Normally when I get a new computer I wipe it and install a clean version of the OS. No manufacturer specifics – just an Operating System I understand and can fix easily. It’s a common IT practice and I am really content in doing it.
My current laptop is a Lenovo R61. I decided to not wipe and install because I wanted to give the benefit of the doubt to the software. I kept on only a few Lenovo controlled items, the WiFi controller, the “Hard Drive Shock Protection” and a few other things.
Yes, it became problematic.
The first problem I had was with the sound. I made one small change and it stopped working. The “ThinkVantage” buttons wouldn’t work, there was no sound from the computer and nothing I did in the sound properties could fix that. I ended up reinstalling the ThinkVantage software and got it to work again.
The WiFi controller became more problematic than not. I really liked the visual finder – it told me what I could connect to and how strong the signal was. However the biggest problem I had with that is it would slow down the computer big time at startup. I would wait at least 5 minutes to get a WiFi connection which was unacceptable. Whenever I turned the Lenovo finder off and use Windows software to find the connections, it would turn their software back on even if I just closed the lid. I ended up un-installing that program.
Another problem I have is that this software changes settings without prompt. I turned off Lenovos ugly battery meter for the Windows version. This week it just switched back with no warning. I since turned it off again, but I know it’s going to do the same thing.
I did a small test – I worked on the laptop for about an hour after a full charge and got the battery to about 40-50% left. I went into Task Manager and turned off all the Lenovo items. My battery usage jumped up to 50-60%.
It does make sense that if you have more stuff running the battery will run out quicker. I just wanted that self affirmation. I disabled all the items I don’t need on a daily basis and continued. I have a feeling that they will turn themselves on again down the road.
There are times where you want to have certain programs running, then there are times you want to have Windows take care of the processes. I will continue to use the laptop without reloading it. I have turned off a lot of unnecessary items to give the computer a longer battery life. I wouldn’t be surprised if they turned back on, though.
One feature you would lose on a reload is the recovery partition that most manufacturers put onto the machine. This is so it can reload back to the initial setup. It’s nice to have on a persons computer if they want to start over and are only using the bare necessities.
Still, from here on end I am going to stick with my plans and reload a new machine with my specs. I need to trust my machines and not have problems because of 3rd party software. Of course when I do that, I always make sure I ghost my machine first.
Let’s not beat about the bush here, when you say “Operating System” Jeffrey you really mean “Windows” and I share the experience when I am setting up other people’s machines for them.
I think the recovery partion is an utter copout and it really bothers me that computer packages have been parred to the bone so much that re-install discs are no longer included and this is a massive setback for the vast majority of home users who have absolutely no idea that they may need to reinstall in the future.
The partition itself is totally unnecessary and I cannot for the life of me understand why vendors choose to do this and deny many people half of the capacity that they paid for as most will want to store their own possessions (files) within the documents folder, not on a separate drive as that is how we did things 10 years ago.
The bloatware itself completely cheapens both Windows and the machine it is installed on and is one big reasons I abandoned Windows machines where possible.
Default configs suck and again the average joe would not understand (and nor should they have to) that a computer can have two seemingly identical states yet one is far from optimum for battery life etc.
The whole experience is just awful.