Dell 3446_Win7_Install_Quick

Win 7 Install on Dell 3446 Laptop
Get Windows 7 image if required from here
Make a USB key to install Windows 7 using USB drive..

Step 01- Format USB in NTFS partition
Step 02- Make USB drive partition active (Run->Cmd->diskpart->select volume f: (where f: is USB drive letter)->active-> exit)
Step 03- Transfer boot sector from Windows DVD to USB drive ( cmd -->d: (where d: is  DVD drive) --> cd boot--> bootsect.exe /NT60 f: (where f: is USB drive letter)
step 04- Copy all files from windows DVD to USB drive
... USB Key made

Grab drivers from your manufacturers site or OEM sites..
for dell 3446 -> http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/product-support/product/vostro-14-3446/drivers

download applicable drivers
============================
chip-set (if you are using intel see driver date, you should download latest intel chipset drivers from intel site, for me USB 3 drivers were missing so have to download USB 3 drivers from intel too)
audio (was a realtek chipset, generally i do not care about audio drivers much, you can check realtek site for more recent drivers if you wish)
video (Intel GMA from intel site and Nvidia 820m from Nvidia site since this is a hybrid display so both drivers are needed.)
network (i downloaded NIC drivers and WLAN-bluetooth combo drivers from Dell site..)
serial ata (more recent may be available at intel site, i downloaded from dell site)
mouse, keyboard, input devices (download synaptic bundled drivers from dell site you may find more recent drivers at synaptic site but using dell drivers is advisible)
BIOS (this is tricky if you have no issue upgrading BIOS is not advisable check fix log and decide if you wish to upgrade your BIOS)

I upgraded the Toshiba 500gb HDD to Corsair Force Series LX 256GB which i had from my previous laptop. The present cost is under 10K for this SSD you may find cheaper ADATA or Transdent SSD's
or stick to bundled HDD.

for installing HDD look at back of laptop there will be a hdd sign, remove panel and swap hdd. its rather simple

now plug in USB key and switch on your laptop press boot menu key mine was F12, for some its F10 or F11 just check your laptop manual for boot menu key
select boot from USB device, follow On screen instructions until windows is installed..
when you switch on your laptop boot key will be shown at startup for my laptop it was F2 for BIOS and F12 for boot menu

Once you have installed windows its time to install drivers..
I usually follow these steps
1) install chipset drivers
2) install audio drivers
3) install video drivers (for dell-3446 it was intel GMA first and then Nvidia 820m)
4) install network drivers
and reboot
5) install input devices and hdd drivers
and reboot once more

now right click on my computer and go to device manager check if any driver is missing.
missing / faulty drivers show up with a yellow dot.
if you have some unknown device.. select and go to properties now select details,
select hardware ids from drop down and copy paste that hardware id on Google and search for compatible drivers
or at least name of that hardware device once you know which device has its driver missing you can search for drivers on internet.

i also like to install antivirus early on
my recommendation is Eset-nod 32
and install direct x , visual c++ redistribution and enable windows updates
let windows updates finish, this takes a lot of time.
you can use your computer and install some utilities and software that will make life so much easier..

so check my list of must have utilities for windows install.

Anti-Virus To Buy or Not to Buy

One of the Questions, So frequently asked from my friends and colleagues, if they should invest in anti-virus software lets discuss,

Do I need an Anti-Virus Solution for my PC?

Online Usage: If you frequently go online or always online then yes, you should have an Anti-Virus solution installed on your PC.

Do you need to transfer data using removable devices, if yes you should have Anti-Virus software installed.

For a standalone PC, with does not use USB drives, you can consider not using Anti-virus. Such are generally specialized setups, such as setup for billing, book keeping in a SO-HO establishment. Lot of photo studios use imaging software and printers to process images and take printout.

Free Anti-Virus Vs Paid

This is a frequent dilemma of users if they can trust free antivirus. Often what I hear is that they have installed it but it does nothing. Again the choice is more of the anti-virus then that of whether it is free or not. I will recommend anti-virus which I have used and have personal experience to.

Microsoft Security Essentials: Free for Licensed copy of Windows, WGA check required. This is a good enough anti-virus for home use, on non-critical systems, where you may not lose business even if some virus get through , recommended use only for Home system setup.

Avast Anti-Virus for Home users: Again free for home users decent software recommended use for Home System Setup

AVG Anti-Virus – Again free and lives up to its name, A very good Antivirus, recommended use for Home system setups.

