Pros and cons of reinstall winXP?

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acjc33 · #1 Post by **acjc33** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 4:34 pm

I was just wondering if most of you guys reinstall your winXP the moment you get laptop in your mail. I know that reinstalling will save you around 4 gig worth of space but is there any pros of keeping the IBM software intact?
Thanks.

#2 Post by **jdhurst** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:36 pm

You need to read through the posts on this subject - there are a lot. There are some that do an immediate re-install, but based on my read over time, not a majority of users do this. To do a re-install without the recovery partition, you need to make or buy your own XP.

First and foremost however, there is no real need to re-install an IBM ThinkPad. Be highly suspicious of anyone who tells you there is a *need* (please distinguish between need and want).

My ThinkPad uses the IBM install, it is fully up-to-date and it essentially runs perfectly. I do not believe anyone could re-install it and improve upon this. The sole, single, and entire reason why my ThinkPad takes a while to start is that I *elect* to start up copious processes that I want and need once running. Once running, the system is a fast as blazes.

My opinion, of course, and by all means do your own thing. ... JD Hurst

acjc33 · #3 Post by **acjc33** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 6:11 pm

thanks JD. appreciate it.

IR0NMAN · #4 Post by **IR0NMAN** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 9:20 pm

Well, when I first got my T42p, I thought it would make no difference at all... then after a few days, i got tired of the slow response time of the system... so I reinstalled WindowsXP from a friend's copy (oem) and installed all the drivers/software from IBM. It is much more faster and responsive now, never will I use the included version of WINXP with my Thinkpads. It's like 20% slower overall.

Do a fresh install from a standard windows XP cd, you'll be much happier. I'm not too sure which version will work with your thinkpad cdkey though.

acjc33 · #5 Post by **acjc33** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 9:55 pm

I think i will probabbly go ahead and reinstall winxp. there are way too many preloaded programs that came with T43.

Speaking of software, what are the RECOMMENDED software that I should get from IBM once I reinstall winxp? Also, how about the fingerprint recognition feature? Will it be affected when I reinstall win xp? thanks.

#6 Post by **jdhurst** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 10:21 pm

IR0NMAN wrote: Do a fresh install from a standard windows XP cd, you'll be much happier. I'm not too sure which version will work with your thinkpad cdkey though.

Been there, done that. Never made a lick of difference. The two things that slow down my start are: (1) Symantec Client Security Corporate (which is too effective and too fast once running to abandon) and (2) Access Connections (which is worth its weight in gold for its automation, but is slow as the devil to start).

Once running, my system runs as fast (and I mean as fast) as a retail XP Pro install.

I want to reaffirm that I don't care what anyone does, just know that proper installation and tweaking of the IBM Preload is no different in speed than retail XP as measured by two hard drives on the same computer. ... JD Hurst

#7 Post by **aamsel** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:36 pm

But how much memory is consumed without real reason?
(That may not matter to you unless you need to load some big memory hog program or two.)
Anyhow, rather than the factory load or fresh install, has anyone tried starting with a factory load, and going through Add-Remove programs to delete the programs that are not truly useful?
If so, what is your "mini-list" of factory load programs to discard?

Andrew
Austin, TX

jdhurst wrote:
IR0NMAN wrote: Do a fresh install from a standard windows XP cd, you'll be much happier. I'm not too sure which version will work with your thinkpad cdkey though.
Been there, done that. Never made a lick of difference. The two things that slow down my start are: (1) Symantec Client Security Corporate (which is too effective and too fast once running to abandon) and (2) Access Connections (which is worth its weight in gold for its automation, but is slow as the devil to start).

Once running, my system runs as fast (and I mean as fast) as a retail XP Pro install.

I want to reaffirm that I don't care what anyone does, just know that proper installation and tweaking of the IBM Preload is no different in speed than retail XP as measured by two hard drives on the same computer. ... JD Hurst

baraider · #8 Post by **baraider** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:40 pm

i do not remember what is ibm came preloaded with....(cause it took me 2 minutes after i receive my ibm to formatting it

) but i remember i did see norton antivirus....it's a big no no....also, you can uninstall msn messenger, outlook express, MS games,....

there are more but i don't know

#9 Post by **aamsel** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:53 pm

Oh, I did a clean install also, but I just wondered if going through Add-Remove programs would be that difficult? Basically, all you are trying to do is remove unneeded overhead and memory use.
As for Norton Antivirus, I have heard tons of negatives about it being a "pig", but I haven't ever experienced it bogging down my system.
In what way would I see it being a problem that is not obvious to me now?

Andrew
Austin, TX

baraider wrote:i do not remember what is ibm came preloaded with....(cause it took me 2 minutes after i receive my ibm to formatting it ) but i remember i did see norton antivirus....it's a big no no....also, you can uninstall msn messenger, outlook express, MS games,....

there are more but i don't know

baraider · #10 Post by **baraider** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:59 pm

aamsel,

maybe you should try to install norton and use it for a while, monitor the system memory by some monitoring program, see what the bootup time, what cpu speed, etc, and then uninstall it, and do the same thing....

that's way you can see clearly what the difference.

it's my 2 cents.....last time i used norton, it's before sept 11

#11 Post by **aamsel** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 12:12 am

Thanks,
I will do exactly that.

