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Full format into a clean install of Win7 Ultimate - any anticipated problems?

Dttell
Level 7
I am going to do a full format of my computer and delete everything, including all drivers and utilities that came with the machine. Are there any anticipated problems or specific things I might be losing that cannot be replaced? What drivers should have ready, or Asus software? (For example, touch pad software, specific (but good) pre-installed software, etc).

I was hoping that after booting up Win7 Ultimate i could just put in the driver cd and install the missing drivers. I am not a big fan of all of the pre-install bloatware on computer and am hoping for a clean start.

Running a G74
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16 REPLIES 16

BrodyBoy
Level 10
You don't want to use the drivers disk if you want a clean install. (1) Most of its drivers are obsolete, and (2) "Install All" will put all the bloatware on your clean install.

Just install Windows, then the basic set of drivers you need for all the G74's devices.



  • Intel 6 Series Chipset Driver
  • Intel RST
  • Asus ATK package
  • Nvidia Graphics driver
  • Realtek HD Audio driver
  • Fresco USB 3.0 driver
  • Touchpad driver (check your hardware manufacturer)
  • Realtek Ethernet driver
  • WLAN driver (check your hardware manufacturer)
  • Bluetooth driver (check your hardware manufacturer...if applicable & needed)
  • Realtek multiCard Reader driver

By the way, unless you already own a copy of WIn Ultimate, you can save a fair amount of money by installing Home Premium (assuming that was the edition that came on the laptop), activating it with your OEM product key, and then using ANytime Upgrade to switch to Ultimate.

Thanks for the advice. I have a full version of Win7 Ult. ready. I am concerned though about some of the partitions and wiping them. Are all partitions safe to wipe? (I read in the manual that there may be a recovery partition and a partition dedicated to express gate cloud, both of which I would prefer to keep, if possible.)

Dttell wrote:
Thanks for the advice. I have a full version of Win7 Ult. ready. I am concerned though about some of the partitions and wiping them. Are all partitions safe to wipe? (I read in the manual that there may be a recovery partition and a partition dedicated to express gate cloud, both of which I would prefer to keep, if possible.)

The first step, then, is to go into Windows Disk Management and familiarize yourself with your current partition setup. You'll see the 25Gb recovery partition right before the existing C: drive, as well as all your other partitions on both disks (if you have two HDDs). Write this stuff down, if necessary, because you'll see this information presented a little differently in Windows Setup, and it's important to delete only the partitions you want to use.

In Windows Setup, you'll come to a partition table. This is where you select the partition(s) to use for the new Windows installation. Leave the 25Gb recovery partition in place, if that's what you prefer, and delete your current OS partition, as well as any other contiguous partitions on that disk that you want to use. Once you've deleted all desired partitions, they become "Unallocated space." Select that space as the target for your installation. The recovery partition will remain.

Expressgate is an Asus program that you can reinstall.

Kungfushun
Level 7
Maybe taking this a step further but I was wondering how you would create a custom Win 7 Ult system restore on that partition with only the basic set of drivers and minus the bloatware?

Kungfushun wrote:
Maybe taking this a step further but I was wondering how you would create a custom Win 7 Ult system restore on that partition with only the basic set of drivers and minus the bloatware?

You can't do that...at least not like the factory restore. The factory restore options that OEMs typically provide are complex programs that run all sorts of contingency scripts to perform a complete, silent installation of Windows and all the OEM drivers and software.

The closest thing you could do would be to simply save a system image of your "base" installation. Restoring that image, if you were ever to use it, is a completely different kind of operation than a factory restore, but it does offer what you're asking for....an "on-board" way to revert back to your -super-clean setup at any time.

wanfeilwong
Level 7
I was looking into this too a while back but came up with no real solution. The best I could come up with was to clone the partition and keep the clone hidden.

Even if you did manage to make a recovery partition(clean install with drivers) I'm not sure how you would make it work with 'F9' during boot.
Asus G74sx-xn1

Intel 6230 WiFi/BT | Seagate Momentus XT | Razer Orochi | Sony Ericsson MW600

BrodyBoy
Level 10
That was part of my point....you can't. The BIOS shortcut access, and the installation scripting, is exclusive to the OEM setup.

Can I still use ASUS Live Update if I do a full-reinstall? I am going through various programs and this one actually seemed like it might be useful. I didn't run it, but I thought it might provide ASUS-specific-hardware updates.

dstrakele
Level 14
That's what ASUS Live Update does "in theory". In reality, you'll be better off without it. But if you still want it, it can be installed to a clean Windows 7 installation.
G74SX-A1 - stock hardware - BIOS 202 - 2nd Monitor VISIO VF551XVT