Ugh! Pre-loaded junk!

So, I just got my gorgeous new Sony CR laptop (I wanted the Asus G1...but my parents didn't want me gaming at school -_-). ANYWAY:

The first thing I noticed was there was a TON of crap that I didn't want/didn't know what it was/etc. I already uninstalled everything AOL-related (yuck), got rid of stupid Travelocity "gadgets", axed Roxio media something or another, and am now trying to sift through all of the Sony stuff. There is a ton of video/picture/music crap, like Sony Entertainment system or something? And Sonic something? And then there's like Sony security center? EH? Is any of that worthwhile? Does any of it have to do with the webcam or burning DVDs or anything? I dunno, I'm just a little overwhelmed. I can't figure out what to get rid of!

Maybe instead of asking what to uninstall, I can ask what is essential to using all of the featuers of the laptop?

 

I would really recommend a reformat and fresh start.

Download and burn all the necessary drivers and software to a CD and then reinstall Windows if you were given an OS disk.

 

hey! is your hard drive loud? like you can really hear the clicking?

 

I wasn't GIVEN an OS disk!! I was sooo mad about that, seriously. Plus, I don't know what all the necessary drivers and software is. I guess I have to click and run EVERYTHING to see what it does? There's all this entertainment junk, and I can't tell what's actually necessary software for burning/playing DVDs and the like or what...

This is enough to make me not want to buy a sony again. Like evaaa.

And the hard drive is not loud, no. You can hear it clicking a bit when you perform actions...but my house was dead silent and the noise was very soft. It did get really hot really fast...

 

Pretty much all computers come pre-loaded with a bunch of crap. Its annoying, but its par for the course.

Here's a good thread about how to do a semi-clean install of Vista:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=146033

 

You could've been prepared for all of this had you done a little research beforehand.

 

^The computer wasn't my choice. Plus, I find it annoying that you would even have to do research beforehand. It's like, come on. I just paid 2 grand for this piece of whatever, why the heck do I have to rely on some blogger to tell me what the bloatware is?

I guess I could just call and ask. My parents did pay for 4-yr onsite tech support, so I'm just gonna call and have them walk me through everything.

Although it's not very satisfying...b/c it's not like the poor tech guy loaded it up.

 

Has anyone tried the decrapify program at http://www.yorkspace.com/pc-de-crapifier/

 

There is a link in my signature below to instructions for doing a clean install of Vista on an FZ series machine. It is not going to help you do a clean install on your machine without having a retail copy of Vista. However, it does also contain a list of all of the software (and bloatware) intalled on an FZ. Many of the things you asked about are common to both series machines. I noted in the list, the things I considerd to be essentials and it should at least give you a good starting point.

Gary

 

I have used this and it actually works very well. It is a kind of "lazy" alternative to doing a fresh clean install for those of us that, while we know that a fresh clean install will prove better in the long run, we cannot / dont want to invest the time of a fresh clean install. PC Decrapifier works to meet in the middle by being able to identify and remove common crapware that is installed on today's OEM PCs.

 

Thanks for the link to the word file containing the essential software. EXTREMELY helpful to have it all laid out like that! I like how it wasn't too "overzealous"...other lists I've looked at pretty much X out everything. And you're like, eh?

My friend yelled at me for uninstalling Roxio. Your list seems to jive with that opinion. Now I have to figure out how to recover things D: Or I could just pirate it. Hah.

 

Glad it helped. Don't know if this is applicable on YOUR model, but there are instructions in that document for how to load Roxio from the Sony Recovery DVD's.

Gary

 

just try semi-clean install vista.

 

Yeah, recovery DVDs...hmmm...Don't think I have those. Haha. It's no biggie. I'm just so happy all that junk is gone. You're my hero :].

 

umcp11,

On the FZ machines you MAKE the recovery DVD's yourself. There is an application already on the machine to allow you to do so. They server two purposes. First you can use them to do a total restore to the original "out of the box" state of the machine. The second use is you can install SPECIFIC applications and drivers. Applications like ROXIO, for example!

Gary

 

Oooh...Thanks. I'll have to check.

 

Open a Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\Program Files\Sony\vaio recovery
and run Launcher.exe


There's an option there to create the recovery media, as well as one toreinstall specific software.

 

Thanks for the recommendation.

That method works VERY well. I used it and now my computer has no problems at all. Out of the box, I had 79 processes running. After using that method, I'm only at 48. Trust me on this one.

By the way, I used it on a new CR.

 

Hi, can some tell me if Roxio "Media Manager Services" can be safely deactivated (i.e. to not show when I boot the computer?). I don't even know what exactly that program does (something related to LiveShare /MediaSpace) ?? The Command line ends with "RoxWatchTray9.exe"...

Thanks in advance