Windows 7 Need Advice - Lenovo Rap Top

[KM Richards]

OK, so I got this k00L, brand new Lenovo 12.5 in screen laptop with Win 7 Pro 64bit, i5 Quad 4 2.6gig, 6 gig DDR3 Ram... nice little portable machine.

But, I hate the crap that's on it that Lenovo put on there. It didn't come with just Windows, it has numerous manufacturer programs that I don't want on there.

So, I called Lenovo and gave them a song-n-dance about how I needed the Windows install discs in case I ever needed them (I got the guy to admit that a few years from now they will not support this thing anymore).

So, do you think the Windows install discs will install just Windows only being that these are the Lenovo install discs?

There are two other discs that are labeled "Recovery Media for Windows 7 Products", so I figured these are the ones that install all the Lenovo crap.

I just want straight Win 7 Pro 64 bit on there and then I'll build my software collection as I want.

So whaddya think... should I try using the Lenovo install discs, or plan of buying a retail version of Win 7 Pro 64 bit? (I'm buying a larger HD and will leave the OE drive unchanged so I can always put that back if needed.)

Also, I found a Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit "Promotional Disc" from 2009 (X15-60567-01)... could this be installed and run as normal?

Advice from resident experts would be appreciated as I've got just enough knowledge to screw some stuff up but still have fun doing it!

 

[patcooke]

The Lenovo recovery disks are usually intended to recover you system to "factory settings". In your case this almost certainly means it will restore you laptop to the state in which you bought it - including all the bloatware. Installing from a new Windows system would indeed solve that problem but carries two more problems - One, you need to pay for it (and why should you when you've already paid for it once) and two, the Lenovo recovery disks will have all the drivers specifically required for your laptop - you may well find that installing from a MS install disk leads to hunting about for drivers.

I would carefully go through the list of uninstalls in control panel and clean it up that way. After getting rid of all the junk, run ccleaner (free downloadable utility) to clean up any junk files remaining and also run the registry cleanup in there to remove registry settings remaining from the junk.

Finally I would consider getting a copy of Acronis True Image to create of the cleaned up system which you can then burn to dvd's and use as your own clean recovery disks. It is a good idea to then run Acronis on a regular basis to enable you to recover a complete system, including all your installed programs and settings on any occasion you have problems. Acronis is not free but it is not expensive and you can download a fully working trial of the Home edition from here:

Link Removed

 

[KM Richards]

Yeah, I'm well versed in Acronis and have been using it since around 2004 or so... great prog.

The Lenovo recovery disks are usually intended to recover you system to "factory settings". In your case this almost certainly means it will restore you laptop to the state in which you bought it - including all the bloatware.

I'm hoping that the first disc will just install Windows and the second disc will install basic hardware drivers.

There are two other discs that are labeled "Recovery Media for Windows 7 Products", so I figured these are the ones that install all the Lenovo crap.... I won't use these and see what happens.

I'm buying a 500gig hard drive (it takes a drive that is 7mm thick), so I'll keep the OE drive in tact so I can always put things back if needed.

 

[patcooke]

There are two other discs that are labeled "Recovery Media for Windows 7 Products", so I figured these are the ones that install all the Lenovo crap.... I won't use these and see what happens.

Give it a try and see - you might be lucky, distributors don't generally make it easy for consumers to dump there unwanted bloatware but good luck!

 

[KM Richards]

Well, I like the idea of removing the OE hard drive so I always have that to fall back on... and installing the new larger hard drive and trying to install just the first two discs that are marked Windows Install Discs (hopefully Bill does not allow other progs to be on discs labeled "Windows Install Discs").

I'm betting those other two discs are how the Lenovo stuff gets loaded, so I'll not use those. And, if it doesn't work out after using just these Windows Install Discs, then I can always go to the control panel and manually remove unwanted programs that way.

Once way or another, I'd like some say so concerning what is loaded on my computer...

 

[patcooke]

Once way or another, I'd like some say so concerning what is loaded on my computer...

Couldn't agree more. I bought a brand new car some time back and when I went to collect it the dealer had blathered it with stickers advertising his business. I told him that either he removed them and restored the car to how I'd selected it or he paid me for advertising space! He removed them.

 

[KM Richards]

I bought a brand new car some time back and when I went to collect it the dealer had blathered it with stickers advertising his business. I told him that either he removed them and restored the car to how I'd selected it or he paid me for advertising space! He removed them.

Hey, that sounds exactly like something I would do... and people act like I'm being rude er something.

I've learned over the years to smile and act as though I'm not ticked off in these situations and sometimes it's a deal breaker for them and I let the deal go.

I'm only doing what everyone else has a right to do, which is get what I want when I'm throwin down my money for something.

Sales people have to realize that in most cases they aren't the only game in town, so sometimes we consumers have to remind them that their competitor would like to have our business.

That's the beauty of free enterprise!

 

[KM Richards]

I'll just use the OE disc from my new desktop computer that came from a company
that installs straight windows, no bloatware.

Then I'll use the OE key from my laptop to activate. Both computers have Win 7 pro.

Think this'll work, or will Bill's swat team come bustin me door down at 3am?

 

[patcooke]

That should work ok - you may have to do some extra work on drivers depending on your hardware config.

 

[KM Richards]

you may have to do some extra work on drivers depending on your hardware config.

So, how does that work? Do I just allow the computer to search the net for drivers?

How would I even know, is it going to give me an error message?

And, if this is going to be an issue, isn't there a program that scans your computer and provides a list of drivers that need to be updated?

 

[patcooke]

Don't use the scanners - they are scammers! Any problems with drivers will show as devices not working or maybe BSODs. Once installed look in your device manager and see if any devices are showing an exclamation mark against them. That indicates a driver issue. You may well find that Windows finds all the drivers you need and and have no problem.