How many programs before reinstalling?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Franklin
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Franklin

I have been getting ready to get a second PC. This made me look at
how much stuff I have got on my present system. Despite lots of
tweaks and cleaning my current system is getting bloated and tangled.
Performance is not bad but could be better. Here are some statistics
on what I found:

Using 'MyUninstaller' http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html
I can see I have 511 installed programs!

In addition there are those programs which didn't need any
installation. I reckon I have about 100 of these ready and
waiting to be used from a shortcut link on my menus.

And then there are all those programs which were so unimpressive
that they got uninstalled. I don't know how many of those there
were. 50? 100? 150?

Adding together my figures of 511 + 100 + approx 100 then I see my
XP system has had about 700 or maybe even 800 programs.

That is going to take a lot of customizing when I put together a
replacement system!

-------------

Other background info is :

Based on the creation date of the 'WINDOWS' folder, my WinXP is
about 30 months old (installed in Jan 2003).

The C drive, which also contains no substantial data, is 14 GB of
which 10 GB is used up.

The Program Files folder, which contains *no* substantial data
files, is a bit over 5 GB.

If I sort by size the installed programs list on MyUninstaller or
Add/Remove then the middle size is about 1.7 MB.
Largest program at 357 MB is MS hotfix KB896727 (Aug 2005).
Largest user application is Photoshop at 189 MB.

What sort of data do other people have?

On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for before
(re)installing a new XP system?
 
Franklin

If you just keep the computer tidy, there is no set point for re-installing
XP.. I would only recommend re-installing if all else failed anyway..

I really don't see a problem for you.. all that you have to do is install
whatever you want on the new system, regardless of what is on the old one..
 
"On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for before
(re)installing a new XP system?"

As long as your computer is free of malware and well maintained, there is
never a need to reinstall XP. Do so for your own reasons.

I think there are a few newsgroups you missed.
 
I have been getting ready to get a second PC. This made me look at
how much stuff I have got on my present system. Despite lots of
tweaks and cleaning my current system is getting bloated and tangled.
Performance is not bad but could be better. Here are some statistics
on what I found:

Using 'MyUninstaller' http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html
I can see I have 511 installed programs!

Frank,

If you're spending any time "tweaking and cleaning" your system, I'm simply
astonished at the number of programs you still have installed--really, how
many are you actually using? My previous XP machine had been running
without a reinstall for roughly 3 years (a record for me) and I had maybe
50-60 apps, a significant portion of which I found out over time I didn't
really need but I was hanging onto "just in case".

Unless that utility displays more than just "programs"...that's just bloody
amazing.
Adding together my figures of 511 + 100 + approx 100 then I see my
XP system has had about 700 or maybe even 800 programs.

That is going to take a lot of customizing when I put together a
replacement system!

Better yet, only reinstall the stuff you know you need. The previous XP
machine I'm referring to above recently died, and I didn't reinstall
*anything* on the new machine beyond what I know I used on a weekly basis.
Things are slowly creeping back up over time (it's been roughly a month
now), but I skipped a *lot* of programs I had on my other machine I thought
I was going to have a use for "later". Don't start off with the thought
that you're going to have to duplicate your current machine--this as an
opportunity to start clean again. If you're unsure about a particular
program, burn its setup program to CD/DVD or bookmark the web site you got
it from. Don't reinstall it simply because you have it available. You'll
find out you really don't need an awful lot in your day-to-day use.
The C drive, which also contains no substantial data, is 14 GB of
which 10 GB is used up.

I'd say that's par for the course, at least on my machines.
The Program Files folder, which contains *no* substantial data
files, is a bit over 5 GB.

Program Files shouldn't contain *any* data. In fact ideally drive C: itself
shouldn't contain any data. I always try to get my system in a state where
if I have to nuke the OS and reinstall in a hurry, I don't have to backup
*any* data file. Use different partitions (or different physical drives)
for My Documents and the like. My general rule of thumb is, anything that
needs to go through an installation process after rebuilding the OS, put it
on drive C:. Any data file that is still usable simply by copying it from
one location to another, put it elsewhere. If you follow this basic scheme
and use backup software, don't bother backing up drive C: at all as it will
only contain program files that will be copied back from the original media
when you reinstall anyway.
If I sort by size the installed programs list on MyUninstaller or
Add/Remove then the middle size is about 1.7 MB.
Largest program at 357 MB is MS hotfix KB896727 (Aug 2005).
Largest user application is Photoshop at 189 MB.

What sort of data do other people have?

Development and debugging tools, and their corresponding documentation, will
eat away gigabytes in a single installation. As far as data goes, if you're
into video editing at all, you can expect hundreds of megabytes, if not
gigabytes, per file. I keep ISO images of CDs on a separate partition so I
don't have to dig them out every time I wanna fire up a game that requires
the media to be in the drive. Then there's the download leeches and the MP3
whore types. :-)
On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for before
(re)installing a new XP system?

