Asus U56E-BBL5: New owner, 3 questions!

First of all, researched high and low. Got a sha-weet deal (me thinks) on Ebay ($370). I came from a pawn shop and appeared to be in excellent shape.

Sound:
Most reviews mention low volume (and that's true). However, when playing a DVD, I seemingly hear the surround track. Meaning, loud and clear are background and passing noises. Vocal tracks seems like lip synching...voices sound far away. Headphones: Full audio. I've tried various settings. IDEAS?

Set-up:
Is there a good website or source for intial set up (do's and don'ts) in simple terms? Catch 22: How do I get security (ex: Avast / Kapersky)? If I go online to download, I risk viruses, etc. IDEAS??

Bloatware:
How critical is to remove it?

Thanks (in advance) for taking the time!

LN64

 

Personally, I recommend doing a complete OS reinstall as you don't know if there are any viruses already in the laptop or how much bloatware is installed. Bloatware is a BIG NO NO for someone like me as I make sure that I am 100% sure I need a program before installing it, otherwise, a program becomes bloatware which just occupies disk space and eventually decreases overall performance. It's safe to download anti-viruses assuming your downloading it directly from their website. I'm not sure on your first question but most movies (based on my experience) have louder background noise than the actual voices of the characters, don't really know why.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the input.

I'll give the reinstall a try (directions are pretty easy).

Thanks again!

 

Meaning, loud and clear are background and passing noises. Vocal tracks seems like lip synching...voices sound far away. Headphones: Full audio. I've tried various settings.

I found my answer: Control Panel > Hardware and Sounds > there's a SOUND section that a setting for Karaoke, and it was turned on. Result: It was muting vocals, but allowing full background music.