Windows 7 on new laptop – any advice?

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I will be receiving my new Sony Vaio BTO in about a week. This is a rare opportunity to make changes to the OS before I begin loading software. I intend to load Microsoft Office Professional 2007 last, other than that I’m uncertain if there is anything else I should do. Any suggestions?
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LAPTOP DESCRIPTION – VGN-FW590 Configure-to-Order

Genuine Microsoft® Windows® 7 Ultimate

Intel® Core&trade 2 Duo Processor P8800 (2.66GHz)
4GB (2GBx2) DDR2-SDRAM-800
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4650 graphics with 1GB dedicated video RAM
500GB SATA Hard Disk Drive (5400rpm)
16.4″ VAIO extra-wide HD display (1920×1080)

Large Capacity Battery (VGP-BPL13)
Blu-ray Disc™ playback/burning

Large Capacity Battery (VGP-BPL13)

Norton Internet Security™ 2009 (3 year subscription)
No Fresh Start – (decided not to get this)
Microsoft® Works (wish this didn’t come on it – should I remove it first thing?)
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CURRENT SOFTWARE I INTEND TO LOAD (I have checked all of them with Microsoft’s Windows Compatibiilty Center to check if they are compatible.)

Listed in order I intend to load:
– Drivers for HP 7310 All-In-One LaserJet (Win7 drivers availalbe on HP’s site)
– Microsoft ActiveSync 4.5 (I sync SmartPhone PDA Windows Mobile device with PC)
– Mobipocket eBook Reader (Mobipocket site says compatible)
– Guild Wars (users say running well on Win7)
– Saitek Gaming Pad (USB Peripheral)
– Microsoft Office Professional 2007

Haven’t Found Drivers that are said to be compatibile for HP IV LaserJet

Thanks in advance for any help you may provide!

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I will be receiving my new Sony Vaio BTO in about a week. This is a rare opportunity to make changes to the OS before I begin loading software. I intend to load Microsoft Office Professional 2007 last, other than that I’m uncertain if there is anything else I should do. Any suggestions?
——————————————————————————————————
LAPTOP DESCRIPTION – VGN-FW590 Configure-to-Order

Genuine Microsoft® Windows® 7 Ultimate

Intel® Core&trade 2 Duo Processor P8800 (2.66GHz)
4GB (2GBx2) DDR2-SDRAM-800
ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4650 graphics with 1GB dedicated video RAM
500GB SATA Hard Disk Drive (5400rpm)
16.4″ VAIO extra-wide HD display (1920×1080)

Large Capacity Battery (VGP-BPL13)
Blu-ray Disc™ playback/burning

Large Capacity Battery (VGP-BPL13)

Norton Internet Security™ 2009 (3 year subscription)
No Fresh Start – (decided not to get this)
Microsoft® Works (wish this didn’t come on it – should I remove it first thing?)
——————————————————————————————————
CURRENT SOFTWARE I INTEND TO LOAD (I have checked all of them with Microsoft’s Windows Compatibiilty Center to check if they are compatible.)

Listed in order I intend to load:
– Drivers for HP 7310 All-In-One LaserJet (Win7 drivers availalbe on HP’s site)
– Microsoft ActiveSync 4.5 (I sync SmartPhone PDA Windows Mobile device with PC)
– Mobipocket eBook Reader (Mobipocket site says compatible)
– Guild Wars (users say running well on Win7)
– Saitek Gaming Pad (USB Peripheral)
– Microsoft Office Professional 2007

Haven’t Found Drivers that are said to be compatibile for HP IV LaserJet

Thanks in advance for any help you may provide!

Hi Reboot and welcome

Nice laptop you’re getting. When you get a new lappy it comes with all the junk The maker thinks will see more laptops. Its often not the best software for its purpose and I always remove it…

Advise
Backup, backup, backup. On another site where I post we see scores of people who didn’t and wish they did. You can use the built in backup, or get a 3rd party app like acronis. The best one is the one you use.

