got a dell laptop...want to "clean it up"


Recommended Posts

so i got a dell laptop, it's nice and spiffy but also a bit bloated with the stuff manufacturers put on so i want to change the setup on it...basically what i want is:

2 partitions:

- windows + software/applications – dell crap/trial software

- everything else

all i see is a recovery partition but no windows CD came with it so what i'd like to know is:

- if i was to reinstall windows using the dell restore cd, would it automatically install all other crap too, or will i get some customizing option?

- if i create partitions using the disk manager, will the restore cd erase them?

- is it possible to burn the stuff in the restore partition on the hard drive then erase that partition?

all help is appreciated, thanks...

UPDATE - clean installed windows using the CD that came with dell...discovered some not-so-hot things...

- i realized that bluetooth isn't a standard feature in these laptops...something that surprises me given it's been around for years now. i struggled for an hour trying to make it work before i realized i left the option unchecked when customizing the laptop.

- my eject softkey doesn't seem to work. all others are working fine except for this one. it lights up when i click on it but it doesn't eject the cd. anybody know what's going on here?

other than that the machine has been a pretty pleasant experience so far...

UPDATE 2 - sorry about the delay in posting...

the machine is a dell studio XPS 16 with core i5 540 and the usual bells and whistles. the softkey issue was the dell quickset thing which worked swimmingly as soon as i installed the drivers (thanks plutonium). i noticed that when the speakers are turned up the sound begins to get a little distorted so i kinda wish i had gotten the bitter sound card but it's fine...

the bluetooth thing is also a bit of a stickler but not something i use actively so it doesn't bother me all that much.

current issues - when i tried to connect the laptop via HDMI to my LCD tv i get a 1" thick black border for some reason at the same resolution...how do i get rid of that?

- when connecting via remote desktop to work on my laptop, i get the same black border in my laptop in the remote desktop window and all the icons text become really really small...like i'm trying to view 1080p resolution on a 13" screen or something...

any ideas?

UPDATE 3: figured out the TV resolution thing and got the eject key to work.

new problem - my mom connects to her work machine through java remote desktop. for some reason when it loads the resolution gets messed up. i get a black border around the work desktop and the resolution becomes really large (i.e. text/icons really really small). how do i fix this? it only happens on the laptop, when we tried it through the desktop it worked swimmingly.

i know if you connect through remote desktop directly through windows you can change the resolution settings in options...but how do i do this when connecting through java app?

seriously, no one here's tried remote desktop connection through java and come across this resolution issue? c'mon people...still looking for a solution :(

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/878376-got-a-dell-laptopwant-to-clean-it-up/
Share on other sites

so i got a dell laptop, it's nice and spiffy but also a bit bloated with the stuff manufacturers put on so i want to change the setup on it...basically what i want is:

2 partitions:

- windows + software/applications ? dell crap/trial software

- everything else

all i see is a recovery partition but no windows CD came with it so what i'd like to know is:

- if i was to reinstall windows using the dell restore cd, would it automatically install all other crap too, or will i get some customizing option?

- if i create partitions using the disk manager, will the restore cd erase them?

- is it possible to burn the stuff in the restore partition on the hard drive then erase that partition?

all help is appreciated, thanks...

If it's a new PC just pop the Windows disc in, format the main partition (C:) and leave the diagnostic/recovery partition alone. Install all of the other drivers and software off of the discs that came with the PC when the Windows installation is done. Might want to take an inventory of your hardware before hand and compare driver versions before you install from the driver CD.

so i got a dell laptop, it's nice and spiffy but also a bit bloated with the stuff manufacturers put on so i want to change the setup on it...basically what i want is:

2 partitions:

- windows + software/applications ? dell crap/trial software

- everything else

all i see is a recovery partition but no windows CD came with it so what i'd like to know is:

- if i was to reinstall windows using the dell restore cd, would it automatically install all other crap too, or will i get some customizing option?

- if i create partitions using the disk manager, will the restore cd erase them?

- is it possible to burn the stuff in the restore partition on the hard drive then erase that partition?

all help is appreciated, thanks...

Use any bootable OS to partition the HD drive. if its win 7 get the product key before you reinstall...

I believe the recovery CD will reinstall all the crap you that is there now.

recovery wont erase any partition you created using disk partition...

I still have the recovery drive in my PC and have never used it so its better you back it up and release the drive for use.

^ correct...and i want to know if i install windows using that CD, will it install the additional software/dell utilities and all that? i can go without all that...

it is a new laptop *forgot to mention that*...

i'm really just trying to save myself the hassle of downloading a copy of windows 7 64 bit online then formatting/installing the whole thing fresh...if i can get by using the discs i've got, i'd prefer that.

