Why do Hp, Compaq, Dell.....

Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by eclayton, Jan 21, 2006.

  1. eclayton

    eclayton Sgt. Shorts-cough

    Why do Hp, Compaq, Dell, and other companies, always put all this useless crap on the machines they sell that are preloaded with Windows? Is there something I'm missing?
    The reason I ask is because I'm tweaking a friends less-than-2-week-old Compaq, as it is running slower than a herd of turtles. On startup there was all this stuff of which I can't even remember the names, nor do I have any idea what they were for. (I turned them off, knowing full well they didn't need to be running in the background)
    I just don't understand why the companies would put this stuff on there which would actually make the machine run slower, and therefore reflect badly on the company. Seems to me, not only are they shooting the customer in the foot, they're shooting themselves in the foot as well.
    I wish I had some specific examples of these stupid startup items, bundled programs, and other bloatware, but I think you know that of which I speak.
    Anyone have any ideas?
     
  2. Novice

    Novice MajorGeek

    I think that they receive payment for some of the trial versions of programs that are installed on newly bought computers, but I could be wrong! My favorite gripe is about trial versions ( 90 days ) of name brand programs and apps like Norton AntiVirus and Microsoft Office. Both cause problems for new and inexperienced users as they quit working and the user is left with a system that could be inoperable as for antivirus and infections or unusable in the case of Microsoft Office. Also hate the manufacturer specific programs that phone home for updates. If I get ahold of these systems before the trial periods have run out and problems have been caused by them, I wipe them all off and install freeware apps that do the same and better job in my opinion!:mad:
     
  3. MutD

    MutD Specialist

    Whenever a friend buys a pre-built compter the first thing I tell them to do is put the xp disk in and do a fresh install of windows.

    I think better or equivalent programs to the bundled crap can be downloaded and installed for free in most cases. AVG is a prime example of this.
     
  4. Major Attitude

    Major Attitude Co-Owner MajorGeeks.Com Staff Member

    Nice. That is what I always do. Since most machines require some user intervention to set the machine up, this is the best solution.
     
  5. splitt3r

    splitt3r You are now the victim of a drive by title change

    yeah, I got a compaq 2 weeks ago, I tincluded on it

    3 subscription trials to AOL
    blockbuster online rental
    norton software crap
    weatherbug
    compaq game console
    wild tangent games
    compaq organize
    itunes

    that is all I can think of right now, i uninstalled most of that(some were not easy) I ran defrag because the disk was horribly fragmented, the computer actually recommended that I defrag, so it crashed in the middle of this and I had to repair windows. ever since I got rid of that crap it has been running fine but It has 41 processes runnign right now, i wish I could find more crap to get offf of it.
     
  6. BoredOutOfMyMind

    BoredOutOfMyMind Picabo, ICU

    It took me two hours to clean up the junkbox here. Easier on a clean install.

    :eek:
     
  7. ANHEDONIC

    ANHEDONIC Will Title For Food


    I hear you Eric... I just did the same for my Sister's new laptop... Dell.... It took me an hour or 2 but I went through every single process running in startup and disabled a ton of stuff... Had to remove 6-7 things from Add/Remove programs including Wild Tangeant Web Driver for Wild Tangeant games... Still more crap to take off it...
     
  8. gal1998

    gal1998 solo-cob

    I still have all that junk on my computer......the 30 day free trials, etc...
    Never used them, but am wondering is it ok to remove them?
    No other program I may have installed would need them?

    also have SpamSubtract Spam Manager and SpamSubtract Spyware Manager

    Can I get rid of these?
     
  9. G.T.

    G.T. R.I.P February 4, 2007. You will be missed.

    Yes, you should be able to uninstall them without creating any problems.
     
