New User Lenovo Y500 Questions

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased the most recent iteration of Lenovo's Y500 IdeaPad with the follow specs:

Intel Core i7-3630QM
Windows 8
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2GB GDDR5
8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
15.6" @ 1920x1080
1TB HDD @ 5400RPM + 16GB SSD (Cache)
(Optional) Auxillary Fan for Ultrabay

I'm looking to optimize the machine when I get it next week as best as possible and remove bloatware, as well as do anything/everything else to keep it clean of anything that doesn't need to be on it. I've also read that this laptop's touchpad isn't the greatest (though I believe if it ships with Synaptics and not Elan then I'm OK) and that in the past the keyboard has been known to spit out random keypresses (possibly because of the "Always on USB" port?).

I'd like to address these things first and foremost, so what step(s) should I take in this regard (What would be considered bloatware/How would I go about disabling the Always on USB port through the BIOS if it gives me issues)? And what's the best way to keep this notebook in good shape going forward?

I apologize in advance if the answers to some of these questions may seem obvious but are many many things I don't know when ti comes to my level of computer literacy such as what the BIOS is/does, how to optimize a computer/keep it that way, all-around good software to have, etc. so I suppose what I'm looking for is any and all information and tips anyone can provide so that the computer performs as well as it possibly can for as long as it possibly can.

If any additional information is required on my end please let me know.

Thanks in advance everyone!

-Elunix

 

Elunix,
Welcome to the forum.:hi2:

I'm sure there are a lot of Y500 users here, who have many opinions as to what you should do. I'm not one of them.:rolleyes2:

I don't have a Y500, and my Y470 is running Windows 7. However, I do have a few pointers.:yes:

1. It doesn't look like you ordered a CD drive, otherwise I would urge you to make a System Recovery Disk on your first boot. The next best thing you should do is invest in an external backup drive, and create a system image. You don't want to "fool" around on your system, until you have an external backup, that you can restore from in case of an emergency. You can get a USB 3 external drive for a pittance.

2. Once you have your system backed up, you should explore everything that came with your software. Test, test, and then test some more. You want to make sure that you know, what each and every component does, AND that they work! Lenovo has some hooks that they build into their OEM version of Windows. At this stage, you shouldn't care about bloat. You should care that every thing they shipped you, works like intended.

3. After you totally familiarize yourself with the system, and run all of the tests, then you can think about optimization. Remember, one mans bloat, is another mans "got to have" gadget. You really don't have to permanently delete anything. You have a lot of space on your 1TB drive. "Smart" administrators use the "System Configuration" to NOT auto load programs, and services in the start up, that they consider to be extraneous to their performance objectives. (Things like the Lenovo R.I.C., or the Lenovo Smile Dock) That doesn't mean those Gadgets are worthless to everybody. The point is, you can pare down the programs running on the system without going delete happy.

4. IMHO There is no such thing as a "clean install" to make your laptop run at it's peak performance. I can't tell you how many problems I've seen in the Lenovo forums where the OP started out by saying "I start did a clean install, and now my ..... doesn't work". Some "super users" can get away with doing a clean install, and they are fine. Yet, a lot of them had to go out to the Lenovo download page anyways, to "re-install" some of the programs that their machine, absolutely will not run without them being there. As I've said, experienced users don't take shortcuts. We research, then cautiously proceed, remembering to set a number of restore points, with each change we make. Test, test, reboot, and test again. Once you get the hang of the System Configuration Menu, you can maintain control of your laptop, and not let the machine control you.

Now that I told you to not delete anything, here is my one exception to the rule. Get rid of the McAfee that they will prompt you to install/load. Don't even bother. Say NO, or cancel when prompted. Yeah, they'll warn you that your computer in not protected, but as soon as you establish an internet connection, get the free MSE, or Avast, or any other anti-virus listed in this NBR thread: Computer Security Forum, Antivirus McAfee is a total PITA. Unless you're a super admin type, it will take you hours to configure, and even after that you don't know why it stops you from doing the things you want to do.

I hope I've been some help to you. Enjoy your machine. :thumbsup:

 

Well said Dragnoak.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I'm pleased to say the laptop arrived last night in good order.

1. My laptop did come with a DVD/CD RW Optical Drive but because I don't have any blank discs lying around I opted to backup the system image to an external hard drive.

2. Windows 8! What can I say except that it's taking some getting used to since it's a pretty big deviation from the standard Windows formula. Couple that with the fact that touch screen gestures aren't there and it means I have to learn all of the shortcuts and goodies with my mouse. I'm sure this will come with time though, just need to adapt to the change. From what I've fiddled around with so far, everything does work, I believe as intended. Are there any specific tests I should be running/things I should be checking?

3. I was wondering if you could explain the process of going into the system configuration and picking/choosing which programs auto-load on startup. This computer boots in ~12-13 seconds which is great, but my old laptop took a full 6-7 minutes from when I pushed the power button to when it became fully functional/finished all of the startup stuff. I assume this is because I didn't do a good job taking care of the system (mostly because I don't really know what that entails), but needless to say I'd like to prevent it this time around if at all possible. In the past what I've done is gone into the control panel to uninstall anything I didn't use but to no noticeable avail.

