Questions Regarding Bloatware/Reinstalling OS

[userpay]

First off, for Windows 7, can you just insert the disk of an upgrade (ie premium vs Pro) will it patch it to the upgrade? Or would you have to wipe then install the better OS version?

Second, what is everyones opinions regarding dealing with bloatware? Is it easier to wipe then have to reinstall the OS and find all the drivers needed again or easier to stick with the default and remove the bloatware yourself without wiping?

Asking because I should be finally getting my new laptop later today and I've never wiped a computer nor installed an OS before. Not to mention due to school work and extra hours at the job due to a few people quitting in my department I don't have as much time as I would like to fiddle.

[Mando Knight]

You should be able to just put in the upgrade disk. You actually maybe don't even need to do that if you haven't bought the disk yet, since Win7 has the Anytime Upgrade (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/windows-anytime-upgrade).

If you're trying to use a full-OS disk to upgrade, though, you might need to reinstall the OS from scratch...

[factotum]

If by bloatware you mean all those oh-so-useful applications that come preinstalled on a machine, you can usually uninstall them without too much trouble. Reinstalling quite possibly wouldn't help, because the OS recovery CD they provide with the laptop will sometimes include all that stuff anyway, so you'd end up with everything exactly the same!

[userpay]

I suppose in my rush to post this before I had to leave for work I forgot to mention that I already have a legitimate free copy of Windows 7 Pro courtesy of my school through a deal they have with Microsoft. Now if I can use that cd-key with the Anytime Upgrade...

And as to the bloatware I've always heard people complaining about it even though I know theres always at least some useful ones in there.

Anyway what antivirus software would you all recommend? On my old computer I was using Norton (only because parents forced me to on that machine) and Microsoft Security Essentials. I've also heard Avast is pretty good. Any others of particular note?

[Mando Knight]

Avast! is free. That's why I use it. And that's it.

[userpay]

Well apparently my cd key won't work with the Anytime Upgrade. Might try calling into support tomorrow in the off chance that they'd actually do something about it but it looks like I might have to do a wipe and install Pro.

[factotum]

I use AVG myself, but that's mainly because I always have--Avast usually does slightly better in anti-virus tests, but AVG isn't far behind it.

[userpay]

Okay this is odd. If systemrequirementslab.com is correct then my graphics card isn't being used... How do I make sure that its using the graphics card and not the onboard graphics? I know I've got the driver for the card (Radeon Hd 6700M) installed but as I'm unfamiliar with Windows 7 I don't know where to go.

[Mando Knight]

Well apparently my cd key won't work with the Anytime Upgrade. Might try calling into support tomorrow in the off chance that they'd actually do something about it but it looks like I might have to do a wipe and install Pro.

Yeah, you probably need to do a clean install.

Not sure on how to fix your graphics problem. First thing I would do is double/triple check that the card is recognized by the computer... Start menu, Control Panel, Hardware and Sound, Devices and Printers, Device Manager. There, open Display Adapters. It should list your graphics card there. Alternatively, you may need to reboot the computer if you just installed the drivers.

[userpay]

Well it recognizes the card. Also taking another look at the results screen from systemrequirementslab.com it looks like it sees what the card can do in all but name. Should I disable the Intel(R) HD Graphics Family to make it start using the Radeon card?

[Mando Knight]

I would try that, then. Alternatively, where are the drivers from? If it's the OEM drivers, there should be some kind of interface program you can run. If not, you may have to install them.