New Thinkpad User; First Steps?

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Camikazy · #1 Post by **Camikazy** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 8:22 pm

Hi guys,

I've been lurking around these forums for a while now and recentlly ordered a T43 (should be coming next week). Before I get it however, I was wondering if I could get some advice as to what I should do first. For example, download drivers? dis-charge battery? checking for parts information? Any advice that you think would help someone right after they first open their brand new thinkpad.

Thanks

#2 Post by **carbon_unit** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:21 pm

Make recovery CD's.

#3 Post by **Kyocera** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:24 pm

I second that...

pphilipko · #4 Post by **pphilipko** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 10:27 pm

Use software updater. Then get anti-virus and firewall. Install all your programs. Finally, speed up your computer using TuneXP and bootvis. You might also want to try undervolting...

ctbenski · #5 Post by **ctbenski** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 2:33 am

[read pphilipko above] ... and THEN make a set of recovery CD's! You will NOT be sorry because [censored] happens.
Just bumping against the thinkpad while it is e.g. defragmenting, despite all these HD protection programs, may potentially put you in trouble...
You might also consider partitioning your HD into at least two partitions: make the C: drive about 10 Gigs and keep only your OS, programs, hibernation and swap file there. Keep all your data files (music, documents, jobs in progress, whatever) on the D: drive.
In many simple emergencies, file I've found this has saved me a lot of trouble. Just restore the C: drive or say, reinstall WIndows and software if need be, and you are up and running.

nrj45 · #6 Post by **nrj45** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 5:56 am

[read pphilipko and ctbenski above]... ant then if you're lost between "my documents" and your d:\ partition, you can redirect the target of "my documents" on the d:\partition.

For that : right click on "my documents", select properties and here you can choose the target folder for your "my documents" folder. So when using programs, they will automatically ask to save in your d:\ partition.

If you plan to install big programs, take a bit more for the c:\...

If one day you see that you have not enough place on the c:\ partition, you can move your pagefile.sys (swap) in your d:\ (that's what i made, cause when i put the 2nd 1gb stick, my hyberfil.sys and pagefile.sys were 4gb together...)

kidtriton · #7 Post by **kidtriton** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 6:46 am

Im not sure if many people will agree with me on this one, but the first thing i would do is get rid of the Access Connections application.

adamlau · #8 Post by **adamlau** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 9:46 am

The default IBM install is slow and heavy. Max out your memory. Install a 7.2K HDD. Reinstall with a slipstreamed XP Pro/Server 2K3 SP2 (C:\WINDOWS on my T42 is 421 MB with full driver support). Partition as follows:

System (C)
Documents (D)
Programs (E)

Install a ramdisk and within it:

1. pagefile
2. temporary files
3. often used applications

Much more can be done to further optimize and tune your system...

#9 Post by **carbon_unit** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 6:31 pm

kidtriton wrote:Im not sure if many people will agree with me on this one, but the first thing i would do is get rid of the Access Connections application.

Well that wouldn't be the very first thing I would do, but it is right up there.
Access Connections seems to complicate a simple process for no apparent gain.

#10 Post by **GomJabbar** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 9:08 pm

Some of us actually like Access Connections. I would try it out before dismissing it out of hand.

#11 Post by **bill bolton** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 2:41 am

> Some of us actually like Access Connections.

Its the most valuable piece of system utility software I have on my T41!

Cheers,

Bill

fschwep · #12 Post by **fschwep** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 6:14 am

Let it do its install thing first, then go into Internet Explorer and set your security settings bit more strict (prompt when a site tries to install software or wants to run scripts, that sort of thing).
Disable Windows auto-update function. Disable ANY auto-update function (in Norton etc.).
Then play with the thing in its bare-bones setup a bit: set up a web connection, type a bit in Notepad or WordPad. See that the machine works properly.
Then spend some time making recovery CDs based on the original install that Just Works.
I would suggest replacing some MS apps and utilities with 3rd-party ones (disable MS firewall, replace with ZoneAlarm, uninstall Norton AV and install your own preferred AV program that eats fewer resources, use Firefox instead of IE, etc.). But that's up to you.
Generally, only update software, bios and drivers if you really need to, to make things work that don't work in the first place. If it just works, leave it. Use your TP do do useful work instead.
It's a tool. If you buy a hammer you don't take off the head and try to replace it with a shinier one; you use it to hit nails.

cwestwater · #13 Post by **cwestwater** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 6:56 am

fschwep wrote:Let it do its install thing first, then go into Internet Explorer and set your security settings bit more strict (prompt when a site tries to install software or wants to run scripts, that sort of thing).

