How do I strip my new 9300 of all the useless crap that Dell bundled??

teddyFBI · #1 11-18-2005, 08:25 PM

All I did was use the Control Panel add/remove programs to remove anything and everything I knew I wasn't going to use (i.e. their [censored] music software, free NetZero, etc., etc.)

Is there a more comprehensive way to strip out all the useless stuff they bundle? My friend told me I could essentially wipe it clean and then pick and choose the components I wanted to add back on, but I was wary of either a) doing this myself b/c I don't know what I'm doing, or b) letting my retard friend loose on my new $1,400 computer.

#2 11-18-2005, 08:51 PM

Not that I can think of at the moment. Either use the add/remove programs as you did, or the uninstall routine if included with the program.

If you are comfortable, or know someone who has the knowledge, there are registry scrubbing programs that will clean out all the dead links. BTW, DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE REGISTRY IS FOR OR WHAT IT DOES!!!!

And if you do know, do as I say not as I do and back the registry up first so you can restore it if you really screw something up. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Edit: If you don't know anything about the registry, don't worry about it. having extraneous links in it won't hurt the functioning of other programs.

Photoc · #3 11-19-2005, 04:16 AM

There's always the reformat option, which is coming up for me as soon as I get my DVD R installed and backup everything important. I like to do this about once every 5-6 months just to keep the system clean of all the crap.

oreogod · #4 11-19-2005, 11:54 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Not that I can think of at the moment. Either use the add/remove programs as you did, or the uninstall routine if included with the program.

If you are comfortable, or know someone who has the knowledge, there are registry scrubbing programs that will clean out all the dead links. BTW, DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE REGISTRY IS FOR OR WHAT IT DOES!!!!

And if you do know, do as I say not as I do and back the registry up first so you can restore it if you really screw something up. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Edit: If you don't know anything about the registry, don't worry about it. having extraneous links in it won't hurt the functioning of other programs.

[/ QUOTE ]

Get Regscrub to clean dead links super easy. OP needs no computer knowledge to do this. Google it or find it on download.com. Its freeware.

obsidian · #5 11-20-2005, 12:46 AM

Reformating is really the only good way because Dells are so infested with crap. It's what I did with my notebook as soon as I got it.

TheTROLL · #6 11-20-2005, 07:06 AM

[ QUOTE ]
Reformating is really the only good way because Dells are so infested with crap. It's what I did with my notebook as soon as I got it.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is the first thing I do with a new PC, I'm not interested in how the vendor wants it set up - it's getting done MY way, from scratch!

#7 11-22-2005, 01:32 PM

I dont know if reformatting is the solution. Dell computers have a bundle of restore disks (i think the last set I saw was about 7 disks) and you must use all 7 disks to reinstall windows and the drivers, and while doing so still installs all the other crap that dell sends.

The only way I can think of is if you have an independent, non-dell version of windows, you could then reformat, install just windows, and then DL the drivers either from the dell website, or the vendor website.

That was the one thing i liked about my gateway computer, the OS restore disk was just the OS and not all the bundle crap, they send 2 seperate disks of applications that you could install IF you wanted.

#8 11-22-2005, 04:38 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Get Regscrub to clean dead links super easy. OP needs no computer knowledge to do this. Google it or find it on download.com. Its freeware.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've used regscrub. Somehow messed up my video drivers and I had to reinstall those. Personally, just using the program and indiscriminantly erasing all the found 'dead' links is not something I would recommend to a novice.

Lloyd · #9 11-23-2005, 01:22 AM

Check out the forums at www.notebookforums.com. I remember when I got my 9200 I went through a bunch of steps outlined there to do exactly what you're talking about. But year, reformatting was part of it.

Digs · #10 11-23-2005, 04:50 AM

The first thing I did when I got mine was reinstall windows minus all the spam~