Remove bloatware or do clean install?

hey!
My laptop (t61) is scheduled to arrive tomorrow and I am hoping to get some advice.
I know there will be many applications and utilities I don't necessarily want/need, so I plan on removing them.
Is it worth it, performance wise, to do a clean install of vista, rather than just removing the programs one by one until I'm satisfied?

If you need any clarification on the question, let me know! Thanks in advance!

 

I tried initially removing the rubbish from my T61p - it improved matters a bit, but not as much as a clean install.
I would definitely do a clean install, and leave out most of the Thinkvantage nonsense.

 

anybody second that?
The Thinkvantage stuff seemed like it might be helpful? Automatic updates and things, correct?

 

Spend a few days messing with everything and decide what you like and don’t like. Make restore disks, follow Stallen’s guide, and compare the factory set-up vs clean install. Go from there – you can always go back if you want.

 

Any helpfulness the ThinkVantage suite offers is negated for me by the way it fights with Vista's own stuff. Why do you need another power manager on top of the Vista one for instance..
Think the only bit I've installed is the Fingerprint reader stuff..

 

Agreed, but I like the Active Protection System as well - gives me a warm fuzzy feeling the hard drive is protected in some way if I drop it. The interactive display is impressive as well.

 

Thanks for the info. I think I'll probably end up with a clean install.
For those that might be wondering about ordering, shipment and my personal experience with Lenovo...
Ordered: 9/17
1 7658CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM
Screen:
42X1670 SBB 14.1"WXGA TFT,W/ CAMERA
the rest...

$1,379.00 $1,379.00
42V8190 SBB INTEL CORE 2 DUO PRCESST7300
42V8011 VBB MS WIN VISTA HOME PREMIUM
42V9565 SBB MSWIN VHP32 US ENGLISH
42X0905 SBB INT.GMAX3100 GM965W/1394 SMARTCARD
41W2063 VBB 2GB PC2-5300 667MHZ 2DIMM
42V8195 SBB KEYBOARD US ENGLISH
42V9330 SBB UN(TRACKPOINT+TCHPD)+ FING.R
42V9126 SBB 160GB HDD,5400RPM W FDE
42V8715 SBB DVDREC8XMAXDUALLAY,UBAYSLM
42X0903 VBB PC CARDSLOT ME CARDSLOT
42V8177 SBB INT.WIRE.WIFI/LINK4965AGN
62P6054 VBB INTEGR.BLUETOOTH PAN
42V9339 SBB 7 CELL LI-ION BATERRY
41W1787 SBB CPK NORTH AMERICA
27R1769 SBB PSTN CABLE
42V9391 SBB LANG.PACK US ENGLISH

Shipped (out of China, through Alaska...to California): 9/21
ReScheduled Delivery: 9/24

Things went fantastic for me, at least so far, hopefully everything works as it should. God Bless!

 

I think you should edit out your serial number...

 

Always do a clean install

 

I did a clean install of Vista 64 because I wanted to repartition the HD and also because I wanted to upgrade the OS. Otherwise I might have just thrown out all the trash by hand, since even a vanilla Vista install will have a lot of extra services running by default. I'm still tweaking it to this day!

The Thinkvantage SW wasn't an issue for me since I wanted to keep most of it anyway. The Power Manager is excellent, and so is the wireless manager (it allows one to turn off the radios easily.) The Thinkvantage stuff is also easy to reinstall if you follow the install guide on this site.

 

I did the cleanup route on my Vista Home Premium PC and have it rather pristine now. However, if anything goes wrong, I don't have a systemic backup. I usually buy my own copy of the OS at a later time (usually after SP1 is out) so that I can do a fresh install and I remove all the partitions off the HDD at that time as well.

So, yes, clean install is better, if you have the time and means.