Bloatware Guide for the X505 Series Qosmio?

I managed to find a generic Toshiba list of programs, but is there a specific guide to bloatware, what to get rid of, and what to keep for the new 460m based Qosmios? Would the same guide also apply to the 460m based models?

 

Probably not. I would just open each of the utilities and see if they're useful. Then you can do a clean reinstall and just grab the ones you want from the Toshiba website.

 

I didn't find that many that made a fresh install worth it. There a few programs preinstalled, like Skype and WoW(lol) and a few other games. I found no problem removing them.

 

OKay let me rephrase. I am not looking to reformat. Just trying to figure out what to delete/uninstall and what to keep. This machine seems loaded to the brim lol. Oh, and yes, I got my laptop today.

 

REDACTED, sorry

 

Sorry, this is the full list:

RED=Get rid of it
ORANGE=Useless
GREEN=There are better alternatives

Toshiba Software and Utilities

• HDMI Control Manager
• TOSHIBA App PlaceSM
• TOSHIBA Assist
• TOSHIBA BookPlace™
• TOSHIBA Bulletin Board
• TOSHIBA Disc Creator
• TOSHIBA DVD Player with Resolution+ Upconvert Technology
• TOSHIBA eco Utility™
• TOSHIBA Face Recognition
• TOSHIBA HDD/SSD Alert
• TOSHIBA HW Setup Utility
• TOSHIBA Laptop Checkup
• TOSHIBA Media Controller
• TOSHIBA Password Utility
• TOSHIBA PC Health Monitor
• TOSHIBA Recovery Disc Creator
• TOSHIBA ReelTime
• TOSHIBA Service Station
• TOSHIBA Sleep Utility
• TOSHIBA Supervisor Password Utility
• TOSHIBA Value Added Package
• TOSHIBA Web Camera Application

Third-party Software

• Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
• Google® Toolbar
• Google® Chrome
• Internet Explorer 8
• Microsoft® Office Starter 2010
• Microsoft® Windows Media Player 12
• Microsoft® Silverlight™
• Microsoft® Live Essentials, Photo Gallery, Messenger, Mail, Writer, Movie Maker
• WildTangent® Games Console

Special Offers and Trial Software

• Intuit® Quickbooks® Financial Center
• KidZui™, The Internet for Kids
• NetZero® Internet Service
• Norton Internet Security™ 2011 (30-day trial subscription)
• Skype®
• Toshiba Online Backup (30-day trial subscription)

 

OKay, I am going to do this tonight. Just a note: I have MacAfee and my subscription is for another 5-6 months, but I am going to wait until my Norton subscription runs out. From what I hear, Norton is the best but I am not sure.

Question: I have WildTangent on my desktop. Is it worth having for the free or cheap priced little game-apps? I know you said delete it, but is it complete toxic waste or not?

Oh, and what FREE disc creation software do you recommend over Toshiba's? One more question: Will removing Toshiba Media Control disable the System Control buttons to the ledt of my keyboard, or just the media buttons in it? I ask because I really like these buttons.

Thanks again!

 

Norton seems to alot better now than it was in past years, but I personally use ESET NOD32. For a free solution, MSE is just awesome, IMO.

I've never seen any interesting games on WildTangent. If something strikes your fancy, keep it. Otherwise, it's wasted space.

ImgBurn is a highly recommended disk burner.

The Official ImgBurn Website

And no, removing Toshiba Media Control will not affect the buttons, it's a kind of Win Media Center program.

Toshiba Media Controller Software | Research Center | Toshiba

 

Ah, okay. I will delete that too. I haven't gotten around to deleting the bloatware yet because I am still messing around with installing games and hunting down all the No CD patches I can find so I don't have to carry discs around with me all the time. I am going to try to get rid of all the bloatware this week. though. I will say that there isn't quite as much bloatware on my Qosmio as I have seen on some new PCs.

I will surf around WildTangent and see if there is anything there that interests me when I go on a bloatware-deleting safari lol.

Thanks again for the list! Oh and I assume everything in black stays, right?

 

You can get rid of some of the stuff in black, depending on whether they're specifically useful to you or not. I only highlighted the stuff that I was sure would be bloatware to 99% of folks.

 

Okay, I got rid of most of the stuff you suggested. I kept Norton, and will continue to use it until my free subscription runs out. Then I will uninstall it and instal McAfee. Though, to be honest, I think I like Norton better. Maybe if I can get a really good deal on an actual subscription I will buy it instead of using my McAfee which has like 6 months left on the license.

I left the disc burning software. Why? Well, because I hardly ever burn discs, to be honest. If I start creating a ton of discs, then I will look into a better disc creator. I am leaving WildTangent for now, but will delete it if I don't get interested in anything on it really fast lol.


The following I could not find in my programs list

Intuit® Quickbooks® Financial Center
KidZui™, The Internet for Kids
NetZero® Internet Service

What are the following programs, if you know?

Label@Once
Atheros Communication Inc. (R) Ar81 Family Gigabit...
Conexant HD Audio
Dolby Control Center
Intel Rapid Storage Technology
Java (TM) 6 Update
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition [ENU]
Microsoft Visual C++ (There are two 7 different programs with that name followed by either "2005 Redistributable" or "2008 Redistributable" plus a version number that begins with "x"
02Micro Flash Memory Card Windows Driver
PlayReady PC Runtime amd64
RealTEK WLAN Driver
Skype Launcher
Synaptics Pointing Device Driver
System Requirements Lab (Two programs with this name actually)
Toshiba Application INstaller
Toshiba Assist
Toshiba DVD Player (I will probably not replace this with Power DVD unless I hate it lol)
Toshiba Eco Utility
Toshiba Laptop Checkup
Toshiba Media Controller Plug-in
Toshiba Quality Application
Toshiba Recovery Media Creator
Toshiba Service Station
Toshiba Value Added Package

Here is something odd. I installed Microsoft Games For Windows, which is kind of like an alternate for Steam. I have what appears to be two different programs in my Programs and Features: One is called Microsoft Games For Windows - Live, and the other is called Microsoft Games For Windows - Live Redistributable. What's the deal with that? Are they both necessary components to the same software?

 

Lol, I'm not Google. I highlighted in Green the important stuff; these control the sound, touchpad, WiFi, etc. Google whatever else you think you might not need.

 

First off, what do you mean you're not Google? I thought you were my own, personal, human search engine. Well, fine then! Just for that, you're not invited to my laptop party with the rest of the forum. :cry:

Besides, you know I am WAY too busy installing and playing games on my new laptop to be bothered with the peasant stuff like this. Why do you think I expected you to do it for me. Sheesh!

Nah, obviously I am kidding. THANKS for al your help, dude!

 

Lol, I didn't mean to be short with you, it's just that it's alot easier to do this when you can examine the programs right in front of you.