The HP Laptop Out-Of-The-Box Guide 2.0 for Windows 7

The HP Laptop Out-Of-The-Box-Guide Windows 7 Edition​

So, you just bought a new HP laptop? Congratulations and here starts your journey of optimization.

1. CREATE HP RECOVERY DISCS, Do not do anything else in this guide without doing this. Creating these discs will allow you to restore your computer to a factory state at any time if you mess up. To create these discs, click the start orb, and type in recovery. Click the program called recovery disc creation, and follow the prompts. IF YOU DO NOT DO THIS, YOU COULD RENDER YOUR SYSTEM INOPERABLE IF YOU MESS UP AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FIX IT WITH A SIMPLE RESTORE. Also, back up your SwSetup folder (C:\SwSetup) to a DVD for original software and drivers (THIS IS REQUIRED if you have a fingerprint sensor/other special device that needs HP software - due to licensing problems, these programs will not be available on the HP site for download). If you do not backup SwSetup, and you need a driver from it, you will need to use the recovery discs to restore to factory to obtain these drivers/software.

1.1. Do you have a Windows 7 disc? If you need a Windows 7 disc, you can download one legally (see this thread for more info: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=428068 ) If you have obtained a disc proceed to step 2, If not, then go straight to step 3

2. If you have access to a Windows 7 disc (The original disc from step 1.1, NOT recovery discs from step 1) use this app to backup your original activation:

download: http://directedge.us/files/abr/ABRbeta.exe
source (scroll down to the beta version): http://directedge.us/content/abr-activation-backup-and-restore (thanks orev and justinkw1)

-make sure you keep the program and the backup file it makes on a flash drive or cd so that you can restore it once you reinstall
This will back up your original OEM cert and key, which will allow you to reactivate without the mess usually necessary to activate with the key on the bottom of the laptop.

Pop in the DVD/USB drive and install Windows 7

Once the Win7 has booted up after the reinstall, use the program above to restore your OEM activation.

Once you have done this, Proceed to step 4, as you do not need to uninstall any bloatware

3. If you dont have access to a Windows 7 disc, proceed with uninstalling HP bloatware:

See Post #2 for bloatware info

4. Now, since you have no anti-virus software (either because of a clean install, or uninstalling Norton) install your antivirus software of choice. Click here for a listing of reviews and ratings of anti-virus software.

Also, you can check out the Security and Anti-Virus Software subforum in the Windows OS and Software forum

5. With your computer cleaned and protected, its time for some real optimization:
First off, install any updates for windows.
Then follow this guide by Les (flamenko) to optimize your notebook.
And/ or this guide by jpzsports to optimize your notebook.
NOTE: Make sure you read thoroughly into these threads to get the best results. I would not recommend skimming the guide and then attempting to optimize. Following the procedures in these guides incorrectly could result in damage to your computer.

6. Install the latest drivers for your computer components (THIS IS A REQUIRED STEP IF YOU DID A CLEAN INSTALL). You can find these at http://support.hp.com, or you can use the various driver threads in this forum. You should especially get new drivers for your graphics card:
NVIDIA cards: http://www.nvidia.com/drivers, http://laptopvideo2go.com
AMD/ATI cards, use Mobility Modder with drivers from AMD’s website: http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/index.aspx, http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool.php

7. Now, with your computer running smoothly, install your software. If you need software, check out this thread: dbam987's Ever-Growing Free Windows Software List

8. Read up on keeping your notebook running well. Check out these guides:
Useful Guides in Post #4
Maintainance and Service Guide Links in Post #3

Once again, congratulations on getting a new notebook, and enjoy!

I will add more steps as I get the time.

Also, join the NBR HP Team

 

Bloatware guide (Thanks to TheCuriosity for help)

It is most beneficial to uninstall the bloatware using Revo Uninstaller (thanks to Serg)

Definitely Uninstall (IMHO these programs are the greatest offenders out of all of the bloatware):

• Microsoft Office Home and Student trial <--Replace with your own copy, or OpenOffice, unless you purchased the OEM version (which you can also download here: http://www.microsoft.com/office/backup/en-us/default.mspx )
• Microsoft Office PowerPoint viewer 2007 - unnecessary with office
• Norton Internet Security (or something or other Norton) <--unless you absolutely want to keep using it, see info below about security programs
• HP Wireless Assistant <--unless you want to control bluetooth/wireless separately
• Activate Norton Online Backup <--there are better free backup programs with less bloat
• Acrobat.com <-- just junk
• HP Smart Web Printing <-- allows ordering of photo prints and stuff like that - no need for a program to do that
• My HP Games WildTangent <-- a bunch of trial games, not very fun
• HP Advisor <-- a program that is supposed to keep your computer updated and patched, just a nuisance for advanced users
• HP MediaSmart Software Notebook Demo - <-- app for demo computers at stores
• Slingplayer (HP MediaSmart tag may of been in front of it) <-- slingbox player for HP mediasmart
• SlingBoxWatchyourTVAnyWhere <-- Part of slingbox player
• Homepage Protection <-- prevents change of homepage in IE - IMHO this is actually malware
• HP Customer Experience Enhancements <-- see note above about HP advisor
• HP Setup <-- Installer for HP software components
• HP User Guides 0153 <--can be found as pdfs in my next post below
• HP Support Assistant <-- see note about HP advisor
• HP Update <-- see note about HP advisor