There's no point in reinstalling any OS based on a fixed schedule or the
number of programs you have installed. I only do it after the system
develops too many quirks I can't get rid of. As mentioned, in XP's case,
it's been over 3 years for me, and the motherboard gave up before the OS
itself became unusable (it developed quirks over time, but nothing bad
enough to force me to reinstall). Back in the Win9x days, I was
reinstalling quarterly if not monthly (good riddance!)...

Of course if you're the type who constantly ends up with hard-to-get-rid-of
spyware, you might be reinstalling more often...but by no means should you
follow a schedule or wait for X number of programs to be installed. I've
been maintaining my machines for nearly 20 years now, and I'm a *huge* pack
rat. But I don't move old programs over to new machines unless I have a
need for them. Otherwise things become unmanageable.
 
In
Franklin said:
I have been getting ready to get a second PC. This made me
look at
how much stuff I have got on my present system. Despite lots
of
tweaks and cleaning my current system is getting bloated and
tangled.
Performance is not bad but could be better. Here are some
statistics
on what I found:

Using 'MyUninstaller'
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html
I can see I have 511 installed programs!

In addition there are those programs which didn't need any
installation. I reckon I have about 100 of these ready and
waiting to be used from a shortcut link on my menus.

And then there are all those programs which were so
unimpressive
that they got uninstalled. I don't know how many of those
there
were. 50? 100? 150?

Adding together my figures of 511 + 100 + approx 100 then I see
my
XP system has had about 700 or maybe even 800 programs.

That is going to take a lot of customizing when I put together
a
replacement system!

-------------

Other background info is :

Based on the creation date of the 'WINDOWS' folder, my WinXP is
about 30 months old (installed in Jan 2003).

The C drive, which also contains no substantial data, is 14 GB
of
which 10 GB is used up.

The Program Files folder, which contains *no* substantial data
files, is a bit over 5 GB.

If I sort by size the installed programs list on MyUninstaller
or
Add/Remove then the middle size is about 1.7 MB.
Largest program at 357 MB is MS hotfix KB896727 (Aug 2005).
Largest user application is Photoshop at 189 MB.

What sort of data do other people have?

On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for
before
(re)installing a new XP system?


I have *never* reinstalled WIndows XP or any other version of
Windows. Maintain your system well and reinstallation should
never be necessary. Reinstallation should be a last-resort remedy
to fix a problem, when all other efforts have failed.

Also note that the number of programs you have installed has no
effect on performance. What you have *running* effects
performance, not what you have installed.

It's like the performance of your car and the number of people in
your family. Have 18 children but leave them home when you drive,
and your cars's performance won't change. But put them all in the
car at once and performance will suffer because of the extra
weight.

I have no idea how many programs I have installed, and I don't
particularly care. Besides, the count would be different
depending on how you do it. If you count all exe files, you'll
get a much higher number than the number of products you bought
or downloaded, since many software products come with multiple
exe files. As a result, comparing one person's numbers with
anothers is almost certainly very misleading, because it's likely
that they will count differently.
 
If you have sensitive info (banking for ex), reinstall every few months (6
at most) to get rid of malware. Better, plan what programs you need and know
that are safe, clean install XP, activate and image the system partition
(c:). If you partition judiciously, a restoration of the system image would
take a few minutes (depends what machine you have) and you'll be able to run
as new. In fact, you can restore daily if you so desire. The idea is that
the hackers will eventually get through to your machine(s) no matter how
much protection you consider to run. Hence, I repeat, every 6 months at most
do a restoration or a clean installation - that is if you have sensitive
info on your machine.
Michael
 
Phillips said:
If you have sensitive info (banking for ex), reinstall every few months (6
at most) to get rid of malware. Better, plan what programs you need and
know that are safe, clean install XP, activate and image the system
partition (c:). If you partition judiciously, a restoration of the system
image would take a few minutes (depends what machine you have) and you'll
be able to run as new. In fact, you can restore daily if you so desire.
The idea is that the hackers will eventually get through to your
machine(s) no matter how much protection you consider to run. Hence, I
repeat, every 6 months at most do a restoration or a clean installation -
that is if you have sensitive info on your machine.
Michael

One word: wow.

If I had a machine that contained information so sensitive that I'd have to
revert to reinstalling every 6 months, I'd go with an even simpler solution:
take the machine off the internet!

Go online with something else. Don't visit warez sites. I've yet to have a
single piece of spyware install itself on any of my boxes, much less my
primary machine which is totally isolated from the rest of the world (it
doesn't even have an anti-virus installed, and any file that gets copied to
it has already been scanned elsewhere).
 
