So I just bought a new laptop (Lenovo). Didn't really need help with selection, as I knew what I wanted. Unfortunately, my last computer was a Mac and I basically have no idea about how to uninstall bloatware from a new PC, what virus software - if any - is ideal, what general programs/software I should DL for optimal PC performance, how/when to defrag a PC, etc. Basically, I'm like a five year old over here.

Tryin or chud or whomever, if you were setting up a machine for someone not particularly well-versed in PCese, what would you uninstall/install? What programs/software would you DL/install to optimize performance? What should I know about regular PC maintenance?

malwarebytes
spybot search and destroy
these arent really realtime protection. but i used them to scan my computer weekly. i watch a lot of porn.

use IE to download and install google chrome, or firefox, etc. then never use it again.

I'd go into my control panel and uninstall anything I was sure I didn't need or want. You have to be careful doing that though because you might lose some utility that the laptop manufacturer put on there that you want. (ie, software for enhanced audio controls or trackpad controls), but if you see anything you KNOW you don't need, get rid of it. I'd especially make sure to uninstall any preloaded antivirus, like norton or mcaffee. Instead download and install AVG, it's free and works great.

Download and install the malware protection software Charlie recommended and keep it updated regularly. You'll only need to use it if things start acting fishy but some malware can make it hard to get online and download this type of stuff when you need it.

Download and install the free version of CCLeaner. This is a tool you'll want on hand to clean your registry and/or effectively and completely delete temp files/cache from various pieces of software. I usually let it clean my registry every month or so (or when I think of it) and will definitely use it after cleaning any malware away. It's just something you want on hand. Also if a piece of software starts acting screwy and you can't figure out why using it to clear its cache often does the trick.

Besides that, make sure you never use Internet Explorer and browse responsibly. Also make sure you have system restore points automatically created every week or so. Ideally you'll want these to be stored on an external hard drive (or an internal one that's physically separate from the drive your OS is on) so if you have major HD issues you can still restore. I break this rule myself though, and have them stored on the one hard drive my laptop has but on a separate partition and not the C:\ drive. It's still worth doing even if it's like that, one time I accidentally uninstalled some drivers and just restored to last week and got everything back.

Thank you, Peter. Very helpful.

I just got a new laptop this weekend as well, this thread is awesome.

check with your ISP. a lot of them offer some type of free Antivirus Download.

i have comcast and they offer norton 360

malware bytes and ccleaner are standard at our company. thodoks, if you want to, post a screen shot of your programs and we can go over and let you know what each are and if you want them. most only give you trial ware for 30-60 days and its best to just delete em now

I just may do this.

You could also give PC Decrapifier a spin, at least to get an idea of what to zap. I've not used it myself, but only because it's been ages since I've had a junk-filled new computer to try it on.

For uninstalling, I use the portable version of the freeware Revo Uninstaller. It automatically creates a restore point before launching a program's uninstall routine, then finds leftover files, folders, and registry entries, among other nifty features. I leave it set to "moderate." One feature not in the free edition is handling of 64-bit programs, but that shouldn't really be an issue especially with the sort of pre-loaded stuff you want to uninstall now.

I recommend Avast for free antivirus. Before switching to Avast (sometime in '08 I think) I used AVG which was bloated, slow, not very configurable, had too many false positives and missed some real infections that it really shouldn't have. Before that I had McAfee, which... ugh. Just horrible. If I leave Avast any time soon, it'll probably be for Microsoft Security Essentials. Pretty much everyone seems to love it. Skim through the recommendations at Gizmo's (a great site for finding safe free software solutions) for a good picture of your best free antivirus options.

CCleaner is awesome, but you should carefully look at what's checked for cleaning in both the "Windows" and "Applications" tabs before you run the cleaner the first time. There are some things you may not want it to wipe out that are checked by default.

thodoks, you mentioned defragging in your original post. By default, IIRC, Windows 7 is scheduled to defrag every Wednesday at like midnight or 2 AM, or the next boot afterwards if it's not on then. If you can just let it do its thing, you'll be fine.

Fuck AVG. [url=www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/]Microsoft Security Essentials[url] is great, very effective while remaining quite light.

My favourite defragger is the Auslogic one.

CCleaner, as already said here, is quite good.



You can deactivate some visual gimmick on System -> Advance configurations.

To uninstall stuff, just go to the programs and resources (or software and resources, not sure how it is on english versions).

By the way, those Lenovo laptops have a quite nice keyboard, very fun to type.

Use the "godmode" trick to explore all the settings you can customize in windows. It makes setting up your machine exactly how you want it a lot easier than finding all these things other ways.

How do I go about this? Also, is there a way to create a shortcut for this and name it "Kosmicjellimode?"

1. Open Windows Explorer and create a new folder
Create the folder anywhere. For ease of use, I created mine in the Root directory/folder.

NOTE: Creating the folder on the Desktop might or might not work. The feedback seems to vary, so you'll just have to experiment with it. (Chud's input: I made mine on my C drive and then moved it to my desktop. It worked fine)

2. Rename the folder by pasting the name below exactly as it appears:
KosmicJelliMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

NOTE: You can name it whatever you want (within reason), I just use "KosmicJelliMode" in this example.

3. Enjoy!
Start enjoy your all-in-one folder to control virtually every aspect of Windows 7. I'm still having fun going through and seeing all the stuff I didn't know was in Windows 7!

Good God I know so little about computers.

Which makes KJ mode all the more beneficial for you. You can customize little things, like what your computer will do when you shut the laptop cover. I changed mine to do nothing, because I want to be able to flip the cover down without it going into sleep mode.

If you want to chose which programs start with with Windows, you can select them by typing msconfig at the search of bar of the start menu.

Thodes, don't uninstall Windows.

CCleaner (Tools > Startup) makes viewing/disabling startup items easier, especially for someone new to Windows.

Windows 7 is quite good. I had Ubuntu 11.04 and didn't impress me at all, it was functional but the interface looked amateurish with very thick borders and such.