What to do after Unboxing?

Hey guys, this topic has popped up a lot and, in my opinion, there is still a lot of info that can help people like me out. I was hoping we could get a huge list here and then someone re-types it in a single post and stickies it. (Since maybe 5 or so posts with a very similar name and identical purpose have surfaced in the past month). I will be going through the forums and trying to find what other people have said about these issues. I will also use quotes so credit is given where it is due. Pay attetnion for edits. In the first week or so that this is up, I should be updating the OP a lot. And if you guys have anything good to add I'll quote it in the OP.

What are the first steps to take after unboxing your new Clevo machine?

*Make sure everything you ordered is present (Laptop, battery, AC PSU, etc).
*Turn it on.
*If you are installing windows or linux, Go ahead and do that (easier to test things when an OS is installed).
*Once your OS is installed, load it up and do all your updates (if needed).
*Check the screen for Dead/Stuck Pixels.

What is a Dead/Stuck Pixel?
Defective pixel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia​

*Make sure drivers are up to date (most likely will be. See Drivers/Updates section).
​

What programs (preferably free) can we use to do benchmarking, testing, and read temps (and anything else we need to do)?

Free Programs
​

Kuril has informed me of a program called HWMonitor that does the following:

Download Link: http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

Also, here is a link to a collection of benchmarking software. I haven't gone through it all yet but it looks like there is a wide selection of free programs.
Link: http://downloads.guru3d.com/Benchmarks-&-Demo%27s_c6.html​

Purchasable Prorgrams
-3Dmark offers a program called Vantage that will test the Direct x10 performance of your GPU and CPU.

Download Link: http://www.3dmark.com/3dmarkvantage/​

What makes a good review that will help others?

*How does it look/feel?
*Keyboard

-Is there any flex?
-How is the key spacing?
-Thoughts on the Size?​

*Touchpad

-Too much friction on it?
-Fingerprint Reader Thoughts?
-Thoughts on the Size?​

*Screen quality (dead pixels?)

-Reflective interference?
-Color Quality?
-Viewing angles?​

*GPU during gaming: Performance?

This is always a good practice as well:

Note: If you are going to be uploading screenshots or videos of unboxing in your review, remember to cover their serial numbers with a black bar (to prevent anyone from misusing the information).
​

Drivers/Updates?

*Note: If selected, your Laptop may come with BisonCam software or MS Office.

Download Link: Driver Sweeper
Download Link: NVIDIA Drivers
Download Link: AMD Drivers
​

OS Help? (Windows and Linux)

Most of these machines come with an option to have Windows 7 (HP, Ult, or Pro) installed for a small price. I highly recommend you guys get the Windows DVD and the Drivers discs with your package (usually they are free). If you had it installed, the chances are that the drivers are all up to date but it can't hurt to check them. (See the Drivers/Updates section)
The great part about this is that they do a clean install of Windows 7 so there will not be countless, unnecessary programs taking up space and demanding updates.
In all honesty, there should be very little you actually have to do to your Windows OS.

For all the Linux users, this is great if you have a Live CD already made. You can order it without Windows 7 and just load up Linux with no worries about uninstalling windows.
​

BIOS?

In most cases, your BIOS should be completely up to date. The only chance that it would not be is if a new version came out while your laptop was being shipped to you. Sometimes people prefer to load older BIOS as well. The link below has some of the best information on this topic available.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/416916-clevo-bios-thread.html
​

Thermal Paste Application?

If you didn't purchase the upgraded IC Diamond 7 Thermal Paste but still would like to benefit from lower core temps, you could always apply it yourself.

Security/Maintenance

It is always very important to have a firewall and anti-virus program ready to go, especially when working with any Windows OS. Here is a list of some of the better or most popular anti-virus programs available:

Top Anti-Virus Software:

Name Cost Rating
Norton $40 4.5
Norton Anti-Virus"

AdAware $30 4.0
AdAware AntiVirus

MBAM Free 4.0
MalwareBytes Anti-Malware - Free!

Avast Free 3.5
Avast! AntiVirus - Free!

AVG Free 3.5
AVG AntiVirus - Free!

Avira Free 3.5
Avira Antivirus - Free!

Kaspersky $60 3.5
Kaspersky Anti-Virus

McAfee $40 3.5
McAfee Anti-Virus

Note: All costs are for 1 year licenses only. All free versions come with "Basic" features which usually only includes the Virus/Malware scanner. All reviews are taken from PCMag.com and on a 0-5 point scale.
​

Cleaning

Name Cost
CClearner Free
CCleaner - Free!
​

If you have any issues whatsoever, IMMEDIATELY contact your reseller. They should be able to either fix it or get you a replacement as soon as possible.

