1555 order placed - what do I do next?

Hi all,

My 1555 is in PRODUCTION stage now, hopefully it'll be with me in the next week or so

It was a time consuming process, researching and at the end decided on the 1555. But I'm really looking forward receiving it now. There is more to do when it arrives, and I would really appreciate some help.

Including my current desktop, I've owned two pc's in my life, both of which are 'hand me downs'. So I never had to set a computer(software) up myself, never mind hardware.

My questions are, when it arrives, what do I do?

A)Do I,
1) follow the on-screen instructions with Vista Home Premium and set up my o/s?
2) install windows 7 RC, if so how? Where do I get the installation program? Will I need a key?

B)I've read that there is a lot of 'bloatware' when the system comes, how do I do a clean install? Will the thread 'Dell Vista Laptop Reformat and Bloatware Removal Guide' by Les work on the 1555? Do I need to keep that hidden backup partition?

C)In future, if I ever wanted to restore my o/s, will I have to repeat this whole process again(A or B or C) and install all drivers and third party software again? Which backup software do you use? The idea of being able to restore my whole system with everything there sounds great? I've heard of Acronis, is that any good? Are there any free ones? Are they reliable and easy to use?

D)My hard drive will be 500GB. I think making some partitions will be a good idea. What's a sensible size for the o/s(C ? And is there is such a thing a good number of partitions?

E) re C), wouldn't it be a good idea to keep all 'my documents' and install programs off the c: drive? This will make the backup image smaller right? Where do you keep this image? On an external drive? On a different partition? If latter I could probably restore via Windows(if I could get in) or boot with an emergency boot disc and restore but what do I do if the whole hard drive fails?

Sorry for the lengthy questions... I'm sure I'll have plenty more when I actually start doing it. I appreciate everyone's time and patience.

p.s. It's such a sweet thought imagining some guy in India/Malaysia is assembling my laptop at the moment...

 

I'll try to answer what I can;

A) When your laptop arrives you should,
1) Check to make sure everything you ordered is there. Make sure there is nothing wrong with the laptop (ie scratches). Then you should boot up the system (plugged to AC outlet) and follow the directions setting up Vista etc. Make sure where you're setting up, you are able to leave the laptop plugged for about 12 hours. After setting everything up, you should look at the system specs to make sure you received what you ordered. Also now would be a good time to check for Dead Pixels. After that, you can decide whether you want to clean install Vista or
2) Install Windows 7 RC. You get the installation from here. Whichever decision you choose, you might want to download the latest drivers and burn it onto a disc/junp drive. If not, you can still just use the drivers disc provided and then download them later, whichever you prefer.

B) Surprisingly, my Studio 1555 didn't come with as much bloatware as I thought. I think there were 2 trial programs installed, that was it. The thread by Les will work for the 1555. It is not necessary to keep the hidden back up partition. You have everything you need on the discs provided. But if you want to save it in case you lose those dics, thats fine.

C) To do a clean install or install/repair the OS you could just pop in the OS disc provided, follow the directions for installing windows and it'll let you partition/format the drives. What I did was format both the drives (C: and hidden partition) then re-partitioned the drive and installed windows to C:. If you do a clean install you'll need to install the drivers again. You should have a disc labeled Drivers and Utilities for that. (or your CD/jump drive if you took this option before)

D) Having partitions will be a good idea. Its up to you what size you want, I recommend atleast double the size of the minimum required space for Vista/Win7 on the OS drive (if you plan on installing all programs/files on different partitions) you'll want some room for temp files for installation etc hence the extra space. The number of partitions is up to you.

E) That is a good idea, especially if something goes wrong with C: and you need to restore Windows / format C, whatever, all the files on D: or the other partitions you have will be fine. Keep in mind all your registry data etc are on the drive windows is installed on, so you don't want to just wipe that drive clean and reinstall windows there hoping your programs installed on a different partition will function correctly. I'm not familiar with back-up softwares etc so I can't answer the other questions you have. If the whole drive failes, well, then you can't do much right? You won't be able to access the partitioned drives and the windows drive. Probably won't even be able to boot into windows if the drive failed.

