New Laptop (also: new to laptops)

I just picked up my first laptop (ever). I'm a bit embarassed, as it's white with flower patterns all over it but oh well; it's specs were a bit better than the other systems available at the store. I can always skin it anyway.

Now, I'm totally new to laptops, but for desktops, since I normally build them myself, I don't have to worry about driver issues, etc; I get discs with the hardware. Will I have any problems if I were to, say, wipe the hard-drive of 7 home and everything that came pre-installed and install 7 professional, or XP, or even linux, or will there be major issues with drivers, etc?

It's an HP Pavilion if it matters.

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Comments

tiersten

Laptops tend to have unusual or custom hardware in them added by the manufacturer. Things like controlling any media control buttons, power management and how to enable the webcam. You'll need to locate drivers for those devices and most of the time, you'll be forced to get them from the manufacturer. If they don't have suitable drivers for that device then you just have to accept it won't work properly.

Going from 7 Home to 7 Professional should be fine. I think most laptops come with 32 bit and 64 bit drivers also so thats not too much of an issue either. Getting XP to work with everything may be a problem if they don't supply drivers for it and Linux again may have some problems with custom hardware.

impz

bermovick wrote: »

I just picked up my first laptop (ever). I'm a bit embarassed, as it's white with flower patterns all over it but oh well; it's specs were a bit better than the other systems available at the store. I can always skin it anyway.

Now, I'm totally new to laptops, but for desktops, since I normally build them myself, I don't have to worry about driver issues, etc; I get discs with the hardware. Will I have any problems if I were to, say, wipe the hard-drive of 7 home and everything that came pre-installed and install 7 professional, or XP, or even linux, or will there be major issues with drivers, etc?

It's an HP Pavilion if it matters.

nope. as a matter of fact that is the first thing I do cuz of all the bloatware that comes pre installed.

DevilWAH

tiersten wrote: »

Laptops tend to have unusual or custom hardware in them added by the manufacturer. Things like controlling any media control buttons, power management and how to enable the webcam. You'll need to locate drivers for those devices and most of the time, you'll be forced to get them from the manufacturer. If they don't have suitable drivers for that device then you just have to accept it won't work properly.

Going from 7 Home to 7 Professional should be fine. I think most laptops come with 32 bit and 64 bit drivers also so thats not too much of an issue either. Getting XP to work with everything may be a problem if they don't supply drivers for it and Linux again may have some problems with custom hardware.

iF you really want to spend hours hunting around you can often find the "real" manafactures of the hardware and find drives for it. I have before spent weeks determing the motherbord inside a laptop simply so i could flash it with a non restricted bios (laptop manafactures oftern severaly restrict the bios)

But unless you like tresure hunts Tiersten is right you will often find bits that
it is not easy to get drivers for apart from the laptops manafactures website.

However drivers are one thing, but the software that come preinstalled can be a night mare. One laptop I had came with about 5 tool bars in IE pre installed, windows would pop up asking me if I wanted to upgrade this and that to the full version, so many bit of trial software it was beyond a joke!

I like my machines to be very bare, the OS, Office, and then the tools i actuly need to use. I have my own prefered AV i use on all my PC, a prefered media player, web browser, etc etc.

I start of by downloading all drivers from the Manafactures web site. then wiping the Laptop, installing a clean version of the OS, and then the manafactures drivers that I need. Followed by the software I actuly want installed.

The only issues is some manafactures only have drivers for Windows and even then only for specific versions so you need to be carefull.