ESET Nod32 Antivirus – This is the best anti-virus solution I have used till date and I am using it regularly for few years now. Recommended use for all kind of computer setups. Nod32 is paid software. It does have a trial version.

My system runs slow after installing anti-virus.

Performance overheads will be there due to Anti-Virus Software, the question is trade-off of security vs speed, and up to some extent on how well the anti-virus handles the system. A Microsoft security essential is fast, so are Avast and AVG, the working of these softwares in the background somewhat noticeable. But the best I used till date has to be ESET Nod32. That the reason for recommending ESET Nod32.

So what to do, I cannot decide.

Summing up the discussion above,

1)  Depends on your system setup, you have to decide among tradeoff , security, cost, criticality of the system

2)  Once you have decided that, decide if you will shell out some money for Anti-Virus Subscription.

3)  If you want free, go with free else try some trial versions of paid soft-wares, I will recommend trying Eset, but do try Kaspersky, Bitdefender and others too.

Where do I get these Anti-Virus Google them and download their installers and install, simple as that. For free antivirus software, there is usually some registration involved, Avast sends you licence key for one year after you register on their website, Microsoft security essentials appears in optional windows update if you have no antivirus installed.

For paid once, I will suggest buying from online retailers. Keep a watch on the anti-virus software offers on Indian websites such as Flipkart, snapdeal, amazon.in there are sometimes very good deals with discount up to 80% on anti-virus subscriptions. You may also buy 3 PC or 5 PC license they are usually cheaper, the catch is that you have to find others to share the license with, as all license will begin and end simultaneously , so buying 3 pc license for year is not equivalent to 1 PC for 3 years.

I am buying and sharing 3 PC license for Eset with my colleagues for last 3 years, we all have our single laptops and we usually buy a three PC license from ESET and one of us activates it and all three get to use this license, and we split the cost between three of us. It cost usually cost around 300 – 350 which is like less than rupee one for expense on Anti-virus. We have used Kaspersky and Bitdefender in past too but ESET has been our choice for last 3 years. 

Buying a Steam Iron Press.

Philips GC2840 2200-Watt Nonstick Soleplate Steam Iron with Spray, Coating, Anti-Calc and Drip Stop

Since my old Steam Iron had some leakage issue and short-circuited. I was looking to buy a steam iron press. If you look around there are so many brands to choose from and so many different price range you may find a steam iron press for somewhere in between Rs 300  to Rs 11,700 .

Here is how I made my purchase. 

Brand : First decide on what brand you want, I decided to go for Philips as most of my house appliance is Philips and I trust quality of Philips home appliances. Other good brands with reasonable prices are Morphy Richards, Bajaj and Kenstar. I know there are numerous other brands like Jaipan, Orpat, Singer, Havells etc choose whatever you like but stick to the brand else narrowing on the choices becomes confusing. 

What to look for in the Steam iron press ?

1) Sole Plate is most important - choose premium types with plenty of steam roll.(thin noose ones are better)  

2) Wattage - higher the quicker, and for that constant steam roll.

3) Steam features - vertical steam shots (in case you want to steam clothes on the hanger, Steam burst for stubborn thick cloths like denim and certain curtains, continuous steam in (grams per minute)

4) Cord - For corded ones choose the one with at-least 2 meter wire for comfortable use and ball-socket swivel design.

5) Maintenance- how to clean, whether It is self cleaning

6) Weight of Steam Iron Press - too heavy and will be difficult to use and too light will be inefficient .

How to get best deal ?

Once you have decided on the brand head over to online sites for some rates. 

Indian sites I use in order of preference are (Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, ShopClues, ebay) 

look on models and find the most decent steam iron you can afford by comparison of various features.

I narrowed my choice to Phillips  GC2820 or GC2840 (On budget of 2000 INR)

I choose Amazon to make the buy for ongoing offer

1) 15% off at checkout

2) Citibank offer of 10% cash back as Amazon Gift coupon.

The Steam Iron was billed to me for Rs 1872.55 and if i receive second offer too then effective price will be Rs 1685 /- though I have to make a purchase for the gift amount. for an steam iron with MRP of Rs-3495, I consider this to be a good buy. 

Deal Check for Phillips - GC2840

1) Sole plate - Steam Glide sole-plate is Philips premium sole-plate

2) Wattage - 2200 ( GC2820 about 100 odd rupees less was 2000 Watt otherwise identical product)

3) Steam - Vertical Steam preset, Continuous steam up to 32 g/min, Steam boost up to 100 g

4) 2m cord with swivel design

5) Calc clean slider to easily remove scale out of the iron

6) 1.2 kg weight