The HP Laptop Out-Of-The-Box Guide 2.0 for Windows 7

[calvin-c]

Is there a thread that explains what the 'bloatware' items do? Understand that I'm not disagreeing with your conclusions about what's bloatware & what isn't, but if I didn't like to make my own decisions about what runs on my PC then I probably wouldn't be reading this thread in the first place. So far I haven't been able to find any information on most of this stuff, except that most people do agree with you.

[Serg]

Hi there calvin-c and welcome to the NBR Forums!

Bloatware is the factory installed programs that are most of the times redundant to the OS' native capabilities. For example HP Wireless Manager, HP Games, and tons of programs that most of the time you wont use but they are still active, this means that they slow down your computer.

[kimiraone]

Hey guys just bought a dv7t 3000 and have been trying to absorb as much of your advice as I can. I am going for a clean install of windows 7. A couple of questions.

1. How do I know whether I have 64 bit or 86 bit windows?
2. When I run Windows7activator I get a panel that says 'Backup' or 'Restore', when i click backup I get a window asking me to find a file to backup (*.w7a).

Thanks in advance.

[timesquaredesi]

1) right click computer and click on properties. it'll show you the architecture under 'system type'

2) is the prompt asking you for a file name? type in "my backup.w7a" and see what happens.

[kimiraone]

It just comes up with a 'save as' and asks me to browse for a file to backup. Is there a file that stores the activation information? If so where would I find it?

[Ramzii]

Hey thanks so much for this usefull guide!!

edit - Creating those 3 recovery discs sure takes a mighty long time .

[abaddon4180]

I just finished installing 7/updating all my drivers and what not and I only have one problem; the battery icon in the tray only updates when I right click it. Anyone know how to fix this?

[timesquaredesi]

^ there is a wierd issue with windows 7 - the desktop does not refresh.

to see if you have this issue, try this:

1) create a folder on your desktop
2) double click it to open it
3) with the folder open, go back to the desktop and rename it.

what should happen is that the folder with the old name should still appear. not sure what this is but a lot of people are experiencing this.

[abaddon4180]

The name of the open folder changed just fine for me when I did that. This isn't a big deal or anything, it is just kind of annoying.

[abaddon4180]

Fixed it. I just removed and replaced it from the tray a couple of times and viola.