Phillips

Why if you have sensitive info?.. is the sensitive info only present just
before one clean installs?
 
No, some sensitive info (info that you want to keep hidden from others such
as personal data that can be used to open a credit account, ) might
accumulate over time. Same way, your machine might get infected - some
friend using it occasionally for whatever web job or simply inadequate
protection. The general assumption is that, in long run, chances are your
machine will get infected - function of your work habits, who has access to
that machine (friends' kids on an occasional visit, for ex) etc. Then, you
do not want some keyboard spying malware lurking on your machine
indefinitely; you simply start clean.
Moreover, a lot of unnecessary files accumulate over time - testing/trying
various programs (firewalls, for ex :), updated drivers etc. Then, instead
of running a bunch of cleaning utilities and investing some time into it,
you can simply start clean again - using the latest drivers, the programs
that you liked.
Of course, some advanced or experienced users might never need to go this
way, but for most, preventively, it is worth doing it.
Michael
 
Yup, that's the safest way... but it's not what I'd call "simple" since you
have to have at least two dedicated machines even three - one for general
web surfing, one for private/sensitive/business web activities, another one
in a vault :)
Michael
 
On Thu 11 Aug 2005 14:40:27, Ted Zieglar wrote:
"On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for
before (re)installing a new XP system?"

As long as your computer is free of malware and well maintained,
there is never a need to reinstall XP. Do so for your own
reasons.

I think there are a few newsgroups you missed.

Hi Ted, I don't think it is quite a simple as you describe in real
life. There are many badly behaved programs which leave behind
debris on the system.

I think we have to take account of that. In my case those sorts
of programs has meant that my Explorer shell is far from stable.
I get lockups all too frequently. Various tools have failed to
help and may even have matters worse.

When my services.exe checks through the services (and I don't know
why it does that) it seems to involve explorer.exe going through
every hardware device I have ever installed.
 
I have been getting ready to get a second PC. This made me look at
how much stuff I have got on my present system. Despite lots of
tweaks and cleaning my current system is getting bloated and tangled.
Performance is not bad but could be better. Here are some statistics
on what I found:

Using 'MyUninstaller' http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html
I can see I have 511 installed programs!

In addition there are those programs which didn't need any
installation. I reckon I have about 100 of these ready and
waiting to be used from a shortcut link on my menus.

And then there are all those programs which were so unimpressive
that they got uninstalled. I don't know how many of those there
were. 50? 100? 150?

Adding together my figures of 511 + 100 + approx 100 then I see my
XP system has had about 700 or maybe even 800 programs.

That is going to take a lot of customizing when I put together a
replacement system!

-------------

Other background info is :

Based on the creation date of the 'WINDOWS' folder, my WinXP is
about 30 months old (installed in Jan 2003).

The C drive, which also contains no substantial data, is 14 GB of
which 10 GB is used up.

The Program Files folder, which contains *no* substantial data
files, is a bit over 5 GB.

If I sort by size the installed programs list on MyUninstaller or
Add/Remove then the middle size is about 1.7 MB.
Largest program at 357 MB is MS hotfix KB896727 (Aug 2005).
Largest user application is Photoshop at 189 MB.

What sort of data do other people have?

On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for before
(re)installing a new XP system?
Do you use a registry cleaner on a regular basis? And do you
defrag on a regular basis? I find these two keep things running
pretty smoothely and I too have an awful lot installed and
customized.

Louise
 
Franklin said:
"On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for
before (re)installing a new XP system?"

Ted said:
As long as your computer is free of malware and well maintained,
there is never a need to reinstall XP. Do so for your own
reasons.

I think there are a few newsgroups you missed.
Hi Ted, I don't think it is quite a simple as you describe in real
life. There are many badly behaved programs which leave behind
debris on the system.

I think we have to take account of that. In my case those sorts
of programs has meant that my Explorer shell is far from stable.
I get lockups all too frequently. Various tools have failed to
help and may even have matters worse.

When my services.exe checks through the services (and I don't know
why it does that) it seems to involve explorer.exe going through
every hardware device I have ever installed.

If you used the tools built into Windows XP and the uninstallation of the
applications poroperly - Ted is 100% correct.
Even if you didn't - you still should not have to reinstall Windows XP
because of leftover registry entries from old installs. It would take
1000's of such entries to cause a significant slowdown on any machine
"worth" running Windows XP on.

I think the real problem comes with education - or lack thereof.

You were given a tool called "System Restore".. With this you could make a
restore point before installing that "trial software" and then when you are
done trying it and uninstall it using Add/Remove programs (Custom Removal if
asked, removing every component) - you then restore to the point before
installing it using System Restore? Sound tedious? Maybe - but you
shouldn't have any lingering registry entries or files if done in that
manner.

