few t42 questions - software, ibm tools, recovery cds

[gosha16]

i jsut got my 2373VU and i love it . i just have a few questions about it.

first of all, i understand that the MFF says that the laptop doesnt have the bluetooth antenna, however, i opened up the keyboard, lifted the modem card and BAM, there it was! so im going to order the bluetooth/modem card and the clear panel for the light. my question is, how do i replace the clear panel? it seems likes it part of the lcd bezel. - solved my problem, order all the parts. 66.50 for card 11.00 for clear plate and 12.00 shipping

next question is about all the IBM folders found on the C drive. can i delete them all? mainly the i386 and ibmtools folders (i already deleted all the others) or are these necessary for something? as i understand it, these arent part of the secret partition and are NOT needed for system recovery.

im also having a small problem with the wifi software. occasionally, when i boot up, i get a windows error report and the program crashes, now all i have to do is start it up again, however i was wondering if there is maybe a new version that wont do this? - i think i solved this one, there was a new version on ibm's site

finally, i noticed there are a LOT of programs starting up by default. is there any faq or something that explains what each is and which are safe to disable? - thanks for the reply, but i had already disabled all the stuff you mentioned, my tray looks very similiar to yours . i was just wondering about the apps loading which dont pop up in the tray

thanks for any help in advance and its nice to finally find a forum just for TP

i also have a new question. i ordered recovery cd's, however i just got them and they say they are for ibm r51, t42, t42p types 1829, 1830, 1831, 1836, 1840, and 1841. i have a 2373vu. i just called to ask and they said that those are the right cd's even with the mislabeling. can anyone confirm this?

[RaysMD]

There alot of software that IBM puts on there. The IBM specific ones are fine. i.e, EZeject, Hotkeys, etc.

The other ones, i.e., DLA, Record Now, NAV, support.com can all be removed. My system is much faster at booting up and much less of a memory hog. Also, get rid of IBM messaging. Who cares about the messages that IBM sends. Take a look at my windows tray in my screen shot. it's much cleaner. The IBM software that I installed is in the screenshot. Nothing else

http://members.roadfly.org/raysmd/t41pscreen.JPG

[boardmonger]

Here is a link to a post I asked about ordering a bluetooth card: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... highlight= It has the part numbers you need to order for the bluetooth card and the new plastic cover to show the bluetooth light.

I hope this helps!

[AtmosMan]

Here is a summary from a MaximumPC* magazine of what programs that boot up during Windows XP startup that you might (or might not) be able to live without:

First for a list of services that are running on your computer...go to Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Services.


Essential Services:

Antivirus Software - needed for obvious reasons.

Cryptographic Services- checks to see if drivers are digitally signed.

Event Log- records problems your computer might encounter.

Plug and Play - needed for plug and play deviced to work.

Remote Procedure Call- windows needs this to run.

Windows Audio Services- if you like sound to come out of your speakers, leave this on.

Workstation - allows for information access across a network.


Nonessential Services

Clipbook - lets you see contents of the clipboard. Turn it off if you don't use the clipboard.

Error Reporting - know that stupid window that pops up if one of your software programs crashes? This (annoying IMO) service is responsible for that.

Remote Registry Service - this allows remote users on your network (if you have one) to modify registry settings on your computer. If you don't have a local network where the people really need to change your settings, turn this off.

Telnet - Allows remote users on your network to log on to your Thinkpad and run programs. Again, if you don't have a local network where people need to have access to your computer, turn this off.

This is a very abridged list of programs that could be running. Make sure when you look at your service list you have it set to the "Extended" tab. You can click on any program and see a brief summary of the functionality of that program. Only you can decide what programs are right for you.

*All information is taken from the special Summer 2004 MaximumPC issue Unauthorized Guide to Windows XP. You can purchase this magazine for a much more in depth explanation of the services mentioned above, and some other cool tips and tricks.

Hope this is useful for everyone.

-Brian