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- theblooms, on 10/12/2007, -22/+231*****.
- implosion, on 10/12/2007, -3/+66Here is the simple way to go about it. Make sure you get a Windows install disk with the computer and not one of those garbage restore disks. When you get the computer just do a clean install of windows and never look at the garbage and bloat that came with the computer. If you happen to want any of the other software that comes with the PC there will be a disk for it.
I've had an Emachines laptop and two Dell laptops. Both Dell laptops had Windows install disks the Emachine had a restore disk. I also had a HP desktop also with a restore disk.
The point is that all of the large OEM's put garbage on their machines, you just need to make sure you get an actual Windows install disk and not a restore disk. - thenativeraver, on 10/12/2007, -3/+65Everytime I get a computer I ALWAYS format the drive first.
- ptbw, on 10/12/2007, -5/+43Why buy a computer these days? Just get a new HD, motherboard, etc. Those all come squeaky clean
- phpirate, on 10/12/2007, -6/+36@ptbw: You can't build laptops though. Dell still sells pretty good all around laptops, I'm using my Inspiron 6000 right now actually.
The spyware and crap they put on it isn't exactly a bad thing though. Let me tell you why: Instead of charging more for the product, companies like AOL and whatever put their spyware and ***** programs, but they're paying dell which is also subtracted from the cost of the machine. And then you just get rid of it (format), and tah dah, a brand new laptop that you saved a bit of money on and isn't filled with junk. - JimXugle, on 10/12/2007, -3/+31"make sure you get an actual Windows install disk and not a restore disk."
... or you could just keep a pirated version around. You have a licence to Windows, so why don't you re-install it? But instead of using Dell's disk's, use the one you got off of Bittorrent.
*doesn't support piracy* - Chompy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+30"By the way, next time you get a 50% ***** discount on a laptop or make decent computers affordable to your entire college campus, call them *****."
You're right, Michael Dell is a hero. He's out there making machines affordable for the masses; hell, it's a charity, he probably isn't even making money!
Meanwhile, back here on Earth, they're *****. - thenativeraver, on 10/12/2007, -4/+29Exactly, just give me a case and I'll fill it.
- nessup, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25So, wait... I see the pattern here.
We pay the government to wiretap us, and we pay computer vendors to remove their own spyware?
What the ***** is going on? - phoggey, on 10/12/2007, -20/+41http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/15/dell_my_way_controversy/
My Way Search Assistant is marketed by developer AskJeeves through Dell (see here) and other partners. Information on removing components of the utility can be found here.
By the way, next time you get a 50% ***** discount on a laptop or make decent computers affordable to your entire college campus, call them *****.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MyWay_Searchbar There's the wiki too. - ohmar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21It doesnt even have to be a pirated version. The license key is on a sticker somewhere on the tower. Just match Home to Home and Professional to Professional and you are fine. I have actually done this before, and it works wonderfully.
- redb369, on 10/12/2007, -2/+22There is a problem with your format fix. Most users dont know how to format a drive. They come running to people like us to fix it for them. And comparing AOL to My Way Search Assistant is ignorant. AOL is bloat that can be removed without too much trouble. My Way Search Assistant needs tricky registry editing or reformating to get rid of.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21That's really ***** on Dell's part.
To play devil's advocate, however, the ebst solution would be to not buy Dell computers, but find another company or build your own. - redb369, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19Problem is if Dell gets away with it others will follow suit.
- haxx4, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18Couldn't you just use a Windows key finder tool to get your product key and then torrent a copy of XP and use your legal product key to activate it? This way you have a fresh legal version, given you know how to locate a clean torrent.
- toastgodsupreme, on 10/12/2007, -3/+191. Buy computer/laptop from big name company.
2. Reformat
3. Reinstall Windows
4. ...
5. Profit
Seriously, how hard is that? Reinstalling Windows should be the first thing anyone does when getting a computer (not using those proprietary restoration cds, but a real XP install cd). That way you know exactly what's on it.
Dell, like all other companies, is out to make money, period. And people will keep giving it to them as long as they remain stupid. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14He probably CAN remove spyware on his own (he's computer literate enough to have a blog), its just a matter of proper business ethics; a company should not be doing this no matter what.
