Does anyone know the purpose (functionality) of these programs that came with my HP?

Perhaps you guys can help me out. HP installed programs from their Recovery Disk, that when viewed through Explorer, can not be modified. Sooo, I can reinstall (in practice) The OS. The Drivers. Or The programs that came bundled with the computer. That is the extent of the selection process. Beyond that, it's all or nothing.

I just got an HP a few weeks ago. I'm trying to pare down the bundled software that came with the software - the first time, so I don't have to reinstall all of them, should I make a mistake along the way of deleting them.

If you could help me out in telling me what they are and how they are used, I'd appreciate it.

I apologize to list so many, but they put a lot on here.

The programs that remain are: (that I'm considering deleting)

Movie Theme Pack for HP Media Smart Video
HP Media Smart Video
If I need one, do I need both?

HP Media Smart DVD (What is it and Can you suggest an alternative? / What do you use?)

HP Media Smart Photo (Used to display .jpg) Has slide show option. Are there alternatives available that would do the same thing?

Cyberlink Label Print (Can you suggest an alternative? / What do you use? )

Cyberlink Power 2 Go (CD/DVD Burning Program) (Can you suggest an alternative? / What do you use?)

DVD Menu Pack for HP Media Smart Video (Is this part of the Smart Media Bundle, i.e. if one goes they all go?

Cyberlink DVD Suite Deluxe (Can you suggest an alternative? / What do you use?)

RoxioNow Player (Do you know what it plays, and do you know if it could be downloaded from the internet?)

Thanks so much for all the help in advance.

Not an easy one as it depends on what you want. Mostly HP and most other companies stock their PC's full of non-essential programs that slurp resources and may do questionable things regarding privacy.
Quite a lot of veterans immediately format a hard disk on a new PC and install the OS form scratch, leaving out all the pre-installed junk you didn't want but got anyway. If you know what you're doing, I suggest you reinstall a clean OS. If not, than dump what you don't like.
I've got an HP but without most of the programs you list. If it was my choice I would reformat, install a new OS, and install only programs I know and enjoy.

You can safely uninstall everything on that list, it's all multi-media stuff - if you needed it, you'd know you needed it.

Thanks for the reply.

That's what I did with the Dell. Ahh, but I had the disks then. System, Utilities, Drivers, the whole sh-bang. Now I just have the 1 system recovery USB Flash Drive that has the system on it. I don't know what else is on it. I used a USB for the job, because if one DVD became scratched, (and it took 3 DVD's) I'd be like a fish out of water, to put it politely.

Last time, (on the Dell) I formatted the drive, reinstalled XP and reloaded all the drivers. Then added my software. You wouldn't believe the amount of room I "picked up"

When I booted up the HP, 40 GIGS were already on the drive. I was floored.

When you say "New OS" I presume you mean to say re-install the OEM OS that came with the computer...

In 5 years I only used 15 gigs. *And that's including the OS*
All of which begs the question, if you aren't going to use their software, what are you using?

What software would you use to:

View Photos, and if you and more than a few, there would be a "slideshow" option.

Burn CD/DVDs.

Print Labels.

If anyone can help me out formatting the drive, I'd appreciate it.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

vertelselaar said:

Not an easy one as it depends on what you want. Mostly HP and most other companies stock their PC's full of non-essential programs that slurp resources and may do questionable things regarding privacy.
Quite a lot of veterans immediately format a hard disk on a new PC and install the OS form scratch, leaving out all the pre-installed junk you didn't want but got anyway. If you know what you're doing, I suggest you reinstall a clean OS. If not, than dump what you don't like.
I've got an HP but without most of the programs you list. If it was my choice I would reformat, install a new OS, and install only programs I know and enjoy.

Click to expand...

I use Picasa for photos, it's free and it syncs nicely with all the other Google products.
I haven't burned (or for that matter listened to) a physical CD in years!

For viewing photos, I use Irfanview. It's free. It's fast. Views many different file types. You can even use it to adjust color balance, etc. and crop image files.

Duggo said:

...When you say "New OS" I presume you mean to say re-install the OEM OS that came with the computer...

Click to expand...

I reinstall the OS with a clean Windows DVD, not the version from the manufacturer with all the bloatware crap. That way I am sure I will not get any of the pre-loaded bloatware that OEMs like to inflict on innocent computers.

In 5 years I only used 15 gigs. *And that's including the OS*
All of which begs the question, if you aren't going to use their software, what are you using?

What software would you use to:

View Photos, and if you and more than a few, there would be a "slideshow" option.

Click to expand...

I don’t use any special software just to “view” my photos. If all I want to do is look at them, I use the built in Windows Picture viewer.

[FONT=&quot]If you really mean a program to manipulate and edit photos, I use JASC PaintShop Pro v9. I am too cheap to shell out the big bucks for PhotoShop and this is very similar.
Did I forget to mention it was FREE: http://www.oldversion.com/Paint-Shop-Pro.html

Some other free photo manipulation programs include:

The Gimp - http://www.gimp.org/
Paint.Net - http://www.getpaint.net/
PhotoScape - http://www.photoscape.org
and yes, IrfranView - http://www.irfanview.com/
[/FONT]

Burn CD/DVDs.

Click to expand...

I use either IMGBurn - http://www.imgburn.com/ or CDBurnerXP - http://www.cdburnerxp.se/

They are both free and do everything I need them to do which is burn CDs and DVDs. No frills, nothing fancy, no extra added bloatware crap. They just work.

Print Labels. (Cyberlink Label Print)

Click to expand...

I went and looked at the website for that program and it looks like it will create Lighscribe and Labelflash images on the specific types of optical media disks. The software for Lightscribe enabled CD/DVD drives is available for free from their website: http://www.lightscribe.com/
Likewise the software for LabelFlash enabled CD/DVD drives is available at their own website: http://labelflash.jp/

How do you determine what format your optical drive uses? Look at the front of your optical drive and see if it specifies LightScribe or LabelFlash. It should be listed (either silkscreened or etched) and prominently displayed.

If anyone can help me out formatting the drive, I'd appreciate it.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Click to expand...

A Windows 7 disk has the option, during the install process, to allow you to delete and format the partitions.

[FONT=&quot]Also, you can go to the website Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) and download their image file and burn it to a CD. You boot from the CD and use the hard drive utilities, on that disk, to help with formatting the drive.[/FONT]The usual precautions about making sure you know what you are doing before formatting and all that other...blah blah blah. This option works best if you have a clean Windows 7 DVD. Most of the times, the OEM computer manufacturers do not include an actual Windows disk anymore. They usually install a hidden restore partition on the hard drive. When using a utility to format the hard drive, I wipe out this partition as well. I like to start with a 100% blank slate.

If you don't have a clean Windows 7 disk, and you don't know anybody that can let you borrow one, there are alternative ways to download it from the internet <cough> if you look hard enough. <cough cough> What's with this dust in the air all of a sudden.

As for all the software you listed in the first post, (HP media stuff, Cyberlink stuff, and Roxio) you can pretty much ditch every one of them. I don't use the bloated media software to view audio or video media on my computer. I use a free lightweight program called VLC media player found at http://www.videolan.org/
I have yet to find a video or audio file it can't play. One program does it all, for me anyway. Go on and check it out, you know you want to. lol.

When you can think of some more questions, feel free to post 'em.

HP and other manufacturers that set up computers for home use install programs that they think will satisfy the needs of most people, many of whom are not very literate with computers. Many experienced know better what they want.

My Toshiba laptop (Win7) came pre-installed with numerous Toshiba utilites ... they are still there, but I have them all disabled.

I'm not worried if they take up HD space, but I don't want them hogging RAM and other resources.

www.pcdecrapifier.com Removes all the unwanted stuff that manufacturers install on new computers.

Then go to a website like www.ninite.com and install all the software you want at once. Saves a lot of waiting time.

