Thinkpads Forum

I posted this on the Vista board a few days ago and didn't get any responses. Thought I might try here. Anyway:

Most of the Vista stuff I've read here seems to do with loading it onto a notebook that doesn't have it already.

I, OTOH, have a T60 on the way that's coming preloaded w/ Vista. That being the case, are there any steps I should/can take when it arrives to trim its weight down to fighting size? Ideally I'd like a lean, meaning Vista machine ... though I probably don't have the tech savvy to get there if it's too complicated.

I do seem to remember, though, reading somewhere about steps to take right at the initial new-machine start up. am I correct?

And then the next thing I want to do is get rid of the bloatware, mainly the symantic stuff.

But at what point in all this would I want to make boot & rescue and recovery disks? (I'm assuming I should make the boot version, too, right?).

And I'm probably missing some steps here, too. Can anyone help me out?

Thanks!

Probably the reason you didn't get any response is because this question has been asked over and over again. I read the other post too.....Read back through the t60 threads a couple of months and you'll find some info.

i tried that but all i could find were tons of posts from people with questions about loading vista onto machines that didn't have it already -- i.e., the upgrade process. in case you missed it, that's not what i'm talking about. otoh, maybe you're right and *I* missed it. i'll go have another look ....

meanwhile, if anyone cares to share what they already know, that'd be great!

Your're right my apologies, I'm thinking XP. I have Vista business running but am using a very mininal number of Lenovo drivers and it's not a pre-installed so can't help much.

Again, my apologies.

Wow. After my experiences with Vista (several machines for about a month) I would say the first thing you should do is install XP. Sad but true.

Regarding the Bloatware, you can prevent it from being installed by recovering the TP and de-selecting what should not be installed.

Here's a previous Thread on the subject:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... highlight=

Wow. After my experiences with Vista (several machines for about a month) I would say the first thing you should do is install XP. Sad but true.

Just curious as to why you would say that? There are some software/hardware compatibility issues that are known, but what is the overall problems you were having.

Don't get me wrong I like it and I wish I could continue to use it. Vista is fantastic as a tablet OS. For me it just isn't ready yet and it was too frustrating trying to get it to work. Here are some of the issues I had. Keep in mind I tried Vista on three different notebooks of different configurations so these problems weren't just with one machine.

1. Cisco VPN client would not work consistently. After a clean install the VPN client would work OK for a couple of days then it take 10-15 or more minutes and several dozen tries (rebooting didn't help) to get a working connection. Since I use a VPN all day everyday it's very important to me. I tried every available client Cisco made available and they all suck. Do a google search for Cisco VPN Vista and see what others are going thru.

2. Inconsistent network connections. I had various issues wired/wireless where the machine would get an IP address but not an internet connection. This is important to me because of #1. I tried several fixes and none helped.

3. Battery life drops by about 20% using Vista (Aero and Sidebar off).

4. Some of the apps I use are web based and don't work with IE7 and Vista.

duffy, fair enough I see your points, definately agree with #3, for #2 and #1 i've seen VPN issues in XP and 2000, but your're right not things that could not be worked out. Hopefully that will be fixed soon.

It seems right now Vista is something to have "if" you really don't need to depend on it to perform like a serious work platform, I can't use it completely for my job right now either but am using it to see what is working and what isn't and what feedback to give back to our factory reps on driver issues for our hardware.

I've got my T60p (hopefully) arriving on Friday. The moment I open the box I'll be doing a fresh install of Vista. It comes with Vista Business but I've got an unused copy of Vista Ultimate sitting here I'll install.

I'm excited. This is not only my first thinkpad, but its my first laptop. I'm oh so sick of being forever tied to my desk.

Can't wait!

Congratulations!

Please post your experience.

Oh..let me be the first to welcome you to the forum!

Brad

I would highly recommend getting a ready boost compatible device. I am currently using a 512meg stick and I find Vista to be much more responsive. I am undecided whether or not I'll keep using Vista.
Good Luck,
Scott

I cant get Cisco VPN working on XP, let alone Vista.

jesusfreak wrote:I cant get Cisco VPN working on XP, let alone Vista.

That was kind of my point, I have clients that deal with VPN issues in 2K and XP so it's not only a Vista problem. I think some of the ones I've seen have problems running Norton Internet Security/AV etc.