  10. gal1998

    gal1998 solo-cob

    Thanks Gary.
    I will get rid of them.
    If anything does get screwed up, can't be any worse than anything else going on in my house right now:(
     
  11. eclayton

    eclayton Sgt. Shorts-cough

    WOW! I found Weatherbug, but didn't realize it came bundled! And a lot of those other programs that splitt3r and Anhedonic mentioned were on the machine as well. I had already recommended a clean install (as Mutd and MA said) since the machine is only 2 weeks old, he won't have a lot of stuff to back up.
    The system is also really lopsided: Fast processor, big hard drive, but only 192 RAM. :rolleyes::rolleyes:. I found PC3200 512 at Newegg for 35 bucks, so he could fill up both slots and have a Gig of RAM. When I told him how little RAM he had, he about flipped. (The computer was purchased by someone else for him for office use, that's why he didn't know all the specs)
    Anyway, he'll be pleased once we do a fresh install.
     
  12. splitt3r

    splitt3r You are now the victim of a drive by title change

    my compaq came with 512mb of RAM, upgrading to 1gb will be the first thing I upgrade(not counbting the video card I installed on day 1)
     
  13. eclayton

    eclayton Sgt. Shorts-cough

    Shoot, 512 is acceptable, though I'd upgrade too, but 192? I just wish these companies sold good machines with balanced hardware.
     
  14. BoredOutOfMyMind

    BoredOutOfMyMind Picabo, ICU

    Tigerdirect had 1 Gig memory on sale for $59 I believe this week.

    :)
     
  15. Strange1

    Strange1 Staff Sergeant

    I can sure tell the diff since I boosted my 512 ram to a gig on my Dell 4600. Prob best move I made.

    CC
     
  16. splitt3r

    splitt3r You are now the victim of a drive by title change

    I don't understand why Oem companies sell "gaming" computers that have an insanely fast cpu and 1gb+Ram but somehow tehy forget about the video card, it seems like the best you can get in a name brand system is a 6200:rolleyes:
     
  17. splitt3r

    splitt3r You are now the victim of a drive by title change

    Heres a great example rocessor: AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 4400+ Dual Core (2.2GHz Clock):)
    Memory: 2GB PC3200 400MHz DDR SDRAM (max. capacity 2GB):)
    Hard Drive: 250GB 7200rpm (8MB Buffer) Serial ATA-150:)
    # Video Graphics: Onboard ATI Radeon Xpress 200:mad:
    # Video Memory: Shared Video Memory up to 128MB :rolleyes:
    and the price? only $1,699 at frys, multimedia pc my ass. what good is a powerful cpu and tons of RAM if you are using onboard graphics?
     
  18. evilevets

    evilevets Sergeant Major

    I could be wrong, but aren't WeatherBug and WildTangent considered Spyware?



    -Steve
     
  19. eclayton

    eclayton Sgt. Shorts-cough

    Absolutely! They should never be included in programs bundled with a machine. :mad:
     
  20. splitt3r

    splitt3r You are now the victim of a drive by title change

    wildtangent is the worst, it came with my dads computer too, 4 years ago.
     
  21. Lev

    Lev MajorGeek

    Yup! I had to remove Wild Tangent off my new HP when I bought it, togther with countless AOL stuff I didn't need or want.

    It's amazing how much crap you actually buy with a new machine. Custom building isn't just about saving money and getting the exact spec you want anymore.
     
  22. bigbazza

    bigbazza R.I.P. 14/12/2011 - Good Onya Geek

    A friend of mine has a Compaq laptop purchased from one of the the "Office Works" type stores. I have not spent a lot of time examining it yet, but I did notice a lot of HP (I assume the other computer company) on it. Very curious as she has no hardware that relates to HP. Can't delete it at present until I spend more time investigating.

    Thoroughly agree with all previous replies. Too much non-related software installed on new store bought PC's. Her latest PC is slower than my old P3desktop I bought for $25. Bazza
     
  23. bigbazza

    bigbazza R.I.P. 14/12/2011 - Good Onya Geek

    Silly me, I forgot that Compaq bought out HP, or HP bought out Compaq, or whatever.

    I did run services.msc and it came up with over 85 services running. Printed out a list of these and going to check them out with MG/Black Viper info.

    It comes up with lots of network connected stuff and it is a standalone PC, so that is a good place to start. Her PC also has a lot of infections. Fortunately Norton Internet Services expires in a couple of days, so I removed NIS, installed Zone Alarm, AdAware, Spybot, Avast, etc. Gotta keep battling with it as it is exceedingly slow. Back to check out her PC on Monday. Bazza
     

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