Computer crawls along

[Zaxdad]

Hi All.
My computer has basically turhed into a slug. lots loaded
with way too many apps and shareware etc. I've tried
removing programs. Is there a way to basically reinstall
windows but keep programs etc? I really don'tr want to
start from scratch.
TIA,
Zaxdad

 

[Grant]

Hi All.
My computer has basically turhed into a slug. lots loaded
with way too many apps and shareware etc. I've tried
removing programs. Is there a way to basically reinstall
windows but keep programs etc? I really don'tr want to
start from scratch.
TIA,
Zaxdad

You can do a repair install, but it probably won't help in your situation. You
need to backup your documents and reformat your hard drive, and reinstall
everything.

I usually make a backup of my computer right after installing all my typical
programs, so I can just reload the image, then I only have to reinstall the
extras I added later.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

My computer has basically turhed into a slug. lots loaded
with way too many apps and shareware etc. I've tried
removing programs. Is there a way to basically reinstall
windows but keep programs etc? I really don'tr want to
start from scratch.

Your problem is not what you think it is. How many programs you
have loaded has *zero* effect on the speed of your computer.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

In


Your problem is not what you think it is. How many programs you
have loaded has *zero* effect on the speed of your computer.

A clarification, since I just realized that what I wrote can be
read two ways. What I perhaps should have said is how many
programs you have *installed* has zero effect on the speed of
your computer. What you have running, on the other hand, can have
a great effect (but note that what's significant is not how many
programs, but which programs).

Also note that if what you have running is slowing you down, the
solution is to stop them from running, not to reinstall Windows.

 

[Grant]

In


A clarification, since I just realized that what I wrote can be
read two ways. What I perhaps should have said is how many
programs you have *installed* has zero effect on the speed of
your computer. What you have running, on the other hand, can have
a great effect (but note that what's significant is not how many
programs, but which programs).

Also note that if what you have running is slowing you down, the
solution is to stop them from running, not to reinstall Windows.

It can however cause other problems. Tons of unused registry entries, left over
system files, fragmented hard drive (if you've been installing and uninstalling
lots of software), etc.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

It can however cause other problems. Tons of unused registry
entries, left over system files, fragmented hard drive (if you've
been installing and uninstalling lots of software), etc.

All of these have much simpler solutions than reinstalling
Windows. It's foolhardy to reinstall Windows just because your
drive is fragmented.

 

[Tony Talmage]

There are many freeware tools that will find broken/pointless registry
entries and clean them out (not recommended for novices for safety reasons),
so I would have to agree with Ken. Formatting is such a long process (that
is, fdisking, formatting/installing windows, downloading updates,
reinstalling all software, transferring important files, etcetc) that it's
basically a last-ditch action.

--
Tony Talmage
Web Developer
Graphic Education Corporation
http://www.graphiced.com
(888) 354-6600

 

[Grant]

There are many freeware tools that will find broken/pointless registry
entries and clean them out (not recommended for novices for safety reasons),
so I would have to agree with Ken. Formatting is such a long process (that
is, fdisking, formatting/installing windows, downloading updates,
reinstalling all software, transferring important files, etcetc) that it's
basically a last-ditch action.

--
Tony Talmage
Web Developer
Graphic Education Corporation
http://www.graphiced.com
(888) 354-6600

In



All of these have much simpler solutions than reinstalling
Windows. It's foolhardy to reinstall Windows just because your
drive is fragmented.

Of course it is a last resort effort, I probably should have made that more
clear, but when you have a combination of all these problems, and windows starts
acting screwy, it's generally easier to reformat.