Dell pre-loads Google toolbar - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 8th Feb 2006, 08:54

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/02...oogle_toolbar/

BioSniper · 8th Feb 2006, 10:25

The thing I usually do in the first 10 mins is re-install all my drivers having not had a pre-built system in about 8 years.
However when I did get a dell laptop I spent the first 10 minuites removing all the bundled software.

Cthippo · 8th Feb 2006, 11:08

First thing I did when I got my new laptop was install Opera. WHat's a toolbar again? I seem to have forgotten :P

Hepath · 8th Feb 2006, 12:37

Personally, I have never use a toolbar, and just uninstall them if they get installed.

Stu

MiNiMaL_FuSS · 8th Feb 2006, 13:04

its about time i backuped up and reformatted actually....damn thats one hell of a job.

but yes, i get so board of install processes and stuff and want my pc back in action and fresh faced that i do agree/click alot of stuff without paying enough attention.....usueally paying by removing some serious crap shortly after my format :P so i see what they mean.

NuTech · 8th Feb 2006, 13:58

You know, a company I sometimes do work for just bought 5 Dell 5150's and asked me to set them up and get them connected to the network.

Each PC was full of so much random junk (including an horrific AOL floating toolbar) that it took me about 4 hours just to remove all the unwanted software.

Would it be so hard for Dell to include an installer the first time you switched on the PC so that you can choose what extras you want installed? After spending £5000 on their computers, I think the company should be well within their rights to ask for the 4 wasted hours they spent on me refunded.

I can understand some of their lower end £300-£500 PC's being subsidised by bundled software/promotions but on a £1000 computer? Daylight robbery.

Hazardous · 8th Feb 2006, 15:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiNiMaL_FuSS

its about time i backuped up and reformatted actually....damn thats one hell of a job.

It needn't be - if you were to make an 'image' or 'ghost' of your system, right after you've installed all necessary drivers and OS updates etc.

Do that, and you could be back up and running again in less than 15 minutes every time you decide it's time for a reformat

cpemma · 8th Feb 2006, 16:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hazardous

It needn't be - if you were to make an 'image' or 'ghost' of your system, right after you've installed all necessary drivers and OS updates etc.

Do that, and you could be back up and running again in less than 15 minutes every time you decide it's time for a reformat

Seems like a great idea, I did that last time I clean installed. But now, so much has changed it was probably a waste of time. A year's a long time in software. And hardware, come to that.

The ISP packages bundled with Windows were a big grouse of mine, in 95/98SE deselecting them in a custom Setup didn't stop them being installed AFAICR.

But I bet they got a lot of n00bs onto AOL.

David_Fitzy · 8th Feb 2006, 16:32

First thing I did with my laptop was remove all the rubbish when I got it, now when I rebuild it I use a standard xp pro disk.

I used to use ghost recovery disks but drivers change so quickly (especially GPU drivers) as does basic software (browsers, antivirus etc) it's not worth it and besides you're gonna spend 2 hours in windows update anyway ghost image or not.

Plus I've never kept a system clean for long enough to make a decent ghost image (I start installing non-esentials)

Firehed · 8th Feb 2006, 17:41

This is what I really hated about buying machines off-the-shelf, aside from them being overpriced. Which is why I really wish that whitebox notebooks would be more of an option. Yes, an optional installer would be one thing, but g'damn I hate putting up with anything being preinstalled, especially annoying crap like toolbars. Maybe I'm biased though, seeing as half the school comps have at least two different toolbars installed, and are as a result dragged down to the point of beyond unusable (as if putting XP on a P2-400MHz/128MB RAM wasn't enough)

Who_me_33 · 8th Feb 2006, 18:16

Only time ive bought a prebuilt system is when I got my laptop. And the first ten minutes of that was starting to install windows xp on it. I agree with most others here, cant they have a "clean" instalation of windows xp. How ever it probable doesnt affect most of us here, as most of us build our on machines.

TGImages · 8th Feb 2006, 19:30

First 10 minutes? Just enough to format the drive and start a clean installation of what I want, not the crap the manufactures think I should have.

DarkReaper · 8th Feb 2006, 20:56

First ten minutes is Firefox, Thunderbird, GFX drivers and the first reboot. Then I start Windows Update and go off for a few hours

riggs · 8th Feb 2006, 21:05

Quote:

Have you ever signed up for anything in that first ten minutes of using a brand spanking new PC?

Porn

Perforated · 8th Feb 2006, 22:25

firefox, ad-aware, AVG, sygate, The GIMP, Trillian - from a USB stick so I don't have to d/l fresh, then updating def files, setting defaults, and installing drivers for the various scanner, cam, Bluetooth & other toys. When everything's on, I start stripping out what I don't like. And then I defrag & everything just so it's all shiny before I start dirtying it up with use.

Shpoon · 8th Feb 2006, 22:32

Its just like any software that comes bundled with ****...you have to be careful or it just spreads...

8th Feb 2006, 08:54	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	Dell pre-loads Google toolbar http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/02...oogle_toolbar/ __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

8th Feb 2006, 11:08	#3
Cthippo Can't mod my way out of a paper bag Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 4,456	First thing I did when I got my new laptop was install Opera. WHat's a toolbar again? I seem to have forgotten :P __________________ Notice: If we see you flaming we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate measures - The Bit-Tech Fire Brigade.

