Unboxing Toshiba Satellite A505 - S6965

We just picked up this laptop tonight. Glad to hear that battery life seems to be okay for general usage besides gaming.

Since this is our first laptop (I've built a couple of desktop PCs before), what are some of the things I should do or need to do to really get a clean and smooth running setup? And can someone tell me what bloatware is recommended to be removed? I want to clean things up, but don't want to screw it up either. I was thinking about trying out "Decrapifyer", as I've heard good things about that program. Thanks in advance!

 

I'd say pretty much everything not utility or hardware related is safe. In my opinion, norton should be the first thing to go It just depends.. If it looks like you'll use it keep it, if not, nuke it.

 

So I know this was covered previously in this thread but my results varied...

Just installed Win 7 64 RC fresh and most everything picked up, except for two unknown devices. I tried installing all of the items that were discussed earlier in the thread, but nothing seems to recognize those two items. Device Mangler looks exactly like the screen shot on page 6 of this thread.

I've installed the following items from Toshiba's site (win 7 64):

Intel chipset drivers
Intel Matrix drivers (storage driver I think?)
ConfigFree Utils
HDD Protection Utils
HDD/SSD Alert Utils
TVAP Utils
Dolby control Utils

Also installed the latest 4500 series catalyst suite from ATI.

All of my devices pick up and are labeled correctly (USB 2.0 camera...dunno if that's perfect or not) except those two sneaky unknown ones.

Anyone see anything I missed?

 

Here's a shot of my device manager. Anyone willing to compare against theirs to see what I'm missing?

 

I wanted to ask how many dvd's are required for recovery disk

 

4 DVD discs needed. 3 discs for the operating system and 1 disc for the drivers and apps.

 

My colors seem kind of weird. The greens have a yellowish tint and the whites a blueish tint to them. It could be me though. I have been using my son's Macbook Pro for a little.

 

thanx..

 

I have been following the thread, very informative. Does anyone here have a stock (haven't changed anything since purchasing) A505-S6965 that could post a screen shot of their Device manager?

 

Here is a snapshot of the device manager as I have not many any changes as of yet.

Also, is it normal to not have the "FN" and "SPACE" keys not light up. I do love this laptop.

 

no problems with any device drivers,
jst wanted to know how is the clarity of the webcam, mine is all blurred how to make it clear?

 

Click on the tools icon>settings>change resolution to highest setting

 

im not talkin abt the resolution it is all dark n i cant even figure out myself, any one had any probs with webcam thinkin to take back n chk with a new one. will try to post one of a pic taken frm that cam by evening

 

Well, my camera is doing just fine.

My device manager also stats Im missing something, but I really don't care since everything is ok, except Media Controls (which i don't mind).

hmmmm, and check this out! HERE The price is up again but its 779.99!

 

Could it be the HDD shock sensor driver?

 

No I don't think so since I have that little logo "Toshiba HDD Protection - Normal State" lol

 

EDIT:
IDE Controllers( in mine)
Ricoh PCIe Memory Stick Host Controller
Ricoh PCIe XD-Picture Card Controller

i think you need the toshiba SD contoller driver?


Edit Newegg selling a version with same config but 6Gb memory for $1000
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834114654

 

Yeah that's Very annoying. I was having problems with my laptop yesterday and thought maybe I'd pick up the toshiba today. *sigh*. Oh well... it'll go down again, maybe...

 

Guys can you please tell me abt the partition thingy , it came with one partition , round abt 456 Gb i think , So should I make other partitions using partition magic and I see no recovery partition , so if you guys can explain plz , i am new to this kinda stuff , my old acer had DOS

 

i tired shrinking the partition with windows disk manager and it failed (access denied) i guess it would be safer to just leave it.

 

You have to use recovery disks and activate the recovery partition to eliminate it.

 

Can you plz explain ....

 

regarding the web cam , my web cam is also producing really dark images , so how to make it right ....?

 

I havent done a clean install yet on i been busy but yeah currently i have 79 processes running now because of the bloatware on it. But one question ok i have burned all of the recovery disks and there is separate disk one with drivers and applications disk if i use all of the recovery disks does it contains all of the bloatware that came with the laptop? i never done a clean install on a toshiba laptop before only on a HP laptop and also if i do a clean install of vista does the application and drivers disk contains all of drivers and others apps i might need?

 

well it allowed me to shrink it, n i have two partitions now each 233gb if not use any disk manager software to make a partition of the free space like Arconis Disk Driver suite or Partition Magic...

EDIT: the other way to do around that would be when u put an installation disk of win 7 or any vista n use the driver options when u select the drive where u want to install the OS

 

no problems with my device driver, may be coz i installed few essential drivers frm toshiba website or the Recovery DVD for Applications, will post the image soon

 

As I said earlier im also in the same boat, lets hope someone can clarify how to fix it r everyone has the same prob. thinkin to take it back n fixed

 

Ran Some games: , Crysis, Rainbow Six Vegas, Timeshift, GRID

Generally the frame rate is about 20 at high settings (1024x768). seems normal for the 4550/4570 (not chopping no stuttering )

Crysis
1024x768
Medium settings ..High Textures..High Shaders,
Flat Framerate ..like 18 or 20 all the time, no stuttering like watching a movie.
the game can be played since it just smooth constant 20fps

this should be good for World in conflict and Fallout 3?

 

posting the device driver n webcam image. i have no prob with device drivers, webcam is kinda of s.h..i.t.t.y i guess in toshiba can some of u guys confirm me abt that

 

I don't know whats going on with camera assistant software but mine does the same thing. I can click the wrench(tools?) icon and(most of the time) just select properties and the brightness changes immediately. Sometimes I have to click apply(without selecting anything).

