When I get my X61, should I remove unnecessary stuff, or just reformat?

Like, should I go through Add/Remove programs and msconfig and remove unnecessary items, or should I just reformat and do a fresh install?

Thing is, if I do a fresh install of Vista, what items do I need to be sure to restore to get the full Thinkpad functionality? (Volume buttons, fingerprint reader, etc..)

Thanks!

 

I am playing with an X61 at the moment, and so far it looks like I am able to remove most of the unneeded items without going a full nuke.

If you were to do a full reinstall, chances are good that the only program you will need to install after getting Vista on it is "system update", which will bring in every little piece from Lenovo that you might want.

 

I wouldn't even want to worry about the junk they put on. Just reformat.

 

So aside from drivers/whatnot, I just have to acquire "System Update"?

I might nuke it anyway, but it's nice to know that's all I really need to pull down. I kinda want to get my recovery partition, anyway.

 

i always format when i get a new laptop

 

Also, due to its lack of a DVD drive, how do I reinstall Windows? Can I do a network boot?

Or could I copy the Vista installation CD to a flash drive?

 

Actually you can do a "custom" restore of the factory image.

The rescue & recovery software gives you the option of doing either a factory image so the notebook restores to the original factory installation, or to do a custom restore where you can choose which software and options are installed. For example, you can choose to remove Symantec and any ThinkVantage software that you don't want.

Try this option first. You'll be sure to have a fully functional system minus anything that you don't want to have.

On other notebooks I have always used nLite to whittle down XP and remove the notebook manufacturer's pre-installed trials rubbish - and unfortunately some things like the volume OSD etc. Lenovo makes this much easier by allowing a custom system restore.

 

If you use vlite you can break the vista install into several CDs. I'd just go xp though. I'm running vista now and it sucks ass. When(ever) I get my new laptop I'm going to start using XP again. Too lazy to format now.

 

Anything in particular?

 

Does X60 (with XP) also have the 'custom' option?

 

Ooohhh let me count the ways.

It's the small things. I use my computer a lot and the small things really get to me.

I run 1GB of RAM which I often completely use (since vista takes 500 something) forcing page file usage and slowing things down. Also moving windows around isn't as responsive as XP due to aero. I have a midrange Go 6600 too.

Also aero is annoying on the eyes. The transparent title bar makes it hard to read text sometimes on a variety of backgrounds. In XP my mind is zoned in on blue = title bar (I run MCE theme) but aero ****s with that.

It's also hard to read because it outlines black text in white which is annoying on my eyes. Also the default look for the menu bars is ugly like Office 2003.

Also if you try to run aero classic or whatever without acceleration it's really ugly and has a thick light blue border around windows.

There's also the thing about not being able to use Overlay Render with media player classic since it kicks me back into aero basic. Several seemingly random things I do kick me back into aero basic.

Besides all of that it takes 500MB of RAM. On a bad day XP for me takes 150MB. There's nothing AT ALL in vista that makes me think 3x the RAM is worth it.

The entire OS feels sluggish compared to Vista even when I'm not maxing out my RAM. Programs start noticeably slower and everything is noticeably slower

Misc. incompatibilities here and there like not being able to use my media card reader because drivers aren't out for it =/. That's mostly because my laptop is 2 years old. Also ASUS hasn't found it in their wisdom to release a bios update for my laptop so vista can't throttle the CPU so I have my CPU fans running 24/7 at max speed and it's bad enough that my laptop already has poor cooling. Also NHC (Notebook Hardware Control) ability for dynamic switching for undervolting doesn't work in Vista. Annoying. Netstumbler also can't use my wireless card to detect access points. I think that's a driver thing even though I have vista drivers for the card.

Also though not many people care, vlite for vista is miles behind nlite, its counterpart for xp. For instance I like to rename "Program Files" to "Programs" but I can't do that with vlite .

Then to top it all off there is really NO reason to use Vista. I gain NOTHING. NADDA. ZIP. I only lose when I use Vista. Unfortunately I'm too lazy to format this computer because it's gong to get sold when I (hopefully) get my T61/p. And as soon as I get my new laptop it's the hard drive is going to get switched out for a 160GB 7200RPM Seagate which I'll do a clean install of XP Pro on and sell the 60GB drive that came with it. I'll eventually have to use it, but why bother when XP is better? Why not wait a year when all around Vista support will be much better and SP1 will likely be released?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=119587

this works for X61 too right?
1.) I use Magical Jelly Bean keyfinder to find cd key
2.) use the lenovo.oemcert.100036.xrm-ms from google
3.) run command "slmgr –ilc path/to/licence/file/lenovo.oemcert.100036.xrm-ms"

is this right?

 

check out this link as well looks good

 

After rethinking my first statement of just uninstalling stuff, nuke the entire thing. There are some pieces of software running in the background of this X61 that seem to peg the CPU and hard drive for what seems like an eternity. Wattage is in the 33 to 36 range (should be 11-13), and it just sucks all the battery life away in no time.

I have every piece of software uninstalled that I dont put on with my clean installs, and I still get Verizon signup popups, and all this other stuff. No idea where it is coming from, but it sure is annoying.

 

My X60s with XP does. I'm sure the "custom" option is there for all models. It is part of Lenovo's "rescue and recovery" console.

 

labyrinthe,

i know for a fact it comes with all recent thinkpads (mine is a z61t purchased in december).

as jackboot pointed out, it's part of the Lenovo's "Rescue and Recovery" console, but i'm not sure if that option is tied to the hardware (meaning it would only be in more recent thinkpads) or if it is software upgradeable (meaning it would apply to most thinkpads).

either way, i think you can only access it by going through the rescue and recovery console through bootup (pressing the thinkvantage button during bootup). if you open it up through windows, the option is not there.