Software for Fresh Vista install on a dv3

Hey guys,

I just got my new dv3 and want to to reformat the machine and install Vista afresh to get rid of all the bloatware. I've burned my recovery disks using the HP Recovery Manager. I've also read through the "Clean Vista Install with no activation" thread here.

My question is this: what happens after I install a fresh copy of Vista? Do I need to download all the required HP drivers? Where can I get some of the software that comes preloaded on the machine like HP Mediasmart and Wireless Assistant etc? Does anyone have a list of all the software that comes preinstalled on the dv3? I'd like to be able to get some things installed like mediasmart (and anything else that might actually be useful and is not junk).

Thanks in advance!

 

Here are the search results for all HP laptops with "dv3" in them. Choose yours from the list. Then, select your operating system, then you will be directed to a list of software and drivers for your laptop.

What happens after a clean install is that your screen will have a low resolution with big icons until you install your graphics driver and enable Windows Aero. Also, bootup is visibly slower (at least for me) until you defragment your hard disk, which after that, bootup becomes blazing fast. You can download the drivers you need from the HP website or you can just copy the SwSetup folder located in your primary partition of your hard disk before you reformatted your computer. This folder contains most, if not all, the drivers and HP software that have been installed on your computer.

 

Sweet, thanks! All done