x61t bloatware help

[Enzyme]

Before I even start, let me say that I did used the search function and found a thread that almost answers my question but not entirely.

I am a first time owner of a laptop / tablet and also first time user of Vista. The other thread was the answer for an xp machine.

I want to get rid of as much bloatware as possible. My friend had me run the Decraptifier. But I ended up keeping all of the IBM related things because I did not know if any of those are required to work in conjuntion with the tablet part of the machine.

If I removed all of the IBM / Lenovo stuff, will the tablet functions still work just fine? If someone has a good idea what to keep and what not to, please help me out. Also with the other thread pointing specifically for XP, it might list things I don't have and vice versa. I am being extra careful because I do not have a recovery disk. I bought the thinkpad basically brand new from someone for cash.

[mgo]

Many Vista versions have a complete backup applet built in. Use that before you go messing around deleting things. It will save you tons of grief later.

Or, spend a few dollars on a imaging program like Ghost or Acronis to do a full backup of your machine.

Then, you can starting deciding what to remove.

Specifically which programs do you think you want to remove?

[Enzyme]

My initial plan was to remove the unwanted / unnecessary stuff first, then make an image using Ghost. I wanted to do that so when I switch hard drive, i'll be good to go.

Should I Ghost before I remove the stuff? As far as which programs, pretty much all pre-packaged stuff that is not required. When I get home from work today I will list everything that came up on Decrapifier scan.

Does anyone know if the tablet function is dependent on any of these software?

[mgo]

My initial plan was to remove the unwanted / unnecessary stuff first, then make an image using Ghost. I wanted to do that so when I switch hard drive, i'll be good to go.

Should I Ghost before I remove the stuff? As far as which programs, pretty much all pre-packaged stuff that is not required. When I get home from work today I will list everything that came up on Decrapifier scan.

Does anyone know if the tablet function is dependent on any of these software?

When I am doing a major alteration to a new machine my policy is to image the factory original state. That gives me a "fall back" plan in case things go wrong or stop working. Since imaging only takes a few minutes, it's worth it to me.

When deleting several programs I usually err on the side of caution and image three or four times during the project.

There have been a few times when I was glad I did that.

I am not a tablet user, but surely there are some programs that are needed by the tablet. Thus, the caution to image in steps and note the results.

[Enzyme]

That makes lot of sense. In that case I will hold off on removing things for now until I have the other hard drive ready to go. Once I get the OS on the new one I will then bump this thread back up.

Thanks for your input MGO

[Enzyme]

These are the things that Decraptifier detects. I did not list many of the ones I am surely to keep. These are the ones I am unsure about. If anybody sees something I definitely need or dont need please let me know.

A lot of Windows Driver Package (all those I am keeping)
Maintenance Manager
ThinkPad Modem
Registry patch of Changing Timing of IDLE IRP by finger print driver
Lenovo Registration
Lenovo System Interface Driver
Thinkpad FullScreen Magnifier
Thinkpad EasyEject Utility
Presentation Director
Diskeeper Home
Rescue & Recovery
ThinkVantage Access Connections
Thankpad Mobility Center Customization
ThinkVantage Productivity Center
Thinkpad Power Manager

-----
Other non IBM / Lenovo I am unsure about:

Microsoft SQL Server 2005
MS Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable
MS Office Small Business Connectivity Components
Picasa 2
Reg Patch of Enabling Device Power Management(DIPM)
2007 Microsoft Office system
Norton Internet Security
MS Office 2007 Primary Interlop Assemblies
Java 6 update 2
Intervideo Virtual Drive
MS SQL Server Setup Support Files
System Update
MS Office 2003 Web Components
SoundMAX
System Migration Assistant
MS SQL Server Native Client
MS SQL Server VSS Writer

[mgo]

These are the things that Decraptifier detects. I did not list many of the ones I am surely to keep. These are the ones I am unsure about. If anybody sees something I definitely need or dont need please let me know.

)

Maintenance Manager (READ UP ON THIS AND SEE IF YOU LIKE IT-NOT MANDATORY TO HAVE IT)
ThinkPad Modem (KEEP)
Registry patch of Changing Timing of IDLE IRP by finger print driver (KEEP)
Lenovo Registration (NOT SURE HOW THAT AFFECTS WARRANTY-I HAVE ALL OLDER MACHINES)
Lenovo System Interface Driver (KEEP)
Thinkpad FullScreen Magnifier (QUITE USEFUL-KEEP)
Thinkpad EasyEject Utility (HANDY WITH A BETTER INTERFACE THAN VISTA'S)
Presentation Director (YOUR OPTION IF YOU USE IT)
Diskeeper Home (THAT MAY BE TRIALWARE. VISTA'S DEFRAG IS PRETTY GOOD NOW)
Rescue & Recovery (IF YOU HAVE GHOST, r&r IS NOT NECESSARY-YOUR OPTION
ThinkVantage Access Connections (HANDY IF YOU ARE ON THE ROAD)
Thankpad Mobility Center Customization (KEEP)
ThinkVantage Productivity Center (AN EXTRA GUI THAT MAY BE HELPFUL-THE MACHINE WILL RUN OK WITHOUT IT)
Thinkpad Power Manager (HELPFUL FOR LONGER BATTERY LIFE-SET IT TO WAIT TO CHARGE AT 90% FOR FEWER CHARGE CYCLES)

-----
Other non IBM / Lenovo I am unsure about:

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (I DON'T REALLY KNOW)
MS Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable (KEEP-PART OF POWER MANAGEMENT)
MS Office Small Business Connectivity Components (NOT SURE IF THIS IS TRIALWARE)
Picasa 2 (THE LATEST VERSION IS 3. THIS IS A PHOTO ORGANIZER)
Reg Patch of Enabling Device Power Management(DIPM) (KEEP)
2007 Microsoft Office system (TRIAL WARE RELATED)
Norton Internet Security (YOUR OPTION IF YOU WANT TO SUBSCRIBE TO THIS. I HEAR THE NEWEST VERSION IF OK, OLDER VERSIONS ARE BLOATWARE)
MS Office 2007 Primary Interlop Assemblies (UNSURE ABOUT THIS)
Java 6 update 2 (IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE JAVA UPDATE IN ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS YOU CAN DELETE THE OLDEST ONES)
Intervideo Virtual Drive (SOME SORT OF MULTIMEDIA APP-UNSURE ABOUT KEEPING IT)
MS SQL Server Setup Support Files (KEEP)
System Update (IF YOU LIKE TO HAVE LENOVO MAKE ALL THE DECISIONS ON UPDATES, THEN KEEP, OR SELECTION THE OPTION TO NOT AUTO UPDATE, JUST LET YOU KNOW)
MS Office 2003 Web Components (ARE YOU RUNNING OFFICE 2003? THEN KEEP THIS)
SoundMAX (KEEP!!)
System Migration Assistant (NOT NEEDED IF YOU AREN'T BRINGING DOCS OVER FROM ANOTHER MACHINE. I DO NOT LIKE IT-RATHER MANUALLY DO THIS EASY JOB)
MS SQL Server Native Client (UNSURE-KEEP IT OR READ UP ON IT)
MS SQL Server VSS Writer (UNSURE)[/

[Enzyme]

Wow. Thank you so much!!!