I’ve been helping out people with computer problems for sometime now. Recently, I was working with one computer that was just so overwhemled with junk that Internet Explorer didn’t even start.
The client said “can you fix it?”
“Well, I may spend 3 hours trying to figure out why this isn’t working, and I may not even be able to solve it. Or I can just rebuild your computer from scratch.”
We rebuilt it from scratch. Re-loading Windows is like the ultimate spring cleaning. After a couple of years of using your PC, even the most conservative user will have made many changes over time that drag down your overall performance. Re-loading Windows from scratch is like a breath of fresh air. While clean installing a PC is not as hard as it used to be, it’s still not for the causal user. Seek someone’s assistance before you do anything foolish.
BUT, there are somethings that only the user can do to prepare for such a major undertaking - namely back up your data. Here are some things to consider:
1) back up your My Documents folder to CDR (recordable CD), or to a second hard drive.
2) back up your browser’s “Favorites”.
3) back up your email and address book.
4) back up your palm pilot or other PDA device.
5) back up any Quicken files (which have the stupid habit of NOT residing in your My Docs folder like everything else).
6) back up your Desktop.
Your PC repair dude won’t be able to know what data is important and what isn’t…only you know that. So the back ups are best performed by you. Later, I’ll document more about where to find each of these important data files.
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After doing a backup, what are the steps to re-install Windows? How long can you expect to take for the re-install? Does it differ with older versions of Windows? Thanks.
Left by Weltonian on February 27th, 2006
I’ll try to cover the re-install issues later when I have some time to do a good write-up. Generally, it takes a couple hours to do a clean XP install, but running all the service packs and patches can take some time depending on the speed of your Internet connection.
Older versions of Windows are totally different to backup and install. Honestly, the only real versions of Windows that should even be considered at this point are XP and 2000. If you want to install 95, 98, NT4 or ME - you’re either crazy or have a very specific software need that just won’t work on a modern OS.
Left by Netsato on February 28th, 2006