What kind of clean install should i do?

When i get my new T400 i want to get rid of all the crap that i dont need on there. All the lenovos seem to come with from what i understand is a few third party software plus the thinkvantage suite. If all i want to do is get rid of all the non thinkvantage third party software and some of the thinkvantage utilities, would it be best to jsut use the Restore and Recovery thinkvantage utility to do that? I read through the Vista clean install guide and downloading and copying and reinstalling allll those drivers seems like a lot of work. Would just using the R&R utlity to delte what i want be the same as doing a vista clean install plus reinstalling a certain few thinkvantage software? Also, which thinkvantage utilities do you recommend i keep on a T400 with a finger print reader?

 

I don't think it is the same using rescue and recovery as doing a clean install. I would recommended you do a clean install for a truly clean machine. Which clean install guide did you read? I would take a look at Stallen's guide. I just finished my clean install yesterday. It is a bit time consuming(took my 2 solid evenings), but I am real happy with the end result. Make sure to read ALL the details mentioned in Stallen's guide and read ALL the "Read-me" files with each driver. Make sure to also download all appropriate drivers to a USB thumb drive before attempting the clean install. Follow all instructions exactly and it will lead to a good end product.
Also make sure you have the proper Windows media on hand to do the clean install - i.e. Vista anytime upgrade disc, OEM or retail disc.

Once the clean install is done you can choose which Thinkvantage software you want to download and use. As to which ones to install, it is personal preference and is based on what you use you machine for. My machine has the FP reader as well and I am also deciding which Thinkvantage software to install. Right now here is my list...

1.) Fingerprint software/Client security solution
2.) Power Manager?(Might be useful to set battery charging threshold)
3.) Active protection system?(Do I really need it?, not sure)

PS - check out Zaz's guide on the various Thinkvantage utilities and you can decide which ones you want.

 

See, I was sold on actually doing a real clean install, but when I discovered I had no where to obtain the proper Vista media, I just resorted to the selective version of Rescue and Recovery. Using the selective option of R&R does get rid of all the bloatware that you'd otherwise have, but again, may not be as 100% clean as a installation with actual Vista media.

 

I am not very sure about this topic....but I get rid of my bloatware and 3rd party software by add/remove program.....and I don't think it will take much to time too

 

I really don't like that that there is no install media included. I tried a few different times to get an install CD from Lenovo but that didn't work

 

hmmm. so u say lenovo doesnt include an install dvd? i guess that means ill have to go the R&R way then huh?

 

Well, I didn't have install media either for Vista, just like everybody else. My advice is to check out Windows Market place or ebay, where you can buy the media for ~$10 to $15. I mean I have Vista 64 and I found the media, so you should be able to find the Vista 32 bit discs with less effort than me. The greatest thing about the whole clean install process is that if I get a virus down the road or something gets hosed, I can just do another clean install without having to worry about calling MS. That in itself is worth it to me.

BTW - Using Add/Remove program utility does not have the same effect as a clean install. Windows is notoriously known for leaving files/directories and registry entries lying around after software is "uninstalled". Rescue and Recovery is better but it is not the same as a clean install. The clean install takes a little patience but in my opinion is worth it.

Its up to you.

 

oh wait a minute what am i thinking...i have a 32 bit vista ultimate disc from this computer, i can just use that. hmm decisions decisions...ill wait until i get my computer before i make a decision for sure i guess.

 

thanks for the help

 

I believe you will find on the T400, other than the ThinkVantage tools, the only other 3rd party software in the preload that is already installed is MS Office (trial) and Roxio Creator (with DLA).

When you first boot there will be a "welcome" app that will allow you to install McAfee. It is not installed by default since anti-virus is such a performance hit and people have their preferences as to which one they want to use.

You will also be able to activate MS Office, enroll fingerprints, setup System Update and RnR schedules through this welcome app also.

