Bundled Software on Vista Pre-Load?

[burghman]

Can anyone confirm that they got a ThinkPad pre-loaded with Vista that included WinDVD & Sonic RecordNow?

Two days ago I purchased a Z61m with Vista Home Premium preloaded from Sams Club. I couldn't find the WinDVD or Sonic software that they claim should be included. A search on this board shows other users experiencing the same problem.

To confirm this, I called Lenovo tech support. They claim that both WinDVD & Sonic RecordNow! should be included, even on Vista pre-loads. Their solution is to reinstall the pre-load from recovery discs that they are sending to me. So on one hand, it is good to get the recovery discs for free. OTOH, I suspect that the support rep is wrong and that I am just wasting my time wiping this system clean and reinstalling it.

[ryengineer]

OTOH, I suspect that the support rep is wrong and that I am just wasting my time wiping this system clean and reinstalling it.

Yes, you'll be wasting your time. WinDVD and Sonic are no longer included on Vista preloads.

[michaelk]

dont mean to hijack- but can we go one step further?

Is that becasue windows vista natively has dvd playback and burning support?

I haven't had a chance to stick a dvd in my new thinkpad with vista ultimate but I just assume the OS now handles playback and burning?

[burghman]

That's what I suspect. Vista has DVD player and creator functionality built in. It can also burn files to CD-R & DVD+R discs. It cannot burn ISO images, so I will have to find some other app to do that.

Regarding IBM/Lenovo and their poor tech support... I called them again this morning to get confirmation that my recovery discs had actually shipped. They referenced my support case and told me that the discs had not shipped, because Vista pre-loads do not come with the software (WinDVD & Sonic) that they had told me was missing in the first place. So they corrected their own mistake, but for some reason failed to contact me to let me know about it. Very piss-poor tech support if you ask me.

[ryengineer]

Is that becasue windows vista natively has dvd playback and burning support?

The reason is bigger than that, if lenovo wanted they could've, they were just reluctant to strike new deals with these vendors. Also, on a sidenote WinDVD and Sonic offered on XP were limited versions too and I am sure you can find many alternative freewares to accommodate your needs.

I use ImgBurn, it works for me and does everything I want.

[GomJabbar]

If you look in the tabook, you will see that these programs are not included with the latest models. I don't think the problem is compatibility with Vista, but rather bean counters.

No native DVD playback support except in Home Premium and Ultimate.

DVD Playback Options for Windows