 

Used!!!!,,,!!!'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)hahahah

 

Nice compilation. Will be useful since I am going to be placing an order for the Lotus P151HM1 in a couple of hours!

 

Nice! I get my either tomorrow (IF it is in town and IF ups will let me go to the store to pick it up) or on Monday. I am so excited!

 

Could I get some help here for the "What programs (preferably free) can we use to do benchmarking, testing, and read temps (and anything else we need to do)?" section? I've never done this myself and the only program I have is one that you need to buy. Would HWinfo64 be something good to add to this?

 

Play Games~!!!!

 

Why use 3DMark06 when it was already proven that the score is affected by the CPU installed on the laptop. Vantage is a better choice IMO.

 

Because 3DMark06 was the only one I new about! xD

 

Awesome! The only thing I would add would be monitoring temperatures with HWMonitor.

I think this should be stickied also

 

HWMonitor, got it! Thanks!

 

I think you should add some basic programs like MSE, CCleaner, anti-spyware, firewall etc. Those are basics and pretty light on system resources.

 

Right! Sounds like a good idea!
Any personal recommendations? I'm a fan of the MSE and Malwarebytes AntiMalware combo with the free Comodo firewall.

 

There are tons of free benchmarks out there: download from Guru3D.com

Also, I love Avast! anti-virus. You can disable/enable the shields from the toolbar so it is not doing anything while you game.

 

Oh yeah I forgot that one! I had it for a little while but the constant updates annoyed me so rather than turning them off in the settings, I just uninstalled it and went back to MSE.

 

Yeah, you can disable the notification pop-ups, but I have no problem with an AV that releases new definitions nearly every day.

 

Really good info, great post.

 

Go to Ninite - Install or Update Multiple Apps at Once and get all the basic programs you need in one single download!

 

Altered Phoenix, check out the link in my signature. I wrote an unpacking guide nearly 3 years ago on this very topic. Things have changed since then (many of the applications may not be the best choice anymore), but a lot of the concepts remain true. Hope it helps in your endeavour! ^_^

 

Thanks for taking the time to write this!

 

Wow this is great, thank you!

Any recommended utilities for checking/fixing dead/stuck pixels?

 

Not for fixing. I believe for fixing you need to just get a new screen. For checking, you may be able to see it if you just make the whole screen a solid color. I'm not entirely sure though.

 

My guide addresses checking for (not fix) dead/stuck pixels. Google for " DeadPixelBuddy," it's an old application that should be able to handle this task for you. It can be checked manually as Phoenix stated, however. Simply change your screen to the five solid colors/shades (white, black, red, green, and blue) and look for a pixel that doesn't fit in. If the pixel is stuck, it might be fixable (google around for help), but if it's a dead pixel then all you can do is replace the lcd or learn to live with it.

 

microsoft security essentials is a good anti malware/virus software that can be downloaded for free if you have windows 7 os..

 

This will be a great post once its cleaned up, and more useful programs are added.

As already mentioned ninite.com is great tool and you really can't go wrong with the software it suggests.

IMO Norton is absolute crap and should be removed.


PS: I noticed that this thread has been stickied, well done mods! At the same time there is no sticky about KOBALT's business practices. SHAME ON YOU MODERATORS. This seems partial and like bad forum practice. (sorry for thread-hijacking).

 

Very helpful thread for when I get my new Malibal.

 

Where was this when I needed it when I received my PC last Friday. It would have saved me a lot of pain lol, but at least I learned a lot in the process. It will be useful in the future too. Thanks.

 

I was on the same page for a while there. I hated the older Norton that hogs a ton of processing power and just slows everything down but recently I have read on multiple sites that Norton is actually really really useful if you know exactly what you are doing. I guess there is a way to configure it so it does not take up a ton of the processing power or slow everything down. It is just for advance users.

 

When checking for dead pixels, I used this website to do so: LCD Dead Pixel Test Backgrounds

Full-screen your browser and learn the hotkeys for Next Tab, and it works like a charm without having to install anything

 

microsoft security essentials is a very good free option

 

Is there a method to check for dead pixels?

 

They rewrote the code with the 2009 version, and it's been at the #1 or #2 spot in a lot of reviews since then. Check Maximum PC, PC world and others. Besides, Norton has some of the most reliable rebates, and you can often find it free after rebates on the deal forums.