Programs you might want to uninstall (I recommend replacing these with your own purchased software, or even many free programs that are much better/have less bloat):

• Microsoft Works <--pretty much useless if you have Office/OpenOffice
• Adobe Reader 9.1 MUI <-- uninstall if you are going to use a different pdf reader
• QuickTime <--I recommend Quicktime Alternative
• Adobe AIR <--Uninstall unless you want to use Adobe AIR apps
• Corel VideoStudio12 <-- I would keep this only if you are a home movie maker and do not want more advanced software
• CyberLink DVD Suite <-- There are better free DVD burning tools, like ImgBurn
• Corel Paint shop pro photo x2 <-- There are better free photo editors, like GIMP or Paint.Net, or even Picasa
• Power2Go
• LabelPrint <-- keep if you are using lightscribe and don't have software like Nero or SureThing CD/DVD Labeler
• Powerdirector <-- see note above about corel videostudio
• HP MediaSmart Webcam - I recommend uninstalling all of the MediaSmart stuff, unless you use blueray or insist on having the webcam functionality of mediasmart - if you remove this, your webcam will still work in other apps - P.S. most of the functionality of mediasmart can be found in Windows Media Center
• HP MediaSmart Movie Themes - see mediasmart note above
• HP MediaSmart Live TV - see mediasmart note above
• HP MediaSmart Music/Photo/Video - see mediasmart note above
• HP MediaSmart DVD - see mediasmart note above
• HP MediaSmart Internet TV - see mediasmart note above
• HP MediaSmart SmartMenu - see mediasmart note above
• HP Touchsmart Applications - if you remove this, the touchscreen will still work, but you will lose the touch based Weather, RSS, Twitter, etc. apps (thanks to js2393)

Finally, delete any folders that are still present from uninstalled software (do this after a restart)

Done? Go to step 4 on the guide in post 1

 

Maintenance and Service Guides

HP Pavilion Notebooks
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/hp-pavilion-maintenance-and-service-guides.677254/

HP ENVY / HDX Notebooks
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/hp-envy-hdx-maintenance-and-service-guides.677252/

 

Guides
Undervolting Guide (by flipfire)
Notebook Dummy Guide Articles
Guide to Cooling Your Notebook (By Chaz)
The Notebook Battery Guide (By chrisyano)
The Notebook Battery Guide (By Adam@NBF from notebookforums.com)

 

Rhapsody is also still present.. just not on the add/remove. can the Rhapsody and Rhapsody-related files just be deleted?

 

So what exactly do HP Setup and HP Use Guides do?

 

Nice guide there v3loc1ty2.0!
+rep, and if you dont mind, I will post the link to the HP Envy 15 Owners Thread.

 

abaddon4180, the HP Setup was literally that 4 step setup that your PC mad eyou go through before anything else when you first turned it on (with the animated hands taking you through registering, asking if you want to send info to HP or receive info, asking if you want the internet wizard to pop up etc)

It is actually in your start menu and if you click on it, the whoel thing pops up again. Not sure about the user guides

 

If you do a fresh install do you lose the recovery partition? If you do is it restored when you use the recovery disc's?

Also is there a major (or any) performance difference between a fresh install and just uninstalling the unnecessary apps?

 

I can't tell you about the recovery partition stuff because i deleted mine as soon as I made the recovery discs...
But, I can tell you that doing a clean install makes the notebook noticeably faster than just uninstalling things

 

You do NOT lose the recovery partition unless you make a deliberate effort to completely format the HD using the advanced menu during an install. As a matter of fact any data on your C: drive will still be there even if you do a clean install unless you delete the data or format the partition before you do the install (from personal experience).

Restoring your PC with the recovery discs DOES restore the recovery partition.

Not as much difference as many would lead you to believe. While you would be pleased with a squeaky clean install, it is not necessarily the right approach for everyone, especially if you are not too technically inclined and don't want to make decisions as to what software to reinstall. You would also be pleased with an upgrade vs. a clean install should you make that choice.

 

Awesome Guide, this deserves a sticky

 

cheers v3loc1ty2.0 and deeastman, was going to do a full install of 7 Pro, but might just stick to a upgrade.

The restore partition as long as it does not take to much room is great to have (for me especially!)

now just have to wait for HP to decide to send me my Envy....

