G
Guest
Hello.
I recently experienced a major crash, and I just had to reinstall Windows XP
Home Edition (service pack 2).
Things got pretty messy, it seems.
I did not format the harddrive, but just reinstalled Windows XP over
whatever was on that computer. At first, I was pleased that some documents
had survived !
Today I had some trouble with McAfee anti virus and the firewall (what else
is new !) and I decided to examine the computer system to get some insight.
Trouble with McAFee is fixed, for now.
It seems very weird. Initially, I thought I had two accounts. I got that
impression by looking at several My Documents folders and a few other things.
I decided to get rid of one that was not needed, I could (I think) delete
the files under that directory, but not the directories themselves. I was
unable to remove the directories, even though (for as far as I remember) they
are empty now.
I decided to use Webroot's Window Washer to clean some things out. (like
removing cookies etc.)
What's strange: I now have 10 to 14 cookie folders. Is that normal ? Or how
abnormal ? Several of the folders also have the word authority in them. I
just don't know what to make of them. I'd rather not lose all my programs and
data, I have no fancy way to quickly and easily install them if I'd reformat
my harddrive.
Should I cut down on my cookie folders ? To be clear: at the place where you
can manage your account (in control panel) I see only one, my own, account,
with full administrative rights.
Actually, I'd like to have the ability to delete directories (and files, but
they are usually easier) that are somehow protected. Does anyone have any
advice about how to do that ? I failed completely. (contained mostly system
data from the previous installation, I think) F8, diagnostic mode etc didn't
work.
If I could somehow cut down on the junk on my computer while keeping what's
valuable that would be very nice.
I put all cookies again on my computer, and they were all in the same
folder, except for one McAfee cookie, that was in a different cookie folder !
I'm sure many of you understand this much better than I do. I'm a somewhat
experienced user. I got my experience mostly from when things went wrong ...
Thank you.
Any help would be appreciated.
I recently experienced a major crash, and I just had to reinstall Windows XP
Home Edition (service pack 2).
Things got pretty messy, it seems.
I did not format the harddrive, but just reinstalled Windows XP over
whatever was on that computer. At first, I was pleased that some documents
had survived !
Today I had some trouble with McAfee anti virus and the firewall (what else
is new !) and I decided to examine the computer system to get some insight.
Trouble with McAFee is fixed, for now.
It seems very weird. Initially, I thought I had two accounts. I got that
impression by looking at several My Documents folders and a few other things.
I decided to get rid of one that was not needed, I could (I think) delete
the files under that directory, but not the directories themselves. I was
unable to remove the directories, even though (for as far as I remember) they
are empty now.
I decided to use Webroot's Window Washer to clean some things out. (like
removing cookies etc.)
What's strange: I now have 10 to 14 cookie folders. Is that normal ? Or how
abnormal ? Several of the folders also have the word authority in them. I
just don't know what to make of them. I'd rather not lose all my programs and
data, I have no fancy way to quickly and easily install them if I'd reformat
my harddrive.
Should I cut down on my cookie folders ? To be clear: at the place where you
can manage your account (in control panel) I see only one, my own, account,
with full administrative rights.
Actually, I'd like to have the ability to delete directories (and files, but
they are usually easier) that are somehow protected. Does anyone have any
advice about how to do that ? I failed completely. (contained mostly system
data from the previous installation, I think) F8, diagnostic mode etc didn't
work.
If I could somehow cut down on the junk on my computer while keeping what's
valuable that would be very nice.
I put all cookies again on my computer, and they were all in the same
folder, except for one McAfee cookie, that was in a different cookie folder !
I'm sure many of you understand this much better than I do. I'm a somewhat
experienced user. I got my experience mostly from when things went wrong ...
Thank you.
Any help would be appreciated.