Computer people please help.

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Originally Posted by chee16

these are all the answers that i was looking for. since i don't know that much about operating systems i really didn't wan to mess anything up. so i guess my best bet is to reinstalll windows AGAIN :( ha its not that big of a deal but s=considering it is my work computer and i use it as a cash register i may have to stay late :( which isn't really that big of a deal.

so does anyone have any suggestions on some key files that i should be backing up? heres my list so far:
-drivers (it took me a while to find them the last time)
-Point of Sale Program (obviously :))
-all word documents and other personal things like that

anything else to think about that would make things easier?

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Email and browser bookmarks. Music and video files, pictures, accounting software files if you use something like that.

When you boot off the windows CD it will ask you if you want to recover/repair. Say no. Tell it you want to install. You will then see a screen that asks you to select a partition to install to. Delete everything on that screen and then "create a partition". If it asks you want it to be primary. More than likely you will use the default size which is the entire disk. Highlight the new partition and install to it. Select format NTFS(quick) since you know the disk is in working order. Then follow the prompts from there out. Make sure as soon as the drivers are installed that you run windows update and install all the criticals until there is nothing left to install and you are up to date on service packs. You will have to go back into windows updates several times after each reboot. Once that is done install your anti-virus and then the rest of your apps.

Security patches and service packs will go a long ways in preventing security holes that viruses exploit. They are absolutely vital. Basically you don't have to depend on A/V software to find something if it can't install in the first place.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chee16

these are all the answers that i was looking for. since i don't know that much about operating systems i really didn't wan to mess anything up. so i guess my best bet is to reinstalll windows AGAIN :( ha its not that big of a deal but s=considering it is my work computer and i use it as a cash register i may have to stay late :( which isn't really that big of a deal.

so does anyone have any suggestions on some key files that i should be backing up? heres my list so far:
-drivers (it took me a while to find them the last time)
-Point of Sale Program (obviously :))
-all word documents and other personal things like that

anything else to think about that would make things easier?

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With XP you probably don't have to worry too much about backing up drivers. Everything should fire right when you have your new, formatted partition with a freshly-installed windows. Any drivers that need updating at that point can be done at their respective websites, and they will probably be newer versions anyway.

Once you get up and running, get AVG anti-virus. It's free and it does a great job. I run it on all my computers (I have 4 running at home), and I haven't had any issues since going to AVG (AVG Free - Download Free Antivirus and Antispyware for Windows XP and Vista).

If you need anymore guidance feel free to PM me and I'll help you out.

Good Luck,

Ogie

i must say thank you for all the advice so far and for the speed at which it has been givin. this is great, why would i go to a computer forum.

as far as drivers go, everything seems to work except the ethernet connection(at least that is what happened last time), so that is a bit of a pain. i kept the driver pack that i used last time though so thats cool.

the other disappointing thing is that i just transferred a bunch of WSBK amd MotoGp vids over to this computer to seed them at night when the store is closed, now i will have to transfer them back to my laptop :( i have an 8 gig thumb drive that works good for this but it can be a little slow with large files.

right now i am using Avira and once a week scanning with MalwareBytes. they seem to work well. i used AVG at one point but since my computer is pretty old and only has 512meg RAM i found that AVG taxes my hard drive a little, whereas Avira doesn't seem to.

any other suggestions are more then welcome. thanks again to all.

Wes

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Originally Posted by chee16

i must say thank you for all the advice so far and for the speed at which it has been givin. this is great, why would i go to a computer forum.

as far as drivers go, everything seems to work except the ethernet connection(at least that is what happened last time), so that is a bit of a pain. i kept the driver pack that i used last time though so thats cool.

the other disappointing thing is that i just transferred a bunch of WSBK amd MotoGp vids over to this computer to seed them at night when the store is closed, now i will have to transfer them back to my laptop :( i have an 8 gig thumb drive that works good for this but it can be a little slow with large files.

right now i am using Avira and once a week scanning with MalwareBytes. they seem to work well. i used AVG at one point but since my computer is pretty old and only has 512meg RAM i found that AVG taxes my hard drive a little, whereas Avira doesn't seem to.

any other suggestions are more then welcome. thanks again to all.

Wes

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I found that avast works pretty well also.

