Windows 7: Will Clean-Installing My Computer Make It Run Faster?

Even a little bit? I have a Windows 7 laptop, Inspiron 1545 by Dell. I heard they aren't the best system tweakers and pre-install are sorts of stuff that makes the PC run a bit slow.

What if I clean install my Windows 7, then add all the drivers for my service tag on my laptop, and my programs? Will that make it run even a little faster?

Thanks.

Dell, and many other manufacturers who offer pre-built systems with the OS pre-installed, typically include a lot of bloatware such as Norton and McAfee (which is OK if you want to use either of those AV products, but which can be a pain to remove if you don't). In fact, some of the other bloatware that they insist on installing can be difficult to remove as well.

Providing that you can find suitable drivers, then a clean install will be beneficial. By clean installing, you control what programs/applications are on your system.

Just a suggestion: Don't change out any drivers given by the Windows 7 installer unless performance dictates it.

MS spent a fortune building drivers for Windows 7, even paying manufacturers so they would have them in the installer first. Newer are delivered to installer if connected to internet during install, and/or via optional Windows Updates shortly after install.

The Dell Drivers/Apps disk and webpage for your model are useful for any missing drivers or apps, or if performance dictates a changeout, as are mobo chipset and vidcard, Adobe (reader, flash) and Java (runtime, free Ofc) sites.

Hi.

You could try this tool - pcdecrapifier.com

The Inspiron 1545 comes in many flavors. If you could post the exact specs of your model we may be able to get a better feeling of what you should expect.
A reinstallation will only help if you do it differently than your current installation. One (pretty drastic) step would be to tune your installation disk (if you have an installation disk) with vLite. Another (lot easier) action is to uninstall everything that can be uninstalled and that you are not using. Apart from the bloatware as mentioned by Dwarf there are a lot of other programs that you may never use (example: Works).
But use the Revo uninstaller (advanced option). Unfortunately the free version works only on the x86 libraries. If you have an X64 system, you will have to spend $39.25. The advantage of Revo is that it deletes all the leftover files and registry entries that the program uninstallers leave behind.

Flame,

I have the exact same model you do (typing on it as we speak).

I purchased my box in November. Tried to go on the OEM install for a month or two - seemed OK until I started getting Explorer errors. Finally got so bad that I could hardly bring up a system menu without crashing Explorer. Decided to rebuild the machine and leave out McAffee and a few other of the useless items. System has been ROCK solid ever since. Must have been a bad driver or something. The box now takes everything I throw at it with no problems.

Rebuild it - get it stable then make an image backup. You'll then be set.

HTH,

-Max

Thanks Max, that really inspired me to do a clean install (it's with the Windows 7 CD that came with the laptop guys...I wasn't thinking of formatting the computer in any other way) but what kind of made me scared was greggrocker's post...




"Just a suggestion: Don't change out any drivers given by the Windows 7 installer unless performance dictates it.

MS spent a fortune building drivers for Windows 7, even paying manufacturers so they would have them in the installer first. Newer are delivered to installer if connected to internet during install, and/or via optional Windows Updates shortly after install.

The Dell Drivers/Apps disk and webpage for your model are useful for any missing drivers or apps, or if performance dictates a changeout, as are mobo chipset and vidcard, Adobe (reader, flash) and Java (runtime, free Ofc) sites."




Ok dude, let me get this straight...

As far as I'm concerned...Dell is the Windows 7 installer. Therefore, their drivers are what I need...and the drivers on the Dell drivers discs, that came with the laptop, are the rightful ones already on my laptop...as per what the discs say, at least.

And the drivers on their site, for my service tag, are the same exact drivers on the discs.

THESE are the drivers you're saying are beneficial for my Windows 7, right? Meaning, you are not saying, by any chance...that if I do a clean-install of Windows 7 with the Windows 7 CD that came with my laptop, then re-install the drivers given to me via the Dell driver discs, that came with the laptop, or the drivers for that same laptop on Dell's website (which I would get by using my service tag) is a bad idea?

I wasn't planning to format the computer then install drivers for it of my choice. I was getting the ones specicially from the dell driver discs that came with my Inspiron 1545, well actually, I was going to download them from the site. The site tends to have a little more drivers, for some reason.

Even wierd is that, some of these drivers apparently don't even work...Dell told me it's because of my specs. Apparently, you get a service code, but you would have THE SAME service code had you chosen one processor over another, or one graphics card over another...at least, that's why I think some drivers don't work and some do.


By the way Max, how did you rebuild your machine? How did you get the necessary drivers back on it? I guess you have Windows 7 like me. Maybe you can teach me something I don't know...for instance, as I said above, some drivers that come on the Dell drivers discs, apparently don't even work and Dell told me it's because I happened not to choose a certain laptop spec, or something like that, but I could be wrong.

And DUDE, talk about bad OEM installations...you know what? Apparently, a VERY IMPORTANT junction that is NEVER supposed to appear to you, showed up to me even though "hide protected system files (recommended" was checked in my folder options...what kind of a glitch is that?! That caused me to SEE IT, think it was some damn normal folder and mess with it. That screwed up my computer...to the point I couldn't create new user accounts on it anymore. Sersiouly, why do I even make the stupid decidsion to purchase from Dell...

My experience with Dell clean installs and reinstalls of Windows 7 is to trust the Windows 7 installer to provide the correct drivers, try to stay connected via ethernet (the DVD will provide most ethernet and some wireless during booted install) to get current during install, then check optional Windows Updates for newer drivers right after install.

From there, check the Device Manager and only supply drivers which are missing until performance dictates otherwise. The exception is if you get a standard VGA MS display driver which can immediately be swapped out for something more recent from 1) Dell or 2) your graphics card/chip maker's Support Downloads webpage.

In over 100 Windows 7 installs, I found that if I immediately swap in the maker's chipset driver I often have to roll back to better ones supplied by Windows 7 installer. So I've instead learned to wait to see if performance requires trying a different chipset, or other driver.

There are others who disagree with this here and think that the old XP rules still apply: have your chipset ready, followed by the standard list order of driver installs. But this completely ignores the fact that MS made a huge decision with Windows 7 to pay the tab for driver development in partnership with all makers (WHQL program) so that they would have the drivers in the installer or quickly via Windows Updates. This was also so that manufacturers would not hold out on drivers to force new hardware purchases as they did with Vista. I only want to see that MS gets the credit for this, and that unnecessary work is not done due to old habits.

All that said, I am not a Dell owner and have only done about a dozen Dell clean installs (about to do one now when friend here finishes his taxes - for which i am pulling wireless and chipset drivers off Dell website right now just in case) so I will defer to Dell owners for more on this issue.

Wait wait...so you're saying there MAY be drivers currently installed on my laptop that even the maker (Dell) has not included in the Dell driver discs that came with the laptop? If so, what kind of sense is this? The laptop discs even say "drivers that are pre-installed on your laptop"...so why would there be drivers that aren't on the disc as well?

Sorry if I mis-understood your post...it seems you were saying MS payed a company like Dell, to have some drivers pre-configured on their laptops, that Dell doesn't also include IN THE DELL DRIVER DISCS that they send you for free with the laptop you purchase.

What you seem to be missing here is that there is a huge driver store in the Windows 7 installer, with drivers for almost every device imaginable. These drivers are current and built for Windows 7 - some by MS and others by the manufacturers themselves.

My only point is that you don't need to actively change these drivers which are installed with Windows 7 if there is no performance reason to do so. Just supply any drivers missing in Device Manager, and maybe your display driver if it is more current. The others should work fine and be as good or better than on the dated Dell disk. In fact, I'd work from their website for the most current if any are missing.