Completely Removing Thinkpad Software - weeee!

[mt256]

So I just registered on the site yesterday. Love it and hope I can contribute. Here's my first try

I have had a T60 for work since Feb 07. I have gone through a lot of trouble with it (actually, this is my 2nd one since my HD died on the 1st).
I am a programmer, so every byte of RAM is important to me. Because of this, I have tried working without all of the startup programs the T60 comes with.

But before I came to my final configuration, I tried sticking with the TP software. Along the way I have numerous problems: system update failing; access connections not connecting/freezing; power manager losing profiles;

Finally I decided this week to delete all Thinkpad software, save the power manager.
I really don't think *any* of it is essential or even useful. I used Absolute Uninstaller to remove any programs related to IBM, Thinkpad, or Lenovo.
Next I deleted all folders under Program Files with those names (leftovers). Then C:\Drivers\. Then I ran CCleaner to do a registry clean.
All of this went smoothly.


Power Manager is useful though, as Windows has no way to control CPU/HD settings like PM does.
I downloaded a fresh copy of the installer and got it going. The only issue was missing profiles which has a fix here:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=48182


As for wifi, I do have to muck with that a bit because I have static IPs at home and dynamic at work, but I use a freeware app called NetProfiles to handle switching. http://netprofiles.danielmilner.com/

So what does everyone else think about this?
Do you really need any of the software?
If you don't want to uninstall it, you can at least disable it from starting up. Use Autoruns: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysint ... oRuns.mspx

[ducky2802]

do you think you can run a bootvis or similar app to log us a boot time after all that unistall? I am very interested to see how quickly you can boot up from cold!

Other than that, good work!

[dr_st]

Lots of that software is useful. I for one like to use the Fn+ key shortcuts, the power manager, the Thinkpad configuration wizard and others. Drivers, of course, are essential.

Then again, lots of other stuff, such as DLA, RecordNow, Google Desktop, and other crap that gets installed by default is totally uselss, barring some extreme cases.

[jdhurst]

You need the drivers, and for a laptop you need the power management (in my opinion) and the rest of it can be useful but not essential.

I have a T41 and work with a lot of client T30, T4x machines, but not a T6x to date. I have no problems with the IBM software and keep 90 percent of it. It all works smoothly. Properly installed, Access Connections works smoothly for me everywhere I go and every client I work at.

So I don't know why your machine was so problematic, but do as you need to make it work for you. Take care, though, not to present deleting all IBM software as something anyone else should do unless they wish to and know why.
... JDH

[Magic Wonder425]

When I received my T60, I was a bit concerned about all the processes and software included. After some use though, I noticed they don't eat a huge chunk of my memory so it doesn't bother me.

[mt256]

I must admit, I am a bit OCD when it comes to what's running on my machine. But if you are doing any intensive tasks (like programming, CAD, Photoshop, Maya, video, etc) you should be too!

Of course I wasn't talking about drivers - just the tools.

Also, Most FN keys work without the software running. You just don't get on screen display.

Of course you do have to know what you are doing somewhat, but just by going through regular Add/Remove programs, you really shouldn't have a problem. No hacking really. I just did those extra steps to ensure all files were removed.

[stallen]

You can have on-screen display without having a bunch of crap on your system. Just install the Hotkey driver and System interface driver.

I put together a guide for doing a clean install that is very detailed. Here is the link if anyone is interested: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=144783

[mattbiernat]

i don't think these apps take much RAM. however yes it can be fun to tweak XP into 20s or less boot time and ~400mb XP folder size. Could be useful if you have ultraportable that you only use for basic software and need to have almost an instant on but that's what PDA is for IMO.
I went through that stage with my XP. Right now I came to conclusion that these apps are not as much bloatware. They are useful to me even if I use them once a month. Same goes for services, fonts and other stuff that people do to speed up boot time or get extra memory. And in the end it does not make to me much difference whether I boot in 1min or 20s.

[mt256]

I wonder, can someone out there tally the memory usage of all the lenovo apps?
Including services too!
I found them all using Process Explorer and looking for the Command Line with ibm/lenovo/thinkpad in path.
(can't now since they're all gone)

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysint ... lorer.mspx

[Pocket Aces]

It might be a better idea to do a factory restore with Rescue and Recovery. That lets you choose which apps will be preinstalled.