Anyways, hope this helps a bit. I like the default My Documents/Music/Pictures folders and I use them so I tend to make my windows partition big to store said files in said folders. I never figured out how to get the special icons for said folders to go to folders on a different partition as well as link the Shortcuts accordingly so I just use the default directories which are all in the same drive as windows (ie C:\user)

Edit: I just figured out how to do what I said I couldn't figure in the above paragraph (changing directories for Music/pictures/documents folders in a different partition).

Keep in mind there are programs out there that like to create folders on your C: though.

 

Thank you very much. Streetmagus. A few questions:

Why leave the laptop plugged in for 12 hours? I thought the battery is a Lithium-ion which doesn't hold memory?

I assume new drivers come out on a regular basis, fixing bugs etc. Am I supposed to check for these periodically? Or just when things don't work? Or will I be prompted when new versions come out?

Twice the size of the o/s for drive c:? How big is that?

So the installation disc will give me the option to clean install or repair o/s and size partitions?

 

That is correct, charging the battery for any set amount of time should make no difference with Lithium-ion batteries; though it is generally recommended by notebook manufacturers to charge it for a set amount of time.

This may have more to do with calibration of battery status indicators rather than anything else.

With regards to the size of the OS - have a look at this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=118609. I had a look at the first few posts which suggest 15GB for Vista, but might be worth reading the entire thread. Am at work right now, so shouldn't even be on here

New drivers do come out, you can sign up to a notification service by Dell to advise when new ones are available.

The installation media for the OS will give you the option of repairing or clean installing yes, go for clean install to get rid of any factory loaded items, but as StreetMagus said, this should only be done once you are happy that the notebook functions as it should.

Regards

 

Yes is true for Lithium-ion batteries you don't have to condition the battery (fully discharging it once in awhile). But the new battery comes in a pre-charge state, and in order to fully charge it, it requires about 12 hours. I read this somewhere, could do a research on it.

I check for them every once in awhile. I think theres a Dell utility that checks for you automatically (runs in the background). I don't remember, after the clean install I didn't install them back so I'm not positive on this.

I know that Vista SP1 is about 12 gigs, so atleast 25gigs? Not sure about Windows 7 though. But yeah, you generally want more than just the ammount required for the OS. Generally, you want to take into account future patches such as SP2/SP3 etc, and how Windows use temp space for installations/cache.

Yes, when you're re-installing the OS the disc will give you the option to repair the OS or re-install (clean install) the OS. When you re-install you are given the advanced option which will give you the options to partition the drive, chose which drive to install the OS onto, format/delete partitions, etc.

 

I see.... hey Fragilexx, make sure your boss's not looking, don't want you to get into trouble. LOL. (There's really not hurry, my 1555 won't be here for a while yet.)

So this installation media will install Vista ONLY with no bloatware? Then I just add drivers and utilities? Sounds straightforward enough. I must say I haven't yet read Les's post but the thread's pretty big so I thought it must be really complicated.

Sorry but I'm a bit confused. What's the difference between clean install and repair? Does the latter keep all the drivers on? What about the installed software e.g. Firefox, Photoshop and personal files e.g. mp3, docx, emails? Will they be wiped when you do a repair?

If not then I guess this is where those backup software come in? Otherwise do people generally just backup their personal files instead? Sounds like a lot of hassle having to re-install all the software again let alone all the individual preferences.

 

Yes, the OS disc provided is just the OS. No more, no less. Honestly, you don't need to really follow Les thread if you know what you're doing. Just pop in the disc and re-install the OS and formatting/re-partitioning the drives to your preference. You should read it for a general idea of what to do though.

Clean install will wipe out the exisiting OS and re-install the OS, hence Clean install. All the drivers/registries will be gone.

A repair will check your OS and all the system files to see if everything is there and working properly, if not it will "repair" those files etc. Your drivers/programs/personal files will still be there.

 

see answers above in bold.

 

Thank you Karan1003.

First of all, when my laptop comes, can I go into the BIOS straightway before the built-in Vista is activated to change the boot sequence? Which F key it is for Dell? I'd probably download Windows 7 RC on a pen drive myself. (which RC build are they upto now?)

Re hidden partition, if I do a clean install with the above, how do I specify so that it won't be wiped? How big is this hidden partition? What's the advantage of having it? I guess if it's not too big, since I've got 500GB in total, there's no harm leaving it. BUT, should I decide to remove it, does Dell provide a diagnostic and tools CD with the laptop?

