HP notebook questions

[Not 2 Techie]

My parents bought an hp desktop about a year ago, and after seeing all of the crap that hp loaded onto their computer (hp this, and hp that, and hp, hp, hp, etc.....) I said i would never buy an hp.
Well, i just got in on the hp byo notebook deal at staples. $250 off instantly, and we had a rewards coupon for $40 + possibly $200 in rebates if they both work. I think i maximixed what i could get into a notebook, while keeping the cash output minimized. But, I said i would never buy an hp for myself......

Can i just custom install the winXP pro that comes with it (not sure if I'll get the disk, or it's just pre-installed) so i don't have a 'pewter corrupted by hp and their excessive efforts to make everyone's life overly simplified?

anyone else have any thoughts, or experiences to share?

to get rid of all that crap there are two options

one unistall all the bs they have installed


two format and do a clean install from a windows cd. (best and most effective but you will need to buy the os)

[Richard Cranium]

Go to MSCONFIG and then SERVICES, [for XP]

Disable the junk you don't need, there are several threads here on how to trim XP

[Dokeman]

You wont have to buy the os...All you will need is an original XP CD because your product key will be on a sticker stuck to the bottom of the laptop. When you get the computer, you may or maynot get an original CD. All the manufactors differ. But all that only really matters if you want to reformat it. Thats probably going to be the best thing to do. You can uninstall it, but you probably wont get all of the garbage off that way. You may even luck up and get a driver disk, but i doubt it. If not its no big deal sisnce you can just d/l all the drivers off the HP site.

[PresterJohn]

>Can i just custom install the winXP pro that comes with it

the typical package that hp provides is a recovery cd(s) image that will 'restore' your machine to factory configuration. IOW, you cannot run a standard setp.exe to just install xp.

however, with some models, there sometimes is an recovery option to do a 'bare' install which is about as close as you'll get to what you want.

the other option which is what was groundzero and doc suggest, is to just restore the full package and then uninstall the non-essential stuff thru the control panel and msconfig.

[Not 2 Techie]

cool, thanks for all of the good suggestions. my laptop is due to arrive on the 20th of this month. I guess we'll see then what options I will have. I will probably be posting then for your assistance/guidance.
Doc, should I just search this site for "trim xp"? I'll try that......