You procedure looks fine and I cant see any problems. You are really going to like win 7. I have been using it for a year in various configs and have had only one minor problem. Have fun dig in and if you need help, there is always someone here to give you a hand

Good Luck Mate

Ken J+

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I would remove works
You won’t need Active Sync; I use Windows Mobile Device Center which is native in Win7 (Vista Also) it will connect up with Active Sync on your devices.
Your HP IV Laser Jet should work fine I think. I just upgraded a client’s PC to 7 and I’m pretty sure that was one of the printers they had and it worked.
kevin

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I have always have left Works on my systems, there seems to always be someone that has it and NOT any of the other word processors. It does NOT take up that much room, but when needed, it is there.

Get yourself a third party imaging program and a external USB or Firewire drive to but system images to. I use TrueImage from http://www.acronis.com

You need somthing like “Malwarebytes” from http://www.malwarebytes.org

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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Another nice backup program (FREE) is Macrium Reflect. The free version permits only full backups while the “Pro” version allows Incremental and Differential backups as well.
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp

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Image backup is a real improvement for MS to include it on the Premium versions and above where vista it was only available in the business and ultimate versions.

but Acronis is a good image backup which the 2010 version works with w7 great.

MS’s image is a bit crude in that it only backs up to the root directory of a drive, or at least, I can’t figure out how to do the backup to a directory
on another drive or directory.

Rich

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Your security software should be the very first thing–even before going online, then get updates, then the software you listed.

I’ve been using the free Comodo firewall (not their anti-virus as it doesn’t like my Home Premium setup), and the free Microsoft Security Essentials for anti-virus.

As for the printer, check the HP site. They have a page that tells which printers have, will have, and won’t have Windows 7 software. On the downside to that, I installed the software for the Officejet Pro 8500–and STILL can’t print.

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Remaining question after reading everyone’s feedback: MS image, Acronis 2010 or freebie Macrium Reflect?

Thanks everyone for your response!

Ken: You are so right, backup is important. I have a backup for files, but do not have enough backup space to image the entire system. I’ll work on that!

Kevin: Yeah – no ActiveSync! That’s great. Although a bit sad as it’s one of the few things everyone looks to me for as an expert in helping them to fix their sync :0 I sure hope the HPLJ4 works. It’s great for quantity b&w printing.

DaveA: As long as Works doesn’t take up much space I guess it won’t hurt to leave it there. Thanks for the referral to Acronis – I’ll check it out. I need to buy a bigger external USB HD though. Mine is only 250 gig. I might as well go for a terabyte now so I can include a system image, file backup, and ever growing digi needs.

Richard: Free – woo hoo. Full back up is all I want for now. I keep two redundant backups and one current at all times. I used to have lots of tapes and kept many backups – I’m over it : ) Thanks for the referral to Macrium Reflect. I’ll look into it.

Rich: I usually partition my HD into 3 partitions, keeping C for program and system files. But this time I’m living on the wild side and going with just a C drive. After all these years of partitioning, I’ve never had anything goober up the partition it lived in. Now let’s hope that stays true going foward! So, since I dont’ intend on having another directory I could give MS image a try.

D: Silly me, I should have listed it in that order so you all would know I intended to do that instead of putting software at the bottom of my list including Norton. I’ve used Norton for years and watched it become a system hog, granting less versatility to the user, and more – but I know it and it works. I bought another 3 years of it when buying the laptop.

I looked up drivers for you 8500 and it looks like HP has them for 32 bit adn 64 bit. Did you download them from the HP site?

32-bit (basic and full feature drivers available): http://tinyurl.com/yd9mn8m
64-bit (basic and full feature drivers available): http://tinyurl.com/yjp7qm8

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Rich: I usually partition my HD into 3 partitions, keeping C for program and system files. But this time I’m living on the wild side and going with just a C drive. After all these years of partitioning, I’ve never had anything goober up the partition it lived in. Now let’s hope that stays true going foward! So, since I dont’ intend on having another directory I could give MS image a try.

