Can I professionally clear my computer out and "start over"
Will there be a benefit? Is there an alternative?
My computer generally runs fine, but i think that there are some problems.
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M$5 Answers
Basically, all of your documents, favorites, etc need to be archived / backed up.
Then, Windows is re-installed from the distribution CD.
And voila, you have a freshly formatted PC.
Personally, I do this every 3-6 months. It keeps my PC in top notch working order.
Ask your local pro about "Norton Ghost" or "Acronis True Image". Using either of these programs, you can (very) easily clear your computer and start from scratch in about 20 min!!
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M$
1. backup any stuff u wanna save, and make sure u have a windows install disc.
2. reinstall windows (or linux, or whatever os u are using). u should have a windows install disc or have made one from a downloaded file. use your original serial number when u install it (some computers have the serial number on a sticker on the computer case somewhere). when u are reinstalling windows reformat your hdd also. this will remove anything that was on it previously.
3. reinstall any programs u want.
windows takes around 30 to 45 minutes to install. various programmes take various times in addition to that.
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M$
If you have a flash drive, cd writer, disc drive or can find online storage...I would suggest backing up addresses, important documents, pictures and the like beforehand.
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M$
over"
> and have everything cleared out and re-install the programs?
Yes of course.
> Will there be a benefit? Is there an alternative?
The answer is as always "it depends" :/
> My computer generally runs fine, but i think that there are some problems.
What are the problems? Most computer problems can be sorted out without taking the extreme step of reformatting. Its impossible to answer without knowing the problems. There can be a thousands things that go wrong with computers and a few thousands ways to solve them. Here is some general advice.
The debatable benefits of "starting over":
- You start with a clean hard disk. If you have been installing and uninstalling SW for 3 years, there's prbly loads of junk left over from each SW, eating up disk space.
- Any viruses/spamware/malware/adware will be deleted.
- If your computer wasnt set up properly the first time, it can be corrected this time.
- You can have better control of how many partitions are made, and how you will organize your machine (for instance, I dont store any personal data on the primary windows partition, and I have other hard disk partitions for storing personal data files, music, movies, whatever)
- You can have control over what OS is installed, thou this is debatable benefit. A 3 yr old computer will either run Windows 98 or XP. If you didnt have XP, this would be a good time to switch to it. If you had XP, then stick to it happily.
The problems with starting over:
- If you have personal data to be restored later you need to move all this data to a non-Windows partition, or to a backup drive, or copy onto a CD/DVD, or to another machine over a network connection.
- If you had installed some original SW that came on some physical media (CD/DVD) and came with a serial number/code, then you need to locate them to be able to reinstall. If you've lost them, then you are in a bit of a soup.
- You have to pay someone to set up your computer. I assume you arnt tech savvy to do this yourself. This means formatting, reinstalling the OS, loading the drivers, installing all the SW, updating all the SW to the latest stuff. Someone's gonna charge you a bundle for this stuff.
- If you have set up your computer/programs in a certain way, you need to bring them back to the same condition. Certain programs like Firefox lets you backup your user profile and restore it. Windows also lets you do this for some settings, and so on. For others, you need to spend time and effort in customizing your PC to the way it was.
- If you have a HW problem, thats not going to be solved by "starting over".
Alternatives:
- Leave your PC running as it is and solve the problems.
- If you have a virus/malware/spyware problem, it can be cured with zillions of free antivirus SW.
- If your computer is running slow, it can prbly be cured. There can be many reasons, low physical memory, low virtual memory, too many programs/services eating up memory/CPU, virus, malware, spyware and what have we. Some problems can be cured again without reformatting.
- If some SW is causing problem, it can be corrected by reinstalling. Even the OS can be reinstalled on a already running system. Most SW can be updated over the internet, that might cure many issues.
Bottomline.
I've been managing PCs of friends and family for many years and had to "start over" *very* few times since the days of Win 98.
Experience. Trial and error. Reading a zillion websites over the years too numerous to name.
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M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Does that totally reinstall the OS and contents in 20 min? Every time I have done a reinstall with Windows it seems to take an hour to install the os and go through the windows validation process. It might just be me though.
Yes, I mentioned this. Perhaps not clearly enough.
The process:
Basically, all of your documents, favorites, etc need to be archived / backed up.
Then, Windows is re-installed from the distribution CD.
And voila, you have a freshly formatted PC.
Personally, I do this every 3-6 months. It keeps my PC in top notch working order.
Ask your local pro about "Norton Ghost" or "Acronis True Image". Using either of these programs, you can (very) easily clear your computer and start from scratch in about 20 min!!
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So basically, set everything up, run Norton Ghost or Acronis and the next time you want to "start fresh", you can have a perfectly clean operating system in under 20 minutes with under 10 clicks.
Sorry. Norton Ghost and the like do a true copy of a hard disk, warts and all. Its used when you know you have a clean PC and want to make a hard disk image to return to in case of problems. Its for creating a restore image. It does not "clear your computer".
If someone follows your wrong advice, he will end up making an exact copy of his hard disk contents and restoring the same, problems and all.
Yup, 20 minutes to re-install completely. From start to finish.
There's even a free trial of Acronis: http://www.acronis.com/
Give it a try. There really isn't a better way to maintain a windows PC.