^ correct...and i want to know if i install windows using that CD, will it install the additional software/dell utilities and all that? i can go without all that...

it is a new laptop *forgot to mention that*...

i'm really just trying to save myself the hassle of downloading a copy of windows 7 64 bit online then formatting/installing the whole thing fresh...if i can get by using the discs i've got, i'd prefer that.

If it's a new PC just pop the Windows disc in, format the main partition (C:) and leave the diagnostic/recovery partition alone. Install all of the other drivers and software off of the discs that came with the PC when the Windows installation is done. Might want to take an inventory of your hardware before hand and compare driver versions before you install from the driver CD.

I say we take off, and nuke the laptop from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Seriously though, go to the Dell website, create an account if you don't have one already, and register the service tag. Download all the current drivers for that system, save them externally somewhere, then wipe the system. Reinstall Windows, using the disk they provided and only that disk, since it's preactivated for your system. Don't use the drivers on the drivers disk, since they are woefully outdated (usually) and using that disk will require you to install more Dell garbage.

Trust me, I've done this more times than I care to remember. Oh, and the Dell Win7 install disk is essentially just a standard OEM image, with the preactivation files added in. There's no extra Dell 'magic' on the disk or anything like that, and no extra garbage.

I say we take off, and nuke the laptop from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.

Seriously though, go to the Dell website, create an account if you don't have one already, and register the service tag. Download all the current drivers for that system, save them externally somewhere, then wipe the system. Reinstall Windows, using the disk they provided and only that disk, since it's preactivated for your system. Don't use the drivers on the drivers disk, since they are woefully outdated (usually) and using that disk will require you to install more Dell garbage.

Trust me, I've done this more times than I care to remember. Oh, and the Dell Win7 install disk is essentially just a standard OEM image, with the preactivation files added in. There's no extra Dell 'magic' on the disk or anything like that, and no extra garbage.

You don't need to register the Service Tag. The drivers are available when entering the tag.

so i got a dell laptop, it's nice and spiffy but also a bit bloated with the stuff manufacturers put on so i want to change the setup on it...basically what i want is:

2 partitions:

- windows + software/applications ? dell crap/trial software

- everything else

all i see is a recovery partition but no windows CD came with it so what i'd like to know is:

- if i was to reinstall windows using the dell restore cd, would it automatically install all other crap too, or will i get some customizing option?

- if i create partitions using the disk manager, will the restore cd erase them?

- is it possible to burn the stuff in the restore partition on the hard drive then erase that partition?

all help is appreciated, thanks...

Not possible to burn that recovery partition. But if you are on windows 7, go to backup and restore and create a system image. You can specify to burn it to DVDs or hard drive.

Download a clean/unmodified windows installation disc from a reliable source and burn it to DVD. It must be bootable.

Boot from it and during the initial process there would be an option to restore windows from disc image. All the data on C: would be lost. You can specify if you want to restore partitions as per the image.

Otherwise, continue with fresh install of your windows. If you use the exact windows version that came preinstalled, you can simply use the key on the back of your laptop to activate windows over phone.

UPDATE - clean installed windows using the CD that came with dell...discovered some not-so-hot things...

- i realized that bluetooth isn't a standard feature in these laptops...something that surprises me given it's been around for years now. i struggled for an hour trying to make it work before i realized i left the option unchecked when customizing the laptop.

- my eject softkey doesn't seem to work. all others are working fine except for this one. it lights up when i click on it but it doesn't eject the cd. anybody know what's going on here?

other than that the machine has been a pretty pleasant experience so far...

UPDATE - clean installed windows using the CD that came with dell...discovered some not-so-hot things...

- i realized that bluetooth isn't a standard feature in these laptops...something that surprises me given it's been around for years now. i struggled for an hour trying to make it work before i realized i left the option unchecked when customizing the laptop.

- my eject softkey doesn't seem to work. all others are working fine except for this one. it lights up when i click on it but it doesn't eject the cd. anybody know what's going on here?

other than that the machine has been a pretty pleasant experience so far...

i dont know about you specs other then its a new dell laptop, however with my somewhat new dell laptop, it came with the OS cd, Dell utility cd and some other cds

The OS cd is clean, and i never had to input any serial for it. However for additional drivers you can install the Dell utility cd, or better just go to the dell website, enter your tag and get the drivers for the hardware. vista drivers will work fine as well.

UPDATE 2 - sorry about the delay in posting...

the machine is a dell studio XPS 16 with core i5 540 and the usual bells and whistles. the softkey issue was the dell quickset thing which worked swimmingly as soon as i installed the drivers (thanks plutonium). i noticed that when the speakers are turned up the sound begins to get a little distorted so i kinda wish i had gotten the bitter sound card but it's fine...

the bluetooth thing is also a bit of a stickler but not something i use actively so it doesn't bother me all that much.

current issues - when i tried to connect the laptop via HDMI to my LCD tv i get a 1" thick black border for some reason at the same resolution...how do i get rid of that?