I’d recommend staying with Windows and Programs on C: and data on a separate partition – It just makes things easier if you ever want to reinstall the OS.

After struggling with a sluggish Vista installation I did a reinstall a month or so back, and having my data on a separate partition meant I didn’t have to spend hours copying files off the machine before hand and copying them back on afterwards.

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I was just reading my Windows Secrets newsletter and saw this article that describes the benefits of using Win7 imaging feature. It also has a link to a step-by-step how to use it.

Using Windows’ built-in disk-imaging utility by Fred Langa

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In all of that, you haven’t told us whether you are going to use 32-bit or 64-bit.

I recommend Acronis backup, installed immediately after security features. I also like to install Office after that, since that is the workhorse and I like to have it in place and set up with a minimum of other programs littering the landscape and the registry (which is something I might point out to the clean registry enthusiasts in another thread). You might even install it first. You can refine it ’till the cows come home, but I like to get it on the computer as early as possible. Works is tiny and no problem, but I hope you got compensation for the free trial of Norton that is probably in the package, if you bought a 3-year subscription.

I also like to install commercial software first, especially if it is expensive, like Office or Adobe Creative Suite, while keeping an eye on total size. Graphics suites, voice transcription, and OCR programs cost a lot of money. If you have pdf files of big fat textbooks that are susceptible to getting lost, they are tiny in filesize and have a high utility value, and are especially valuable on a laptop.

If you see the direction I am going, it is to remind you that a backup will include compression, and your first ‘gold’ backup should be to an archival source, which in your case might be a Blu-Ray disk, so that you will be able to restore the entire computer to an early (and clean) state with your own most expensive software and resources installed. If it ever goes south on you, that backup will be worth a fortune. Creating it is insurance. Intermediate backups can be saved to external hard drive, but with every increase in the value of your software you should keep an eye out for a time when things are running smoothly and then drop everything to make another gold backup to archival media.

Physical theft is a problem seldom mentioned in The Lounge, but do pause to consider it.

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I’d like to add to the mix here re: Imaging software. First, as DaveA wrote get an external HDD for your backups. Should the native HDD die, your backup will be useless. Newegg.com is a great place to shop for an external enclosure, e.g., Vantec Nexstar models and a HDD. A 500 gig drive should be ideal and usually, since they are so popular, great deals can be found. My recommendation is the Western Digital drives, particularly the “Black” (performance) models. Stay away from the “Green” models. It takes all of 5-10 minutes to assemble the drive into the enclosure.

And, for backup software, Acronis is very good but you might want to take a serious look at Storagecraft’s ShadowProtect Desktop. The BIG advantage of ShadowProtect is that it also has the option to do “Bare Metal Restores”, which means you can restore your backup image(s) to a totally different machine rather than being limited to the machine from which the backup “image” was created on. Also, with both Acronis and ShadowProtect, access to the individual folders and files on the backup image is a breeze. For example, should you need to recover a folder/file which you accidentally deleted or that became corrupt, you can quickly grab it from the backup image (copy/paste it to your C: drive).

The “Scheduler” in Acronis True Image and ShadowProtect both offer the option to limit the amount of space utilized by the backups. What this means is that you can designate how many backup images (Full + incrementals) will be retained. When that amount is reached, the oldest is replaced by the newest one created. Not many other backup applications offer these options so you have to manually delete unwanted images to make room in the designated space on a regular basis.

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Peter: I bought the 1080p res so got the 64-bit. Didn’t notice a free trial of Norton, just a good price for extended coverage.

I have LoJack on my car, and thought of getting it on laptop. Other ideas?

