Computer Help-please

[lips_sealed]

Ok. I know there have been thread about this before. Here is what I need to do ASAP.

My dads puter is sooooooo slow, and I have tried disk cleanup, degrag. Still runs every slow. I thought I would re-load the whole thing.

Steps to follow:

Copy all data i want to save.
Insert the OS CD that came with it, and reload.
Reload any additional software, including MSN for internet.

Do I have everything? Is it that simple, just insert the OS cd and let it load? How long should this take.

Waiting for reply before I get started.
thanks

[GWguy]

Originally Posted by lips_sealed

Ok. I know there have been thread about this before. Here is what I need to do ASAP.

My dads puter is sooooooo slow, and I have tried disk cleanup, degrag. Still runs every slow. I thought I would re-load the whole thing.

Steps to follow:

Copy all data i want to save.
Insert the OS CD that came with it, and reload.
Reload any additional software, including MSN for internet.

Do I have everything? Is it that simple, just insert the OS cd and let it load? How long should this take.

Waiting for reply before I get started.
thanks

Typically, yes, those are the steps. You need to answer a bunch of questions as the installer does it's thing, but it's pretty straightforward. Before you use the OS CD, reboot and watch for the boot up keystrokes (F2 for Setup, F12 for alternate devices, etc..). See if there is a Restore or Reload option. Some manufacturers (HP) put the OS load on a small partition on the hard drive and you can load it from there. If not, use the CD.

[Kordolar]

Originally Posted by lips_sealed

Ok. I know there have been thread about this before. Here is what I need to do ASAP.

My dads puter is sooooooo slow, and I have tried disk cleanup, degrag. Still runs every slow. I thought I would re-load the whole thing.

Steps to follow:

Copy all data i want to save.
Insert the OS CD that came with it, and reload.
Reload any additional software, including MSN for internet.

Do I have everything? Is it that simple, just insert the OS cd and let it load? How long should this take.

Waiting for reply before I get started.
thanks

A very basic breakdown yes but as GWguy mentions there's little details missing.

If your using the manufacturer's disk more than likely it will restore the original install image. This can certainly be a time saver but it depends if you want all the junk that is atypically loaded along side the image. This is also a destructive process so don't just backup to a separate folder on the machine because it will be wiped out by the image.

If it's a actual Windows installation disk you will get a clean installation. Depending on age you might have issues with drivers if you don't have the original disks with the system. You may need to get the boot controller drivers onto a floppy or thumb dive if dealing with Vista, so that the installation will recognize the hard drive. This is needed for a lot of newer systems that have on-board RAID controllers that the majority of people don't even make use of but is included regardless. You would know if this is necessary if the installation is unable to find a hard drive to install too.

Again depending on the age of the machine it should automatically boot from the cdrom. You would see something like "Hit any key to boot cdrom" before the normal OS starts. If it doesn't then you'll have to look for either a boot selection prompt during the BIOS post or if it doesn't have one a Setup option that will allow you to change the boot order to place the cdrom before the hard drive.

As long as you have a good backup; burned cd/dvd, external hard drive, thumb drive, etc. It's fairly straightforward with default options being adequate most of the time. Please make sure the stuff to save is on something external to the system. I would recommend during the installation to reformat the drive to get rid of anything legacy. If you just backed up to a folder on the hard drive then you'll accidentally wipe that out doing so.

Time wise depends. If your going from a straight OS cd then it would take 1-2 hours just to patch after the initial installation. A lot of time can be saved if you download the service pack for whatever OS your installing before hand and place on a cd or external drive. After that it's just loading the applications back which I couldn't guess without knowing what is being installed.

Also, unless it's a malware problem, you could continue plinking at the current installation. Though typically it's malware that causes a slow down issue the system could simply be running a lot of applications it doesn't need to be. If the system tray has a massive number of applications in it, if there's a lot of services running, etc, will slow a machine down significantly without being malicious. Unfortunately cleaning up that particular issue is more of a experience determination since it would be hard for someone unknown to determine whether something really needs to be running or not.

[Gwydion]

Just make sure that you have your drivers backed up. Especially your internet driver. Because if you don't...then you are going to shoot yourself in the foot trying to get back and operational. As long as you have the internet driver, you can connect to HP's website where (I assume) you can get the remaining drivers.

Which you should do anyway, because new drivers are released quite often and will allow your computer to have better performance.

If you don't have your driver CD, then copy your driver to a USB thumb drive. USB 1.1 is defaulted, so you don't even need to worry about USB 2.0 compatibility.

[Jeff]

Try going to the Manufacturer's website as well. Some actually have a list of all the drivers in one spot for your particular make/model of Computer.

There might even be a step by step guide on how to go about reinstalling things.

Possibly even an 800 # to call if you have any questions or run into any snags along the way.

When I first got into Computers, I knew nothing, when I ran into a glitch, I dumped them and reinstalled everything. Did this MANY a time. This was before everything came nice and neat on 1-2 CDs. It's pretty cut & dry nowadays though.

[forceofnature]

Use Linux. I dont remember it ever getting slow.

[LordStanley]

how old is the computer???

How big is the harddrive thats in the computer???

How much data was stored on the harddrive.


There are tons of reasons a computer slows down over time. Normal wear and tear on the hardware, harddrive full of data, too many processes running in the background....

wiping the drive and reloading everything is not always the best course of action.

upgrading you memory and increasing the size of the paging file will speed up the computer and be a lot easier than starting from scratch

[BLUIGAL]

Hello everyone, can anyone please give me some advice on what is a good brand of t.v. to buy...looking for 42-50 inch t.v. I have little or no knowledge about the new technology and will appreciate any help you can offer.....thanks very much.

[Gwydion]

Originally Posted by BLUIGAL

Hello everyone, can anyone please give me some advice on what is a good brand of t.v. to buy...looking for 42-50 inch t.v. I have little or no knowledge about the new technology and will appreciate any help you can offer.....thanks very much.

My help is to create a new topic so a question about a tv ain't in the computer section.

[BLUIGAL]

Sorry.........I made a mistake.......