Some Questions about a clean install

[BranE]

(This post is a few general questions about a fresh install. I didn't respond in the clean install thread because it's giant and messy.)

I just got my t42p yesterday (2373-p3u) and have been considering a fresh install like in the guide that UCI-Mech put together, but I have a few questions.


1. Will it really increase performance?
2. How bout the hidden partition, is there any reason to delete it?
3. Is there anything wrong with the IBM install? I don't understand why everyone is doing these reinstalls...

Thanks.

[baraider]

i just did my install yesterday after i received my m3u model. Everybody does it because they want to have a control over what software and driver they put on they TP.

If you have 60g drive, then a 5g hidden partition won't be a big problem..but most people got 40g hd....and there is no reason to keep that partition.

I really like my new install because very little addon software is installed...i don't need a bundle...

after the clean install and load ibm driver, i install emacs, miktex, maple, ad-aware, nod32, disk keeper.

I think i'll keep it at a minimum. Onething tho, you have to follow exactly what in the guide. I found that i had to use the key on the ibm sticker to register winxp

[jdhurst]

1. Will it really increase performance?
2. How bout the hidden partition, is there any reason to delete it?
3. Is there anything wrong with the IBM install? I don't understand why everyone is doing these reinstalls...
Thanks.

1. I don't think so. Properly set up, a modern IBM Desktop or ThinkPad preload runs very fast and (on my systems) CPU runs at 1 percent or less 98 percent or more of the time.
2. No. That is your recovery partition. If anything goes really bad, you can easily reinstall your machine to "out-of-the-box" condition.
3. Not in my opinion. The main piece of software that can slow down boot times is Access Connections, and it is a very useful piece of software - I always use it.

I do uninstall the IBM Java SDK application and install the latest Java run-time module. I also uninstall Norton Anti-Virus and install the latest Norton Internet Security or Symantec Client Security. I set IBM Messenger so it doesn't run - I don't need it running on a constant basis.
... JD Hurst

[Steve007]

Everybody does it because they want to have a control over what software and driver they put on they TP.

Not true, I didn't bother formatting any of my ThinkPad's. I just let them boot up for the first time, enter my name, password etc and then proceed to load my applications etc.

If people must 'feel in control' why not just delete the apps that are not needed instead of all that unnecessary nonsense

[primedude]

Normally I'm pretty fastidious about the software that goes on my computers, but IBM has one of the best default bundles I've ever seen. There's very little in there that doesn't have a useful, functional role. Also there's not a lot of commercial crap on there -- no time-limited software (well, except for the AV, I guess) that you're expected to purchase or replace. About the only drawback to the default bundle is that it eats up a lot of memory, but that's not a problem so long as you have more than 256 megs of RAM.

I personally do not see the need to do a clean install on a ThinkPad, but I might feel differently about that if I had a 40 GB drive.

[Schmendrick]

I just finished a fresh install on my T42p a few days ago and I can unequivocally state that the performance improvement I'm seeing is significant. Simply put, the machine runs far (more than just "noticably") faster -- apps launch faster, task switching is smoother, etc.

Having fallen victim to a persistent hacker on a couple of occasions, I had used the system restore function to refresh the system from the hidden partition before blowing it away and trying UCI_MECH's approach. The results from the latter are far superior.

Don't ask me to explain why it's so much better, all I know is I'm glad I did the clean install.

[treker]

Me, too. I used the stock setup for three days to fully evaluate the system. Then I reformatted the HD and re-loaded the system using UCI-MECH's excellent instructions. I used only the IBM apps I wanted, along with only the drivers I needed. Instantly felt a snappier machine. Bootup was faster, apps loaded faster, just everything was faster. Plus I have a full 40Gb hard drive.

I see only a benefit. But everyone's mileage will vary.

[daeojkim]

The clean install may seem to increase performance at the beginning because there are less processes running in the background when you do clean install.
As you add more and more applications, AV software, firewall, office, firefox, etc.. your boot time will increase and application launch time will also increase as well.

In the end having only softwares that you need is the best way to optimize performance.

The only IBM software that I run is battery maximizer and active protection. I find them to be useful.