I know Irfanview and use it on Windows-PC. The HP I wrote about belongs to my wife.
I use Macs myself, which have all the software I need. iPhoto I use for photos. I use VLC for watching movies, I think it can handle more types of formats than QuickTime does, is easy to use and free.
I just now read that VLC is mentioned above, with all kinds of other sound advise. So there you go .

Thanks for all the replies. I really appreciate it.

I really wanted to upgrade this OS (Win 7 Ultimate OEM) to the Retail version. But in the end, (as it was explained to me,) by an hp Tech - I'd have to restore the system to factory condition before I could receive Tech help. As he explained it to me, it would take - more than likely 4 hours to restore even on my computer back to factory conditions even on - an i7 quad core i.e. the 2600 processor (a.k.a. "sandy bridge") that runs at 3.40 GHz, and 8 gigs of RAM.

So, when I return to online skool to learn AutoCAD I won't have 4 hours to wait for a restore then try to get my problem diagnosed with the techs at HP That shoots the entire day.

If there is a next time I'm gonna build my own precisely so I can buy a retail version of the OS.

On the other hand, You are your own Tech support dept. right? (if you build your own)

Thoughts? Comments? Perceptions? Analysis?

Duggo said:

I really wanted to upgrade this OS (Win 7 Ultimate OEM) to the Retail version. But in the end, (as it was explained to me,) by an hp Tech - I'd have to restore the system to factory condition before I could receive Tech help.

Click to expand...

If you have to give up the HP Tech support, you're not losing much.

I've never dealt with HP, but most of the Factory Tech Support I have used have been slow to respond, blame the problems on other brands of hardware and software, send you around in circles, and don't really have any good solutions other than "Uninstall and Reinstall the program" or "Reboot the system."

And I don't like the way they talk down to you and pretend like you don't know anything at all about computers. And being that many of them are outsourced overseas, the accents often make them very hard to understand.

If your HP system is still under warranty, then leave it the way it is. If you change the OS, you will likely void any hardware warranties, as well.

If Win7 Ultimate has features that you really need, go ahead and upgrade the OS, and you can find plenty of DIY support when you need it.

As long as you keep your data safe, on a separate partition, or better on a external hard drive, you can play around and reinstall the OS as much as you like.
I think it very unlikely for software to physically destroy hardware. However some suppliers of hardware seem to think service is a dirty word. As mentioned above, real service is hard to get. Suppliers seem to be very keen to find escape-routes to avoid helping the customer out.
About the warranties, I wouldn't bother too much as it often is an empty shell. Keeping the data safe would be my first priority.

Dang! I should have asked you (guys) first for advice, before I bought the machine. Oh well, it's a good thing time flies.

He said they said they would still support it, and it would not void my warranty. But if I did buy a retail OS i.e. the retail version of Win 7 Ultimate - it wouldn't work, because I'd have to repartition the Hard Drive, and like I said, about it taking 4 hours to reinstall to factory conditions. They did say if I installed a Linux OS (an example of an installation of "Third Party Software") they would not support it, as that is beyond their scope. I can not argue with that.

The thing is: I paid for an extended warranty (I know, I know) only because I'll be resuming my AutoCAD course online and there's a time limit associated with the course. So, I didn't want to be on hold for 30 mins, or more - while having to complete an assignment. All in all the box was cheap enough with the insurance. The priority support, i.e. no waiting, only came with the 3 or 4 year policies. I can be on the phone with them for an 1hr to 2 hrs at a time.

Good Advice David.

dpm802 said:

If you have to give up the HP Tech support, you're not losing much.

I've never dealt with HP, but most of the Factory Tech Support I have used have been slow to respond, blame the problems on other brands of hardware and software, send you around in circles, and don't really have any good solutions other than "Uninstall and Reinstall the program" or "Reboot the system."

And I don't like the way they talk down to you and pretend like you don't know anything at all about computers. And being that many of them are outsourced overseas, the accents often make them very hard to understand.