Streetmagus,

If I keep OS and my programs all in drive c: and other personal files in another partition, as you mentioned, repairing would just repair the OS and leave EVERYTHING ELSE alone (drivers and software installed) but let's say I've got a virus and repair doesn't work and I want to do a clean install, will I be able to specify so that the OS will ONLY work within the pre-sized C: drive and leave all my other personal files alone?

 

Answers in bold.

 

F2 to go into the BIOS, or you can change the boot sequence without modifying the BIOS by pressing F12.

 

Thank you everyone.

Can somebody confirm if the diagnostic tools and utilities come in the hidden partition can be found on one of the CDs? Or are they readily available from Dell website?

About these backup software(e.g Acronis), no one uses any? Are they just useless commercial products for 'novices'?

 

I don't bother because it's usually better just to reinstall the programs by hand, and i don't like having to use the program in order to use the data I've backed up. Just duplicating data keeps it usable and easy to access.

 

Perhaps once I've gone through the whole process a few times myself I'd find it easier to install everything by hand from scratch. Being a novice, the idea of being able to just RESTORE the whole o/s from an image in ONE simple step sounds quite attractive. I have to say, since I joined NBR, just to use this thread I started as example, there are so much expertise and help at hand. Perhaps there is no need worry too much.

I guess over time, there will always be a 'build-up' of (whatever the proper term is). Fresh install every now and again would keep the system running smoothly.

 

About boot time... I guess the answer would be no anyway but whether I choose to install all my programs under the c: or another (let say I keep a partition specially for these programs), would it affect the boot time? Is there any reason why I do/don't want to change the location when installing these software.(This option is quite often available when going through the setup.exe)

 

I personally like being able to just zoom through setup options when installing. Some programs, especially those that are contingent on other programs, will check the main program folder for those other programs. On most of them, you can point them to your installation folder, but there are a handful which will refuse to let the user point them in the right direction.

I don't think putting the programs in a separate partition would help boot time either - the OS runs what the OS runs - the more easily accessible they are the better. Placing them on a different partition would offer you no benefits with regard to this.

And as mentioned before, should a reinstall of the OS be necessary, the programs won't work right anyway, and you'll have to reinstall the programs individually.

As far as using the backup software is concerned, you might as well give it a shot. I don't like there to be a single 10 GB backup file on my computer that I can only open up with one piece of software, but to each their own. If you don't mind the space, then it may well be worth it.

 

You put the backup on an external drive, and restoration software often installs the relevant software to the backup media, so you don't need to have additional programs installed (except to make the backup).

If you run the backup (or rather disc image) after you've installed all the software you need, then if you need to restore then you do not have to reinstall the software again, it will be restored back to how you had it in the first place.

This is why I like to keep my OS & programs on one partition, but the data I use on another. I can happily restore one partition without worrying about my data.

However, this is absolutely not an alternative to the regular backup of your data. Anything that is valuable to you should always be backed up.

 

Agreed - I was failing to mention that key point.

 

Right, I understand now.

I'm currently reading through the whole thread - Dell Studio 1555... Don't feel so bad now, apparently there are/were a few people out there wondering how to fresh install etc.

It seems straight forward enough to install the Windows 7 RC. I understand that, afterwards, I have install the drivers, best from support.dell.com as they are the latest. There are currently 34 in total listed. Which ones are essential? I guess if I miss one/more, I'll find out sooner or later if something's not working. How about if I install all of them(well except those obvious unnecessary one)? Do they take up much space? Would I be able to delete them afterwards? Could you give me a list of those which you did install?

For the ATI Radeon HD4570, as I understand(from reading the above thread), I need to download the relevant driver from ATI website. i found something called the ATI Catalyst™ Display Driver ver 9.7 for HD 4500 series for Windows 7 beta in the Graphics - notebooks category, is this the one?

Thanks again.

 

There is one, but I don't think it includes the drivers for the Studio 15 GPU. Dumb I know, because it should, same as it should include the drivers for the Inspiron 15 GPU; I've emailed ATI about it, same as I did for Catalyst 9.6; your guess is as good as mine as to whether it will get changed.

Anyway, there is a fix. Go to the following url and follow the instructions to modify the ATi drivers; worked fine for me: http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool.php

However, Windows 7 does a pretty good job of finding pretty much all the necessary drivers on the first "Windows update".

 

It doesn't the driver for the 4570? So what does this ATI Catalyst™ Display Driver do?