If you don't trust System Restore - and you insist on installing such things
on your computer frequently - you have another option. Purchase
Symantec/Norton Ghost and/or Acronis TrueImage. Make a backup of your
system periodically and if you notice things "going awry" despite your best
efforts at keeping your system secure and clean - restore the machine to the
last known good image of it. This - of course - highly depends on you
either storing your files on another partition/drive/network location or
maintaining system backups (as you should be anyway.)

If all that fails and you insist on going on with the frequent reinstalls -
it will still depend heavily on you performing regular backups of your
files - documents, spreadsheets, pictures, emails, contacts and all manner
of other things you might want to keep. You should then consider
customizing your installation CD to make it easier and faster for you to
restore the system to not only a working state - but a step beyond -
installing basic plugins and programs you normally use in the process all
autmatically. Web pages like http://unattended.msfn.org/ can walk you
through the creation of such installation CDs.

I digress.. Any machine that is kept up to date, maintained and backed up
regularly should NOT have to be redone for any reason other than hardware
disaster or user mistreatment. The tips I am about to give you are a great
place to start.

Microsoft has these suggestions for Protecting your computer from the
various things that could happen to you/it:

Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/


Although those tips are fantastic, there are many things you should
know above and beyond what is there. Below I have detailed
out many steps that can not only help you clean-up a problem PC but
keep it clean ,secure and running at its top performance mark.

I know this text can seem intimidating - it is quite long and a lot
to take in for a novice - but I assure you that one trip through this
list and you will understand your computer and the options available
to you for protecting your data much better - and that the next time
you review these steps, the time it takes will be greatly reduced.

Let's take the cleanup of your computer step-by-step. Yes, it will take
up some of your time - but consider what you use your computer
for and how much you would dislike it if all of your stuff on your
computer went away because you did not "feel like" performing some
simple maintenance tasks - think of it like taking out your garbage,
collecting and sorting your postal mail, paying your bills on time,
etc.

I'll mainly work around Windows XP, as that is what the bulk of this
document is about; however, here is a place for you poor souls still
stuck in Windows 98/ME where you can get information on maintaining
your system:

Windows 98 and 'Maintaining Your Computer':
http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/usingwindows/maintaining/

Windows ME Computer Health:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsME/using/computerhealth/articles/

Pay close attention to the sections:
(in order)
- Clean up your hard disk
- Check for errors by running ScanDisk
- Defragment your hard disk
- Roll back the clock with System Restore


Also - now is a good time to point you to one of the easiest ways to find
information on problems you may be having and solutions others have found:

Search using Google!
http://www.google.com/
(How-to: http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/basics.html )


Now, let's go through some maintenance first that should only have to be
done once (mostly):

Tip (1):
Locate all of the software you have installed on your computer.
(the installation media - CDs, downloaded files, etc)
Collect these CDs and files together in a central and safe
place along with their CD keys and such. Make backups of these
installation media sets using your favorite copying method (CD/DVD Burner
and application, Disk copier, etc.) You'll be glad to know that if you
have a CD/DVD burner, you may be able to use a free application to make a
duplicate copy of your CDs. One such application is ISORecorder:

ISORecorder page (with general instructions on use):
http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/beta.htm

Yes - it is BETA software - but very useful and well tested.

More full function applications (free) for CD/DVD burning would be:

DeepBurner Free
http://www.deepburner.com/

CDBurnerXP Pro
http://www.cdburnerxp.se/

Another Option would be to search the web with Pricewatch.com or
Dealsites.net and find deals on Products like Ahead Nero and/or Roxio.


Tip (2):
Empty your Temporary Internet Files and shrink the size it stores to a
size between 128MB and 512MB..

- Open ONE copy of Internet Explorer.
- Select TOOLS -> Internet Options.
- Under the General tab in the "Temporary Internet Files" section, do the
following:
- Click on "Delete Cookies" (click OK)
- Click on "Settings" and change the "Amount of disk space to use:" to
something between 128MB and 512MB. (Betting it is MUCH larger right
now.)
- Click OK.
- Click on "Delete Files" and select to "Delete all offline contents"
(the checkbox) and click OK. (If you had a LOT, this could take 2-10
minutes or more.)
- Once it is done, click OK, close Internet Explorer, re-open Internet
Explorer.


Tip (3):
If things are running a bit sluggish and/or you have an older system
(1.5GHz or less and 256MB RAM or less) then you may want to look into
tweaking the performance by turning off some of the 'resource hogging'
Windows XP "prettifications". The fastest method is:

Control Panel --> System --> Advanced tab --> Performance section,
Settings button. Then choose "adjust for best performance" and you
now have a Windows 2000/98 look which turned off most of the annoying
"prettifications" in one swift action. You can play with the last
three checkboxes to get more of an XP look without many of the
other annoyances. You could also grab and install/use one
(or more) of the Microsoft Powertoys - TweakUI in particular:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx


Tip (4):
Understanding what a good password might be is vital to your
personal and system security. You may think you do not need to password
your home computer, as you may have it in a locked area (your home) where
no one else has access to it. Remember, however, you aren't always
"in that locked area" when using your computer online - meaning you likely
have usernames and passwords associated with web sites and the likes that
you would prefer other people do not discover/use. This is why you should
understand and utilize good passwords.