...or just install Firefox

ZaBeL · #14 Post by **ZaBeL** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 9:04 am

cwestwater wrote:
fschwep wrote:Let it do its install thing first, then go into Internet Explorer and set your security settings bit more strict (prompt when a site tries to install software or wants to run scripts, that sort of thing).
...or just install Firefox

...or Opera

fschwep · #15 Post by **fschwep** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:00 am

I was assuming that to install the (latest version of) Firefox, one first needs to download it, unless you have it on a CD or a USB key. To do that, you need to use IE...

kgorilla · #16 Post by **kgorilla** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:04 am

People are mentioning swap. When I get my T43 with 1GB RAM, i plan to go swapless in linux and windows for performance and battery life..

What kind of apps are people running to where they require swap space with >1GB of RAM?

#17 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:42 am

Well, at least I am not browser challenged. I use no less than four browsers. I have Internet Explorer of course, but only use it when nothing else works. I have Netscape 7.2 which is the browser I use most of the time. Netscape Mail is my e-mail client. I have Firefox that I use sometimes.

And I have Opera. The feature I really like with Opera is it is very easy to resize images (by steps) on the screen with very little degradation of the image. Just press the + or - key. Another neat thing about Opera is when you close the browser, then reopen it later, the page or pages you had open are just as you left them, they don't need to reload. It also offers one-step clearing of all browsing tracks (or just certain parts that you choose such as cookies or the cache - depending upon how you have the Delete Private Data page set up).

Camikazy · #18 Post by **Camikazy** » Sat Oct 22, 2005 10:39 am

Thanks for the replies so far guys. My T43 isn't coming til mid-week I assume, so keep them coming!

dansu · #19 Post by **dansu** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 2:12 pm

Do all of the above AFTER removing windows xp and intel centrino stickers from the palm rest.

sorry, they just bother me.

pae77 · #20 Post by **pae77** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 3:08 pm

I on the other hand think they nicely balance out the IBM logo on the right side. Btw, how did you get them off?

dansu · #21 Post by **dansu** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 3:12 pm

pae77 wrote:I on the other hand think they nicely balance out the IBM logo on the right side. Btw, how did you get them off?

took a knife and lifted up an edge, peeled it off, then bounced the sticker on the remaining glue to get it off.

DIGITALgimpus · #22 Post by **DIGITALgimpus** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 5:25 pm

I've found they come off on their own after a few weeks of use. Typing (moving palm that sweats) rubs them off.

RogerPodacter · #23 Post by **RogerPodacter** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 6:51 pm

adamlau wrote:The default IBM install is slow and heavy. Max out your memory. Install a 7.2K HDD. Reinstall with a slipstreamed XP Pro/Server 2K3 SP2 (C:\WINDOWS on my T42 is 421 MB with full driver support). Partition as follows:

System (C)
Documents (D)
Programs (E)

Install a ramdisk and within it:

1. pagefile
2. temporary files
3. often used applications

Much more can be done to further optimize and tune your system...

Could you elaborate more on using 3 different partitions? Are you saying that you install programs on a seperate partition than the OS? Does this make things easier when the time comes to reinstall the OS, meaning that the installed programs will not be deleted upon the reinstallation of the OS? I assume the installed programs just stay "linked" to the same OS files on that partition, and a new OS can just be replaced (given it is the identical OS) on the partition. Sorry for all the questions, but i am about to formate and reinstall Win XP and just want set myself up for efficieny in the future.

RP

nrj45 · #24 Post by **nrj45** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 11:47 pm

I think the goal of installing programs on a third partition is to reduce the number of files /fragmentation of windows system files. The MFT will grow slower ?

But since programs are also "linked" to the os (i mean at least through shared librairies and registry entries) why not make a bigger d:\ partition and have a folder called programs inside it ?

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