Compaq Mini 110c-1100DX from BestBuy missing Instant Web

[140mandak262jam]

Hi people, I just got a Compaq Mini. Best Buy has opened the pacakage shipped by Compaq and has installed some GeekSquad 24 hour help or something. In that process the original factory setting first power on sequence was seen by BestBuy. Minor annoyances like the machine being registered to "owner" and time zone being pacific etc are irritating, but thankfully they are minor. Passwordless root login too. bah!

In that process the first screen to set up Instant Web was already processed by the GeekSquad geek. I dont know what they did, there is no trace of HP Instant Web in this notebook.  Does not come on during power on. Not in the program list in the start menu. Not in the add/remove programs list.

Did the geek squad mess up? Is it possible to select some choice in the first power on, that will remove all traces of Instant Web? I really really like the idea of instant web. When on the road I would feel very safe using a linux splashtop based internet browser at coffee shops and airports. And the ability to proceed to full windows is nice. Many reviewers have said that they rarely do a full boot because the instant web is so much faster to boot.

Please let me know., If HP service techs are monitoring please respond quickly. I am willing to return the product back to Best Buy and fight the restocking fee with the manager,

[Agent1694 · Accepted solution]

Hi I am an agent for the Geek Squad. It sounds like you either got a presetup netbook or a floor model. Go back into BestBuy and they will at no charge restore it to factory defaults. Also if you're interested, if you have them optimize it they will remove any applications from starting up that do not need to. Install all the latest Windows updates and finally install agent tweaks which will tweak Windows to run faster for you.

I personally own the same model which I purchased at work and I love mine, it is a great deal for the price. I currently have Windows 7 Ultimate installed on mine and I am very impressed at the build quality and speed of this machine!

Don't worry about Best Buy though we're here to help, so if you're having problems with any added software that Geek Squad installed we'll take care of it for you by at the very least offering you a courtesy restore to factory defaults. The Geek Squad 24 hour support tool is a very light running application that won't degrade performance at all. It is a tool that allows you to remotely connect to an agent and chat with them briefly for free and if you need remote assistance it can be initiated right from that tool.

[140mandak262jam]

Thanks, I sent a mail to HP support too. They are saying something to do with BIOS set up. Enable IOS or something. Will check that, if that works, well and good. Otherwise will take it to BestBuy and get it restored to factory defaults. BTW what Geeksquad did was not bad. They removed tons of nagware. One of the strong complaints about HP products is that it is loaded with tons of nagware.

[140mandak262jam]

The issue was resolvedeby BestBuy. I took the unit  to BestBuy (Oxford Driver Bethel Park, PA). The GeekSquad person was very knowlegeable and he examined the unit carefully. He was surprised by IOS (Intant Operating System) missing from the BIOS setup. He ruled the unit defective. The manager swapped the unit for a HP  machine with IOS.Very courteous, and I did not have to argue or fight about it. Revising my opinion of BestBuy and Geek Squad upwards.  Feeling a little guilty about my snarky tone about the Geeksquad in my earlier posts.

[wisg46]

I bought the same unit on BF.  When I read through the manual (which I seldom do) I noticed references to Instant Web.  The manual indicated that Instant Web is not installed on all netbooks.  It didn't give much information on what it did.

I stopped at my local BestBuy and the person I spoke to indicated that the unit doesn't come with Instant Web.  That Instant Web doesn't give internet access. 

What can you do with Instant Web?

[140mandak262jam]

The advantages of InstantWeb, QuickWeb, PreBoot etc:

• It boots really fast. Less than 10 seconds.
• Runs FireFox browser, Skype, IM clients, photo browser, music browser. Has WiFi support
• Can not write anything to the main hard disk, that means even if a virus gets into your browser, it has no way to save itself in the hard disk and survive the boot.
• So it is a very safe way to acess the net from airports, coffee shops etc giving public/free WiFi.

Disadvantages of Preboot OS

• Have press the Windows button to get full windows boot. You need full windows to write anything to the hard disk. Move music, photos and videos in from home network etc. Full Windows Boot takes anywhere from 50 seconds to 90 seconds depending on the amount of crapware installed. (These crapware initiate themselves for every boot, check for updates immediately by phoning home, and nag you to update to get the "new and exciting" features. Till WiFi is initialized and their phoning home is complete they don't release the boot process to complete. Not really the fault of Microsoft. But for ordinary users who are not sure which processes are really needed and which are crapware. This poses a big problem.)
• FireFox in preboot is pretty much locked up. No way to install NoScript or other extensions. No way to block flash or silverlight on websites.
• Skype makes only voice calls in preboot. To make video calls you need a full boot to windows.
• IM Clients, I have not tested much. IM not much into IM ha, haa.
• Not sure if preboot can play video stored in the main hard disk.

If you are going to require full windows for most of the time, give up on PreBoot, else you have to babysit the boot and click couple of times to get to full windows.

If you are going to let less tech savvy family users, keep preboot and tell them to use exclusively preboot on unsecured access points. That way even if they visit some vague website and suddenly a window pops up saying, "There is a virus in your computer. Download this tool to fix it" and they actually click it, no permanent damage will be done.