Hi all

I recently got an Acer TravelMate 4651 Laptop, but I don't like all the software installed (even though it is win XP pro)

I want to do my own win xp pro installation like i would on one of my desktops but I haven't yet tried for two reasons:

-I have never tried installing an OS on a laptop before
-The laptop as it is came with 3 partitions of the 80GB HDD - one of which was an EISA partition which i have never encountered before and seems to be not that common according to google.

One of the partitions was an OS partition, one was a general files partition, and the third was the EISA. I feel like getting rid of all of them so I can have complete control, just like when doing a clean install on a desktop, but I am worried that this may not be wise.

I have found out that the EISA is something to do with the standard 'recovery' process. I normally use aprtition magic to handle my partions but now i am not sure ...

... What should I do?

A lot of laptops & desktops supplied with pre-installed software do have a recovery partition & for most users (like those that ask PC World for help) this is fine.

In your case I'd be inclined to reinstall having converted the HD to a single partition which is what you're leaning towards doing.

Just make sure you have any drivers etc that the laptop requires before proceeding.

i should be Ok on the drivers front - i think they are all on CD, and if not i have other PCs and broadband to get them as required.

Is the process of installation virtually identical to a desktop (ie: chagne boot sequence, boot from win xp cd, delete all partitions and make and format new partition(s), proceed with installation )

I dont need to install any special drivers at any premature stage do it> eg: mouse pad or monitor drivers?

I think i wil clean everything up, make new partitions, install a few things and make my own recovery DVD (i normally use norton ghost)

I've never done this on a laptop but I see no reason it should be different to a desktop. Could be wrong though.

By the way the only time i can 'see' the EISA partition is when i go run-->compmgmt.msc-->Disk Management
Then I can see the 3 partitions. I can't see the partition in my computer or under disk defragmenter.