New Very Expensive Laptop: how to start?

[Elghast]

Dear folks of 7forums,

I just bought a very expensive Asus gaming laptop (1400 quids).

What should I install? How should I start?

I still haven't opened it yet and my dorm room is messy/table is unclean and dusty, so I thought I would clean around first.

But software-wise what are the standard things to put in a brand new laptop?

Many thanksgg

 

[yowanvista]

Just don't install the crapwares such as Reg cleaners and tuneup software
I suggest basic programs Ccleaner, Defraggler and 7-Zip
Use MSE as your antivirus

Here is a list of free great programs for windows7
http://www.sevenforums.com/software/92-free-great-programs-windows-7-a.html

Only install software that you will use

 

[Mike Connor]

Just don't go wild and install a load of stuff "because it's there". Figure out what you want to do, and only install what you need.

Learn to use the "on-board" functions provided by the operating system, they are usually more than adequate for their purposes.

Regards....Mike Connor

 

[pparks1]

But software-wise what are the standard things to put in a brand new laptop?

My suggestion, install as little as possible. There is really no need to uninstall software, clean up the registry and perform as much maintenance if you aren't filling up the machine with crap in the first place.

Step 1: Use something to image the machine on day 1. Get a backup copy, right from the get-go. This way if you screw something up or performance drops significantly, you can return back to where you are easily.

Step 2: remove the junk that the vendor has graciously installed on your machine that you don't need. If you need help deciding on what to remove, check out PC Decrapifier.

 

[Bill2]

1) New software? Your computer would likely have come preinstalled with Asus bloatware, some good some bad. Heres a guide, it tells you what all those programs do and help you decide whether to keep them or not.

Asus Utility and Bloatware Guide

2) ASAP, use the inbuilt recovery manager to create recovery disks, these let you restore the computer to factory state in case things can go wrong.

3) There would be a rainbow sticker on the computer with a 25 character alfanumeric key- note down that number and store somewhere (I send a mail to myself).

4) After you've finished removing the apps you dont want and installed any separately purchased and free apps, make a system image- either with the windows utility or with macrium. In case things go wrong, you can just restore this image and all the changes you made will still be there.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/663-backup-complete-computer-create-image-backup.html

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html

5) Make sure you dont have a single large partition only on the hard drive (apart from system reserved). If you do, shrink the OS partition to create a separete partition for data, this ensures data will remain untouched if you reinstall windows.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2674-partition-volume-create-new.html

6) Click on start orb, type msconfig, click on Startup tab. Uncheck anything that does not need to autostart at boot, reboot. This will cut down boot time.

 

[DeaconFrost]

I'm not sure how or why you'd ask other people this question. You are the one using the laptop. You are the one who knows what software you need to run, that required a laptop with a lot of power. You should already know what applications you have and will need to use on this laptop.

 

[WebMattR]

I would recommend picking up a free antivirus and spyware combo. My personal favorite duo is Microsoft Security Essentials and Spybot.

 

[Bongo]

:ar:I could p.m. you my address and you can send it to me and I'll see what I can put on it and give it a good workout. :haha:

 

[gregrocker]

Clean up factory bloatware

 

[Layback Bear]

I'm not quite sure about the OP. Bought a $1500.00 laptop and don't know what to do with it. I'm I understanding this correctly?

 

[indianacarnie]

Kinda agree with both Layback Bear and DeaconFrost here. Back when I may have had to ask a question like this a $1500 computer was way way out of my league!

Having said that ............ Clean out all the Bloatware you can. Ccleaner,a Anti-virus program (free or paid, I personally recommend Avast),Malwarebytes, maybe Revo Uninstaller and then ........... what do you need/want? I would normally advise process explorer but in this particular case it would probably just sit there.

As an aside, I will be getting MY $1500 laptop later this year and am salivating at the prospect of whipping it into shape!

 

[Trucidation]

Man, I thought he was talking about a Malibal Nines or a Falcon DRX.

Meh.


- Look for a temp/fan monitoring suite (model/brand-specific if they exist). That, and a good cooling pad, is what I get for all my laptops right out of the box. No exceptions.

- Adjust power options. If it's a desktop replacement, you're likely not gonna want it to dim/sleep on you every 10 minutes.

- Remove bloatware. No need to go overboard, we aren't living in the era of 256mb ram Celerons anymore. Your machine can handle a few extra manufacturer's apps, especially if it's some sort of updater (do NOT delete updaters).

- It likely came with some kinda trial antivirus or whatever. Ditch it and get a free replacement, there are plenty of good recommendations on the board here.

- You mentioned "dorm", so I'm guessing "student". Grab a free office suite which you'll be needing for your assignments, term papers, and other stuff (like resumes, or prank April Fool posters). Openoffice works, or LibreOffice if you want to leave the OO ship like the devs did.

- OPTIONAL: buy a printer; bonus points for colour. Your entire dorm will love you. Trust me when I say there's nothing worse than finishing a paper only to be unable to print it and having to wait until the weekend is over for the student union / office supplies store to reopen. The ability to print your assignments at will is a massive godsend.

- OPTIONAL: password-protect your machine and get one of those safety locks. Dorms usually mean "private property" = "dorm property".

That's about it, really. The rest of it is likely gonna end up being games, a bunch of p2p clients, a bunch of chat clients, and hopefully a good calendar/scheduling software so that you do not accidentally schedule a hot date at the same time you're supposed to stop by the student union for that part time gig.

Good luck.

Edit:
Dang, how could I have forgotten the good ol' media player standbys. Get VLC & Winamp, or whatever players of your choice are. Even if you don't watch movies yourself someone in your dorm likely does (and you can rent them the use of your machine, ).

 

[jaypels]

If you want to buy a new and expensive laptop, you should know for what purpose you will use it therefore you already know what you want to install. Based on the first post, he bought an expensive machine while "I still haven't opened it yet and my dorm room is messy/table is unclean and dusty, so I thought I would clean around first". Either this guy is for real - he is just a rich man's kid with money to burn. For that, I would recommend buying Apple instead. OR he is just trolling us.

I kinda sound a troll right? Sorry!

 

[gregrocker]

OP may conversely be a struggling student who went in over his head to get a good laptop. In either case you have come to the right place as we can help you make the most of even the most.

The tips for taming a bloated factory preinstall are here: Clean up factory bloatware

Factory bloatware and useless piled-on utilities can weigh Win7 down. Never settle for less than instantaneous performance.

Take as much time as you need to work through these and post back as questions or issues arise. We are better at helping with specific problems than speculating about who posts here.

I have learned not to assume anything about OP. Sometimes I'll find out the person I'm helping with a complicated partitioning operation is a 13-15 year old kid who has messed up Dad's computer - and they always get it done.

OP prob wouldn't be here if (s)he had money to blow on Geek Squad, or may be a tech enthusiast looking for a home. In either case: Welcome!