 

Also if you are a student, a lot of universities offer free anti-virus programs. I know that at Penn State they give us free Symantec, Spybot S&D, and MacFee

 

funny thing i didn't know about dead pixels and how to fix them until i joined this forums, and my phone the other day had about 100 dead pixels on it. so i was thinking about getting it repaired and then remembered the programs that can fix dead pixels, so i looked one up and guess what. IT WORKED, all of my dead pixels were gone, it took about 15 hours but it worked. so dont disregard the methods, i have testify that they work.

 

check your chiclet keyboard keys, my "f" is slightly raised compared to the rest of the keys, probably a defect? i dunno

 

Good Stuff. I plan on using it shortly...

 

You should add Ninite.com

It allows you to select freeware from a list of popular programs, and it will give you a installer which contains all of the programs you picked. It then installs them all at once for you, using the standard setup for each program (installing into default suggested folder, adding a desktop icon etc.)
They say it will download the most up-to-date versions of the stuff you selected. It will also automatically decline any offers in the installers to give you free crap like browser toolbars. Additionally, it is apparently possible to run the installer again and it will replace the old versions of stuff with new updated ones if updates are available. I have not personally used this site but read about it, as well as have been recommended it on this forum. I plan to use it when i get my sager in 2 weeks.

Otherwise, thank you for this post i will certainly use it when my laptop arrives. (and i never knew before your post prompted me to read about it, but i found a video about how to check for dead pixels, as well as a way to FIX them, so that might be handy too)

-Thanks

 

It was previously mentioned, and yes it is as awesome as you describe

 

Ad-Aware should be removed in that list. MBAM and SuperAnti-Spyware are miles ahead. Also, you can also add Comodo Antivirus, Microsoft Security Essentials and Comodo Firewall. All three of them are FREE.

No matter how good the antivirus is, it can still be bypassed by a duMb@ss user.


I've attached a screenshot of the latest av-comparatives test

SOURCE: AV-Comparatives - Independent Tests of Anti-Virus Software - Detection Tests

Whole Product Dynamic "Real World" Test - Graph Bar


If anyone wants to download the latest AV Test: http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/ondret/avc_retro_may2011.pdf [PDF]

 

Thanks for the input! I'm currently working on updating this stuff but I don't have much free time. Once classes start up I will though (So august 22 and on). I'll really be able to do some editing then!

 

This is awesome!

 

Speaking of checking for dead pixels, I still hate the whole dead pixel thing, even having one IMO is a defect and should never make it past the shipping of the laptop. But you have to have like 4+ dead pixels to even get a replacement, and the odds of that aren't very good, most people have 1 or 2. I had 1 on my laptop, plus a stuck red pixel that shows up randomly, and have had to look at that for almost 2 years, and I get to sell it with the dead pixel too, which does not help the sale either. I just wish they would test for that stuff, it would save alot of trouble and headaches. You might think, oh well whatever, it's minor, but even if you qualify for a defective panel, you have to send the thing back to them, wait weeks since it's all nationwide instead of at a store. A dead pixel that comes shipped is B.S. and is a bad business practice. It's not my fault that the manufacturer messed it up, and the resellers should step up and make it right, but they won't. What makes that even worse is the price point, we're not buying a watch here, these are multi-thousand dollar machines, even HD LCD TV's have a better pixel policy, and you can at least drive back to the store for that. If the pixel appears, that's a little different, but on my next order if I get a dead pixel, I'll just return the laptop and move on, I just won't be ignored like that again.

 

Good thread!

Mysterious approves

Mr. Mysterious

 

Very good information. Thanks a bunch

 

This is an awesome thread. Thanks so much!!

 

Thank you very much for this!

 

Nice thread! I get my 8130 on the 25th or 26th. I'll definitely keep this thread handy. ^_^

 

Yeah, it sucks when you feel like getting a perfect screen means dodging a bullet. Mine is flawless, though. I love it!

 

Great Thread. Gives me a good idea of what to check when my new rig gets here.

Very Helpful.

 

Thank you for posting this thread. I'll be sure to check all those steps when mine arrives.

 

Hi excellent thread. I got good info about thermal compounds.

My 8150 had two issues. So, I wrote Sager the following email and they agreed to RMA. This was in the first week that I had the laptop. Perhaps you could also draw attention to the sound issue in your after-unboxing-check-list. Hope it can help someone out there.

I also posted about the second issue on this thread and decided to RMA after making sure that it was not some software problem. http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/577492-subwoofer-p150hm-not-working-3.html