Need help with my new lappie

May 31, 2006 10:37 AM

New laptop three part question; Just got a new Lenovo Thinkpad, a. I want to make sure I have all the correct settings to make it run properly. b. Wanted to see what accessories I should look at to make it easier/efficient to use? I have an ipod, a pda, and use microsoft office for work. c. Any other comments or suggestions I should be aware of? Thanks for the help guys!
posted by boyinmiami to computers & internet (7 comments total)

Thinkpads generally come equipped with ATI video cards (if you go for something other than on-board video) but for some reason don't generally ship with the ATI Tray Tools, which allow you to set DirectX and OpenGL settings like anisotropic filtering or buffer depth and tweak the hardware (read: overclock).
posted by ChasFile at 10:58 AM on May 31, 2006

Can you give us any more guidance than that? There are lots of accessories and utilities out that myself, and most other MeFi-ites, could recommend, but its hard to just pick something out of the blue. If there is something in particular that you wanted to do then let us know.

That said, get Firefox, a good antivirus(AVG Free), FoxitPDF reader, good media player(WinAmp), 7-zip, etc. Also if you are interested in tweaking Windows, check out sites like this.

That stuff should give you a good start. But don't hesitate to ask if you have a more specific need/want.
posted by coolin86 at 11:08 AM on May 31, 2006

I forgot to mention this site, if you are looking for more laptop specific utilities. I haven't used most of these programs so I can't vouch for them. I'm just pointing out something that I found.

BTW, in my experience IBM/Lenovo keeps their machines pretty tight (minimal useless crap, etc.) when the ship and nothing really needs to be done in order to make it run properly.
posted by coolin86 at 11:12 AM on May 31, 2006

thanks guys... you guys rock-
as far as more info, i am going to use this as my main work/home computer, wnat to get a year out of it, will be setting up home wifi on it and take it from there...
thanks again
posted by boyinmiami at 11:45 AM on May 31, 2006

Keep your spare red nipples somewhere where you won't lose them.

Go to IBM Personal Computing Support and download a copy of the hardware maintenance manual for your particular gizmo. Someday you'll want to know how to get the keyboard off to clean it.

Set a power-on and hard disk password (if both are the same, the bios will only prompt you once). If you use hibernate / suspend, make sure it asks for the password when you wake it up. If you set up your thinkpad to keep running with the lid closed (it's a setting in the BIOS), make sure it asks for a password when you open it up.

Yah, it's kind of a hassle sometimes, but it beats having your personal info scattered to the winds should somebody make off with your new gizmo.

Similarly, for the wireless networking, don't do anything without at least WPA or WPA2 (which encrypts the traffic). The WPA-PSK ought to be pretty straightforward to set up (I don't run Windows on the thinkpads I have, so I'm not too familiar with setting it up there). If you've got the wifi built-in, be aware that the antenna is built into the lid (the maintenace manual will tell you where exactly, if you're curious).
posted by doorsnake at 12:06 PM on May 31, 2006

A good resource for things Thinkpad are the independent thinkpads.com forums.
posted by SteveInMaine at 1:37 PM on May 31, 2006

A good corded portable mouse - doesn't need batteries. I like this one. Also, order a second power supply. Then you can put one in your laptop bag and keep one at the house or work. A good USB or Firewire external drive is a good idea for backups. And don't forget a good screen cleaner. For pure anal retentive fun, use a chamois or a screen cleaner cloth to cover your keyboard - you'd be amazed at how much junk transfers from the keys to the screen.
note: I like the products but I'm quite sure you can find them cheaper than the mfr. websites I've linked.
posted by disclaimer at 6:29 PM on May 31, 2006