 

My touch pad sleeps some time and several attempts are needed to get it where I want it and I had to restart the system . Any one else has this problem ? or any ideas ?

 

there is a cover on the webcam n u need to remove that but even when i removed the cover its not that clear as it shld be , like i had my webcam in earlier HP i dont use the webcam that much its k i can purchase a good one if i need, i have attached a file where u can find the clarity after removing the cover from the webcam

 

I'll be honest, I love this laptop. Toshiba is a great brand. I bought it at Best Buy last week for $699. It features a Core 2 Duo 2.0Ghz with Centrino Technology, 4GB RAM, 500GB Hard drive, ATI Mobility Radeon 512MB graphics, slot loading DVD drive, light up keyboard, and lastly 16" LED HD display. For the price its fantastic. It works very well, my games run smoothly and everything else is great.


However, I the second day I noticed the screen. Has anyone noticed the color quality of the display?? The blacks are not very dark at all. The whites look purplely. I really think the colors are off on this display. Honestly this is the only thing that bugs me about this laptop. I notice this because I compared it to my Dell and Compaq laptops. I noticed a big difference in color/image quality. Just wondering if anyone has thoughts about it, please respond.

 

Yeah i also noticed the color quality is off. The black is not dark enough and white looks purpleish. Anyone know a way to fix it?

 

guys plz help the touch pad works fine for some time and then when i stop using it for a minute or so it freezes . plz help really worried

 

Have you pressed on the button above the touchpad? If you had than it somehow disactivates the touchpad. If not check for your drivers or controllers perhaps?

 

I still have the protective cover since i dont use my webcam. When I do, i use it on Skype which looks great; much better on Messenger.

 

Yes, i noticed this problem when i watched a DVD. The contrast of lcd is awfull. You can't see the blacks. My 4 year old HP has better contrast ratio and blacks. Also the wieving angle is so bad. It is a shame for Toshiba

 

The colors are screwed up. My greens look yellow.

 

I think only the brightness is good. Yo can't feel the badness of contrast ratio until watching a film.

Edit: Ooops. There is no LED option on customizable model. It has blasted

 

Back to this thread to report that I have installed a legal copy of Windows 7 Ultimate on this machine & it is *fantastic*. Everything installs beautifully, I've had no problems migrating from my old system to this one & I couldn't be happier. After installing the additional drivers suggested in this thread, I have no holes in Device Manager & the Mobility Modder allowed me to install Catalyst and the latest graphics drivers.

All in all, I don't think I could be happier. Surprised to see the price went back up, makes me glad I purchased during TN Tax Free Weekend and got price matched when Best Buy dropped the price last week.

It's still worth what Best Buy is asking, no question about it.

 

No i didnt pressed the touch pad disable key , touchpad stops working and the touch pad light also goes off after some time when i am not working or using it .....Should I do an out of box recovery ? I didnt think its a hardware issues because when its working it working fine .... so plz tell me that should i do a recovery of vista because for the first 2 days it worked fine ......

 

Thank you, Kammster, for the reply. I actually figured it out a few days ago after tinkering a bit, but you are spot on...that's exactly what the problem was

Everything showing in device mangler now, and everything is working perfectly (except I still don't get 5.1 out through HDMI when it's plugged into my tv...arrgghhh). Otherwise, this laptop is handling everything I throw at it. Awesome purchase.

 

My screen is good. I can't say it sucks at colors since you see the colors that reall are. Is this website yellow? hahaha Just kidding

anyways, its an average screen to me

 

Nvm i figured it out now all i need now is a Vista 64-bit disk now then i can do the clean install

 

Hey does it has only one bay for HDD or an extra bay is there, was thinkin to get a SSD.

Edit: can anyone confirm anything abt this.

 

I don't really have anything important to add to the conversation. I just wanted to say that i love this freakin laptop!

Carry on....

 

Excelent! Im gonna order my free upgrade until Janurary

 

Got mine approved and ready for shipping when win 7 will be out in market




EDIT: OHH btw already installed win 7 RC n my device driver have no prob chk my earlier post. All I can say is Win 7 looks n works better than Vista.

Email from Toshiba:

Windows 7 POP Approval Inbox

Reply


from [email protected]
to ...........
date Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 5:32 PM
subject Windows 7 POP Approval
Aug 19 (6 days ago)
[email protected]
Track your Order Contact Us
Order #: ..............
POP APPROVAL

Thank you for your order. Your proof of purchase has been approved and your order will be shipped on or after the general release date of Windows® 7. We will send you another email notification once we ship your order. We will also post updates on our Windows® 7 website in regards to the availability date of the Product . You can also view your order status on Track your Order page. Please allow up to 24 hours for status updates to be reflected.
This email address is not monitored. Please do not reply to this email as we will not be able to read or respond to your messages.
Additional Questions?
View FAQ , read our Transaction Agreement , and view your Track your Order online. It may take a few minutes for recent order updates to be shown online.
Please Contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions in regards to your order.

 

Does anyone have a problem of setting a notification to be displayed if the battery is about to die? i put up win 7 64-bit and can't find this option anywhere.

also on a side note, i have the two base system device not found errors under other devices in the device manager. My SD card slot works fine, any suggestions on how to get rid of these errors?

Thanks.

EDIT:: Never mind, I found it. For those wondering, it's in the power settings -> advanced power settings -> battery -> low battery notification.