the Dell Hell

[snobanker]

I just got a new Dell1705 Inspiron Laptop...errrr I mean "notebook"...I really love it so far. I had it totally tricked out as it has taken the place of my desktop which I passed on to my youngest son. I've built all my own PC's for the last 4 of them or so, but I haven't thought of doing my own notebook yet

The only thing I didn't like was all the DELL software and hijack .dlls etc. Anyone else experience this little annoyance? I spent most of the first few days buried hip deep in my registry editing out all the DELL default homepages, search pages, start up pages, browser address error redirectors and all the other "stuff" they preprogramed into it.

I couldn't even assign a different homepage at first in IE or change the default, which ofcourse was DELL.com. I wasnt even able to change most of the DELL defaults in the registry ..at first....heh heh heh..thats why they invented a "safe boot" ...got most of that worked out though

 

[Krish]

Congrats on the new Dell Stan!!! I just got a new Dell desktop and didn't have that problem with it at all...Try CTRL+ALT+DEL if all else fails J/K :lol:

 

[snobanker]

LOL, I heard that they don't do it with all their systems. It wasn't a big deal, just annoying. I wouldn't be surprised if pushing ctrl+alt+del would just bring up the Dell logo with a "nice try" printed under it haha.

 

[DonW]

I just got one and found the same. I formated the hd and installed xp pro. Definatly much faster.

Don

 

[Krish]

ROFL! Aw well...Hope you get it all sorted out soon

 

[snobanker]

I pretty much have it all done. I'm just waiting for the next surprise Krish. Actually it's been free of Dell inducements for several days now.... ;0

Don did you mean you did a reformat on the HD when you got it or did you order it clean? I see on mine it has a bunch of useless programs pre installed that I'll probably uninstall. I'm not afraid to fiddle with parts of my registry so I was easily able to undo some of the stuff they did. I probably would have reformatted too had I noticed all the GIGO before i had all my stuff transferred from my PC. I love the machine though. It screams better than I expected and saves me a ton of space in my office. I still have my keyboard and mouse plugged in to it though..

Were you affected by the battery recall or did you get one recently enough to miss that problem? I lucked out.

 

[DonW]

I pretty much have it all done. I'm just waiting for the next surprise Krish. Actually it's been free of Dell inducements for several days now.... ;0

Don did you mean you did a reformat on the HD when you got it or did you order it clean? I see on mine it has a bunch of useless programs pre installed that I'll probably uninstall. I'm not afraid to fiddle with parts of my registry so I was easily able to undo some of the stuff they did. I probably would have reformatted too had I noticed all the GIGO before i had all my stuff transferred from my PC. I love the machine though. It screams better than I expected and saves me a ton of space in my office. I still have my keyboard and mouse plugged in to it though..

Were you affected by the battery recall or did you get one recently enough to miss that problem? I lucked out.

I reformatted the drive myself and did a clean install of NON dell xp-pro. My battery was not affected by the recal. I did find out that it will hold a full cup of coffee without dripping a single drop. The 24 hr response was on the mark no questions asked.

Don

 

[Brenden]

Do as Don suggested. They have so much crap on there you will never get it all. Tons of BS system files etc. I format everything I get in and load clean from the start.

 

[MtnDewMan]

These seem to work pretty well

 

[mattseattle]

I know Chuck - make me drool..... sounds like you are a Mac convert now!

 

[Scooterman]

We got the 1705, 17" wide screen, duel Core processor, 1 gig ram, preloded & with xp pro upgrade, I've built computers for the last 15 years, I think I will eventually kan the desktop, love wireless!
I did Yank most of their software but the duo processor is so fast I really don't have issues. My design center at work is even slower_

 

[MtnDewMan]

I know Chuck - make me drool..... sounds like you are a Mac convert now!

Actually I think I am ... this baby runs Windows XP like a charm as well

 

[DonW]

We got the 1705, 17" wide screen, duel Core processor, 1 gig ram, preloded & with xp pro upgrade, I've built computers for the last 15 years, I think I will eventually kan the desktop, love wireless!
I did Yank most of their software but the duo processor is so fast I really don't have issues. My design center at work is even slower_

My dual core was so slow until I installed xp pro.

Don

 

[Scooterman]

Maybe why I didn't have issues!

 

[snobanker]

A guy at work is Beta testing Vista. He seems to like it so far. Wonder if it'll be worth it? My 1705 seems pretty darn fast now and I'm not having anymore "noticible" issues with the Dell stuff. I dont have XPpro though..maybe I'll have my buddies microsoft employee wife pick it up for me.

 

[prbhasson]

Hey guys, interesting post. I am beat testing Vista also. It has been great so far. I had a couple of minor glitches at first but now it runs great. Only problem is HP does not have drivers for their photo printers yet... I agree with formatting and reinstalling xp pro though as Dell loads their systems with a bunch of trash that slows them down. Other than that they are grest systems and are Windows Vista Capable.....

 

[snobanker]

I suppose I really should reformat...there is nothing on the 1705 that came with it as far as software I really use anyway. I could just back up all my pics, music, docs onto my son's ext HD then go for it...hmmmmm

 

[NeuroDoc]

I suppose I really should reformat...there is nothing on the 1705 that came with it as far as software I really use anyway. I could just back up all my pics, music, docs onto my son's ext HD then go for it...hmmmmm

I would encourage you to do so. I make it a habit of always repartitioning, re-formatting and reinstalling the OS I want on my computer, with the options I want, not what the manufacturer thinks I want. It ensures that the registry is as clean as it can be, there is no adware or spyware lying around, and all the extra "try before you buy" programs are completely gone.

It also is the easiest way I have found to ensure that I can reclaim the space of any "restore" partition. I am trying to get rid of their junk; do they really think I will ever restore it?

 

[Meche]

C:\>format c:

[enter]

 

[snobanker]

C:\>format c:

[enter]

LOL:lol: that made me laugh.....I have a buddy at work who is so computer saavy it's scary, I mean way beyond what law abiding citizens, especially cops, should know. Anyway, today I was going to ask him a computer question and as he walks in the room I said "Hey Jaimie...." he just looked at me before I could finish and said "format c"....,,,,hahah