[Vputelli]

Hi,

I just got delivered a new Destop Dell Dimension 9150 PC, with among other thing an IEEE Firewire 1394 PCI card & 56K PCI Data/Fax Modem card which I don’t need at all.
My question is : if I de-install properly theses cards “drivers etc ” and remove the cards, will the PC benefit even slightly from an increase in perfromance, boot up time or whatever ?
On top of this later on I’m Planning of doing a clean install of the OS without all the garbage software which came along with the PC preconfiguration.

Thank you for your time.

Dell Dimension 9150
XP Media Center 2005 Edtion
Pentium D 840 3.2Ghz
2 GB (4X512) DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM
256MB PCIe nVidia Geforce 6800 w/T v-Out DVI
250GB Sata (7200Rpm) 8Mb Cache
16X DVD+/- RW
Sound Blaster ® Live™ 24 bit Sound Card
IEEE Firewire 1394 PCI
13-in-1 USB 2.0 Media Card Reader
1.44 MB Floppy Drive
56K PCI Data/Fax Modem
Dell Wirelles Multimedia Mouse & Keyboard
Dell 2405FPW Ultrasharp 24” LCD Monitor

[LTheobald]

I would say no. I don't think it'll provide any spped boost at all. Also opening you case and tinkering around inside may void your warranty with Dell.

Just do the clean install.

[StuMegu]

On the re-install issue, just be aware that the license on the case sticker probably will not work with a bog-standard XP cd. The true license number is embedded in the recovery cd system and will only work when using this disk.

Just thought I'd mention it before you wipe the system.

Edit: Seems like I might have the wrong end of the stick here - other people have successfully managed to use a standard CD to do this - see below.

[dbgrant77]

There are no performance reasons to remove these cards. There may be other reasons, for example, to make room for other expansion cards. Besides, if you ever want to capture pics or video the IEEE card will come in very handy.

Personally, I have never had a problem with Dell and I've opened and modified every Dell I've ever had. That includes one time near the end of a three year warranty when my motherboard died and took a hard drive with it. Dell replaced both without issue.

[fredg]

Hi,
I do agree with starting all over with a fresh hard drive. They come new with so many programs that will never, ever, be used by many.
I also use Sound Blaster Live! and it's great. Also has a great Creative Recorder, that can record anything, from anywhere, with settings for quality of the recordings.
Best of luck, and congratulations on your new computer.

[NeedKarma]

On the re-install issue, just be aware that the license on the case sticker probably will not work with a bog-standard XP cd. The true license number is embedded in the recovery cd system and will only work when using this disk.

Just thought i'd mention it before you wipe the system.

I'm not sure about that Stu. I've used an OEM XP CD to reinstall afetr a wipe and was able tom use the case sticker CD key. The only difference I see is that the recovery CD doesn't make you activate while the generic XP CD will make you do it. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[StuMegu]

Was it a Dell?

[StuMegu]

You could be right Need, I just remember having the problem I describe above and trying various disks without success, maybe they were retail and/or the wrong service pack!

Maybe Vputelli will let us know to confirm or deny these sneaky suspicions:D

[NeedKarma]

Was it a Dell?

Dude, it WAS a Dell!

[RootLevel]

Did the same thing with a hp a little while back, used a generic xp home disc with the lic# from the back of the hp, yes it made me register it, but with no probs.

[StuMegu]

I'm not sure about that Stu. I've used an OEM XP CD to reinstall afetr a wipe and was able tom use the case sticker CD key. The only difference I see is that the recovery CD doesn't make you activate while the generic XP CD will make you do it. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Fair enough, thanks for the update - I've edited my original post. If this does work it will make my life much easier when dealing with these machines:)

[Tommyp!972]

There will be increase in bootup times but that will only happen if you go into your startup list and turn off the programs you don't want to boot when system starts.. on a dell and HP there will be very many programs that are checked... no need to reinstall OS.. type MSCONFIG in the RUN menu and checkout what is in your startup list... I generally have antivirus firewall audio and spyware programs startup.. I'm usually at my log in screen in less than 30 secs.. getting rid of those pieces of hardware is a waste of your time.. leave them in just disable the drivers from starting

[dmatos]

One issue you may have with unused hardware in your machine is conflicts with any new hardware you install. That's what happened to me when I stuck a new wireless LAN card in my wife's computer. I ended up with confusing errors that I had a devil of a time understanding.

After a good amount of time spent searching the net, it turned out that there were conflicts (IRQ maybe, I'm not sure) between that card and another card on the PCI bus. The websites suggested that shuffling the cards around in the PCI slots might help, but I actually had to remove one card (an old CAT5 LAN card) for the computer to properly recognize the new wireless LAN card.

One disadvantage to removing the card is that you leave a big hole in the back of the computer, unless you get one of those metal hole covers. This leaves a spot for just about anything to get into your case from dust to rodents. I would suggest leaving the card in the case until you buy a new one that may conflict with it.

[heladoman]

I will have to agree with dbgrant77 . :D