Absolutely re-install Windows.  Get rid of all the unneccesary JUNK that Dell puts on it.

Here's what I would recommend.  First download all the 9100 drivers and burn them onto a CD.  Then go to Gateway's website and download GWSCAN, the newer version.  Make a bootable CD with gwscan.exe on it and start the computer with it in there.  Run gwscan from the dos prompt, and choose 'write zeros to drive', and do the complete one and not the quick one.  It will usually take about a half hour to complete.  Then run the extended test.  Afterwards, you've got a clean Dell Junk-free drive.  Then you can install XP Pro (not home) from there.  Either Dell's or a retail XP Pro.  Also get ahold of Diskeeper Professional 8.0.  If you've got a big batch of software to install, I would run diskeeper a few times in between installing all of it.  The CD's your laptop came with have a 'ghost image' of everything so you can set your computer back up as if it was brand new.

You insteaeinstall Windows to get rid of all the software that Dell already put on your computer.

Most laptops Dell sells DONT come with a Ghost image for factory restore - are you SURE that the 9100 does?

I've had laptops in the past that had everything all on one CD.  Or the OS on one CD and all the apps on another CD with an automated installation.  But it's been years since I've ever tried doing that.

Maybe the 9100 doesn't have the ghost image.  I'm assuming it at least has the CD's needed to reload it to its factory settings.  I wouldn't know.  All those CD's are worthless anyway, except for the diag one.

My two dell-systems, I8100 and I8500 all came with full OS-CDs. Just to insert OS-CD and do a complete formating before put the OS back on.

I do not know WHY the systems get so much faster whith a clean install. I have tried to delete all junk from Dells original OS installation and compared then to a clean install and it is faster, much faster.

Will receive my I9100 on friday perhaps and it will be a clean install directly!