As an aside, it's at times like this that having your data well organised comes into its own. I usually create a separate drive for my data to separate it from the operating system. D: is usually appropriate!

In any case, I make a directory called Data off the root. It may seem unnecessary, but trust me, once you get into the habit of putting everything you make under the Data directory, then you know where it is, and it's easy to back up.

Under the Data directory I make several key subdirectories. I make one for the name of the computer I am using. For example on this PC I have D:\Data\MSI2\ This is where I put real data. Again, this seems unnecessary, but it really is useful to separate it from the following.

I have a D:\Data\From\ directory. Here I put copies of useful data from other machines, media etc. This doesn't really need to be backed up, as it's already a copy of data elsewhere.

Here's something I'm really glad I started doing: I have a D:\Data\Installation\ directory. It is further split into Hardware and Software directories. Every time I download some software or updates or hardware drivers, it goes into here. I keep copies of different versions, just in case. If I ever need to do a reinstall, as long as I have a copy of this installation directory, I know I'll have an easy task.

In summary:

Code:

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\Data
    +- ThisPCname  =  Where I put real data I make
    ¦
    +-Installation
    ¦            +-Hardware  =  H/W drivers
    ¦            +-Software  =  S/W downloads & updates
    +-From
        +-Source1  =  useful data copied from elsewhere
        +-Source2
        +-Source3
            etc.

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All the reformat and reinstall advice is good, and I think all the sneaky little places that you can put data have been covered, but you may want to think about it for a day or two just to be sure you aren't forgetting anything. As far as drivers are concerned, I'd redownload all the drivers for the devices listed in the device manager, especially your NIC drivers. You might also want to copy down all your recognized hardware. I had a bitch of a time with an old soundcard I have last time I reinstalled XP.

If you use firefox there is a utility called mozbackup that will backup bukmrks, extensions, and cache for you.

Oh, doing a search for file types that you know you'll need can be helpful. For example, if you have word documents you want to save, search "*.doc". Note the directories where they come up and check to make sure you've gotten what you need out of there.

If it wasn't for the fact that it was a work computer (and you probably need windows), I'd have suggested that, given you were/are up for a complete reinstall anyway, you try a linux install. Something like Ubuntu seems to be a nice intro for old windows users.

Good luck and I hope it all works out. I would also suggest that as well as an anti-virus software, you also get something like spybot search and destroy (but maybe do not install teatimer).

James.

If it is a work computer, and you are not that computer savvy, then why are -you- reinstalling Windows? Isn't there an IT guy at work to help you out? Perhaps he even has premade images that he can slap on your computer to have you up and running within half an hour, with the necessary service packs and hotfixes installed already.

Btw, how do you connect that computer to the internet? directly :gth or via a firewall or wireless router?

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Originally Posted by Jimbo

If it wasn't for the fact that it was a work computer (and you probably need windows), I'd have suggested that, given you were/are up for a complete reinstall anyway, you try a linux install. Something like Ubuntu seems to be a nice intro for old windows users.

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i ran Ubuntu on my laptop for 4 years and really liked it. my problem is that i am always tinkering and for me to tinker with Linux i really needed to know a lot more about things. i was OK at it but some fairly simple things would hold me up and i would go a while without using any of the things i learned so i would forget them. so i went back to windows about 6 months ago, its not bad, i wouldn't say better, but not bad. i did really like Linux though. plus i had a theme that looked really sweet :rock:

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Originally Posted by Bruno

If it is a work computer, and you are not that computer savvy, then why are -you- reinstalling Windows? Isn't there an IT guy at work to help you out? Perhaps he even has premade images that he can slap on your computer to have you up and running within half an hour, with the necessary service packs and hotfixes installed already.

Btw, how do you connect that computer to the internet? directly :gth or via a firewall or wireless router?

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sorry for this confusion, i'm surprised it didn't come up earlier. when i say work computer i mean that i own a health food store and it is the computer i run my Point Of Sale program through (AKA my cash register). so unfortunately i am the IT guy :rofl2:

i am against Wi-Fi because of the constant EMFs givin off (i know this is controversial but it is my opinion :shrug:) and since i would be sitting in them for 9 hours a day so i used a simple 4 way router (we have natural practitioners int he back that also use it). i don't know about the firewall with it but i run the windows firewall. i am always open to suggestions though.


thanks
Wes