4. I guess this hinges off of what I mentioned above in point 3, but I don't have the hang of the system configuration menu; heck I don't even know what it is. I was tempted to try to install Windows 7 since I have it on a USB stick but that too seemed daunting (also I figured since the laptop was shipped with Windows 8 and it'll inevitably be where common operating systems are headed, I'd just stick with what I was given) fiddling in the BIOS (?) and what not. There are a few step-by-step breakdowns here and there but I guess I don't trust myself to do any of that. All this being said, I guess my question is where do I start?

Also I uninstalled McAfee first thing and enabled Windows Defender (which I believe is MSE rebranded). I wanted to go with avast! but I've heard of issues/BSODs with this laptop+Windows 8+avast! probably because of compatibility. I don't know too much but no one has ever told me McAfee is good.

Once again thanks for your help Dragnoak, it's great so far!

 

I am using avast and I haven't had any issues.

 

3. You could get a SSD or upgrade your mSATA and it'll drastically improve the boot-up times, but anyways.. You change your startup programs by doing CTRL + ALT + DEL and then go to the 'startup' tab. ALSO! I must suggest you download the McAfee remover because McAfee leaves some things behind even after you 'uninstall it'.

Leave Windows 8. You'll get used to it. It is either on par with W7 or faster, so there is nothing to use.

Side-note: I use Windows Defender, also, and it seems to be fine.

 

Elunix,
That's great! :thumbsup:

1. You may get some use out of the optical drive. I didn't have an external drive when I received my system, so I created the Lenovo Factory Restore disks, right out of the box. I also have a lot of disks from my desktop, and the optical drive in this laptop, comes in handy once in a while for them.

2. LOL Win 8 takes some getting used to. I've only fooled around with Win 8 on my daughters phone. I'm running Win 7 on the laptop, so I can't advise you on what testing you should run.

3. In Win 7, everything is handled by msconfig. In Win 8, according to this site, everything can be managed by the Task Manager:

Manage your apps and services using Task Manager - Microsoft Windows

All of your questions can be answered by using the resources at the Microsoft Windows site. If you haven't registered for a Windows account, why not do it now? You can ask questions at the Lenovo forum, and you might get an answer. Or you can ask your question at the Microsoft site, and 90% of the time you will get some reply. I've found that most of their FAQs are really helpful.

4. See number 3. Don't go back to 7. Once you get the hang of 8, you'll be glad you stuck it out. The bad thing is, if you don't have a touch screen, it takes some getting used to, controlling the interface with a touch pad, or mouse. You don't need to mess around in the BIOS. In fact, if it's a new machine, your BIOS will probably have a newer BIOS than Lenovo posts on their website.

I do have one piece of advice for you. You may already know this, but it's a point to remember. Nothing is free. Every free program that you download from the net, and some you bought, has a system performance price. When you install most programs, the developer wants the program to be a easy as possible to install, and run. They "assume" you won't mind if they put a few hooks into your system to auto run in the start up menu or running service, that gives them feedback on how you use it. This is all covered in their End User agreement, but I don't know if anybody reads them completely. Some developers give you the ability to "create" or "opt out" of the Create the Start Up Menu, in the installation. That's great, most don't. However, even if they do allow you to "not" create a Start Menu item, they will still create a "service" program(s) for running the program. These services are usually set as Automatically starting, and running. After I download any program, and check/test it's functioning on my system, I always go back to my Service Management, and change the newly created service program(s) from Auto to Manual start. The programs will still work, as they check if the service is running. If it's not, the program will start it when on manual start. Especially change the "Check for Updates" service program, to manual. You can always do the check when in the program itself. I can't tell you how many of my friends had multiple "Check for Update" service programs running, when they weren't even connected to the internet. They couldn't understand why their system was so slow, and they're not doing anything except working in a Word document. Some Check for Update service programs are set to run on start up, then every XX minutes. It's just one more resource hog, that you don't need continually running.

I have the feeling that was your problem with your older machine. The more gadgets you downloaded, the more services, and resources, had been clogging up your start up, and performance. I'm always hesitant about giving advice. Some younger experts think I'm an old fogy, and I'm too cautious. Well, that's the way I am! I call it "operational awareness". The main points being:

Before you download/install anything, make sure you know what's currently in your start menu, and services.
Create a restore point.
Download/install.
Test the installation.
Reboot.
Test the program again.
Recheck your start menu, and services.
Un-check (disable) any new start up item created by the software, unless you really want it to be loaded at start up.
Change any new service, that the software installed, to "Manual Start" unless you don't mind it taking up your resources.
Reboot
Recheck your start menu, and services, to be sure your changes are in effect.
Test the program again.

FSU Logan is right. Download and run the McAfee Removal Tool. http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/MCPR.exe

(Did you remember to create a restore point?)

One program that every Wireless Laptop needs is InSSider. I'm using the legacy 2.1.5.1393 version, however there is a newer 3.x version released. It's for checking the wireless environment around you. Once again, if you don't "opt out" the create start menu item, it will install a task upon boot.

inSSIDer for Home – Discover The Wi-Fi Around You | MetaGeek


OK, this old man is done giving my ancient advice.

Bon appetit! :yes: