Bundled Software: Reward or Burden?
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I know a lot of people here build their own computers. When you finish building your computer, you install the operating system you want and go from there. If you buy a computer from a manufacturer, it comes with an OS and software already preloaded onto the computer. And many users have mixed feelings about that.
Today we are going to take a look at the software that comes on your computer already. Based on the opinions of people around many forums, the software is a waste of time and space and does nothing but slow your computer down. Is preloaded software really that bad, or is it beneficial to you? Are there better options out there than the way things are currently done? We'll take a look at the current state of included software and what the future might hold.
Restore Software
When your OS goes bad -- and you know it will -- you have to restore your computer back to the original state it came in. Years ago they would simply ship an OEM copy of the OS and then another CD or two with software and applications on it. This was the ideal way of doing things. You got the discs with the computer and you just had to reformat as you would with a home built PC.
Things have changed since the good old days. Most companies don't just give you the CDs anymore without making you pay more for them. HP charges $19 for this software, and all it is, is a copy of your hard drive on a few CDs. Most companies offer hidden partitions for system restores. From there you can create backups of your OS. This lays the burden and time onto you and not the manufacturers.
HP has these hidden partitions that can be made to create these restore CDs as well; it will save you $19 if you do it yourself. You can restore your computer back to the original state if you keep this hidden partition and restore from it directly instead of by CD. This might let you restore your computer a little faster, but you are holding the space hostage and if your hard drive dies, so does that hidden partition. If you use other backup software or partitioning programs, this hidden partition could play havoc with your software.
I haven't had to deal with many new computers from OEM manufacturers a lot, but it seems like the restore CDs contain more than just the OS. I recently bought a new HP notebook, and to my surprise, the restore CDs had extra software already bundled into it. The Gateway I had came with free CDs that had the extra software as well. It seems to change every year, and every manufacturer seems to have its own methods of restoration.
Next: Choosing an OS for You >>
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