My ThinkPad arrived TODAY!!!!!

[corleone]

I spent roughly $2800 to get my dream machine.... I want to keep this thing as pristine as possible... I am also a first time laptop owner... what are some things i should be doing both fresh out of the box and in the near future????


Thanks in advance to all who offer some advice......

C.

[G-Man]

Pet her. Talk to her often. And never argue with her!

Regards,
G-Man

[Greg Gebhardt]

I spent roughly $2800 to get my dream machine.... I want to keep this thing as pristine as possible... I am also a first time laptop owner... what are some things i should be doing both fresh out of the box and in the near future????


Thanks in advance to all who offer some advice......

C.

Go and wash your hands, plug it into the charger and start using it. Your new friend will take care of you as long as you don't drop it and plug it in on occasion.

Enjoy!

[akeskira]

what are some things i should be doing both fresh out of the box and in the near future????
C.

I usually apply three coats of black Turtle Wax (http://tinyurl.com/4m7tz) immediately after opening the box to avoid fingerprints and wear and tear caused by the UV rays of the sun. Depending on the use, I reapply the wax within three to five weeks.

Antti

[Leon]

really..... u would recommend ordering this???

[ian]

I think he's talking about his car - it's certainly what they suggest in the UNO workshop manual...

As for the Laptop, in my opinion it's best to leave it in the box - just consider this: if you open it and turn it on you'll notice all the dead pixies, the creaking palmrests, the gaps, the fact that someone in Outer-Mongolia has problems with WiFi etc. etc. etc. No, by far the best thing is to leave it in a cupboard and buy a Dell...

[corleone]

anyone have anything substantive to add?

[carbon_unit]

Keep your hands clean, keep the drinks away from the keyboard, treat it like a friend and enjoy.

[Leon]

keep it plugged in as much as possible... NEVER recycle the battery.... other than that, the reason everyone is so "lite" is because it REALLY DOES take care of itself...

[ian]

Rant - NOT addressed to anyone in particular

No not really - if you don't know what you want to do with it, why buy it in the first place. People get so fussed about a finger print - wear gloves if it's going to worry you. And as for complaints about pouring orange juice onto the keyboard - what the dickens are you doing with orange juice so near to the [censored] thing. I mean let's get a grip here - it's a MACHINE - treat it with the respect you would normally use with a piece of electronic machinery. If you need people on this forum to tell you NOT to take it in the shower, then I thnik you're probably in the wrong time warp.

End of Rant

[ian]

Sorry Corleone - I didn't mean to be rude to anyone, but sometimes I crack...

[corleone]

It is VERY hard to offend me.... i wasnt asking about simple obvious things like dont drink Rootbeer Faygo next to the key board.... i was talking about tips regarding unistalling certain BS programs that come preloaded... possibly setting up a firewall (which i am not familiar with)

I regard the people and advice given on this forum to be sage, and never hesitate to reach out to others who (usually) are more knowldgeable than I.......

This computer is as pristine as a valley field with the cover of a fresh snowfall.... Like a new parent i jus twant to do what is best for my machine.

unusually descriptive (must be the ganj)
C.

[kjarrett]

First of all, sit back and enjoy your new baby. It will serve you well for many years.

Here's what I'd recommend you do.

1) Accessorize! Got a nice case yet? How about a 2nd HDD adapter? Maybe a port replicator is in your future? Lots of cool helpful things to buy to make your experience more enjoyable. I could go on ... but to each his own.

2) Get a good backup solution! I personally reccommend Norton Ghost and an external HD (either in the adapter or a USB2.0 external drive). Why? Because invariably sometime somewhere you're going to lose something, or worse, you'll trash the system after a software install goes bad. Ghost has saved my bacon so many times it's scary.

3) DO clean your hands, greasy fingerprints will make your TP look ... dirrrrrrty.

4) Invest in a good cleaning kit. Get compressed air, a proper brush, and cleaning solution. You can avoid the latter and use 50/50 alcohol and distilled water for the screen. I have found that pure water is the best way to clean the outer case.

5) Hang out in this forum. You'll learn a lot!

6) Resist the temptation to mess with your configuration until a) you have a good backup and b) you know what to remove. See #2...

Hope this helps! Enjoy your TP!

-kj-

[dd]

Hi Corleone

I would suggest you check over the laptop and ensure that the screen is ok (No dead pixels), and everything else is ok!

Ring up IBM and ask for your backup cd's...............

Go online and update to the latest drivers.

Have a play to familiarise yourself with your new kit.



Enjoy............

Regards

David

BTW: Which model is it?

[stgreek]

I second ALL of kjarrett's suggestions!

[corleone]

KJarrett and dd, thanks mucho for the info......



DD... i need ot request a back up CD? Why wouldnt they just send it with the computer?

I got the 2379-DXU, picked up a firewire card, the mini dock and some software.... Still have to decide on a case for it, but i remember a thread on here with some solid links (i saw a jansport i liked somewhere). Also considering a bluetooth printer...

I thought the fingerprint thing was a joke, but im glad i realized it was an actual issue.... i am quasi-anal so i will be sure to keep my hands clean....



C.

[Leon]

yes, call 800-ibm-serve,tell them you are going to install Linux, request them, they will be free......

[Greg Gebhardt]

I was not kidding about washing my hands. I find the titanium cover somewhat hard to keep clean.

[G-Man]

IBM doesn't ship the Recovery CD set with ThinkPads anymore, since there is a hidden recovery partition on the hard drive, so you can do a fresh install from there. Within 30 days IBM sends it for free, after that for a small fee.

Regards,
G-Man

[corleone]

"Recovery CD will be here within a week"....

thanks
C.

[meditate2001]

man, that reminded me when i got the my first t40. i was sooo anxiously and did the unpacking sooo slow, boy was that fun...esp. after i had a long time a t22 and really liked so i was afraid that ibm didnt do it so well, but fortunatly i was wrong...
i really loved the paper with a list of all components of the provided stuff in the t40 box, there were little boxes where you could check marks into...sooo cute..

another thing u could do is before you start installing all your stuff; in bios turn off the hidden ibm harddisc area, and wipe the whole disc. now you have 5gb more.
i made 2 partitions, where c is 5gb big, where i install the os, all programs and all my documents and sensible data. now i can backup the complete partition (i use true image) on one dvd. now i never have to install again, coz whatever happens i have my system on a disc. the advantage of this is of course that if your disc crashes, also the data from the ibm rapid restore get lost...

[ll357355]

i bought a pro-tect keyboard cover and LCD cover so that i dont have to worry what falls on my T41 and keeps it new..

[cjsuh]

Do you have a link for these covers?