New dv2000t. What are smart next moves?

Just got dv2000t. Still in box. Have heard bad things about bloatware on these units, and that the recovery console is hard to replicate. Has core due 2, 1 gb dram, 100gb HD, other bells.

What are the next 5-10 smart things to start doing as I hook up and fire up?

 

First off, congrats on the purchase! Now down to the nitty gritty... I wouldn't say that the bloatware is exceptionally horrible--its just the typical garbage you get with any new computer. What I would do is get it into windows. Before you even plug it into the wall you should have some kind of antivirus and firewall installed (if you poke around you can find many, many, many threads on this topic). Once you're all internetted up, you should burn the recovery DVDs that Windows prompts you to make. Just so you have them. From there you have a few different options... You can just go through add/remove programs very thoroughly, and inspect the folders on your HD to get rid of extra stuff (which is what I did), or you can take a look at this thread ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=73377 ), which has information on how to do a clean reinstall. Whatever you do, DO burn the recovery dvds, and DO NOT delete the SWSETUP folder until those are on DVDs as well (and no harm in keeping them longer if you wish!) Good luck!

Aram

 

What screen manufacturer did you get?

 

I've had a couple of dv2000t's and i would say there is more crap installed on the HP machines then on the Dell E1505's but nothing annoys me more then when i fire up a new E1505 and have to deal with the McAfee Internet Security Suite.

 

TheManWithTheBlackSax said it all... HP's aren't THAT bad for bloatware... at least most of it can be easily uninstalled. Start with the antivirus and go from there. Contrary to some opinions, I find that the uninstallers do a fairly decent job. I can boot into XP MCE 2005 pretty qickly now that I've ridded myself of the HP junk. There may be registry entries left behind, but oh well, with Vista right around the corner, how long do you really plan on leaving XP installed on your notebook.

By the way, congrats on your notebook purchase. I love my machine FAR more than any other notebook I have ever owned.

 

I'm not sure why some people make it out to be such a big deal to reformat when they get a new laptop. It usually only takes a couple of hours to reformat and reinstall everything you need. Then you have a perfectly clean install without anything left behind in processes or registry entries. That's very little time to invest if you plan on using the laptop every day for quite a while. If nothing else you might learn a little bit about how to do something outside of turning it on and surfing the internet.

 

The thing with reformatting this comp is that it is considerably harder due to quickplay and bluetooth reinstallation.

There are a lot of bloatware on this machine, but most are pretty useable, except they're trials. When I first loaded up the machines, there were close to 60 processes, normally my comp has less than 30 running.

But after a few days of use, I can say that the Core 2 Duo 7200 is a beast. With all the bloatware it still boost into Windows super fast. I decoded a dvd, browse the web, virus scan, listening to itune, all at the same time without any problem.

What I recommend you do is play around with the machine to find any defects on it, you don't want to discover that unbearable dead pixel or a faulty touchpad after the 21 days to return expired.

And make sure to know about your comp as much as possible. It took me a week to find out that my Windows XP MCE 2005 was actually 2002.

The dv2000t is a beauty though, isn't it. I'm awaiting my new one to come after sending back one with a faulty touchpad.

 

Thanks to all who have answered and helped. No disrespect for you by not coming back quick, but I've been gone 4 days (without any outside messenging; burn the crackberry!), and I've just this morning got it out of the box and fired up.

Really hot sensitive wifi. Really great screen. No part-dead touchpad. Great keyboard. Poor volume control. Tons of bloatware, but most easy to remove.

Man w/black sax: Thanks for the thread. I pre-ordered an xp pro recovery DVD from HP. Should I still do my own discs? Also, I run Zone Alarm 6 on my desktops, so that's what I installed. You're right, some of the folders are hidden grenades with bloatware, but most come off fine. The pig is xp.

Superhuman: Where do I find the screen OEM? It's not on device manager or profile, or in the order/packing materials? I originally ordered direct from HP, but ended up with better price and customization from Costco. Specs: T5600 dual core 2, 1GB memory, 100GB HD, best Nvidia, wifi a/b/g bluetooth, other bells, 2 yr service plan.

Thanks again, all. PLEASE KEEP SENDING IDEAS. I didn't plan on this being a hot thread, so it shows there are a lot of not expert/not novice folks like me out there.

Observations: Hot wifi, great HD speed, great screen, great keyboard, great looks, good touchpad, good connections/ports/card readers, rotten volume control, overrated Quick play, really bad 6 cell battery. I've go both the 6 and 12-cell. Charged first the 6. When you flip on wireless, it's like watching the gas guage needle go down before your eyes!

Generally, what a beauty.

 

Right click My Computer > Properties > Hardware tab > Device Managers > Monitors > Double click on 'Plug and Play Monitor' > Click the Details tab and it should look something like this: DISPLAY\SEC..........

The first three letters after "DISPLAY\" will tell you what screen manufacturer you have.

For example, SEC = Samsung, QDS = Quanta Display Systems, AUO = AU Optrontics, LPL = LG Philips

 

The HP salesperson I spoke with said the recovery discs are identical to what you can burn from the system. So based on that, no, you shouldn't need to do your own discs.

 

Quick question on the dv2000t (or any computer for that matter), when you order the laptop w/ XP, do they send the actual CD so you can do a fresh install down the road?

thanks

jeff

 

No they don't.

 

Doh!!!

 

Superhuman: The screen is made by Phillips.

Also, I was told by a guy in my office complex today to buy some car wax and wax the pressed screen cover. Says it will lessen fingerprints. He has a new 6000t, and that's what he did. Sounds nuts

What say you all?