I took a quick look at driverheaven, it sounds a little complicated. I'm willing to follow the steps but there's got to be an easier way??

How does Windows 7 'find all the necessary drivers'? Does it mean I don't need to download any others from the Dell website?

 

You might not have to no; I think I had to download the touchpad driver and that was it; and only do I could access the additional control that the touchpad software gave me. Many common drivers are already available in Windows 7, so you might not even need to install your wireless etc drivers, and those that are not it can download itself when you run the update, or you can go into the control panel and click the update drivers link on any items with an exclamation mark to see if Windows will find the driver by itself.

The instructions at driver heaven might look complicated, but it really isn't. Download the latest version of the catalyst software, start to install, but stop after the files have been extracted, run the mobility modder software, point it at the correct folder, then rerun setup from the folder where the drivers were modified. No easier way I'm afraid, not as far as I've found.

The catalyst control centre is actually a software suite which controls various aspects of your GPU. Changing settings can improve performance, or improve quality, depends on what you want to set. However the package also comes with the latest graphics drivers.

The 4570 will use the same drivers as the ones included in the HD 4000 series driver set, but for some reason it just wasn't included in the config files for the setup. The modder alters those so that it does.

It's not completely necessary though, as I said, windows installs a perfectly usable driver.

Dell doesn't have Windows 7 drivers on their site at the moment, but most Vista drivers should theoreticaly work fine I think, so if it doesn't find any you could use the Dell site.

 

Regarding needing to use Mobility Modder..

Dell wants to do their own support for the GPUs, but they don't support them! The newest drivers are 9.7 I think? And Dell has 8.5 on their support site..

 

That's handy. So as long as I don't see any exclamation mark, Windows's found the drivers it needs.(but not necessarily the latest one)

So it DOES come with the graphics drivers? Then why do I need to use the Modder?

Also, do you think ATI might have responded to your email? They seem to have listed the driver here for download?

http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownlo...ev=9.7&ostype=Windows 7 Beta - 64-Bit Edition

Option 1 for the full suite including driver or separately in option 2... If so I think I'd go for option 1 so I could fine tune my display. Can you confirm?

 

OK, the catalyst control centre only package does not include drivers, you want the full suite for that (option 1), or the drivers only download (option 2, first download). You will need to use mobility modder as I said before:

I have checked version 9.7 and this is still very much the case.

 

Ok. Option 1 + modder it is. I'll follow the instruction on driverheaven. I take it I'd found out if I did it correctly by checking whether there was a exclamation mark just like all the others...

Thank you for the clarification.

 

You'll know that you've done it correctly because in the installation program the driver will be there with a tick box.

 

OMG! My order status has just changed to Phase 4 - Delivery Preparation. They must be ahead of schedule?! My EDD is supposed to be 22/08!

I'm so excited!!

 

Calm down, keep your original ESD in mind, because sometimes these things can go back as well as forward

 

OMG!! OMG!! It's now gone into Phase 5 - Delivery! Better clear my desk tonight! LOL.

 

Emmm, just had a long at the 'packing slip', it's got this address on:

Dell Products (Europe) B.V.
Raheen Industrial Estate,
Raheen Limerick

I wonder if it was being assembled in Ireland...

 

hey u can try tracking it using the order number on ur respective courier website...
thts wat i did...it had been taken by blue dart while it showed phase 3 on the dell order status order...and after tht I kept calling bluedart until they delived it to me!!

 

No it's not being assembled in Ireland. It gets assembled wherever it gets assembled (I believe in Malaysia), then it will get shipped to a distribution hub, for the UK that is Raheen, Limerick. It will then likely go to Coventry (for most of the UK) which is where the Walsh Western UK Mainland hub is. From there it will make it's way to a local delivery hub, and from there it will come to your door.

 

There's no courier info on just yet, and there's a weekend ahead of us, I doubt there will be anymore chances.

... Right, then Limerick must be where it's going TO instead. Just hope that those courier people won't throw it about...too much lol.

 

It will be fine. It will take some time to get to Raheen anyway, and then it takes time to get from Raheen to Coventry and more time to get from their to your local depot. You might get it in a week, maybe longer, maybe slightly shorter. I'm going to bet slightly longer.

 

In that case I'll leave the desk clearing until next week then...Otherwise it'd all get messy by then lol.