Andrew
Austin, TX

baraider wrote:aamsel,

maybe you should try to install norton and use it for a while, monitor the system memory by some monitoring program, see what the bootup time, what cpu speed, etc, and then uninstall it, and do the same thing....

that's way you can see clearly what the difference.

it's my 2 cents.....last time i used norton, it's before sept 11

#12 Post by **daeojkim** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 12:16 am

My opinion from fresh install is that when you firsr clean install it it feels "lean" and much responsive. As you add more and more programs, AV, anti-spyware, firewall, etc... the system gets "fat" and run slight slower.
But what i like about clean install is that I have control over components that are installed in the laptop.

baraider · #13 Post by **baraider** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 12:24 am

also, who knows what kind of "secret" monitoring, tracking code they put in there intentionally or not?

For a normal windows user, the preload is perfectly fine and should be kept that way. I think the reinstall route is for more advanced users only (who wouldn't want to tinker with his setup, optimize, etc)

I think the FAQ guide should have a hightlighted Stickers....newbie aware...

#14 Post by **aamsel** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 12:31 am

I agree with you completely, and I am quite sure that we are among the extreme minority of IBM's customers who would do a clean install on a Thinkpad.
If I had to guess, I would say that it is far less than 1 percent of total units sold where the customer does a clean install.
These are, afterall, marketed as business machines, and business people want simple solutions: recovery CD's, recovery partitions, imaging, etc.
where the least time needs to be spent to put a machine back the way that it came from IBM.

Andrew
Austin, TX

baraider wrote:also, who knows what kind of "secret" monitoring, tracking code they put in there intentionally or not?

For a normal windows user, the preload is perfectly fine and should be kept that way. I think the reinstall route is for more advanced users only (who wouldn't want to tinker with his setup, optimize, etc)

I think the FAQ guide should have a hightlighted Stickers....newbie aware...

#15 Post by **JaneL** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 1:05 am

>These are, afterall, marketed as business machines, and business people want simple solutions: recovery CD's, recovery partitions, imaging, etc.
where the least time needs to be spent to put a machine back the way that it came from IBM.
>

Large companies usually have their own custom image that's either installed in-house or by the reseller/leasing company and aren't interested in how it comes from IBM.

#16 Post by **aamsel** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 1:35 am

Good point, hadn't thought of "big business" when I considered business.

Andrew
Austin, TX

nonny wrote:>These are, afterall, marketed as business machines, and business people want simple solutions: recovery CD's, recovery partitions, imaging, etc.
where the least time needs to be spent to put a machine back the way that it came from IBM.
>

Large companies usually have their own custom image that's either installed in-house or by the reseller/leasing company and aren't interested in how it comes from IBM.

#17 Post by **jdhurst** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 7:29 am

aamsel wrote:But how much memory is consumed without real reason?
(That may not matter to you unless you need to load some big memory hog program or two.)
Anyhow, rather than the factory load or fresh install, has anyone tried starting with a factory load, and going through Add-Remove programs to delete the programs that are not truly useful?
If so, what is your "mini-list" of factory load programs to discard?

Andrew
Austin, TX

VMware runs large virtual machines that use from 128Mb to 160Mb each. I can run two of those alongside the XP host before "running out" of memory (that is, swapping begins in earnest). That strikes me as using a lot of memory.

In terms of programs removed, I uninstalled retail Norton and installed commercial Symantec Corporate. I uninstalled the JAVA SDK, and installed the JAVA Runtime. I set Java Runtime so it does not run unless required.

Other than that, I leave all the IBM programs installed. I set IBM Message not to run (I could uninstall that), and I turn off the system tray icons for most of the drivers.
... JD Hurst

Nolonemo · #18 Post by **Nolonemo** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 2:15 pm

baraider wrote:aamsel,

maybe you should try to install norton and use it for a while, monitor the system memory by some monitoring program, see what the bootup time, what cpu speed, etc, and then uninstall it, and do the same thing....

that's way you can see clearly what the difference.

it's my 2 cents.....last time i used norton, it's before sept 11

Before I installed any Norton Program, I would image my hard drive, so I could restore if I didn't like it, rather than unistalling and leaving a bunch of junk on my Thinkpad and in the registry.

#19 Post by **jdhurst** » Fri Mar 25, 2005 3:49 pm

Nolonemo wrote:
Before I installed any Norton Program, I would image my hard drive, so I could restore if I didn't like it, rather than unistalling and leaving a bunch of junk on my Thinkpad and in the registry.

Check the Symantec site. There are tools there to completely remove Norton. Save reimaging just to get rid of it. ... JD Hurst

mattfromomaha · #20 Post by **mattfromomaha** » Sat Mar 26, 2005 10:43 am

I've tried both the factory image and a clean XP install on my T30 and can't tell a difference speed-wise, but I really missed the IBM programs, like teh Battery MaxiMizer, Access Connections, ThinkPad Configuration, etc, so I've ended up using the factory image again.

Pros and cons of reinstall winXP?

Pros and cons of reinstall winXP?

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