format new laptop and install XP?

L

Lorddiagram

Moderator
Yo

I just bought a Compaq Laptop, it came up and running and with a copy of Windows XP. It seems to have a lot of Compaq software that may/may not make the laptop work better.

There are a lot of proccesses running etc..

Is it advisable to format the drive and do a clean XP install?


Thanks

lD
 
Why not just uninstall the junk you don't want or just disable what you can't uninstall? Most of it's pretty easy to disable. Some of the makers do put a lot of junk on there. A fresh install would clean it up if you wanted to go through the trouble. Check your service agreement. Do they have an image partition set up to restore to their settings if you call for service? Mine did and I wiped it out. Don't know if my service agreement is good anymore. :D Anyway, don't listen to me. What do I know?
 
how do you

These background procceses have cryptic names - how can I tell which ones are good and which are bad.

Does my Centrino chip know what to do on its on (as far a efficient running) or do these programs do good things with it?

If I format and install XP - does XP "know" I have a laptop and install apps to manage its battery etc?


Thanks

lD
 
Just format it. I don't see how you find all the crap they put on there, then disable it. It's far less time consuming just to wipe it and install a fresh copy of XP. Hopefully it came with a full version, not a stupid restore disk. Otherwise, you're back to square one anyway.
 
Most, if not all of that crap is for thier own diagnostic purposes- that is you break something and call for service- they can use thier software on your puter to diagnose the prob. I'd bet that NONE if it is critical to the efficient operation of your computer. In fact most if it is probably slowing you down.

As far as criptic names go, do a google search for every process running- almost all of them are easily identifiable by a simple web search. There are some sites out there that have created a database of sorts with the process name, who makes it, what it does, and whether or not its a good idea to turn it off.

As far as how to stop them, it should be relatively easy to enter msconfig and deselect the items in the startup tab. You could also do this through the registry if you got the balls to dick around in there- carefull in the registry though or you maybe doing a reinstall anyway. ;)

.......or you could just reformat.
 
thanks

Thanks for your knowledge. I have both a restore and a fresh XP disc. So I'' reintstall.

Do I still do in to DOS and FDISK c: ?

lD
 
Nope- the Windows XP disk should be bootable. Make sure your BIOS is set to boot from the cd-rom drive before the harddrive. Put the XP disk in and start your machine- If its a full version, its got all the formatting and partitioning stuff on it.
 
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