So:
Install
(1) Norton
(2) Acronis vs using MS image….
(3) Microsoft Office Professional 2007
(4) Photoshop Elements 7 (decided to put it on although hope it doesn’t fight with Media Center. Adobe is as stubborn as MS about getting priority.
(5) Drivers for HP 7310 All-In-One LaserJet (Win7 drivers available on HP’s site)
(6) Mobipocket eBook Reader
(7) Guild Wars
(8) Saitek Gaming Pad

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BACKUP
Peter: I’m a bit confused about how to use Acronis with a Western drive that has it’s own software that ‘automatically’ does it for me. I’m currently using a Maxtor One Touch without the ‘auto’ software and I just use it as an external drive. Learning curve here

Pilgrim: I agree, external is the way to go. I like Newegg and have an account. I’ll take a look. Do you have any comments on the auto thing (see first paragraph under ‘backup’ above.

Oh! Shadow Protect – nice! I didn’t even think of that. What if my shiney new laptop croaks – I may want to put my image back onto the replacement! Also, I really like the fact that I can just copy/paste a file.
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PARTITION

G: I decided to partition. I decided with a 500GB HD it will help with faster file access.

Now that leads me to wonder which partition tool is best to use with Windows 7? Does anybody have experience with EASEUS? http://partition-tool.com/ The free version is only for 32-bit so I’ll have to buy it $31.96 for 64-bit.

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BACKUP
Peter: I’m a bit confused about how to use Acronis with a Western drive that has it’s own software that ‘automatically’ does it for me. I’m currently using a Maxtor One Touch without the ‘auto’ software and I just use it as an external drive. Learning curve here

Pilgrim: I agree, external is the way to go. I like Newegg and have an account. I’ll take a look. Do you have any comments on the auto thing (see first paragraph under ‘backup’ above.

Oh! Shadow Protect – nice! I didn’t even think of that. What if my shiney new laptop croaks – I may want to put my image back onto the replacement! Also, I really like the fact that I can just copy/paste a file.

If you are going to invest more $$$ in hardware and software for backup you should check out Windows Home Server – media server, backup and data recovery solution. If you have an older PC you are replacing you can easily turn it into a WHS machine or you can consider an OEM model from various vendors.

With WHS you install an agent on PCs you want WHS to backup (up to 10 PCs), configure the backup and it runs automatically. See the web site for more information.

Joe

--Joe

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I have ShadowProtect as well as Acronis (and too many computers), and the only reason I left it out is that you were considering freeware and I thought you might choke on the price. I haven’t checked it myself, but I can tell you that my single copy cost nearly double the price of Acronis. I paid $110 or $115 here in Canada (plus $15 annual maintenance fee), but it was in part because I had it shipped, where Acronis was straight download. I also have five free copies of Acronis 10 as a result of a one-day promotion (from LapLink) that was discussed here in the Lounge, and they were the ones who sent me the multiple copies, I didn’t try to order them. (Their servers were overloaded, and it was bedlam.) The upgrade from that version is $30. I am still messing around with conversions to Windows 7, and my own final configurations remain uncertain. Some computers are more important than others, and will accordingly get the best software.

The external drive is fine, but since your computer has Blu-Ray I suggested using that for occasional crucial backups, and especially early in the game when the backup will be small, clean, and valuable. It may be small enough to use DVDs, but you want something that amounts to a clean install, plus your expensive software, in archived form.

The transition from one backup system to another may or may not be easy, but if you can transfer the contents of the external drive even temporarily, such as to your main computer, you might then re-format the drive (NTFS, if it isn’t already), simply wiping out the existing backup software unless it is needed to restore things (as it probably is, so you had better keep that as well). This will give you a freshly-formatted plug and play drive that is ready to receive backups. It will appear as a hard drive in ‘Computer’, and I suggest you give it a name.

Software and data are two different things.

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As was mentioned b4, there is no need to use a third party partitioning sw since windows has it built in. Just open administrative tools in control panel, computer management, storage, disk management. From there you can create, resize or whatever. Very simple and free.
kevin

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First of all, thanks to you all for helping me out! I see the Win7 as a big leap in a learning curve for me. I started on a Commodore 64 with tape, graduated to Apple II, then built my own 286 with the help of a friend, and the rest is history. So I’ve used MSDOS through XP. I use Windows Mobile too. That said, Vista (which I avoided), and the new Win7 I expect will present me with a significant learning curve. Thanks again!

