.
• Install Windows 7 from the USB thumb drive by pressing Escape at boot.
• Install Series 4 chipset driver and Intel's Rapid Storage driver from Intel.com.
• Before you install any touchpad driver I'd recommend trying the MS default driver. Many people prefer it.
• Install audio driver from HP.com

I think that's all you really need.

 

Thank you 2.0 and thank you Phil.

I hope it's easier than it sounds... Phil, where can I download the MS USB Tool? Why do I need it? Is it because the ISO is a big file?

 

Re install Series 4 chipset driver, do you mean
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator Driver for Windows 7* 64 and Windows Vista* 64 (exe)? I assume this is the driver for Intel 4500 integrated graphics card but what's the Rapid Storage driver for?

 

In general .ISO files are cd or dvd-images, usually they are burned to disc. That Microsoft USB tool "burns" the image file into USB drive, then you can use that drive to install Windows.

 

yes that's the one. The IRS driver is for the ICH9 controller, allows extra hard drive performance.

It is fairly easy.
Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool Help

It 'burns' the ISO to the USB key and makes the USB key bootable.

 

I see thanks. I just went through a bit pile of dvds and a found a copy of Windows 7 RC 64bit Build 7100 with a key. I think I downloaded it last summer when MS released it for people to try. Would I be able to use my DM3 key with this? Will it update itself automatically?

If so, all I have to do is to install the Series 4 chipset driver and the Rapid Storage driver afterwards? I think I can manage that.

Also, according to 2.0's out of the box guide, if I create a recovery disc(never done one before), I can always revert the system back to how it came as a safety net in case I mess up? Doesn't HP ship a recovery disc with their systems? Or do they do this now with a recovery partition?(which obviously will be erased once I tried to do a fresh install.

To create a recovery disc, quote 2.0's guide:
....click the start orb, and type in recovery. Click the program called recovery disc creation, and follow the prompts. Also, back up your SwSetup folder (C:\SwSetup) to a DVD for original software and drivers.

The DM3 comes with an external dvd drive, how do I get it to boot from the recovery disc? Presumably, I just need to follow the instruction afterwards. But what do I do with the Swsetup backups?

Sorry for all these questions. I'm soooo excited that I'm getting another laptop. I can't wait for it to arrive and set it all up. I'd probably drive me mad to ask all these quesitons tomorrow and wait for replies then.

Thanks a million!

 

No need to. Just download the ISO as described by 2.0.

You may also need an audio driver, like I said before.

PS. I'd skip point 1 of 2.0. No need to.

 

If you mean don't backup SwSetup, definitely back it up. Sometimes there is software in that folder that cannot be obtained elsewhere - if you need that software, you would have to recover with the recovery discs and get the folder again.

 

Maybe you didn't know I own a DM3. I wouldn't know what software needs to be backed up. In my opinion you'd want to get rid of it asap.

 

I found it better just to get the drivers you need off HP's website

 

They're stable drivers but old. For example Youtube acceleration is much better with the latest Intel driver. Gamma settings too.

 

how would you even know which drivers you need?. Fwiw, I just did a vlean iatall (windows 7 over windows 7) and randomly lost my anility to wireessly connect and none f the hp drivers on the website worked

 

might want to create your own thread. make only 1 full installation.

@ OP backup anything you can using whatever proggy. make a disk image of it also.

Do what every other member is trying to tell you. most likely everything will install correctly except some stuff but you need to get back to us on it to see if everything turned out ok. sometimes W7 doesn't have drivers for wireless laptops and sometimes the drivers from the HP website don't work for some odd reason

 

You need to get the drivers specific to your model, its not difficult, just type in the dm3z-xxxx into the support and drivers page. Download any drivers your missing in the device manager. You could of read the guide, thats what its there for.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...-hp-laptop-out-box-guide-2-0-windows-7-a.html

 

This is exactly what I'm worried about. Downloading the iso and going through the clean install should be no problem. The extra drivers etc to download sounds a bit confusing for a first time HP notebook owner. How do I find out which is already on and which to download.... Anyway, I've decided to leave the fresh install experiments till the next couple of weeks. In the mean time, I just want to enjoy my purchase.

What I'll definitely do though is create those recovery disc when it gets here. My question is, once I've created these discs, do I still need the recovery partition? If not, does it mean I don't need to create these disc should I just fresh install the new OS outside the hidden recovery partition?

I'll probably go ahead with the discs anyway as I'd like to 'reclaim' that 20G or so hard drive space. But I just want to understand what I'm doing instead of just following the guide.

 

There's no need to download any driver from HP. I've done about 20 clean installs this week. Windows has all necessary drivers already inside.

You could get an audio driver and touchpad driver from HP but this is optional.

@ Nikeseven, he has an Intel based HP.

@ Funkystevie, I'm writing a guide to a REAL clean install now. I'll post it later.

That's not a clean install. You need to remove the partitions and install it on a empty partition.

 

Thanks for your help Phil.

Could you clarify, with the pre-installed W7 Home Prem 64 bit key(I assume this is what they call OEM), will I be able to download the 32bit ISO and use this key? or am I restricted to use the 64bit? I'd prefer installing a 32bit.

Courier has just send me a text, ETA 12:21pm!!!! Can't wait!

 

Yes you can use it on 32 bit too... but why do you want to?

I'd recommend 64 bit, it works better on the DM3.

 

Here's my clean install guide:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...all-guide-hp-dm3-intel-based.html#post6550227

 

Thanks Phil. There's no particular reason other than the fact that I've never used a 64 bit system before. I'll first of all install all my regularly used programs on to make sure they work ok first. Then I'll follow your guide.

Why did you say that a 64bit OS works better on the DM3?

 

It's my experience. I had to run 32 bit for a while because a Wimax dongle wasn't supported in 64 bit. I was noticeably slower. I'm glad to be back at 64 bit.

All your software will run fine I expect. If not, you can run it in Windows XP compatibility mode.

 

Only use the official release. If I remember right that version was timebombed and it's still different than actual released windows. The mentioned download links are correct place to go to.

I looked at the HP support website, for DM3-1100CTO models there was an usb tool to create an usb recovery drive from the recovery partition. Check if your laptop has it too.

Just plug in the external drive and power up the computer. You can either set boot option in bios or press F9 at boot to get boot device selection menu.

SWsetup is handy when you do a clean install, then later find out that you need some preinstalled application (such as dvd-player) that isn't available from HP website due licensing restrictions. That is just an example, no need to mention how superior image quality free VLC has and it plays dvd movies too

 

when you install the windows 7 do you do custom install or the express one?

 

By custom and express, do you mean upgrade and a new installation?
The upgrade option should be greyed out.

If I were you, I'd just format the harddrive from the installation (quick format) and then reinstall windows.

And as for the 32bit vs 64bit, 64bit is the way to go. Almost all of the DM3's come with 4GB of ram and running a 32bit OS with 4GB is a waste. All 32bit software work on 64bit OS. All your drivers should be capable.