Windows 7: new with computers, need help with new dell laptop!!

I just purchased a new dell inspiron laptop with windows 7 home premium 64 bit. I have no idea what that means but im trying to be specific. Being very new at this, Im not very good with computers but ive been researching and looking at some of these posts. All I really know how to do is search the internet, and run word.
I am going to be a freshman in college, which is why I got this.
I already have virus and spyware services, thats about the only thing ive done to it.

I was wondering what programs I need to uninstall in order to get the most out of my computer without deleting something that could mess it up.

Also, being a student is there any helpful things i could install, or just anything fun and worth taking a look at. I'm apprehensive about installing anything and risking a virus being in it or something. Being new at this, I dont even know what I want, whats available, or even where to look.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

-Thanks!


Also, I didnt understand very many of the post I read here because y'all used a lot of computer slang. So any dumbing down so I can understand would be appreciated as well!

Hello Brennen53, welcome to Seven Forums!



What antivirus are you using and is it a paid version or a free trial?

Im using Webroot and got a two year subscription. its what the dude at best buy recommended.
I installed spybot as well for spyware software.

What browser are you using Firefox is a big favorite.

Do you have your anti-virus ( what are you using)set to do daily scans and updates for definitions?

Do you have Windows set to do updates automatically on update Tuesday?

Practice safe browsing and don't click on the fake, make your system faster ads or do a scan now for faster Internet speed etc. Just make sure what you downloading is what you want on your system.

Defrag your drive monthly if needed.

Other than that if you have a problem try and post it her and someone will most likely be able to help you. Might want to put you full system specs in profile like model number of Laptop, your processor, amount of ram, hard drive capacity etc.

Most of the time, Dell preloads crapware and some other unnecessary software, because they are making money on it. That software can be individual too.

You can download this utility by Sysinternals/Microsoft to check for all software, which starts with you system.
Autoruns for Windows

If you want you can post screenshots of LOGON and Internet Explorer tabs from that utility, so we can help you with those other programs.

I updated my system specifications.

Also, how do I set windows to update on tuesdays? and how do I defrag my drive, and how do I know if it needs it?

Sorry, like I said I'm pretty green.

Hello there, welcome to Seven Forums.

I wouldn't uninstall anything just yet, take your time & see what you like and use on a daily basis.
As for programs to install, here's a list of useful freeware for Windows 7:
free great programs for windows 7.
Just a couple of my suggestions: battery care (optimize the usage and performance of the laptop battery),
defraggler (one of the best defrag programs),
fences(organizes your desktop & can hide your icons when not in use),
imgburn(a lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application),
macrium(disk imaging solution - if you wont use Windows Back Up/Imaging),
malwarebytes(this one is a must - on demand scanner which helps keep your computer safe from becoming infected with viruses, worms, trojans, rootkits, dialers, spyware, and malware),
Nitro PDF reader(lightweight & fast PDF reader),
Panda USB vaccine(blocks malware spreading through USB drives),
Revo Uninstaller(the best uninstaller),
RocketDock or ObjectDock or Nexus(launcher dock station for your desktop),
utorrent(torrent client program used for file sharing),
virtual-clonedrive(a virtual drive for mounting ISO files),
VLC player (one of the best media players, which doesn't need any extra codecs),
Winamp(mp3 player),

I don't want to overwhelm you, but you might want to make back ups of your system, in case of trouble:
backup complete computer - create image backup.

So Reaper, whats the difference between some of the things you put on your list and whats already on my computer that seems similar?
Such as media and mp3 players on the list as opposed to windows media player?
or the virus, malware, or spyware protection you recommended as opposed to the webroot subscription I already have.
or the backup software that you recommended compared to the one on my computer that keeps poping up?

I dont want to have two or three programs that do the same thing, unless thats what youre trying to tell me.

If I understand you correctly, as you say you're green, I assume you mean you just got your first computer and want to stretch your legs by getting some good applications installed on it. Back in 1997 I bought my first computer and installed everything I saw that I thought was neat. The result is that you have a selection of applications on your computer and you have to learn how to use each one while trying to learn how to navigate your computer. This can get pretty confusing. I'd suggest that you just run what's on there and learn to understand what you have thoroughly. Then after reading posts on this forum every day, eventually you will begin to understand what a poster is talking about and you can make an intelligent decision as to what else to get or replace some of the applications you already have. Good luck with your computer and have fun.

Welcome to the Seven Forums, Brennen53. As a student, I think that you might find Microsoft Mathematics to be useful in Math and Science classes. If you are going to take any Computer Science classes, you might want to try Microsoft Visual Studio. Both of these pieces of software are free if you sign up for a program that Microsoft runs for students called DreamSpark.