If your HP system is still under warranty, then leave it the way it is. If you change the OS, you will likely void any hardware warranties, as well.

If Win7 Ultimate has features that you really need, go ahead and upgrade the OS, and you can find plenty of DIY support when you need it.

Click to expand...

Really? How many times have you reinstalled the OS? How did you do it? What method did you use? They told me yesterday, if you use the Recovery Disk, you can only use it once, and then they, HP will send you another, (since you have a "new" computer.)

vertelselaar said:

As long as you keep your data safe, on a separate partition, or better on a external hard drive, you can play around and reinstall the OS as much as you like.
I think it very unlikely for software to physically destroy hardware. However some suppliers of hardware seem to think service is a dirty word. As mentioned above, real service is hard to get. Suppliers seem to be very keen to find escape-routes to avoid helping the customer out.
About the warranties, I wouldn't bother too much as it often is an empty shell. Keeping the data safe would be my first priority.

Click to expand...

If it were me owning another HP (or another brand of store bought) computer, I would go out and buy a new copy of Windows 7, format the hard drive on the HP and install the new OS. The drivers you need should be already on the Windows OS disk and if they are not, then you just have to go to the HP Support website and download what you need.

As for software you want to delete, get rid of it and replace it with software that you have chosen for your specific needs, not what was chosen for you by HP. Trust me, you will do a far better job of picking the right software than HP ever will.

Some of the HP software that you are asking about is trial software that will expire after the free period is over. They will want you to upgrade to the paid software before you will be able to access the software again.

BruiserWeight said:

If it were me owning another HP (or another brand of store bought) computer, I would go out and buy a new copy of Windows 7, format the hard drive on the HP and install the new OS. The drivers you need should be already on the Windows OS disk and if they are not, then you just have to go to the HP Support website and download what you need.

As for software you want to delete, get rid of it and replace it with software that you have chosen for your specific needs, not what was chosen for you by HP. Trust me, you will do a far better job of picking the right software than HP ever will.

Some of the HP software that you are asking about is trial software that will expire after the free period is over. They will want you to upgrade to the paid software before you will be able to access the software again.

Click to expand...

+ 1
spot on

BruiserWeight said:

If it were me owning another HP (or another brand of store bought) computer, I would go out and buy a new copy of Windows 7, format the hard drive on the HP and install the new OS. The drivers you need should be already on the Windows OS disk and if they are not, then you just have to go to the HP Support website and download what you need.

Click to expand...

This response assumes that the driver for you NIC, wired or wireless, will be recognized by the OS. You may want to download the drivers for your mobo onto a flash drive before you reload the OS.

I have a cheap, bargain basement Compaq laptop that I use for taking notes in class. It came with Windows Vista, originally, then I wiped (formatted) the hard drive (including the hidden recovery partition), then installed Windows 7 when it came out.

I can tell you that it did NOT take 4 hours to do a clean install of the operating system and that's with this low-end machine. It took less than an hour to delete the partition, perform a quick format, and install Windows 7.

When running the Windows setup, it may ask you to format with the NTFS file system and then you get to choose the quick version or the normal version. The quick version takes a few minutes while the normal can take a few hours. That may be what the anonymous flunky at customer support is referring to. You do not always have to format the hard drive while installing an operating system.

timsclips said:

This response assumes that the driver for you NIC, wired or wireless, will be recognized by the OS. You may want to download the drivers for your mobo onto a flash drive before you reload the OS.

Click to expand...

When I installed Windows 7 on this notebook I did not have to install drivers for ethernet (hard wire) or the wireless (WiFi). The generic MS drivers were sufficient to get it up and running.

I agree with the advice about going to HP.com and download the drivers, onto a USB thumb drive, external hard drive, CD, etc. beforehand. It is better to have them and not need them than to panic and pull your hair out while frantically trying to find the drivers later.

One last little tidbit of information to try and confuse you further.

The differences between the OEM version of the OS and the retail version:Did ya get all that?