Dell 1501 with Vista

[loyd]

In a week or so I will receive a Dell Inspiron 1501 ($499.00). What should I do first? What should I do second? What should I avoid at all cost? What else will scare me? Let's get it right.

[chris5126]

is it preloaded with an opearting system. If not thats a pretty good place to start.

You might want a dual boot so you can have two o/s installed like vista and xp or vista and ubuntu.

Once your os is installed get on the internet make sure it is patched and up to date then download your software you want and your good to go!

[loyd]

I assume (I know) that Dell would load Vista for a "valued customer" every time. If not, I can certainly load it but there was a restriction on the total times one could load from the CD. I did not know that Vista had any "patches" yet, thanks. I will put anti malware, anti virus, and a system cleaner on prior to web exposure.

[TheNNS]

>is it preloaded with an opearting system. If not thats a pretty good place to start.

if he's buying it new, then of course it'll come with an os. unless you need to, don't dual boot. most users don't need linux, and dual booting with xp is a little tricky. leave it like it is.
>I did not know that Vista had any "patches" yet,

patches are updates, and they've had them ever since it came out. You want to install an antivirus first, get all the updates from Windows Update, then install all the software you're going to use.

[chris5126]

dual booting isnt complicated if your going to do vista and xp it does it automatically! and no windows doesnt do patches just upgrades linux/unix do patch upgrades i used patch as a general term. And to be honest you dont really need an anti virus its recommened but can really slow your system down i have been online with vista for six months virus free and without protection!

[TheNNS]

> dual booting isnt complicated if your going to do vista and xp it does it automatically!

uh, no it doesn't.
and yes windows does have updates and patches.

and yes an antivirus is what you need. avg is free and doesn't slow down your system.

[loyd]

Thanks for the input. So far I am putting "stuff" onto a CD in preparation. The Vista Updates "Essential" KB933729, KB937143, KB938127, KB936782, KB938123, KB938979, KB938194, KB935807, KB931213, KB925902, and KB930178 are ready. A second operating system may be installed at any time, it appears. So, I will deal with that later. I plan to put the IE plug-in for Firefox on there as well as anti-malware, anti-virus, and a system/register cleaner. How does it look so far? Thanks again, you guys saved me a week of web-fight at least.

[bobbyraw]

yow dude what are u trying to acheive, pc overkill. read very carefully, the spec that any windows pc comes with is telling you that with windows install barebone this is what is needed or recommended. non take a look at the spec that a software require say adobe reader V8 (the free one) that more resourses the software will nedd plus what windows will hog. so my advice, the less u put in the better windows with run..

here is a test, when you get your brand new pc and surf the net, open program see how fast that sucker work, 3 month down the life u wonder if molasses was thrown in your pc. and the only time u can get back that speed is with a clean install.

[chris5126]

sounds like a plan loyd what bobbyraw is saying is kinda true that your system will slow over time and it is best to keep only what you will need and use on there but everything you put seems kinda essential.

To be honest it should be fine you can always buy some more memory down the line. If you do decide to dual boot at a later date and do encounter problems which you prob wont then check out some of the other threads on here or pm me and i can help you its not hard you just need to add one line to your bootloader/manager.

It sounds like your pretty sorted may i suggest vlc media player is one of the best and most powerful around and can play nearly every format of media, in my opinion and will save you downloading large and sometimes unecessary codec packs.

Again this is only a sugestion you sound like your pretty sorted.

[hughv]

Take a look at this page, especially the "Top 10 Vista Hacks":
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9004871
They aren't really hacks, just ways to tweak the system so it's more responsive. There's a lot of other Vista info here as well.
Mostly, though, spend some time learning the differences between Vista and XP. Vista's gotten a lot of bad press, some deserved, but a pre-installed system should be just fine.

[TheNNS]

I also don't recommend any registry cleaner, as those could brake your system.
If I was getting a laptop with vista, I would personally downgrade to xp, because it runs so much better. But then again, that's just my personal opinion.

[loyd]

The Dell Inspiron 1501 cost $550.00 with $20.00 S&H and $30.00 tax. There is a learning curve with Vista but after a week or so, it borders on the elegant, really. First, the dual boot did not enter into the scene. Anti virus by Grisoft (AVG), anti malware by Ad-Aware, and a system (or register) cleaner by CCleaner (formerly Crap Cleaner) were the first three additions. Second, Firefox 9 which required nothing at all, just click it and you're good to go. Then connect with MS for the (25) necessary, important, critical, and relevant KB files.

So far, not one malfunction to report. Since laptops use a quarter of the power of desktops, the 1501 is on continually. If I leave, just shut the lid. Open it on returning and it is near instant.

Thanks for helping me plan this out prior to actually doing anything. The old "plan your work and then work your plan" may be right on target. I am told that ram should be twice what the fsb speed is in numbers. The machine indicates 800 MB with 1,000 installed. Since fsb is 800, I will insert another gig soon. Thanks again for the advice, we got it right the first time.

[magikilwizard]

Hi, I just got my Dell 1501 last month. I reformatted 120 GB HD using Vista disk. Just tap the F2 key as it boots to enter set up then set CD drive as first boot option. Then you can delete the partition, format, then install Vista without all the extra Dell utilities. Suggest you check into the following programs as they are helpful to me: AVG (free anti-virus); Zone Alarm (free firewall); K-lite full Codec (include classic media player which will play .flv, .divx, .mov, .avi, .mp4, etc. ); RocketDock (free docking panel for keeping desktop clear. Just drag shortcuts to it , and the dock can be set to auto hide and appear on mouse over, etc); Sun java; shockwave lite; flash; Firefox and add-ons(download helper; compact menu2); Winamp Pro; Newest Catalyst drivers; Nero; Utorrent; WinRar; and Photoshop CS. If you get into music and videos, check out Iomega's external HD's. I got 2 of their 160 GB HD 's which can use either USB 2.0 or firewire connection. The Nano wireless mouse is nice from Logitech. Easily transported with a very small usb receiver and programmable wheel and buttons.
Hope this helps , Magikil

[TheNNS]

You really don't need utorrent or photoshop. And VCL might be a better alternative to K-lite as it supports and plays literally every type of audio and video format.

[loyd]

I hope you meant vlc (www.videolan.org) which I downloaded along with K-Lite (www.codecguide.com). It appears that vlc will open almost anything, which is very handy, but K-Lite gives a better picture consistently. With them both installed, insert a DVD and right click the icon to get a list of all the programs that are associated. Pick one and you're good to go.

[TheNNS]

Yeah, I mean vlc, sorry. It allows for streaming too which is nice.

[loyd]

Obviously, there are gaps in my knowledge base. Could you quickly explain "streaming" or give me a url so that I may someday be a streamer. I am sure that a Dell 1501 is capable of it, I just did not know about it. Thanks in advance.

[coolraj003]

By streaming he meant streaming media from websites. If you watch online videos or listen to music online thats the media streaming to your system from the web. I dont think u need to do anything to be streamer apart from setting up your own site with a few videos which other people can watch. Hope that explained unless u were asking about sommin completely different.

Regards
Raj

[TheNNS]

>By streaming he meant streaming media from websites. If you watch online videos or listen to music online thats the media streaming to your system from the web. I dont think u need to do anything to be streamer apart from setting up your own site with a few videos which other people can watch. Hope that explained unless u were asking about sommin completely different.

No, by streaming a I meant you could play music form other computers in your network. You can make a playlist and save it as an xml file the vlc can open and it will stream that computer. Not sure if you can do it over the internet.

[coolraj003]

OK...might have grabbed th ewrong end of the string there...oops, sorry

Raj