- rebattim, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15I completely agree, the only problem is that the companies (at least HP) don't give you a Windows disk or even a recovery disk anymore, only a "recovery" partition. So you have to buy 4 blank DVDs to burn a recovery disk set, and the disks it creates aren't just the XP disk they are all of the recovery partition, which by the way takes up 12GB of the hard drive. This is the case on the HP notebook I just got, if you go on their website you can buy a copy of the XP disk for $75, that you already own the license for! So I buy a Core Duo notebook for $1400 and now I have to buy a disk that they could have easily stuck in the box. Just to get the computer the way I want from the start, it is complete BS!
- 15charmaxwtf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12...and then takes advantage of them.
- hchaudh1, on 10/12/2007, -5/+17Its not just about the spyware / bloatware, but also that they are so tight in their pricing, they put sub-standard hardware in their machine. I bought a Dell Dimension 3000. Got it for $500 too. Excellent price. But imagine when I wanted to put in a graphics card, no AGP slot. So, I had to settle for a PCI card. They put in cheap motherboards, low bus speeds, no space for an extra hard darive.
Its ok for people who surf, use the word processor etc. but for me, my seemingly good deal turned out to be a really bad deal. - jmg0420, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Will the Dell Decrapifier get rid of the spyware?
- jmholloway, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Dell sucks so hard lately. They used to be good. Now they just suck. Ive bough 6 Dell pcs for my family. The last two dell pcs (one desktop and one laptop) that I bought, both less than 6 months ago, have had a total of: one motherboard failure, one laptop keyboard failure, two harddrive failures, one dvd drive failure, and a 2 gb ram failure.
I have also had more than a month and half of downtime just in the laptop, and have called Dell in India and talked to people that barely speak English over 54 times.
I will never buy another dell computer again. ever. - tommythetomcat, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12Isn't our world ironic?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11You obviously have NO ***** IDEA how annoying and performance affecting that MyWay thing actually is!
Tell you what, go to sex.com using IE and install the first 20 activeX thingies that pop up from the links listed on that site.
After doing that, post back here and tell us all whether you think that spyware isn't 'so bad'.
Sheesh, the comment has been dugg down allready. Someone sure LOVES SPYWARE don't they! You lame ass *****! - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9The problem is that many of the drivers won't be included with the fresh install, and the drivers for the extra features are likely to be bundled with extra *****.
- evangelion01, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8well, you did pay for a license of windows, therefore you own it, so just go and download a cracked version.
- stomicron, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8@ptbw
"Why buy a computer these days? Just get a new HD, motherboard, etc."
Because Dell often sells computers for less than the sum of the parts:
http://www.slickdeals.net/#p7405 - drizek, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Dell isnt that bad. You just call em up and they mail you a free windows cd that is *****-free.
- mc1123, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6no. the dirty bastards.
- saleens281, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Funny all the people whining when they hop on the slickdeals deals. You buy the cheapest bottom of the barrel PC dell offers and are shocked you don't get every modern convenience int he world.
#1: they make money off the "spyware" of course they're going to charge you to remove it. That's your choice, either they make money from that advertising, or youc an pay for it up front. Way to twist them doing what the consumer has asked. People said "hey, I dont' want ads in my default install" so they said "sure, just pay us the difference".
#2 when you buy the cheapest possible combo out there, no, it isn't going to have an AGP slot. An AGP slot costs money, extra pci slots cost money, ide and sata connectors cost money. If you want a workstation buy a workstation, if you want a ***** that just gets the job done, don't cry when that's what you get.
Does dell make money? Yes... that's what they're in the business to do. I hate dell as much as the next guy, but you people crying need to buy a clue. At least come with a legitimate complaint if you're going to make one. - szelij, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9What phpirate said. I'd rather have them bloat my labtop with spyware and ***** programs. I know i can just reformat the whole thing clean and it'd save me money. Of course it doesn't work for people who are technologically-retarded.
- PantherX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5When I bought my laptop the very first thing I did (aside from making sure I had restore disks) was to format the machine and install a fresh clean install of XP.
I suggest that everyone do the same. - sphykik, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5i work for a local computer store, and occasionally we do sell dell pcs becuase they are so damn cheap.
anyways, before we sell it to a customer, we ALWAYS format and reinstall windows, and then add avg, adaware, firefox and thunderbird. - oldgeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5My Dell notebook had it when I got it new but a quick format and reinstall of only the programs I wanted fixed that problem.
- retral, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Why won't you buy a cheap laptop from dell? There's nothing wrong with them physically, all you have to do is reformat / reinstall XP.
- oldgeek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4That should be standard now days. and when it comes to a desktop you should build your own or have a custom system built by a local PC shop and add only what you want on it.