Peter: Yep, SW and data are different : ) You lucked out getting five free copies!

BACKUP SW

I go free when free is almost or equal to the product that I could buy. If there are features, dependability, and the like considerations I have no problem buying the software. I’m keeping an older PC with XP on it to run all the software that is aging quickly and want to keep the new system as clean as possible.

I see the Shadow Protect destop has a $16 maintenance fee now which available at time of purchase. http://store.storagecraft.com/acb/stores/1/ShadowProtect-Desktop-Edition-35-P55C8.aspx

BLU-RAY

The Blu-Ray idea is a good one. I can keep financial/business files and digis on them and keep them in the safe.

Joe: Thanks for the suggestion, however . . . We have two servers, I think – I lose count. My hubby is into non-windows. He can help me from time to time in Windows, such as registry stuff, systems, and the like, but would never put MS on the servers. Hence me needing all of you to figure this out and create my own little MS microcosm : ) Plus it never hurts to learn; well sometimes, but I’m willing : )

PARTITION

Kevin: I’m not certain I trust Win7 to do a good job of it. (See, it’s my hubby’s influence leading me to not trust MS.) So, are you experienced with other partition software and comparatively like Win7’s? And you’ve used it yourself on Win7?

I read about it here:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Create-and-format-a-hard-disk-partition

I’m waiting as I type for FedEx to pull up with my new laptop – I wish they’d hurry already!!

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The first thing I do is use Decrapifier to get rid of all of the junk companies stick on what should be a minty fresh OS.

Although your husband is a MS Hater, Windows 7 and Home Server are both excellent products. I have used Win7 for 3/4 of a year and Home Server for probably 2 years. Home Server is very easy to use and has saved my family a couple of times. As far as Win7, I had a laptop that kept having hard drive issues. I replaced it 5 times and it kept “dying”. I had put the computer in the give away pile when Win7 beta came out. I threw it on there just to check it out and it worked like a charm. I updated it to Release Candidate and it has worked perfectly ever since. It is very fast and stable. You won’t have a very hard time learning it and I think you will find it a great upgrade.

Enjoy your new system!

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The first thing I do is use Decrapifier to get rid of all of the junk companies stick on what should be a minty fresh OS.

Although your husband is a MS Hater, Windows 7 and Home Server are both excellent products. I have used Win7 for 3/4 of a year and Home Server for probably 2 years. Home Server is very easy to use and has saved my family a couple of times. As far as Win7, I had a laptop that kept having hard drive issues. I replaced it 5 times and it kept “dying”. I had put the computer in the give away pile when Win7 beta came out. I threw it on there just to check it out and it worked like a charm. I updated it to Release Candidate and it has worked perfectly ever since. It is very fast and stable. You won’t have a very hard time learning it and I think you will find it a great upgrade.

Enjoy your new system!

Thanks! I should clarify, my hubby isn”t a MS Hater – he even goes to Microsoft often to do testing for them – that’s how I got a free version of Office Professional. He also has XP as a dual boot on two machines. So rather than being a MS Hater, he’s really just a Unix/Linnux Lover

I got the Sony VAIO laptop – a beauty. HPs Pavillion 9000t was a cheap piece of junk comparitively. I decided to check out the OS, load the HD in the order discussed, and play awhile. First thing I did was make recovery discs. After I see what changes I wished I would have made, I’ll throw on the recovery and then do it all over again, including partition.

I learned that Win7 sets the swap file itself so I don’t have to do that. I’ll see if I like the size etc. Anyway, one thing I’ll consider doing on the recovery is using the Decrapifier to get a ‘minty fresh OS’ : ) Funny name.

You were right, no trouble learning the OS – it’s really not that much different than XP – after seeing TV commercials etc I thought it was going to be more MAC like – which for me would be a learning curve. My daughter, because she loves the whole IPod and MAC thing, has one and I can barely find my way around.

Thanks for your help!