Good passwords are those that meet these general rules
(mileage may vary):

Passwords should contain at least six characters, and the character
string should contain at least three of these four character types:
- uppercase letters
- lowercase letters
- numerals
- nonalphanumeric characters (e.g., *, %, &, !, :)

Passwords should not contain your name/username.
Passwords should be unique to you and easy to remember.

One method many people are using today is to make up a phrase that
describes a point in their life and then turning that phrase into their
password by using only certain letters out of each word in that phrase.
It's much better than using your birthday month/year or your anniversary
in a pure sense. For example, let's say my phrase is:
'Moved to new home in 2004'
I could come up with this password from that:
'Mv2n3whmN04'

The password tip is in the one time section, but I highly
recommend you periodically change your passwords. The suggested time
varies, but I will throw out a 'once in every 3 to 6 months for
every account you have.'


Tip (5):
This tip is also 'questionable' in the one time section; however -
if properly setup - this one can be pretty well ignored for most people
after the initial 'fiddle-with' time.

Why you should use a computer firewall..
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/viruses/fwbenefits.mspx

You should, in some way, use a firewall. Hardware (like a nice
Cable Modem/DSL router) or software is up to you. Many use both of
these. The simplest one to use is the hardware one, as most people
don't do anything that they will need to configure their NAT device
for and those who do certainly will not mind fiddling with the equipment
to make things work for them. Next in the line of simplicity would
have to be the built-in Windows Firewall of Windows XP. In SP2 it
is turned on by default. It is not difficult to turn on in any
case, however:

Enable/Disable the Internet Connection Firewall (Pre-SP2):
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283673

More information on the Internet Connection Firewall (Pre-SP2):
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320855

Post-SP2 Windows Firewall Information/guidance:
http://snipurl.com/atal

The trouble with the Windows Firewall is that it only keeps things
out. For most people who maintain their system in other ways, this is
MORE than sufficient. However, you may feel otherwise. If you want to
know when one of your applications is trying to obtain access to the
outside world so you can stop it, then you will have to install a
third-party application and configure/maintain it. I have compiled a
list with links of some of the better known/free firewalls you can choose
from:

BlackICE PC Protection (~$39.95 and up)
http://blackice.iss.net/

Jetico Personal Firewall (Free)
http://www.jetico.com/index.htm#/jpfirewall.htm

Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF) (Free and up)
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_download.html

Outpost Firewall from Agnitum (Free and up)
http://www.agnitum.com/download/

Sygate Personal Firewall (Free and up)
http://smb.sygate.com/buy/download_buy.htm

Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall (~$25 and up)
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/npf/

ZoneAlarm (Free and up)
http://snipurl.com/6ohg

You should find the right firewall for your situation in that
list and set it up.

Every firewall WILL require some maintenance. Essentially checking for
patches or upgrades (this goes for hardware and software solutions) is
the extent of this maintenance - you may also have to configure your
firewall to allow some traffic depending on your needs.

** Don't stack the software firewalls! Running more than one software
firewall will not make you safer - it would possibly negate some
protection you gleamed from one or the other firewall you run.


Now that you have some of the more basic things down..
Let's go through some of the steps you should take periodically to
maintain a healthy and stable windows computer. If you have not
done some of these things in the past, they may seem tedious - however,
they will become routine and some can even be automatically scheduled.


Tip (6):
The system restore feature is a new one - first appearing in Windows
ME and then sticking around for Windows XP. It is a useful feature
if you keep it maintained and use it to your advantage. Remember that
the system restore pretty much tells you in the name what it protects
which is 'system' files. Your documents, your pictures, your stuff is
NOT system files - so you should also look into some backup solution.

I have seen the automatic system restore go wrong too many times not
to suggest the following.. Whenever you think about it (after doing a
once-over on your machine once a month or so would be optimal) - clear
out your System Restore and create a manual restoration point.

'Why?'

Too many times have I seen the system restore files go corrupt or get
a virus in them, meaning you could not or did not want to restore from
them. By clearing it out periodically you help prevent any corruption
from happening and you make sure you have at least one good "snapshot".
(*This, of course, will erase any previous restore point you have.*)

- Turn off System Restore.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310405
- Reboot the Computer.
- Review the first bullet to turn on System Restore
- Make a Manual Restoration Point.
http://snipurl.com/68nx

That covers your system files, but doesn't do anything for the files
that you are REALLY worried about - yours! For that you need to look
into backups. You can either manually copy your important files, folders,
documents, spreadsheets, emails, contacts, pictures, drawings and so on
to an external location (CD/DVD - any disk of some sort, etc) or you can
use the backup tool that comes with Windows XP:

How To Use Backup to Back Up Files and Folders on Your Computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308422

Yes - you still need some sort of external media to store the results
on, but you could schedule the backup to occur when you are not around,
then burn the resultant data onto CD or DVD or something when you are
(while you do other things!)

