Startup on a brand new dv6, help me please

Ok, my dad just bought a new laptop for my sister for college. It's nice, first time I've ever tried Windows 7 (don't like the touchpad though, and so used to my Dell Studio 1535 that I cannot type on that thing, good thing it's not my computer).

Anyway, I'm trying to get everything setup for her. I want to make sure it is as simple to use as possible (and keep her from messing crap up) since all she'll be using is the web, iTunes, and office probably.

First thing, the bloatware, holy cow! I can't even tell what is actually worth keeping or truly crap. Any recomendations on what HP software or HP sponsored software that comes preinstalled I should keep? What is the difference between Adobe Reader X and Adobe Reader X mui (< thats what it is called in the unistall program section).

How do I enter the BIOS, maybe it is a Dell thing only but I'm used to pressing F2 and that doesn't seem to work. The screen flashes by too fast for me to see what it is.

Last and I honestly can't believe this, there is no OS reinstallation disc or driver disc. What do I do for recovery or fresh installtion of the OS if it ever becomes necessary? (and I know it is necessary eventually, I've had to do it multiple times with my Vista machine, and I just did it for the first time (after some 6+ years) to my dad's old XP Inspiron 6000 that literally transformed its slow and never loading system to brand new and fast).

Thank you!

 

First thing, make your recovery discs with the recovery manager. It should take 4 blank dvd's. After your discs are made I would suggest to do the minimal system restore. It will take out all the unnecessary bloatware, and still leave the drivers. The only notable program that it takes out that you might still want to use would be Norton Internet Security. To get into the BIOS it is F10 at boot.

 

Yup, the minimum image restore is the way to go. I tried uninstalling stuff manually, but it's tedious and appears to leave some residue. The easiest way to access the BIOS and recovery options is to press ESC at startup. That will give you a little menu. And do make the recovery disks before anything else -- it only takes 4 DVDs and about 1 hour.

 

The minimum image restore is the fastest way. If you would rather go uninstalling stuff manually I would suggest getting the Revo Uninstaller or a similar software to erase stuff that was left over from the program. It takes a bit longer but will not leave anything if you follow the steps. Usually I would download the trial of the pro so you can do it quicker. But those are the 2 ways to take the bloatware off. Usually that's if you want to clear everything off, if you do it as a regular uninstall some will leave files still in the computer.

 

after the above download and run ccleaner and click on registry to remove all references to uninstalled programs