8th Feb 2006, 12:37	#4
Hepath Hypermodder Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: UK, Yokel, Cheltenham Posts: 719	Personally, I have never use a toolbar, and just uninstall them if they get installed. Stu __________________ C#.Net Certified Application Professional (MCAD) DFI Lan Party NF4 UT SLI-D \| AMD64 4000+ San Deigo (XP90-C) \| OCZ PC4800 DDR Plat \| Seagate 300Mb 8Mb \| PBDV1640P DVD/RW \| TAGAN TG480-U22 480W \| BFG 6800GT OC (Artic Cooling NV5)

8th Feb 2006, 13:04	#5
MiNiMaL_FuSS I Mod, Therefore I Own Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Posts: 3,067	its about time i backuped up and reformatted actually....damn thats one hell of a job. but yes, i get so board of install processes and stuff and want my pc back in action and fresh faced that i do agree/click alot of stuff without paying enough attention.....usueally paying by removing some serious crap shortly after my format :P so i see what they mean. __________________ -Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, Take the Present as a Gift-

8th Feb 2006, 13:58	#6
NuTech Back again... Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: London Posts: 1,361	You know, a company I sometimes do work for just bought 5 Dell 5150's and asked me to set them up and get them connected to the network. Each PC was full of so much random junk (including an horrific AOL floating toolbar) that it took me about 4 hours just to remove all the unwanted software. Would it be so hard for Dell to include an installer the first time you switched on the PC so that you can choose what extras you want installed? After spending £5000 on their computers, I think the company should be well within their rights to ask for the 4 wasted hours they spent on me refunded. I can understand some of their lower end £300-£500 PC's being subsidised by bundled software/promotions but on a £1000 computer? Daylight robbery. __________________ NuTech

8th Feb 2006, 10:25	#2
BioSniper I Mod, Therefore I Own Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Somewhere in the south Posts: 3,454	The thing I usually do in the first 10 mins is re-install all my drivers having not had a pre-built system in about 8 years. However when I did get a dell laptop I spent the first 10 minuites removing all the bundled software.

8th Feb 2006, 16:32	#9
David_Fitzy Multimodder Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Kiwiland Posts: 197	First thing I did with my laptop was remove all the rubbish when I got it, now when I rebuild it I use a standard xp pro disk. I used to use ghost recovery disks but drivers change so quickly (especially GPU drivers) as does basic software (browsers, antivirus etc) it's not worth it and besides you're gonna spend 2 hours in windows update anyway ghost image or not. Plus I've never kept a system clean for long enough to make a decent ghost image (I start installing non-esentials) __________________ Duel of the Duals! Athlon XP2400+ \| Generic FX5200 \| SOYO Platinum Dragon Ultra \| 1GB Crucial Ram \| Maxtor PATA 7200 HDDs: 2x40Gb (RAID0), 2x200Gb(RAID0) \| Jeantech Phong case \| Black DVD-everything \| Black Skythe Kama-meter \| dreaded blue LED fans (didn't read the description properly) At least it's all one colour scheme now

8th Feb 2006, 17:41	#10
Firehed Why not? I own a domain to match. Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: An hour north of Boston Posts: 12,576	This is what I really hated about buying machines off-the-shelf, aside from them being overpriced. Which is why I really wish that whitebox notebooks would be more of an option. Yes, an optional installer would be one thing, but g'damn I hate putting up with anything being preinstalled, especially annoying crap like toolbars. Maybe I'm biased though, seeing as half the school comps have at least two different toolbars installed, and are as a result dragged down to the point of beyond unusable (as if putting XP on a P2-400MHz/128MB RAM wasn't enough) __________________ hire me @ eric-stern.com - web developer and php ninja pics @ my smugmug :: Twitter @firehed :: blog @ firehed.net 40D\|580EXII\|285HV\|AB800\|70-200f/4LIS\|17-50f/2.8\|150f/2.8Macro\|50f/1.8 MacPro @ 8x2.8GHz, 10GB FBDDR2, 3TB HD :: MBP @ 2x2.2GHz, 4GB DDR2, 320GB HD

8th Feb 2006, 18:16	#11
Who_me_33 Supermodder Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: New Zealand Posts: 422	Only time ive bought a prebuilt system is when I got my laptop. And the first ten minutes of that was starting to install windows xp on it. I agree with most others here, cant they have a "clean" instalation of windows xp. How ever it probable doesnt affect most of us here, as most of us build our on machines. __________________ Speeding doesnt kill people, quickly slowing down does (top gear) The next sentence is true. the previous sentence is false.

8th Feb 2006, 19:30	#12
TGImages Grandpa Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Illinois, US Posts: 160	First 10 minutes? Just enough to format the drive and start a clean installation of what I want, not the crap the manufactures think I should have.

8th Feb 2006, 20:56	#13
DarkReaper Alignment: Sarcastic Good Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Belfast, NI Posts: 1,750	First ten minutes is Firefox, Thunderbird, GFX drivers and the first reboot. Then I start Windows Update and go off for a few hours

8th Feb 2006, 22:25	#15
Perforated Modder Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent, UK Posts: 65	firefox, ad-aware, AVG, sygate, The GIMP, Trillian - from a USB stick so I don't have to d/l fresh, then updating def files, setting defaults, and installing drivers for the various scanner, cam, Bluetooth & other toys. When everything's on, I start stripping out what I don't like. And then I defrag & everything just so it's all shiny before I start dirtying it up with use.

8th Feb 2006, 22:32	#16
Shpoon Multimodder Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 130	Its just like any software that comes bundled with ****...you have to be careful or it just spreads...