- when connecting via remote desktop to work on my laptop, i get the same black border in my laptop in the remote desktop window and all the icons text become really really small...like i'm trying to view 1080p resolution on a 13" screen or something...

any ideas?

I would download and run PC Decrapifier to remove most of the trials and shareware junk, then use CCleaner to remove any of the remaining registry problems and temp. files. After that, I think I'd go to Dell's site and download the updated drivers for my system.

But, if you're the reformatting type, you could:

1.) Boot from the Windows CD and nuke your current install

2.) Install Windows to main partition (ignoring recovery partition)

3.) Install any drivers you need immediately (Ethernet, video, etc.)

4.) Windows Update

5.) Remaining drivers

That's just how I would do it, but it's up to you.

Yup, you need the QuickSet software installed for the Eject Key to work.

As for Bluetooth, you really don't see it built into laptops these days by standard. There was a period where it was, but now.. not so much.

As for the border, try altering the resolution on the TV. You should be able to have a separate resolution for the TV.

  • 2 weeks later...

UPDATE: figured out the TV resolution thing and got the eject key to work.

new problem - my mom connects to her work machine through java remote desktop. for some reason when it loads the resolution gets messed up. i get a black border around the work desktop and the resolution becomes really large (i.e. text/icons really really small). how do i fix this? it only happens on the laptop, when we tried it through the desktop it worked swimmingly.

i know if you connect through remote desktop directly through windows you can change the resolution settings in options...but how do i do this when connecting through java app?

still looking for a solution people :(

If you change to your native resolution and text and taskbar items are still larger than usual, Dell may have changed the default DPI setting. In Windows 7, this can be changed by searching in the Control Panel for 'dpi' then selecting "Make text and other items larger or smaller". In Vista, it's Control Panel -> Appearance then Personalization -> Personalization. From the left side 'Tasks' pane, select "Adjust font size (DPI)" or just go to the Control Panel and search for Adjust font size. In XP go to Display settings in Control Panel then Settings tab. Click the Advanced button, and then choose Normal size (96 DPI).

Edit: Ignore this post, sorry I didn't read the bottom of your initial post in this thread, I thought you were referring to the resolution on your laptop itself. Sorry!

- i realized that bluetooth isn't a standard feature in these laptops...something that surprises me given it's been around for years now. i struggled for an hour trying to make it work before i realized i left the option unchecked when customizing the laptop.

you could probably pick up a Dell spec Bt module off of eBay and put it in if you are up to that; you might also be able to get a Dell tech to do such an upgrade

- my eject softkey doesn't seem to work. all others are working fine except for this one. it lights up when i click on it but it doesn't eject the cd. anybody know what's going on here?

you are missing the utility that performs that function. you should check at Dell's site and look a little deeper for a hotkey utility or something similar

--

it is my experience that business-class Dell machines usually come with a clean Windows disk, a drivers disk, and a couple bundled application disks

whereas media/gaming machines tend to ship with a modified Windows disk (at least in the case of XP Media Center 2005) which does a proper fresh install but also tries to load up a ton of crap ware via script on first boot, + a drivers disk and extra app disks

...and the lowest end machines i believe just come with a harddisk imaging-type recovery disk, or nothing at all, completely relying on a hidden partition/burn yer own disks method that most other manufactures use

Dell branded disks are locked to Dell computers and use a method called System-Locked Preinstallation to automatically activate Windows. this is why you usually don't have to enter a product key when fresh installing. the disk usually works on other brand computers, such as HP or Lenovo, but when used on those machines will prompt for a product key at the end of installation just like a Windows 7 Retail disk would.

