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Thread ID: 12160	2001-10-18 04:42:00	'Springcleaning' advice needed	Guest (0)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
21815	2001-10-18 04:42:00	The novice back again needing more guidance. Having made a decision based on advice from PressF1 responses, I will very shortly be upgrading my computer. However, after 3 years of 2 confident children downloading everything and anything, and 1 nervous mother removing/uninstalling/deletingin sometimes incorrect and messy ways with disastrous results at times - I would like to springclean before upgrading. Get rid of the bits and pieces, all the leftovers - got me? I would love to start all over again with the basic Word, Publisher, Norton etc, but that went down like a lead balloon. Is there anything that will clean up useless files and even show me what hasn't been used for over a year? After several trips to the computer shop to get my 'housekeeping' attacks fixed, maybe I should just get the whole 4GB transferred to 20GB. Advice? Elle	Guest (0)
21816	2001-10-18 05:03:00	Whats the problem with formatting, and then putting windows back in. The speed increase would be very noticable. You learn alot from doing it too.	Guest (0)
21817	2001-10-18 05:52:00	Yea formatting aint a bad idea especially if it hasn't been done in the last year or so. I formatted my machine and re-installed everything recently and it did make a difference. It will get rid of all the crud and left over files and u'll definately notcie a more responsive feel to ur pc. But of course you need to make sure you have any data you need backed up such as IE favourites, mp3s, application files etc... and drivers for things like modem and video card.	Guest (0)
21818	2001-10-18 08:25:00	hello Elle. It sure sounds like a format and restore may be the best way out. usually computers with windows ship with a restore disc. this will give you the option, to format and restore the computer back to it's original state. If you have an instruction manual it might pay to have a read before attempt Before you restore, save any files, internet phone numbers and password for your server, to a floppy, as these will be lost in the restore. Also have on hand installation discs or floppys that you need to load programs that you wish to load back after the restore is complete. good luck, Bob	Guest (0)
21819	2001-10-18 08:40:00	Typical men!! Elle, formatting your computer means scrubbing EVERYTHING off it, a bit like erasing a video or audio tape, only a little more complicated. I don't think it's a job you should do by yourself without either doing a bit of homework first or else getting some help from someone with more experience. If you don't save the right drivers and all your personal files then you could be in a bit of a sticky mess. Don't let that put you off, we all started somewhere and the job isn't hard once you know how. If you are inclined to want to learn then there are quite a few excellent websites with step by step instructions. My favourite is www2.1starnet.com Like the guys said, it will do your PC good to do a format and is worth doing, but just make sure you are well prepared first.	Guest (0)
21820	2001-10-18 09:01:00	Well Susan is right formatting isnt always straight forward, even for experienced pc owners. Still once you get it right it can pay off with what seems like a much fresher pc, still yes it does pay to do your homework first to make sure you get it right.	Guest (0)
21821	2001-10-18 09:10:00	Hi Elle Once you have finished getting your computer springcleaned and all set up the way you like it, I bet you would like to know how you could avoid ever having to go through all that drama ever again! Go ahead and get yourself a new 20GB drive but get it partitioned into C & E and keep the old one as D. Then set yourself up with a drive image program (not expensive or at least, not as expensive as regular visits to the computer shop for emergency repairs). For the rest of the story, go to the top of the main F1 page, click on search F1 and enter 'sluggish' as the search term. A short distance down the results you will find some answers I provided a couple of weeks ago that will tell you how to save copies of your working installation and recover easily from the worst of disasters in less than 30 minutes. It's for real, I've been using drive images for a couple of years and my down time to install a clean installation of OS and programs is typically 25 minutes. Billy T	Guest (0)
21822	2001-10-18 10:04:00	Whether you reformat, or you get someone else to reformat for you, dont expect your computer to be exactly the same afterwards. If it has been as haphazard as it sounds, then there are bound to be programs, utilities and quick keys etc that you have forgotten you have, yet take for granted, I know I did the first time I reformated, and I STILL cant find half of them ;-) The safest way for you to do a format yourself, is to sit down with pen and paper, and write down every peice of software you want your clean computer to have. If there is an application you have now, and want to still have afterwards, write it down. Then write down every peice of hardware you have, soundcards, video cards, modems, network cards printers... everything. Now, search through your computer, disks and CD's and make sure you have installation files for all of those peices of software, and make sure you have driver disks for every peice of hardware, some you wont need them for because windows has generic ones, but make sure anyway. Then, you want to backup all of your personal files that you dont already have copies of on CD or disk, this includes MP3's, documents, favourites lists address books... A good idea, is to backup everything in : C:\My Documents C:\My Music - if not on CD C:\Windows\Favourites Find *.wab and backup all of these - these are your address books, and you could have more than one if you have been using identities. Make sure you not down any boxes that are ticked for your Dial up Connections, you can find these in Program Files\Accessories\Communication\Dial-Up Networking, also make sure you know any login names and passwords. If you have any emails stored on your computer, the easiest thing is probably to get a hotmail account, or ask your kids, chances are they have one ;-) Then just email it to yourself and email it back once you are all set up again. Once you have done all this, you are in a ready state to be able to reinstall a system very close to the one you have now. Once you are sure you want to do it, go to Start Menu\Run type in command and press enter, then type 'format c:' without the quote marks and press Y if you are REALLY sure you want to do this. No going back now. Once this has completed, insert your windows CD into the drive and restart your computer, it should automatically detect, and start install. If it doesnt, chances are that you dont have the CD drive listed in your boot sequence. If this is the case, restart your computer, and just happily tap away on your Del key until it takes you into CMOS setup, be very careful what you change in here as it can really bugger things up. Go into Advanced Settings, and look for something called boot sequence. It may either be a list of items such as A: C: CDROM or it could be seperate entries like Primary Boot A: Secondary Boot C: Other Boot CDROM What you want to do is to change it so that CDROM is the first item in the list, then exit out and dont forget to save. At this point, make a note of what it started as so you can reset it afterwards. After installing Windows, work through your list installing drivers for all your hardware. After installing each driver, restart your computer to let the system update itself. Once all hardware is installed, install your applications, then finally reload your backuped personal data. Voila, one clean system. Have fun ;-)	Guest (0)
21823	2001-10-18 10:14:00	Hi Elle, If the prospect of formatting etc. sounds too daunting try a program someone on F1 advised me of, its called Easycleaner, its simple and free, on Cnet I think. I also use Regcleaner from MS. These along with a scan & defrag should help a lot. Its not as good as a complete reinstall but reasonably close and a lot easier. HIH	Guest (0)
21824	2001-10-19 22:47:00	Thanx everyone for your time. I've printed off all the responses. Looks like a busy weekend of reading up, etc b4 I do anything else. Might nab someone to 'hold me hand'. Will certainly be worth it though. Thanx again. Elle	Guest (0)
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