Reinstall Windows 7 on Dell Laptop Without all the Dell Bloatware?

[skyh]

Hi

I've just purchased a Samsung EVO SSD (in part due to the information on this very helpful forum), and as another posted suggested, I definitely want to do a clean OS install without all Dell's non-essential bloatware which impacts performance, reliability and boot times.

How do I determine the minimal necessary utilities/drivers required? For instance, Dell's driver installation order guide specifies that Dell's Notebook System Software (NSS) is essential, and should be installed first.
<As I'm new to the forum, I'm not allowed to post the URL, but Googling "Dell laptop driver install order" will locate it>

1) Is the NSS really essential?
2) Is there an option to install only part of the NSS?
3) Are there any other utilities I either really need, or can/should avoid?

Thanks ...

[Taniniver]

Pretty simple - after you have finished re-installing Windows, check Device Manager and see what is missing drivers. Install drivers for things until there are no entries in there with missing drivers.

If you have trouble identifying what some item in there is because it has a generic name like "PCI Simple Communications Controller", go onto the Details tab, and look at the Hardware IDs property - stick the strings you find there into Google (one at a time) and you should be able to get an idea of what it is. You can then grab the appropriate driver from Dell's website.

If you find something that, when installing the driver, gives you some bloatware with it, don't use the actual installer you download. Instead, extract all the files from within it (you might need to start the installer to allow it to extract to a temporary location, find and copy the files, then cancel the installer) then install the device through Device Manager by pointing it at that folder for the drivers. Often this will install just the minimal necessary files without the bloat.

[psi]

You could run DeCrapifier after installing the oem build of windows, this does a pretty good job of removing the bundled "extras"