Re-installing your OS (XP): tips? do/don'ts?

[King Crimson]

any suggestions?

i'm going to try and do this over the weekend. never done it before.

yeah, i know....get a mac.

[yermom]

back up your crap?

is this your only machine? burn at least network drivers to a CD or something first, you can get the rest if you need them once you are online

[yermom]

or get a Mac ;)

[King Crimson]

back up your crap?

is this your only machine? burn at least network drivers to a CD or something first, you can get the rest if you need them once you are online

i got 2 machines.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

or get a decent jump drive to back up on....why are you reinstalling BTW?

[yermom]

i got 2 machines.

then you can burn that CD or use a thumb drive or whatever later as opposed to now if the NIC isn't supported by XP initially

[King Crimson]

or get a decent jump drive to back up on....why are you reinstalling BTW?

storage is not a problem, in addition to the two external drives i've got now...i've got an extra 160 g drive still in the box.

the machine has been running quirky (not "quirky" good) for the last couple months and i've scanned the hell out of it for spyware and virus type stuff. It's about 6 years old and while it's been a great machine....i don't want to live with all the weird stuff and loading slow, broken pages. before i start thinking about buying a new desk top for my main home "office" i'd like to see if a fresh start doesn't rejuvenate the old champ.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

Have you checked out how many programs you have running on start up?

[King Crimson]

Have you checked out how many programs you have running on start up?

what would i be looking for in doing that...i assume that having too much stuff going on is what your suggesting as a prob. as a potential solution, what am i looking to get rid of specifically?

dumb question, but i'm kinda dumb about a lot computer stuff.

[Fraggle145]

back it all up... and make sure you reformat the whole drive when you install the OS. Don't "repair" the installation or any of that other crap.

[sooner_born_1960]

Run msconfig to see what all is running at startup. Search for all that can be safely disabled. Disable all that you can. See if your system doesn't run much better.

[yermom]

a good defrag might be nice as well

but the registry might still just be cluttered up, i'm a big fan of the reinstall, it's a healthy thing every so often :D

[stoops the eternal pimp]

what would i be looking for in doing that...i assume that having too much stuff going on is what your suggesting as a prob. as a potential solution, what am i looking to get rid of specifically?

dumb question, but i'm kinda dumb about a lot computer stuff.

sometimes, especially over a period of 6 years, you'll have a ton of stuff running on start up that isn't necessary and it will make your puter run like poop...start up slow.....web loads funky....

anyway, if you want to take a look go

hit yer start button, got to Run, type msconfig, go to startup, and will show you everything its trying to run....

Here is a little site with some info on the msconfig

msconfig (http://www.netsquirrel.com/msconfig/msconfig_xp.html)

[stoops the eternal pimp]

a good defrag might be nice as well

but the registry might still just be cluttered up, i'm a big fan of the reinstall, it's a healthy thing every so often :D

yeah after 6 years it probably is the way to go.....

[King Crimson]

thanks guys. i'm not at home right now, but i'll see what happens maybe over the weekend.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

good luck King.....post if ya need some help or anything...of course I'm back on pain meds so I'll probably tell ya Windows 95 is the way to go

[Whet]

You really shouldn't be required to reload XP. You should undertake the maintenance issues identified above, which include:

1. disk clean up - go to your C drive properties to select Cleanup
2. delete the files in your Windows/Prefetch directory
3. remove any programs do no longer use, through Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel
4. defrag the hard drive.
5. check for any firmware/software updates for the computer and software you are using.
and,
6. check the amount of on board memory. If you don't have 1MB of system memory, upgrade to a minimum of 1MB.

These should take care of 90% of the issues you may have with your slow running computer.

[yermom]

You really shouldn't be required to reload XP. You should undertake the maintenance issues identified above, which include:

1. disk clean up - go to your C drive properties to select Cleanup
2. delete the files in your Windows/Prefetch directory
3. remove any programs do no longer use, through Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel
4. defrag the hard drive.
5. check for any firmware/software updates for the computer and software you are using.
and,
6. check the amount of on board memory. If you don't have 1MB of system memory, upgrade to a minimum of 1MB.

These should take care of 90% of the issues you may have with your slow running computer.

sure, like 15 years ago :P

i'm guessing you mean 1GB and that might be a little low :eek:

[stoops the eternal pimp]

no Whet meant 1 mb.....he still thinks its 1988:D

[GrapevineSooner]

yermom beat me to it.

By 6 minutes. :D

[sooner_born_1960]

Actually my home desktop still works just fine with 512M RAM. I keep the crap that runs at startup to a minimum and uninstall crap the kids have let slip through by clicking "ok" without thinking.

[yermom]

i guess it depends on what you are doing. i can use up 512MB just browsing the web, add Outlook, and iTunes, IM, Office and games and i'm pushing the 1.25GB on my home machine

i don't like to close windows. but with the bad memory management that Windows and Firefox/Flash seem to have i run out of RAM a lot

[Tulsa_Fireman]

Start/Run/Regedit.

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run

Delete any and all entries under this registry key.

Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run

Delete any and all entries under this registry key. Trust me. You don't need anything here.

Reboot.

Voila. Your box will run like a rabbit.

[OUDoc]

I formatted and installed Ubuntu on my laptop. It works much better now.

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=89805

Don't follow that link, it's not that helpful. :)

[yermom]

you put Ubuntu on your PS3 yet? :D

[OUDoc]

you put Ubuntu on your PS3 yet? :D

nah. Thought about it, but it sounds like a lot of hassle and no real upside if you already have a decent PC.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how_to/4263321.html

[Whet]

what? this isn't 1988? "Read my lips"

But, do check your memory and since you do have a more mature machine, increasing the memory to a minimum of 1GB, or more will help your speed issues.