new (to be) thinkpad owner

Just ordered my new laptop:

T60p 8744J2U
(T7200, 2GB RAM, 15.4" WSXGA+, ATI V5250, blah, blah, blah)

Any hints or tips for the New ThinkPad owner? I'm coming from a Sony SZ, so the "real" keyboard is going to be nice, but I'll have to adjust to the (much) larger size of the machine...

Est Ship: 04/20/07

 

-uninstall client security solutions (takes way to long to boot, unless of course you need it)
-uninstall all symantec stuff, uses way to many resources (I am using avast instead and have had no problems and much better performance)
-uninstall anything from google, if they still include it
-uninstall any other thinkvantage things you may not need (if you only want one or two, such as the fingerprint reader, you may want to just do a clean install, as I am sure someone will suggest soon)

 

PLEASE tell my that thinkpads aren't as filled with bloatware as sony's are...

 

some of the thinkvantage stuff is very useful to people, but there is a lot of it, and you probably wont need it all. Other than that, there is just the google app, and symantec, it is nice that they include antivirus for free, but Symantec is garbage, I would rather use something else. From what I have heard, there is less bloatware on thinkpads than other brands, but there is still some stuff you will not need.

 

wow youre lucky you have a fairly early ship date. i ordered one a couple days ago but they were on back order and i could potentially have waited a month until it shipped. so i cancelled and ordered another macbook pro (my current one is damaged...i dropped it)

 

The Symantec corporate client security suite is pretty unobtrusive. It is much better than the Symatec personal antivirus and firewall.

 

Even if I remove the symantec stuff, my company will install their own enterprise version of it as soon as they put the machine on their domain. Personally, I prefer Kaspersky, though. Of course, if they're too lazy to download the vista-compatible version of symantec - as they were with my sony - I might get to keep kaspersky on there... Wow, that might be the first known performance ENHANCING aspect of Vista...

 

Perhaps because it's not a custom build? I would have prefered the same laptop with the X1400 video, but didn't want to wait "1-2 weeks"

From Lenovo's website:
Original description: T7200(2GHz), 2GB RAM, 100GB 7200rpm HD, 15.4in 1680x1050 LCD, 256MB ATI FireGL V5250, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11abg wireless, Bluetooth/Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, 9c Li-Ion batt, WinVista Business

 

it wasnt a custom build. its the exact same model that you ordered. apparently there were 42 people ahead of me who ordered the same model. 25 were due to come in on monday, followed by another 100 on backorder, and i need a computer by the 29th, and seeing how my new macbook pro has been shipped today (ordered yesterday), i think i made the right choice.

 

ouch... I really hope I don't get stuck in the same situation. I know I won't see if for my trip on the 18th of this month, but hopefully I'll have it a week or so after I get back.

 

Just to recap from what most of the previous posts have stated:
There is a , what i call, "medium" amount of "useless" software installed, not including the ThinkVantage software, on all Lenovos. I think personally that there isn't a lot, but then again that can always be relative. The extra software can always be easily uninstalled, just to let you know.

Here is what I did - I basically removed Client Security Solution and Rescue and Recovery as I do not use any of these. However, all the other ThinkVantage software that it came with, such as the Hard Drive Active Protection System, Access Connections, etc etc I did keep as I found those to be useful in my use for it.

THE #1 THING THAT I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND is to first update your laptop when you first get it by downloading System Update 3.0. A LOT of the software/drivers that come with new Lenovos are very much outdated, including the System Update program. How ironic is that? Just run System Update 3.0, let it do its thing, and THEN start taking out whatever that you want.

Again you dont have to follow everything that I say, I'm just letting you know my advice and what I did when I got my T60, which I love.

By the way, that video card (The FireGL) I believe is based off the Radeon X1700 or X1800, so it is a very high end graphics card. I kind of regret not getting the T60p, however for my use the T60 fits my needs fine

 

If I do a clean install of windows on the t60p, can I download/install that SystemUpdate 3.0 and have it take care of installing all the other drivers needed?

 

yes, you can download it from the driver's page on lenovo's website. Once it is installed, it shows you all available updates for your system, and you can choose which ones to download and install, once you choose, the rest is automatic.

 

The pre-build I'll be getting has Vista Business on it. I'll want to change that to Ultimate (already owned.) Can I just, as soon as I get the notebook, immediately boot the ultimate DVD, reformatting the HDD, and then download system update 3.0 (and let it take care of everything else?)

I'm guessing (though I might be wrong) that the normal Vista DVD would have the proper drivers for the SATA HDD, DVD, and ethernet...

(Then again, perhaps I'll make an extra CD with just those three drivers on it manually downloaded from lenovo's site... just in case...)

 

I Have a question that doesn't get addressed much and it's regarding the sound card and recording capabilities of Lenovo products.

I plan to purchase the T60 2623K5U and I would be using it mostly for sound editing using Cool Edit Pro. I need to know I can record from CD's, Internet etc directly to my sound program. Would this model be OK for that? I've owned lots of desktops; but this would be my first laptop and I don't want to make a mistake. I almost purchased a Toshiba A9 and then I read a review that it was one of those rare laptops that didn't have a Wav mixer and was not suitable for what I wanted.

Thank you.

 

Well, you can always purchase a Creative PCMCIA sound card for it that will do everything you need...

 

The Creative PCMCIA card is a great idea.......just try and fine one to buy. Here in Toronto you can't buy one anywhere. I even went to the store on teh Creative site and they sell all kinds of cards; with the exception of tthis one.

 

I should also spell check or look it over before sending. Sorry about that.

 

I actually called Lenovo Canada yesterday and the way they describe the sound cards in the two models I was looking at..........everything should work out fine. Thanks again.