Cleaning computer of preinstalled crap

[Two Rivers]

Well I did it. Upgraded the old 1982 computer to a new lenovo.A year or so ago I purchased windows 7 but the old machine would not load it.
Can I clean this hard drive and load the unused 7 to get rid of all the preloaded junk I do not want. Mostly buy this and that stuff.

And the 7 set I have has 32 bit and 64 bit disk so what one is better. Plus will the reloaded set have more then the preloaded windows 7 from the lenovo company.

Thanks Jessie.

I will try a camera next.
Old dogs can learn new tricks after all :-}

[azasadny]

Try to load/install the 64bit version, if you don't have a 64bit PC, it will not install, then go to the 32 bit version (same software, just for a different CPU). Before you do any of this, go to the Lenovo website and download the Windows 7 drivers to a flash drive (AKA thumbdrive) because you'll need the drivers. After you're done, get all patches and updates, then install Microsoft Security Essentials (free from Microsoft). Good luck! If you give up, send the PC and disk to me and I'll get it all loaded and setup and send it back to you in 2 days...free (just pay for shipping).

[legion]

I have had a lifelong battle removing pre-installed software. Most of it either doesn't come with an uninstall program, or leaves a whole bunch of crap on your computer anyway.

Back in the Windows 95 days, I got myself a SCSI ZIP drive which came with a program to "move" applications so that they could be run from the ZIP drive. I figured out that I could move the programs, delete them, then search the hard drive and registry for any references to D: and remove whatever I found.

Some time around Windows XP, I went out and bought a standalone uninstall program. It basically took the programs off of my start menu but still left them on the hard drive, in the registry, and their DLLs around too.

Now days I run the uninstall program (if it exists), delete the program from the hard drive (some or all of it is almost always still there), and manually delete any registry keys that refer to the now deleted program. I used to then go on and play "the farmer in the DLL", in which I'd try to manually delete any related DLLs, but I once damaged a Windows install in such a way that even the OEM backup CD couldn't fix it.

[slodave]

64 bit is only really good for working with huge files. 64 bit gets you over the 3.5 gig (RAM) limitations of the 32 bit OS. I found the limit of a 64 bit pc tonight. PC has 6 gigs. I tried to open 300+ images in Photoshop CS5 64 bit and it crapped out at 199 images. Images are roughly 20 megs each.

What Art says will help.... If you do a fresh install, make sure to have the drivers on a flash drive or CD/DVD. Pretty much guarantied to have no network drivers after a retail install.

[mikester]

bash# rm -rf
ctrl-x!
ctrl-x!
ctrl-x!

shell not found
#>

CRAP!

[Two Rivers]

Thanks to all that helped.
I think I will try and see what happens.

[Bob Kontak]

There is a program called perfect uninstaller. Wipes the unwanted apps out

Perfect Uninstaller - A Better and Easier Uninstaller

[Vipergrün]

Originally Posted by mikester

bash# cd /
bash# rm -rf
ctrl-x!
ctrl-x!
ctrl-x!

shell not found
#>

CRAP!

Fixed it for ya :-)

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by Bob Kontak

There is a program called perfect uninstaller. Wipes the unwanted apps out

Perfect Uninstaller - A Better and Easier Uninstaller

.
I'm presently trying to clean my system in an effort to avoid paying for someone to do it for me.
Perfect Uninstaller gets some bad reviews on CNET:
.
Perfect Uninstaller - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com

[RWebb]

you have to know what to unistall too

for example, I have some damn Adobe program that is hidden and tries to run an Adobe updater whenever I reboot the machine

also have a bunch of odd things that I don't know what they do

[azasadny]

I make this offer to all Pelicans. If you send me your PC and software disks, I'll get everything loaded and configured correctly for no charge. Just pay for shipping and I'll only have the PC for a day or two.

[RedBaron]

I do this all the time for people. Skip the recover CD entirely. Most of that will reload all of the crap that came with it. Instead, look for the Windows product key label on your computer. For instance, if it says "Windows Vista Home Premium OEM", download a torrent of the .iso and burn it. This is PERFECTLY legal since you have a license key. Then, use a piece of software like double driver and extract the drivers on your current setup to a flash drive. Wipe the drive and install the fresh copy of windows you downloaded. When prompted, enter the product key. When installation is finished, restore your drivers. Then install Microsoft security essentials, run updates and install very light software and disable most startup items. Most computers I do this to boot up in 15 seconds or less. If you would not like to do any of that, PC Decrapifier is a great piece of software to use and will guide you in uninstalling the garbage that comes with it. The PC Decrapifier Wipes Unwanted Junk | The PC Decrapifier

[nota]

I had a program for xp that showed the hard drive as a block diagram
it allow you to remove the junk blocks as chunks and just keep the m/s windoz blocks

does anybody know if there is a similar or same deal for 7w ?

[azasadny]

Originally Posted by RedBaron

I do this all the time for people. Skip the recover CD entirely. Most of that will reload all of the crap that came with it. Instead, look for the Windows product key label on your computer. For instance, if it says "Windows Vista Home Premium OEM", download a torrent of the .iso and burn it. This is PERFECTLY legal since you have a license key. Then, use a piece of software like double driver and extract the drivers on your current setup to a flash drive. Wipe the drive and install the fresh copy of windows you downloaded. When prompted, enter the product key. When installation is finished, restore your drivers. Then install Microsoft security essentials, run updates and install very light software and disable most startup items. Most computers I do this to boot up in 15 seconds or less. If you would not like to do any of that, PC Decrapifier is a great piece of software to use and will guide you in uninstalling the garbage that comes with it. The PC Decrapifier Wipes Unwanted Junk | The PC Decrapifier

Another good way to do it...!!

[RWebb]

since we're on this topic...

how can I tell if I need Adobe AIR? if nothing on my PC is using this thing, then I want to kill it...