What to do when new notebook arrives?

first of all when you do the bootup is to check that you got all the right specs.. check in My Computer, etc...

second, i would make sure that everything is working properly.. the cdrw/dvdrom or dvd writer drives, wireless connection if you got it, lcd screen, keyboard, etc...

third, i would highly suggest doing a complete format and reinstallation of xp. it'll clear all the dell clutter and your machine will run a lot faster.

for speedstep, it will automatically change your cpu speed depending on your usage.. there isn't anything to configure with it.. if you are doing light usage, it'll run at a slower speed.. when more cpu power is required, it'll automatically run at full speed..

for your wireless connection on games, as long as you have a good connection with your router/access point, you shouldn't notice too much difference in terms of performance.. it won't make a huge difference, just a little one that isn't very noticable.


hope i answered most of your quesitons.

Besides what viper suggested, you may like to run a full diagnostic test just to make sure. For me, after initial testings, a wipe out and re-installation will follow. But if you're unfamiliar with the procedure, IMO the default installation is okay to use.

You don't have to install anything to use SpeedStep in Windows XP, it comes with native support. In the default Dynamic Switching (Portable/Laptop) power scheme, the machine will bump up if there are things to do, otherwise it will stay at a slower clockrate to save power and reduce heat.

For playing games like CS, your CPU will probably have nothing to spare and keep working at full speed.

A notable utility is SpeedswitchXP, which allows you to configure the machine to automatically change to different power schemes (Max Performance, Max Battery...etc...) depending on the power source (AC or DC). It can also let you change some fundamental parameters in which you should be careful (my suggestions is not to fiddle around with the options you don't understand...).

Have a nice day!

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@loyukfai wrote:

Besides what viper suggested, you may like to run a full diagnostic test just to make sure.

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You can run the Diagnostic Test but I found from personal experience that it is not very reliable. When I had to return my 5100 because it required a motherboard, CPU, video card and cooling fan replacement, the Diagnostic Test did not report any problems with the system. Of course, Dell tech support is only interested in the results of the Diagnostic Test so it becomes very difficult to convince them that there is something wrong with your system if the Diagnostic Test reports everything hunky-dory.

I would suggest that you take an independent Benchmarking utility and run a set of tests that will establish Benchmarks for the system in its "new state". Then, if you ever notice that your system starts running slowly (as I did), you can run the Benchmark test again (make sure you always run the same version of the test) to compare the various performance Benchmarks such as CPU operations, memory, video, disk, etc.

Myself, I have used several and have posted my before scores (before getting repaired, that is) and after scores. There is a good page with links for a variety of benchmarking utilities at:

http://www.benchmarkhq.ru/english.html?/be_cpu.html

I chose a few that allow you to compare your machine's scores against other systems (uploaded by other users).

 

(edit spelling mistake)

Message Edited by cesinco on 12-06-2003 08:27 AM

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cesinco wrote:

You can run the Diagnostic Test but I found from personal experience that it is not very reliable. When I had to return my 5100 because it required a motherboard, CPU, video card and cooling fan

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Certainly, however, while it's not a silver bullet, I think it's still a good way to see if there's anything major that breaks at the first place.

If there is a software that can precisely check for every problem in a computer, companies will probably bundle it with every computer they sell. There are so much that could go wrong in a computer anyway. However, I believe the current diagnostic softwares do have their merits and can help support staffs pinpointing the issues, especially from ordinary users.

Support staffs, mostly, as you all know, belong to the by-the-book type. One just cannot be turned into an expert after a 30-day training.

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Another question, instead of reformatting and re-installing XP.. can you get just as good performance if you just uninstall 90 pecent of the junk they put on?  Or is it better to simply reinstall XP w/out the programs that dell puts on?

At first boot you will be run throught the XP setup stuff, Administrator password (on XP pro), user account name (first name will have administrator rights), Computer name, Owners name (I think) then to the desktop.

I would suggest not to format and reinstall at this time. Just go to add/remove programs and remove all the Dell junk, most of the "Included software" is just trial ware and can be removed easily. Then you can decide over the first week whether you want to format or partition and format the drive. I don't know what Dell would do if you needed to return the laptop after you had changed the drive layout.

I used Partition Magic version 8 when I first got my i8200 to partition the HDD without removing the original XP install. My i8200 has run very well for almost a year with the oringinal Dell OS install. I have done 2 repair installs since I first received the unit but with the disk Dell sent me with the PC.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

The very first thing I did was off the bloated OS. I had absolutly no need for all that jazz. Once I re-installed the OS and had things the way I wanted it (ie, re-partitioned, updated drivers, all the SPs from Microsoft etc) I made my own system recovery CDs with Acronis TrueImage ( http://www.acronis.com/products/trueimage/ ) (Norton Ghost should work as well) This way, if it does get messed up, I have my recovery CD's to get me back to where *I* want my system, even if I have to send it in for repairs, when I get it back, just pop in my CD's and away I go (Can't afford down time)

Even if you try and remove the software they give you, remenants are always left in the registry and or on your hard drive in the form of useless directories and or files.

And by the way, network gaming on wireless should run perfect, you shouldn't have too much problems, because even at 1mbit that's still 125kb/s which is more than enough for any kind of online game. (Unless you have a huge congested wireless network, but I don't think that is the case here. :) )

Actual Milage May Vary :)

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@KingSnake1 wrote:
Thanks for all the replies everyone. Another question, instead of reformatting and re-installing XP.. can you get just as good performance if you just uninstall 90 pecent of the junk they put on? 

Gee that's a novel idea.    I know that when I buy a car the first thing I do is have the engine overhauled, I don't want it right from the factory, I might get 1 more mph and I'm sure i can put it back together ok... 

I've never reformatted a new Dell (4 of them).  Over time, I have reformatted to install a new OS.  However, now they all run XP.  My 8300 runs just fine the way it is.

Unfortunatly Rick, from experience I have found that manufacturers install software (such as AOL) which are just not beneficial to the use of the PC, and more times than not, just waste cpu cycles as well as hard drive space. (I remember, back in the day with windows ME, when I had at least 10 customers a day complaining that when they uninstalled AOL, they couldn't boot windows again, because AOLs uninstall process nuked some critical files) I've had to troubleshoot literally thousands of PCs in my technical career (10 years and counting) and I've never ever found a use for software like AOL or WordPerfect. When what I need (and what my client needs) is Microsoft Office, the only thing WordPerfect will do is add confusion for the customer and me.

I think rebuilding the engine on a car would be like rebuilding an internal component of my PC, and I'm not about to do that, however, using your own analogy (only a more logical one) If was building a race car, one of the things I'd do is pull apart the inside to lighten it up, because, every second counts, and in the computer world, every cpu cycle counts, but more importantly with a clean install, you have less problems, more speed, and more reliability. (I don't need or want AOL, Word or any other "helper" apps to try to tell me how to use my PC, or any other such piece of software, point in case is my friends laptop that has so much junk that it takes forever to start up)

Ask any technician which they would prefer, and the answer you'll get 9 times out of 10 is clean install. The only thing you have to loose is the bloat ware.

Ciao.

Definately do a complete wipeout of your current OS and do a clean install of a new one. It only takes 30 minutes max and it'll save you a lot of headaches in the future. Plus, you aren't losing any valuable information since it is brand new.