this is how most brands are in fact, but most other companies don't provide you with a proper branded Windows disk, just a image-based recovery DVD if lucky.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • For a guy who claims to hate Farage and the ignorant, gullible, rightwing racist skinheads sponsored by Putin that his lies represent, you sure are quoting them time and time and time again, mate. Denial isn't just a river in Egypt.
    • Do you live in the U.K? Do any of the people here that are against the UK leaving the E.U, live in the U.K? If not then why are you bothered? If you do live here then it is a different thing . Brexit was a good idea, should have done it years before, it was done badly, but the idea was good. You are saying the same thing as remainers do, oh we did what Putin wanted, we listened to the lies and Farage. I hate Farage and never believed most of what he said, certainly did not believe the £350m a week for the NHS. But we did pay a lot of money to the E.U and yes some of it came back, but what is the point of paying it out for only some of it to come back? Get out of the E.U, no money to them and in theory we can use the money to do things in the country. I said in theory, but our governments are a total and complete waste of space. No matter what colour rosette they wear. You and others say it was a mistake and yet the two main parties in the U.K are not looking at rejoining the EU, I wonder why that is? I was not tricked by anyone. Makes no odds now, we are out and have been for 10 years, what we need is a decent government to run the country. All they do is shout at each other like a load of kids and seems to do nothing and make this country more into a police and nanny state. Getting more like China all the time.
    • 4TB TEAMGROUP MP44Q, 2TB T-Force G50, and 2TB WD My Passport SSDs drop to great prices by Fiza Ali Prime Day may be over, but there are still worthwhile storage deals available, including discounts on SSDs for shoppers who missed the event or are looking to upgrade their storage solution. Particularly, 2TB Western Digital My Passport, 2TB TEAMGROUP T-Force G50, and 4TB TEAMGROUP MP44Q SSD are selling at great prices with up to 23% off. The 2TB TEAMGROUP T-Force G50 is an M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD with sequential read speeds of up to 5,000MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 4,500MB/s. The drive has an endurance rating of 1,300 TBW (terabytes written) and features a DRAM-less design. The company specifies a mean time between failures (MTBF) of 3 million hours. The drive includes an "ultra-thin" graphene heat spreader that helps dissipate heat without significantly increasing the drive's thickness. It also supports S.M.A.R.T. monitoring, allowing compatible software to monitor drive health and operating status. The SSD is rated for operating temperatures from 0°C to 70°C, with a storage temperature range of -40°C to 85°C. The drive is backed by a five-year limited warranty as well. 2TB TEAMGROUP T-Force G50 SSD: $269.99 (Amazon US) The TEAMGROUP MP44Q is an M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD that delivers sequential read speeds of up to 7,000MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 5,900MB/s. It uses 3D QLC NAND flash memory to provide 4TB of storage capacity for games, applications, media files, and other data. The drive has an endurance rating of 2,000 TBW and an MTBF of 1.6 million hours. The SSD features a DRAM-less design and supports TEAMGROUP's S.M.A.R.T. monitoring software, allowing users to monitor drive health, temperature, and remaining lifespan. For thermal management, the MP44Q also includes an "ultra-thin" graphene heat spreader. It is designed to operate at temperatures between 0°C and 70°C and can be stored at temperatures ranging from -40°C to 85°C. The SSD is also backed by a five-year limited warranty. 4TB TEAMGROUP MP44Q SSD: $478.99 (Amazon US) The 2TB WD My Passport SSD connects via a USB-C port using the USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface. It delivers sequential read speeds of up to 1,050MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 1,000MB/s through NVMe technology. In terms of security features, the drive includes password protection with 256-bit AES hardware encryption. The SSD is also designed to resist shock and vibration and is rated to withstand drops from heights of up to 6.5 feet. The recommended operating temperature range is 5°C to 35°C, while the non-operating temperature range is -20°C to 65°C. This drive is also backed by a five-year limited warranty. 2TB Western Digital My Passport SSD: $279.99 (Amazon US) Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • Yeah... The root of my comment, ostensibly, is how to spin the story via the actual technical merits of the solution! * Decentralized (aka federated) solution with built-in encrypted ephemeral message transport, * Transport via Relays (intermediary servers) with no message archival, * Second configurable pathway are actual email servers (if DNS records are programmed accordingly) via IMAP protocols carriage, * "Chat-over-Email" is the design pattern adopted; it can either leverage full-blown Email Server (must use the INBOX folder) to exchange all received messages/edits/reactions (so be weary of notifications overloads) [best practice is creating a separate email acct used explicitly for federated chat purposes!] or leverage its built-in Relay Server mechanism which actually resides on-device (by default but can be configured otherwise), * By virtue of be a decentralized/federated model, all other intermediary servers who may pass-along messages (while the recipient's final relay/device is inaccessible) cannot snoop on the messages due to the encrypted nature of contents. The intermediaries may, however, analyze the metadata due to the simple fact that routing mechanisms require hints for relay destinations. Unfortunately, whomever is posting about DeltaChat across socials are misleading with "zero metadata" claims -- especially when the Relays (according to their own technical documents) mandate the addition of chat-version metadata and other decorations in order to actually transport any message. -- Based on this summary, I'd prefer if they'd better dual-path message transport (email server add-in, federated relay engine) rather than patch-on email protocols to existing federated social media frameworks. They're frankensteining something rather than extending widely-deployed technology stacks.
    • Decentralized search result anonymization...
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Woland13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Woland13 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      bernmeister earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      493
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      225
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      148
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      75
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      71
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!