I'm afraid I can't answer your question, since I chose to just nuke all that junk from Add/Remove Programs, without a reinstall.But I am very curious.
You mention using the Dell MCE
CD- I presume this was a typo, since the MCE reinstall disk is a
DVD, (at least for my Dim. 9100). It is labelled "Reinstallation DVD", P/N KC180. The label also says "This DVD is not for reinstallation of programs or drivers." I did a cursory browse of the disk, and didn't see anything related to the preinstalled junkware. I'm just wondering if Dell sent you the correct disk.
right, so how do I get my HD out of IDE mode? using the dell DVD alone doesn't seem to work. using an F6 floppy causes an error during the install (and it says it already has the correct driver anyway)
edit: it seems like I have the supported chipset. i have a line in device manager for the ich7 controller but there's also one for IDE. not sure what that means. don't see an option in bios that would help
edit: think I found my problem: you receive an error code (STOP: 0x0000007a) during Microsoft* Windows* XP installation with Hitachi hard drives, the transfer speeds of the hard drive(s) may be set to 1.5Gb/s instead of 3.0Gb/s.
Message Edited by NemesisDB on 02-21-2006 01:04 AM
yes, it's the DVD. i nuked it midway through the install last time but had issues so I'm letting the script run now. judging from the folders on the CD, there are two apps I can't remember or ID, there appeared to be sonic burning software, ESPN software, and a lot of random media files.
i'm more worried that I can't get the intel storage matrix software to install -- keeps saying incompatible hardware :(
clean the stuff out in add and remove then install your personal software then make a partition image and then you can restore that image instead of the as shipped image if you like.
but.....
DELLs MBR is unrecoverable if you format the restore partition and do a clean install from the cd.
you can recover the MBR if you have not formated the fat32 hidden partition or if you have not done a clean boot from the DVD or if you have another PC with the MBR still intact or you can get someone somewhere to make a copy and enable you to DL it.
I've become incredibly annoyed with Dell since receiving my Inspiron E1705. I've had the system less than 24 hours, and while I can tell that the hardware is great and works well (I've booted a Knoppix Linux LiveCD and it *flew* - Knoppix is typically slow as a dog because it runs right from the CD), Dell's software is utterly horrific.
The system came with an incredible amount of junk I didn't want, so I nuked and repaved with the reinstallation DVD, figuring that I could install the apps I needed seperately from the applications CD.
Boy, was I in for a nasty surprise when that script fired up at the end of the install! I can understand preinstalling a lot of stuff by default so that some users don't have to deal with the installation, although they really should be more careful about integrating the software so that the system doesn't crash on a regular basis. Forcing people to reinstall all the trash even when they're trying to do a minimal clean install is simply inexcusable. Fine, keep the script around as an option for people who WANT the junk reinstalled, but don't force that garbage on users who are willing to go through an entire reinstall process not to have that garbage in the first place!
As to "why don't you just remove it?" - This is Windows we're talking about, uninstallations are rarely ever perfect or complete. The only way to ensure that nothing is left after a software install/uninstall cycle is not to install it in the first place.
joe53
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February 21st, 2006 01:00
NemesisDB
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February 21st, 2006 03:00
edit: think I found my problem: you receive an error code (STOP: 0x0000007a) during Microsoft* Windows* XP installation with Hitachi hard drives, the transfer speeds of the hard drive(s) may be set to 1.5Gb/s instead of 3.0Gb/s.
Message Edited by NemesisDB on 02-21-2006 01:04 AM
NemesisDB
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February 21st, 2006 03:00
yes, it's the DVD. i nuked it midway through the install last time but had issues so I'm letting the script run now. judging from the folders on the CD, there are two apps I can't remember or ID, there appeared to be sonic burning software, ESPN software, and a lot of random media files.
i'm more worried that I can't get the intel storage matrix software to install -- keeps saying incompatible hardware :(
joe53
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February 21st, 2006 03:00
pattyandme
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February 27th, 2006 02:00
make a partition image and use that instead.
to restore the system as when you saved it.
clean the stuff out in add and remove then install your personal software then make a partition image and then you can restore that image instead of the as shipped image if you like.
but.....
DELLs MBR is unrecoverable if you format the restore partition and do a clean install from the cd.
you can recover the MBR if you have not formated the fat32 hidden partition or if you have not done a clean boot from the DVD or if you have another PC with the MBR still intact or you can get someone somewhere to make a copy and enable you to DL it.
??????
NemesisDB
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February 27th, 2006 03:00
Entropy42
529 Posts
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March 4th, 2006 17:00
The system came with an incredible amount of junk I didn't want, so I nuked and repaved with the reinstallation DVD, figuring that I could install the apps I needed seperately from the applications CD.
Boy, was I in for a nasty surprise when that script fired up at the end of the install! I can understand preinstalling a lot of stuff by default so that some users don't have to deal with the installation, although they really should be more careful about integrating the software so that the system doesn't crash on a regular basis. Forcing people to reinstall all the trash even when they're trying to do a minimal clean install is simply inexcusable. Fine, keep the script around as an option for people who WANT the junk reinstalled, but don't force that garbage on users who are willing to go through an entire reinstall process not to have that garbage in the first place!
As to "why don't you just remove it?" - This is Windows we're talking about, uninstallations are rarely ever perfect or complete. The only way to ensure that nothing is left after a software install/uninstall cycle is not to install it in the first place.