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Sorry I misunderstood about your Hubby!

One thing I tried on my system (since it was a throw away..although I’m still using it) is tweaking programs. Here is a List of some, many of which I use. One thing I had to QUICKLY get rid of was the arrows on shortcuts. Ultimate Windows Tweaker helped fix that and some other quirks and it is a portable program, which means no install. I have also used Windows 7 Little Tweaker with no problems. I also use Notebook Hardware Control to tweak a few things. All are free with no spyware etc. Windows 7 Newsis also a great website for all sorts of info on…wait for it…Windows 8! Oh and Windows 7 too Enjoy your new lappy…laptop!

PS. I almost forgot I use The Little Registry Cleaner which a free open source program that does quite a bit and also has a portable no install program. CCleaner does quite a bit as well and is free. The “C” stands for cr…well lets just say “junk”. I think that’s it. Have fun!

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Sorry I misunderstood about your Hubby!

One thing I tried on my system (since it was a throw away..although I’m still using it) is tweaking programs. Here is a List of some, many of which I use. One thing I had to QUICKLY get rid of was the arrows on shortcuts. Ultimate Windows Tweaker helped fix that and some other quirks and it is a portable program, which means no install. I have also used Windows 7 Little Tweaker with no problems. I also use Notebook Hardware Control to tweak a few things. All are free with no spyware etc. Windows 7 Newsis also a great website for all sorts of info on…wait for it…Windows 8! Oh and Windows 7 too Enjoy your new lappy…laptop!

PS. I almost forgot I use The Little Registry Cleaner which a free open source program that does quite a bit and also has a portable no install program. CCleaner does quite a bit as well and is free. The “C” stands for cr…well lets just say “junk”. I think that’s it. Have fun!

Thanks Brian! And no problem with the hubby thing. It took me awhile to get it straight too : )) By the way, lappy is doing great.

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Looks like a decent lap top

My 2 cents:
The first thing I’d do is make an image backup the way ‘ol Fred would do it.
[of Fred Langa fame] he has a very decent regimen for new computer set ups.
A wealth of information from Mr Langa. Can’t say enough about it.

Then I would get that 500 GB baby partitioned, anyway you like it, but leave at least 50-70 GB for the nice new clean install
you are about to do. I do hope you have a genuine os install disc? and separate discs for the drivers. I know most laptop
companies these days skimp on this sort of thing, and worse yet only provide a partition to restore from. yuck, more work and hassle.
My interpretation of decrapify is to remove all the junk that Sony has put in it like, ads, trial software, and other useless things like that.
Most of the time it’s just easier to clean install…if you have the genuine os disc to do a boot/clean install.

Something of note; some OEM restore discs may not work properly or at all if your primary partition size has been reset to smaller than 50-70 GB. Just another reason to demand the true os disc.

If there is software you have no use for, get it gone.
HP drivers should be ready by late January, at least mine say they will be. (for the newest hardware)
Nice specs, keep an eye on the heat…may want to find some thermal monitoring software. I’d never want to be without them
on a laptop a beefy as yours.
I don’t care for Norton but that just preference.

Hope this helps
C

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Notebook Hardware Control that I spoke of will show (if you want it to) the CPU &/or GPU &/or Memory temps. It also shows Hard Drive temp and the SMART info. It is a great little program. Hope you are enjoying your new toy!

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Good luck with the new computer; it sounds terrific, and as it happens, I had a bit of luck of my own at about the same time.

All roads lead to Rome, but the migration paths to Windows 7 are a lot less certain, and I am delighted to report that the toughest nut of all to crack has finally yielded, and I have a sleek and so far perfect installation on my desktop replacement notebook that has retained and in fact upgraded all of its HP bells and whistles (from Vista to Win 7). I pretty well followed my own recommendations for my own software, and I have an image, which I admit I should have made earlier.

For all practical purposes, I am starting out with a new notebook at the same time you are, and I might come back to this thread occasionally with questions or suggestions, as it is a matter of general interest.

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