Delete and reinstall

[fishsupreme]

It's amazing the amount of crap that computer manufacturers put on systems when you buy them now.  It used to be you got the OS and some ISP software, and maybe a really ugly and inconvenient shell if you bought a disreputable brand (e.g. Packard Bell.)

But now it's gotten much worse.  My Dell laptop included not only a ton of junk, but even borderline spyware (MyWay Search Assistant.)  And there's a very interesting article on [H]ard|OCP wherein they bought Dell's new XPS 400 "gaming PC" and tried to play games on it.

Summary of the results: Constant popups from McAfee, Dell Support, and QuickBooks interrupting games.  86 megs of RAM occupied at startup by unnecessary software and services.  The mousepad included with the machine was incompatible with the included optical mouse (it was reflective.) 

They tried to play some games on it.  Autorun was broken on all games so they had to manually run the installers.  The Sims 2 wouldn't install.  Quake IV would not start.  Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory locked up after the cutscenes.   Some of their attempted benchmarks crashed the machine outright due to instability; those that did run scored the system lower than a sub-$500 Wal-Mart PC.

The cause of all this?  All the crap Dell preinstalls on the system, of course.  Reformatting the hard drive and doing  a clean Windows install fixed all of the above problems -- games all worked properly, performance was as expected for a system of this caliber.  There's nothing wrong with the hardware -- they just ruin it for you with crappy software before they mail it out.

They also make it very hard for you to get rid of the crappy software.  Much of it cannot be uninstalled (I know, I tried on my laptop when I got it), and no Windows CD is provided.  Instead, a hidden hard drive partition (which is destroyed if you repartition the hard drive or use an alternative OS like Linux) contains a special recovery image, which when used restores the system to its factory condition... complete will all the preinstalled crap.

It seems we've gotten to a point where making your own PC is worthwhile even if it's not any cheaper.  Dell has successfully invented the concept of the value-subtracted reseller.

Comments

[anjelabug]

Yeah, that worries me some. Eventually I'll want to upgrade my laptop, and I like the Dell hardware a lot, but the software... ugh.

[fishsupreme]

Well, just means we have to buy/pirate a copy of Windows, and format the drive when we get the machine. For laptops you pretty much have to go with one of the corporate vendors.

[anjelabug]

And you know me and my keyboard pickiness. :) It's funny to think of having one's laptop choice depend almost entirely on the keyboard, but mine really does.

[gunslnger.livejournal.com]

That's why I like Thinkpads for laptops and build-my-own for a desktop. Even when it's not a complete self-build, it's still easier and cheaper than getting a "name-brand" thing.

For laptops, most of the hardware drivers are available separately so wiping the drive isn't as dangerous a feat anymore. And the parts are closer to desktop parts as far as the OS is concerned.

Dell has successfully invented the concept of the value-subtracted reseller.

That's the best line. :)

[stroum.livejournal.com]

I don't know what you're talking about. It's not like I had to send my Gateway laptop back for repair...twice...and wipe the hard drive over a dozen times. Or did I...hmm....

[prester-scott.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've had to shoo a number of such things off my Dell laptop. However, I don't need to squeeze performance out of it, so it's likely there is still more junk running I could (and eventually will) delete.

[jesterofsanity.livejournal.com]

hmm interesting. my dad recently purchased a dell XPS laptop (not sure of the model) a few months ago, and it had none of this that you describe. runs things better than my stripped down AMD box.

well maybe my computer is due for a reformatting but i'm lazy and plus reinstalling wow is a pain in the bootay.

[fishsupreme]

I got a Dell 600m a few months ago. It didn't have quite as much crap as this XPS desktop [H]ard|OCP got, but it did include MyWay Search Assistant, the most odious wireless network driver I've ever seen (it had non-disablable popups every time a wireless network was detected that you weren't connected to... note that I didn't say a *new* wireless network. It would pop up every 60 seconds at work), and at least four unnecessary memory-resident apps.

[eagle243.livejournal.com]

They call it a "gamer" PC and it doesn't run games out of the box? What kind of crap is that?! Wow.

[manaki.livejournal.com]

Prebuilt is pre-fubar'd. When I build my own comp I have to format after the first 3 months, not reformat to use the darn thing for 3 months.

Sadly, there's not a way to build your own laptops. :\

[jerseytude.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to point out a few things. The sub-$500 PC they said the computer ran slower than was from PC Club, not WalMart. But you're right on the fact that it was $500.