A lot of people have wondered about how to completely backup their system
so that they would not have to go through the trouble of a reinstall..
I'm going to voice my opinion here and say that it would be worthless to
do for MOST people. Unless you plan on periodically updating the image
backup of your system (remaking it) - then by the time you use it
(something goes wrong) - it will be so outdated as to be more trouble than
performing a full install of the operating system and all applications.

Having said my part against it, you can clone/backup your hard drive
completely using many methods - by far the simplest are using disk cloning
applications:

Symantec/Norton Ghost
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/

Acronis True Image
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage


Tip (7):
You should sometimes look through the list of applications that are
installed on your computer. The list may surprise you. There are more
than likely things in there you know you never use - so why have them
there? There may even be things you know you did *not* install and
certainly do not use (maybe don't WANT to use.)

This web site should help you get started at looking through this list:

How to Uninstall Programs
http://snipurl.com/8v6b

A word of warning - Do NOT uninstall anything you think you MIGHT need
in the future unless you have completed Tip (1) and have the installation
media and proper keys for use backed up somewhere safe!


Tip (8):
Patches and Updates!

This one cannot be stressed enough. It is SO simple, yet so neglected
by many people. It is especially simple for the critical Windows patches!
Microsoft put in an AUTOMATED feature for you to utilize so that you do
NOT have to worry yourself about the patching of the Operating System:

How to configure and use Automatic Updates in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306525

However, not everyone wants to be a slave to automation, and that is
fine. Admittedly, I prefer this method on some of my more critical
systems.

Windows Update
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

Go there and scan your machine for updates. Always get the critical ones
as you see them. Write down the KB###### or Q###### you see when
selecting the updates and if you have trouble over the next few days,
go into your control panel (Add/Remove Programs), insure that the
'Show Updates' checkbox is checked and match up the latest numbers you
downloaded recently (since you started noticing an issue) and uninstall
them. If there was more than one (usually is), uninstall them one by one
with a few hours of use in between, to see if the problem returns.
Yes - the process is not perfect (updating) and can cause trouble like I
mentioned - but as you can see, the solution isn't that bad - and is
MUCH better than the alternatives.

Windows is not the only product you likely have on your PC. The
manufacturers of the other products usually have updates. New versions
of almost everything come out all the time - some are free, some are pay
and some you can only download if you are registered - but it is best
to check. Just go to their web pages and look under their support and
download sections. For example, for Microsoft Office you should visit:

Microsoft Office Updates
http://office.microsoft.com/
(and select 'Check for Updates' and/or 'Downloads' for more)

You also have hardware on your machine that requires drivers to interface
with the operating system. You have a video card that allows you to see on
your screen, a sound card that allows you to hear your PCs sound output and
so on. Visit those manufacturer web sites for the latest downloadable
drivers for your hardware/operating system. Always get the manufacturers'
hardware driver over any Microsoft offers. On the Windows Update site I
mentioned earlier, I suggest NOT getting their hardware drivers - no matter
how tempting.

How do you know what hardware you have in your computer? Break out the
invoice or if it is up and working now - take inventory:

Belarc Advisor
http://belarc.com/free_download.html

EVEREST Home Edition
http://www.lavalys.com/products/download.php?pid=1&lang=en

Once you know what you have, what next? Go get the latest driver for your
hardware/OS from the manufacturer's web page. For example, let's say you
have an NVidia chipset video card or ATI video card, perhaps a Creative
Labs sound card or C-Media chipset sound card...

NVidia Video Card Drivers
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp

ATI Video Card Drivers
http://www.atitech.com/support/driver.html

Creative Labs Sound Device
http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/

C-Media Sound Device
http://www.cmedia.com.tw/e_download_01.htm

Then install these drivers. Updated drivers are usually more stable and
may provide extra benefits/features that you really wished you had before.

As for Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP, Microsoft has made this
particular patch available in a number of ways. First, there is the
Windows Update web page above. Then there is a direct download site
and finally, you can order the FREE CD from Microsoft.

Direct Download of Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP
http://snipurl.com/8bqy

Order the Free Windows XP SP2 CD
http://snipurl.com/8umo

If all else fails - grab the full download above and try to use that.
In this case - consider yourself a 'IT professional or developer'.


Tip (9):
What about the dreaded word in the computer world, VIRUS?

