I just configured a Dell Inspiron for a client, no different.

Tried a Sager once, it was much cleaner.  It actually came with a Windows 
CD and no pre-install anything other that what was required to make the 
laptop run.  Sadly, I've used Toshibas for so many years, I couldn't get 
used to the Sager keyboard.

Now that Toshiba's outsourced to China, I will find an alternative once 
this one kicks the bucket.

Large Corporations/Enterprise get the royal treatment.  Blanket unlimited 
Tech Support for Microsoft.  It's hard to imagine an I.T. department 
responsible for thousands of road warriors uninstalling AOL & Quickbooks, 
but lots of them just throw Tivoli on their assests and the users are 
stuck.

LUCKILY, It is actually possible to obtain all the required drivers and 
software from Toshiba's web sites or the Recovery CD.  I once had a 
Compaq Presario for which they did not provide drivers.  Every time I had 
to run "Quick-Resore (NOT)," I had to endure an abnoxious 15 minute 
animation welcoming me to the hideous box!  Torture.


"Rob Nicholson" <rob.nicholson@nospam_informed-direct.com> wrote in
news:Xbadnb-IDKWijB3ZnZ2dnUVZ8tKdnZ2d@bt.com: 

>> You bought and paid for a laptop with XP Pro, all that 'vaporware'
>> which came pre-installed on it is what paid Toshiba to sell you the
>> laptop with XP Pro.  The 'Recovery CD' will either return your laptop
>> to the 'Out-of-box' state, or allow you to re-install chosen
>> vaporware. 
> 
> Of course, I was unable to read the terms and conditions before
> ordering so haven't a clue what the legal point of view is concerning
> re-installation of the software. If this is Toshiba's stance, i.e. no
> way of getting plain vanilla Win XP Pro back on there, then they've
> probably lost further sales. The Dell CD puts Win XP Pro back on
> there, usually with most of the drivers but not 3rd party software.
> 
>> Of course purchasing your own copy of XP Pro will set you back $100 -
>> $150, but it will give you a cleaner machine.  My plan of action has 
>> always been
> 
> That's a possibility but leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.
> 
>> to remove all the garbage they put on there, leaving me with a
>> tattered, but usable cleaner OS.  I dump it all.  Make a big pot of
>> coffee, because you'll be at if for hours and will soon tire of
>> restarting your 'New' computer.  I use Symantec's Norton WinDoctor to
>> clean up the mess all this crap makes. WinDoctor ain't free, you can
>> run CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) to do housekeeping from what AOL,
>> Quicken, yadda, yaddah, yadda leaves behind.
> 
> Startup Inspector will be a great way for getting rid of anything that
> tries to load during startup. I've just taken an image of the laptop
> using Acronis True Image so I can have a play.
> 
>> Toshiba, Dell, HP, Compaq, etc should be shot for turning out these 
>> machines burdened with all this avoirdupois.  I remember the old days
>> when I bought a computer and it came with a box of instructions,
>> diskettes containing the OS and virgin harddrive, oh how I long for
>> it once again. 
> 
> I can't believe that this is how large corporations use Toshiba - in
> fact, I know so - they must have access to an OEM installation CD for
> Win XP. It's possible I guess they've got a global Win XP license.
> 
> Cheers, Rob. 
> 
> 
>