New Thinkpad T43

[jusjay]

Hi i just recently bought a thinkpad t43 i know i know its almost obsolete. But i have high hopes for this system. I am having some phobias with new systems now because i had a very bad experience with dell systems i got some kind of virus which cause the sytem to have a blue screen every 5 min or so.

Anyway i wanted to know whats the first thing i should when using the system should ai buy a new anti virus or does the system have it does it need to be upgraded? are there any other necessary software that will help protect the computer?

I also want to know if i wanted to reformat the system how do i go about doing that ? Where would i get a copy of Windows XP? or anything else that i need for doing that.

Thanks so much for all your help i really appreciate it!!

[Hanson]

Your system should include a 90-day trial version of Norton Antivirus.

I'll let the other users answer your remaining questions; I'm too lazy

[snife]

I don't run anti-virus so i'm not going to give advice on that - I don't get viruses as I don't open downloads from untrusted sources and I keep my os up-to-date with windows update. Most anti-virus programs I feel are like a virus themselves these days - slowing systems down and downloading numerous things. Being careful about what you do is the only true anti virus solution IMHO and keep backups so if the worst does happen then it isn't the end of the world. The system does come with a 90 version of Norton Antivirus installed which, although will continue to function after 90 days, will no longer get updates - you will be prompted to upgrade to the full version if you want to.

I'm not sure without further details what virus you had but it sounds like it might have been cause your system wasn't running Windows XP SP2 as earlier revisions had some issues. My advise is to use windows update (preferrably automatic updates) to make sure that if a hole is discovered in the OS that you get it patched straight away. Although as it was a Dell - bluescreening might just have been a feature of the machine rather than a virus

The first thing to do with your system is to create a set of recovery media from Start>All Programs>ThinkVantage - the best way is one CD (the first media only fills a CD so there is no point in using a DVD) and one DVD, this will allow you to recover your system to a factory state. The second thing to look at is rescue and recovery from the same location - this is an advanced backup tool that lets you schedule your full system to be backed up including all data and installed programs.

[christopher_wolf]

By no means is the T43, or any of the T4X Series for that matter, obsolete.

The first thing you should do is make the recovery set of disks; next up, remove the stuff you don't want. I would recommend getting rid of Norton Anti-Virus as it is a hog when it comes to system resources. You can replace it with the lighter, and free, AVG program that does pretty much the same things with none of the bloat of Norton.

After that, feel free to customizer your Thinkpad to what you desire.

[jusjay]

I must say ive only been using this computer for a few hours, but it feel very solidly built just hope there wont be any issues.

One thing concerns me though, the wireless network seem to be very inconsistent. I dont know if that is the computer fault or the network itself. it fluctuates regularly. do you think i should be worried.

and also

The finger print reader works very well how do i set it up so that i can use it in logging in to other sites lets say POP email banking etc.

Thanks again for everything.

j

[newmanm]

which program is that?

btw. why do I keep reading the T43P that I just bought is old or obsolete?

[davidspalding]

"T43/p is obsolete" => naivete IMHO.

Jusjay, I think I just answered our FPR question in a separate thread. Check there. Relax, friend, your T43 will be an able and solid performer for years; with adequate care, a far better investment than some of the Dells I've used.