Well, there are many products to choose from that will help you prevent
infections from these horrid little applications. Many are FREE to the
home user and which you choose is a matter of taste, really. Many people
have emotional attachments or performance issues with one or another
AntiVirus software. Try some out, read reviews and decide for yourself
which you like more:

( Good Comparison Page for AV software: http://www.av-comparatives.org/ )

AntiVir (Free and up)
http://www.free-av.com/

avast! (Free and up)
http://www.avast.com/

AVG Anti-Virus System (Free and up)
http://free.grisoft.com/

eset NOD32 (~$39.00 and up)
http://www.eset.com/products/products.htm

eTrust EZ Antivirus (~$29.95 and up)
http://ca.com/store/home/us/hp2/

Kaspersky Anti-Virus (~$49.95 and up)
http://www.kaspersky.com/products.html

McAfee VirusScan (~$11 and up)
http://www.mcafee.com/

Panda Antivirus Titanium (~$39.95 and up)
http://www.pandasoftware.com/
(Free Online Scanner: http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/)

RAV AntiVirus Online Virus Scan (Free!)
http://www.ravantivirus.com/scan/

Symantec (Norton) AntiVirus (~$11 and up)
http://www.symantec.com/nav/nav_9xnt/

Trend Micro (~$49.95 and up)
http://www.trendmicro.com/en/home/us/personal.htm
(Free Online Scanner:
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp)


Most of them have automatic update capabilities. You will have to
look into the features of the one you choose. Whatever one you finally
settle with - be SURE to keep it updated (I recommend at least daily) and
perform a full scan periodically (yes, most protect you actively, but a
full scan once a month at 4AM probably won't bother you.)


Tip (10):
The most rampant infestation at the current time concerns SPYWARE/ADWARE.
You need to eliminate it from your machine.

There is no one software that cleans and immunizes you against
everything. Antivirus software - you only needed one. Firewall, you
only needed one. AntiSpyware - you will need several. I have a list and
I recommend you use at least the first five.

First - make sure you have NOT installed "Rogue AntiSpyware". There are
people out there who created AntiSpyware products that actually install
spyware of their own! You need to avoid these:

Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm

Also, you can always visit this site..
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
For more updated information.

Install the first five of these: (Install, Run, Update, Scan with..)
(If you already have one or more - uninstall them and download the
LATEST version from the page given!)

Lavasoft AdAware (Free and up)
http://www.lavasoft.de/support/download/
(How-to: http://snipurl.com/atdn )

Spybot Search and Destroy (Free!)
http://www.safer-networking.net/en/download/index.html
(How-to: http://snipurl.com/atdk )

Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner (Free!)
http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/
(How-to: http://snipurl.com/ate3 )

SpywareBlaster (Free!)
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/sbdownload.html
(How-to: http://snipurl.com/ate6 )

IE-SPYAD2 (Free!)
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/resource.htm
(How-to: http://snipurl.com/ate7 )

CWShredder Stand-Alone (Free!)
http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html

Hijack This! (Free!)
http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html
(Log Analyzer: http://hjt.iamnotageek.com/ )

ToolbarCop (Free!)
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/toolbarcop.htm

Microsoft AntiSpyware BETA (in testing stages - Free!)
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/
(How-to: http://snipurl.com/fqur )

Browser Security Tests (Free Tester)
http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/BrowserSecurity/

Popup Tester (Free Tester)
http://www.popuptest.com/

The Cleaner (~$49.95 and up)
http://www.moosoft.com/

Sometimes you need to install the application and reboot into SAFE MODE in
order to thoroughly clean your computer. Many applications also have
(or are) immunization applications. Spybot Search and Destroy and
SpywareBlaster are two that currently do the best job at passively
protecting your system from malware. None of these programs (in these
editions) run in the background unless you TELL them to. The space they
take up and how easy they are to use greatly makes up for any inconvenience
you may be feeling.

Please notice that Windows XP SP2 does help stop popups as well.

Another option is to use an alternative Web browser. I suggest
'Mozilla Firefox', as it has some great features and is very easy to use:

Mozilla Firefox
http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/


So your machine is pretty clean and up to date now. If you use the sections
above as a guide, it should stay that way as well! There are still a few
more things you can do to keep your machine running in top shape.


Tip (11):
You should periodically check your hard drive(s) for errors and defragment
them. Only defragment after you have cleaned up your machine of
outside parasites and never defragment as a solution to a quirkiness in
your system. It may help speed up your system, but it should be clean
before you do this. Do these things IN ORDER...

How to use Disk Cleanup
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

How to scan your disks for errors
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265

How to Defragment your hard drives
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848

I would personally perform the above steps at least once every three months.
For most people this should be sufficient, but if the difference you notice
afterwards is greater than you think it should be, lessen the time in
between its schedule.. If the difference you notice is negligible, you can
increase the time.