Once you get to the desktop this welcome app will have a "click here" link that will bring up a little utility that will allow you to remove Office and Roxio. This is a lot easier than trying to do it through add/remove programs as there are multiple installs for these apps.

There may be some other apps which enable hardware functions (such as camera and/or WAN if you get those). But you probably want to keep these.

As for the ThinkVantage tools:
-Need to backup? Then Rescue and Recovery is as good of a free solution as you will find. I do recommend backing up to external usb hdd; otherwise, you're main hdd will dwindle quickly. I would also suggest getting the system setup just the way you like before doing the first base backup.

-Need a password manager? The Password Manager included is pretty convenient. Also the Client Security Solution ties it into the TPM along with the Fingerprint software for a very secure solution.

-Want to keep the drivers current? System Update is like Windows Update for your device drivers. Otherwise you can keep an eye on the Driver Matrices page on the lenovo site to keep the system up to date manually.

-Switch between many different networks, especially wireless? Access Connections can make wireless setup easier. When it comes to network setup in Vista I still have trouble finding what I want.

If you answer "no" to any of the above then these can be removed thru add/remove programs easily.

There are also several ThinkPad specific utilities which I always leave on the machine.

In case you ever get into an unrecoverable state, the factory restore feature on the T400 has been improved so that it only takes about 15 - 20 mins to fully recovery the machine back to the out-of-box state. You no longer have the "custom factory recovery" option on these ThinkPads that was on previous models.

The system comes with C:, Q:, and S: drives. Q: is 10gb and contains stuff like the McAfee install source as well as the factory recovery image. You can create recovery media then recover the space used by Q: to add to your C: partition. There are utilities provided for this. The S: drive contains the preboot area and should be left alone.

With no antivirus, diskeeper, or Windows Search Indexing (I turn this off manually through services.msc) running, these boxes are pretty fast.

 

^ Would this be similar to a T61 as well? If I followed you directions on removing MS Office Trial and Roxio, am I looking at much mroe significant bloatware hogging up my system (other then Thinkvantage suite?)

Thanks

 

Dang. That kind of sucks.

 

Excellent information.

One question -- If one of the first things I'm doing with my T400 is swapping out the factory hard disk, would it be better to make the recovery media from the factory HDD and use that media to image the new hard disk, or would it be better to use something like Acronis True Image to clone the original HDD to the new HDD?

I'm thinking it's might be better to burn the recovery media and then get to do a real test of it on the new HDD?

Thanks.

-- Lew

 

Can the recovery media that is on the Q: be used as the install media for Stallen's guide?

 

I have the exact same question. Could anyone help? Thanks.

 

I wouldnt think so because the pupose of the clean install in stallens guide is to get rid of the bloatware correct? The recovery discs created by the Q drive seem like they would incorporate the bloatware onto the operating system install i would imagine. correct me if im wrong but it seems like using that for stallens guide will just leave you where u were in the beginning...

by the way thanks for the excellent information jeepkarro

 

No. What is on the Q: drive is an exact image of the C: partition right before you boot the machine for the first time.

 

Yeah, I would definitely suggest building yourself a set of recovery media from the original drive. It's always good insurance.

Also, I'm pretty sure that if you use it to recovery on the larger HDD, you will get the 1.5GB S: partition at the beginning of the drive and then the rest of the drive will be the C: partition. In this case you would not have the Q: drive which has the McAfee install source and the factory image. This would just mean that you would not be able to do a "disk-to-disk" factory recovery in the future, you would have to use the media you created.

 

Like the others have said, NO you can't use the discs made from Rescue and Recovery to do a clean install. You must use a Retail, OEM or anytime upgrade disc to do the clean install.

 

Thanks. I'll try it an see -- worst case I ought to be able to adjust partitions and clone that partition over with Acronis TI. If not, no big deal as I don't need McAfee from Lenovo, I can get Enterprise 8.5i free through my school if I want.

 

No, the T61 has a completely different preload design and does not have the "welcome" app I described.