- BugMeNot2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5When I got my Dell, it didn't have any spyware; all it had were some useless programs, which I uninstalled and replaced with better ones.
Then again, I bought my Dell 3 years ago, so they must've changed some things. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Here's some Dell machines that come with zero ***** folks.
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/desktops_n?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
That being said, my company just purchased 15 of these damned things and they're loaded with garbage. McAfee is becoming more and more of a pain in the ass to uninstall. You have to turn it off from Services in Admin tools, and kill everyone of its 34647567657 instances in the task manager. And then.. maybe just maybe it will let you uninstall it.
Not to mention Corel, Wordperfect, Dell Updater (does the exact same thing windows updates does but with a Dell Interface..***** stupid). Sonic burning software (b/c it sucks), Music matchbox, Quickbooks trials, Symantc Ghost and liveupdate, yada yada yada.
And they refuse to give us an OS disc for these machines. All i have actually.. are driver discs.
I hate this company. - namae, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I don't agree with this blogger and I believe its inaccurate what he's reporting.
I've set up for clients these dimension/inspiron computers bundled with crap and haven't had any issues removing all the bloatware. Yeah it sucks that its even there but that's what you get for the bottom of the line hardware, if you pay the small premium for an optiplex/latitude you get some actual support on the phone that is not outsourced to India, no bloatware and a 3 year warranty.
People like to be able to pay geo metro price for a lexus but it just doesn't work that way. You get what you pay for IMO. - rewritable, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4this is how they can sell cheap computers, if they sold you a plain ole XP box then they wouldn't get any money from application venders for letting Dell include their crapware so then they would have to charge more than $299 for complete desktop. I can build damn good computers with new parts for $500 with A Genuine copy of XP that isn't bundled with crapware but no one bites becuase of the $500 price tag (they all say "DURRRRR I can a Dell for $300"), would I include crapware to compete with major pc manufacturers? HELL NO! I'll keep my day job and build DAMN GOOD comps for my friends family.
- Goosemaster, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Because I want it myway and not yourway damnit:P
- cleverboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Eesh. More like "SpyWay". This is horrible. I've been buying Dells lately. I need to go check them over. So many "popup" notices, I tend to ignore them.
- miaow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3another dubious thing dell does is add an expensive post-purchase support policy to the price as you go through the buying process. It took me a while to find out why the price was continually increased by $180. They obviously thought most people would just go through with the purchase. The bloatware was atrocious, but no myway. No way to treat your customers, but the laptop was much cheaper than anywhere else. In the long-term, it damages their brand name.
- Malakin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I guess this is what the "The Dell De-Crapifier" is for.
http://www.yorkspace.com/dell-de-crapifier/
You can also just get your hands on an OEM Windows XP Home CD and do a fresh installation. The CD must match the version of Windows that was preinstalled though (Home or Pro etc and must be OEM) and you just use the product key off the sticker on the computer. - ptbw, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@phpirate
Yeah they really do make a good laptop. I still have my inspirion from 5 years ago, I want to say it was a 2500. It's gone through a couple formats of course, but thats not Dells fault. It has a bad headphone jack, but I'll let that one slide even though I really need it. - foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Not possible with Sony
Most computers they sell computers are without XP install disk.
They have hidden partitions with the backup of the OS on it.
You will need to create backup DVDs, and then re-format.
Also, the DVDs arent recognized as bootable. Effectively making most Sony Products unfit for Re-Formatting, if you dont want to buy XP again.
Also, the 2 Dell computers I bought came with MS Office, I didnt ask for it. - OrangeTide, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3If customers like being screwed over, then so be it. I really don't care.
- boredzo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4RTFA.
- engele, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I disagree. Nowadays take a look at the hardware across the line between a macbook and a similarly equipped Core Duo dell. Depending on the feature set (you can't get it exact) they come out pretty close. Add to that Apple includes a lot of capable software and I think Apple comes ahead on the budget side. If you take into consideration the money you spend on anti-virus and spy-ware removal alone not even counting the hours of time it takes to clean/re-install/update a fresh XP box then you are way ahead. Currently the Graphic Designer at our firm has 14 applications running on his Mac and can only run five simultaneously on his (much newer) PC. On top of that there are a million Open Source tools available on UNIX systems, add in all that capability in a system that has a clean user interface and I think you get a clear winner.
- Bigcolby, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I agree with phpirate and szelij, how about a 90% off computer preloaded with 500 programs so we can just reformat and be happy about our frugal purchase?
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