 

the ritual of desk cleaning is an important tradition, representative of far more than a simple out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new. This mystical practice, usually done in preparation of receipt of a new PC, as delivered by the gods of shipping themselves, is executed in order to generate a clean slate, to channel more effectively, without noise, the energies and powers that made the older pc useful.

on a side note though, you guys don't get delivery on saturday? That's how I got my 14z.

 

Depends who the final courier is. Mine was business post the last couple of times, and I believe they do offer Saturdays. Western Walsh is like TNT mail. They'll do the sorting out of what goes where, but they don't really do the "final mile" to your door step.

 

Lol. I'll go andget myself some incense sticks and a big ying yang poster this weekend...

...Well if they do deliver on Sat's then that's great. It'll probably take a good few days for it to come all the way from the far east anyway. It might be here next Sat, which incidentally, is the EDD 22/08!

BTW, I just saw the Jen's youtube video of her 'lemon', the amount of flex is on her 1555 was scary! I hope it's not related to the black chainlink lid.

 

J3ns youtube video does look bad, but who knows how much force was being applied. If I apply a moderate force in opposite directions on pretty much any consumer notebook outside of maybe the Sony & Macbook range, then you are going to see a lot of flex on the display. In reality, you don't use two hands in opposite directions on the lid in general day to day use.

What was concerning about that video was the fact that you could see where they pressed their fingers on the lid via the LCD display. Again though, how much force was being applied, I'm not sure. If I apply a lot of force to mine, I would get the same result. Here though you can imagine that it's possible to apply force to that spot by having it in your backpack with some heavy college books or something.

 

Emm... So you think her's normal?

 

Without seeing it in person and seeing how much pressure is actually applied who can say.

There definitely will be some flex in the display, I mean it's quite big and the frame is made from lightweight plastic. The flex in the lid itself, again I expect there will be some.

 

I'm pretty sure that particular model was a dud. nobody else on these forums had the same problem.

 

Like I said, it depends on how much pressure J3n was applying in comparison to how much every one else was applying. I'm going into my local computer store tomorrow morning, so I'll test the Studios they have on display. My bet is that they will flex under pressure. The question is, how far will the flex before I get thrown out

The other thing to keep in mind with J3ns video (and I don't mean to discredit them in anyway), but who knows how many times they had done that before and subsequently exagerrated a weakness that many many notebooks already have.

Like I said, the part of that video that concerns is the amount of pressure needed on the back to show on the LCD. That is where I think the machine in that video was dodgy, which is why when I posted in that thread I suggested sending it back.

 

Here is a video that StreetMagus made of his Studio. I knew it would still flex, but it's not something that would cause me any concern:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7KbSNZQuFo

 

StreetMagus's certainly has much less flex on his....but like you said, it's difficult to tell exactly how much pressure they're putting on.

I think what I'll do, before mine arrives, pop down to my local pcworld to take a look. Like you said, a reasonable amount of flex is to be expected.

 

@funkystevie,Fragilexx- When u go to ur respective computer stores, cud u chk for fingerprints comin on the screen when pressing the lid from behind...
cause when I do tht on mine with some pressure they show a bit, only at a specific place though..

 

Sure will do utprabh.

 

Hi utprabh,

I had a few errands to run so didn't manage to get a pc shop. I did however manage to drop by a dept store where there were various models of laptops from HP, Sony and Toshiba. After some 'twisting and poking', here's what I found:

They ALL have a certain amount of flex but with the Vaio's, there were minimal. The degrees of flex(HP & Toshiba) were very similar to what StreetMagus demonstrated.

I tried pressing my fingers on the lid through the back to see the effects on screens. With the Sony, there were NONE. On the HP's, all of them were showing round pressure marks just like Jens and with the Toshiba's, they gave a kind of distorted 'colourful ripple' patches.

After thoughts:
While I don't doubt that Jen's 1555 was indeed 'below standard'. The screen flex and distortion are very normal on laptops. These 'twisting and poking' are however not something that the laptops are design for. If one uses his/her laptop normally, these should be no reason to worry.

 

yea..totally agree...I had an acer for 2 yrs which gave horrible fingerprint marks on the screen but tht didnt make any diff to its functionality..
and I guess unless we put some really heavy books on the lid to develop lot of pressure on the screen it wont create any probs...
anyways thanks for doing ur twisting and poking tests..