 

Yeah sure, thanks

I'll add a part to the guide that says to delete any folders that are still present from uninstalled software after a restart

I also removed the double listing for HP advisor

If its not in add/remove then you should be able to just delete

 

May I suggest Revo Uninstaller as a good tool?
It deletes everything, including registry and all traces of the program.
I use it, and it sure cleans everything left.

 

looks good, ill check it out and add it

 

HP Advisor has one thing that is really useful - the battery check application. It is worth installing every now and then just to make sure your battery is still ok.

 

Just updated post #3 with Service Guide Links

 

I think you can use BatteryCare instead of this, plus it provides more battery saving functions and tells the wear on the battery

 

If you have a faulty battery HP Advisor gives you a warranty ID # that allows you to call HP and get it replaced. No other tool can do that..

 

oh lol didnt know that
i just did a clean install after i got my computer so never used it just assumed it was the same as the one on my old notebook which didnt do much

 

wow great guide v3loc1ty!!!

 

requesting that a mod add this thread to the hp/compaq info sticky

 

Already requested.

v3loc1ty2.0, how did you like Revo Uninstaller/?

 

sorry i didnt get to it
im trying it right now and will post

EDIT: works great! ill add it to the guide with credit of course

 

^^^ ok added note about revo uninstaller to post #2

 

Thanks!! I really like it!! WARNING: Can be addicting to erase all that crapware with this...

 

hahahah I agree!!! I wanted to delete more and more.

 

Tell me about it. I deleted my wireless drivers by mistake...*sigh*

 

Great guide!
Very straightforward and informative.
And thanks for mentioning my Guide.


Quick Question- On Revo Uninstaller's Homepage, it mentions that it's not supported on 64 bit OS. Is this really true?

 

works fine for me on win7 64 bit ultimate

 

Mine is 32bit XP, so it works flawlessly.

 

Under bloatware, you have Wireless assistant (unless you want to control bt and wireless seperate). I don't have the wireless assistant installed, and am able to turn off the bluetooth adapter through the bluetooth settings of windows by checking Turn off bluetooth adapter. Just thought I'd throw that out there. Not sure if its device specific. Was also able to do this in Vista after SP2.

 

thanks for the help, ill remove that note - i wrote that since it was true on the dv2/6/9xxx series notebooks

 

Yeah, I would not rather play with that.

Used Revo Uninstaller for my Dell old drivers, and it erased everything, and went out of internet. Unless you know how to do it, I do not suggest messing around with the wireless drivers.

 

updated #2 in the guide with a new program since orev's activation tool does not work in win7

 

very helpful tips, mr velocity. just to add to what you said though - this is what i do on my machines. whenever my machine is clean of any spyware AND i've installed the apps i've wanted, i take an image of the machine using bartPE. I save an image of the entire hard disk on my laptop to an external drive (Western digital mybook).

Recovery dvd's do the same thing but i've found that they take wayy too much time+ reinstall all the junk you removed in the 1st place. using imaging software, i can revert back to a clean OS image within 10-20 minutes time - depending on the size of data on the image.

I would image the hard drive before your #7 and after your #8. this way, in case anything happens, you can revert back to just the clean installation of windows OR a clean installation of windows+apps that you've installed.

just a thought. great list otherwise.

 

After removing the bloatware lost the on screen indication when i increase or decrease volume.Is it possible to return it?

 

I have an SWsetup directory containing 3gb of driver/software on my DM3 , I burn that separately to an DVD.

 

Hi G,

To recover your OSD for that, load up the HP quick touch SW, and / or quick launch...

 

do you know the path to that driver, by any chance? i've been looking all over for it...

 

you should be able to find it in the SwSetup folder backup

 

So I just got my HP Upgrade disks.

I would like to do a clean install.


Is the process posted here the same process when using the upgrade disks?

 

the process is the same, make sure you select 'custom' while installing windows, use the upgrade dvd as the win7 dvd

 

Update: Cleaned up the guide a little, made the instructions more clear (especially the activation and driver parts)

 

v3loc1ty2.0
thnx alot for this thread it was so helpful for me
i did clean install and used the win7activation tool it's perfect
my new widnows is activted now without calling MS
thnx

 

Awesome guide! Thanks v3locity2.0

 

gave this a try on my new laptop, but windows isnt activated after restoring my backup. i didnt enter a product key during install. when installation was done i restored my backup, but it still showed you have 30 days to activate windows. i tried to enter they key from the bottom of my laptop, but it says the key i typed is not valid for activation.

what am i doing wrong here?

nevermind...i think i got it. ran it from inside the windows folder and it activated

 

Hi,
If I ordered the "System Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit" with my system, do I still have to create the recovery disks, or is that what I have with the DVD?

 

You do not need to create the recovery discs, those are the same as what you ordered