New Laptop, Need Some Help

[noidis]

Okay so I just got my new Lenovo Y580, I love it, and have yet to pull it out of the plastic/box for more than 2 minutes (just wanted to boot it up and make sure it was running.)

Once I got it running, I loaded up windows (following the prompt to set up an account and such.), and noticed upon it loading in that the desktop was CROWDED with icons.

Tons of programs I'd never seen, and it's a bit overwhelming to be honest. Coming from making my own desktops, I'm at a bit of a loss of what I need vs what I don't. (Intel WiDi? OneKeyRestore? Camera controller? DVD suite?)

Well after a tiny bit more of probing I then noticed that within my C: drive is the Windows folder. A bit perplexing honestly as this system came with a 1TB 5400RPM HDD and a 32GB SSD...

Does this mean the OS is preinstalled on the HDD? On my other systems where I've used a low capacity SSD to hold my OS (For faster boot times), I've usually had all things but the user folders on the SSD. Seeing it not this way has me wondering if the preloaded OS from Lenovo is utilized properly (or even at all.)



So I'm curious about a number of things.

1) Is there some easier way to weed through all this bloatware?
2) How can I know if the OS is installed on the SSD or the HDD?
3) I have a Windows 7 OEM CD, could I use the CDKey on the sticker on the bottom of the laptop with that CD to install a clean windows?
4) What other things should I do for this new laptop?


Thanks =)

 

[noidis]

Also wondering if I should upgrade from 8 GB to 16GB would it be worth the cost?


Again any answers would be welcome =D

 

[bobusboy]

IF the software you think is bloat ware has a microsoft equivilant built into windows then generally you can get away with uninstalling it. This isn't always the case though.

OneKeyRestore - is for creating recovery disks.
Intel Widi - is a wireless tech to connect your laptop to your TV if it supports it.
camera controller - is probably for your web cam and you should leave it installed as it probably wont work properly with out it.

Any third party DVD software can go, same with anti virus that may have come with the machine.

As for the 8 to 16 upgrade, I assume you're talking about the RAM? You do not need to upgrade to 16 gigs of RAM unless you're going to be doing a lot of CAD/Photoshop

PS: C:\windows is a standard folder on every windows machine. You likely have a recovery partition which you can utilize to reformat the machine, refer to your user manual but usually it is accessed by hitting one of the F keys when the computer is booting.

 

[TommyGunDam]

Just use "Properties" in "My Computer" to check the disk size of "C:".

 

[noidis]

Hmm well the C:\ drive is the 1TB HDD, and it seems to my naked eye inspection that most everything (windows files/user folders/etc) are stored on it. The 32GB SSD however has about 16GB being used as well.

So it's got me puzzled. It starts up in about 12 seconds (Which is about as fast as my desktop with an SSD.)

I also noticed it had intel rapid storage technology in the programs list. Researching that slightly it seems to be something used to merge the SSD and HDD?

Could that be why it's booting so fast?

 

[TommyGunDam]

Hmm well the C:\ drive is the 1TB HDD, and it seems to my naked eye inspection that most everything (windows files/user folders/etc) are stored on it. The 32GB SSD however has about 16GB being used as well.

So it's got me puzzled. It starts up in about 12 seconds (Which is about as fast as my desktop with an SSD.)

I also noticed it had intel rapid storage technology in the programs list. Researching that slightly it seems to be something used to merge the SSD and HDD?

Could that be why it's booting so fast?

Yes. If in doubt, turn off Rapid Tech and see how long it takes to boot up.