Tip (12):
SPAM! JUNK MAIL!
This one can get annoying, just like the rest. You get 50 emails in one
sitting and 2 of them you wanted. NICE! (Not.) What can you do? Well,
although there are services out there to help you, some email
servers/services that actually do lower your spam with features built into
their servers - I still like the methods that let you be the end-decision
maker on what is spam and what is not. I have two products to suggest to
you, look at them and see if either of them suite your needs. Again, if
they don't, Google is free and available for your perusal.

SpamBayes (Free!)
http://spambayes.sourceforge.net/

Spamihilator (Free!)
http://www.spamihilator.com/

As I said, those are not your only options, but are reliable ones I have
seen function for hundreds+ people.


Tip (13):
ADVANCED TIP! Only do this once you are comfortable under the hood of your
computer!

There are lots of services on your PC that are probably turned on by default
you don't use. Why have them on? Check out these web pages to see what all
of the services you might find on your computer are and set them according
to your personal needs. Be CAREFUL what you set to manual, and take heed
and write down as you change things! Also, don't expect a large performance
increase or anything - especially on today's 2+ GHz machines, however - I
look at each service you set to manual as one less service you have to worry
about someone exploiting.

Configuring Services
http://snakefoot.fateback.com/tweak/winnt/services.html

Task List Programs
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm

Processes in Windows NT/2000/XP
http://www.reger24.de/prozesse/

There are also applications that AREN'T services that startup when you start
up the computer/logon. One of the better description on how to handle these
I have found here:

Startups
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php


If you follow the advice laid out above (and do some of your own research as
well, so you understand what you are doing) - your computer will stay fairly
stable and secure and you will have a more trouble-free system.
 
See http://cquirke.mvps.org/9x/software.htm on impact of sware.

Generally, if something is not running, it has liitle (if installed on
C:) or no (if not installed on C:) performance impact at all.

No big deal. No reason not to use the smae Windows installation until
the system hardware dies, if you look after it OK.

Sounds good...

A "hotfix" that is 357M? That sounds insane!

I never "just" re-install at all, be it Win95 original or XP SP2 or
anything in between. That shouldn't be necessary.
Do you use a registry cleaner on a regular basis?

No, for the same reason I don't cut arbitrary cubic inches of flesh
out of my body (that I think I "don't need") if I'm putting on weight.

I treat the registry with respect, given that it has my installation's
nads clamped firmly between it's jaws. Letting some dumb-ass
(f)utility guess which bits I "don't need" is like poking a sleeping
tiger in the eye with a stick, and wondering why it bites you.
And do you defrag on a regular basis?

Yes - but only if the system is stable and the hard drive is free of
any doubts about its health. Defrag is like a strenuous gym session;
a great way to make a healthy body fitter, but can kill the infirm.

There's one thing that helps a lot; smart partitioning! Looks like
you're doing this already. The idea is to keep all heavy-traffic
content within as short a head-span as possible, while keeping data
safely away from this, and seldom-used bloaty stuff further away
still. That way, no matter how fragged C: gets, the head travel from
the OS code (installed first, so at start of C:) to where new temp
files are created (at the edge of the C: file set) is short.

So I put OS and core apps on C:, along with pagefile, temp, web
caches, and nothing else. I keep System Restore on a short leash, say
400M or so, and I limit web cache to 20M (as opposed to the absurd
default of 256M+). I set pagefile to 512M, no matter how little RAM.

Then on a small D: I have my data, which is the small files I create
myself. No infectable code, no incoming material, no bloat. As
there's no code on D:, I disable System Restore as well.

Then the bulk of the HD is E:, which is for "everything else"; games,
music, pictures, movies, and incoming material. No crucial core code
here, do no System Restore either.

Finally on a small F:, I have my backups, which are archives of data
from D: that are made automatically by a night Task. The last 5 are
retained on a FIFO basis, giving a week's "depth". No code of F:, so
no System Restore either.

Now bad exits will most likely affect C:, less likely D: - and as they
are small, it doesn't take long to check those volumes. C: is always
in use, so defragging has impact, but it's small, so it's quick. E:
is large, so defragging takes longer, but it's not constantly in use,
so I can do it while I work. On a 200G HD, C: and D: take up 10G, so
head travel is 5% of the drive, no matter how fragged they get.


--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
Who is General Failure and
why is he reading my disk?
 
Phillips said:
Yup, that's the safest way... but it's not what I'd call "simple" since
you have to have at least two dedicated machines even three - one for
general web surfing, one for private/sensitive/business web activities,
another one in a vault :)

That's just the thing...if it's really (and I mean, *really*) important,
than having a second machine isn't that much of an expense. Especially when
people replace their old clunkers--those are still "good enough" as
secondary machines.
 
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