hej said:
After a disaster with upgrading to explorer 8 which caused all
kinds of problems, I have done a clean install of XP. I plan on
doing a absolute minimum of upgrades or software additions to avoid
problems in the future. I have had problems with upgrades in the
past also. I am going to use Chrome or foxfire so I do not plan on
any explorer upgrades. Any suggestions as to how to avoid problems
in the future.
I also plan on using Google doc's to avoid installing my MS office
which also keep asking for upgrades.
I did consider to go to windows 7 but my computer is about 4 years
old and is not compatible. I would like to get at least 8 years of
service from this machine.
Still using a machine I got in 2001 - never re-installed. Changed out the
hard drives, went from a RAID setup to non-RAID, lost a couple of video
cards - so there have been repair installs, no clean install.
It's not the updates that normally kill a system; it does happen - almost
always it can be attributed to some short-fall in system maintenance or
misunderstanding of what to expect/what one needs.
In other words - I would bet it was not Internet Explorer 8 that did your
system in, but some combination of it and something else on your system
and/or misunderstanding of how to remedy whatever situation you found
yourself in. (There are exceptions, but very few and far between.)
In any case- in order to keep a system running at its best for the longest -
it's fairly simple.
Common computing sense. Don't do anything that goes against it. Don't
download and install random stuff, don't run files from untrusted sources,
don't visit 'questionable' web pages, don't use the computer daily as a user
with administrative level rights. Do make backups (disk images if possible
to speed up a restore in a catastrophe), do keep your machine patched with
critical/security patches (and your applications too - not just the OS), do
run a reliable (but not resource-hungry) antivirus, do occassionally scan
for spyware/adware, do maintain a software firewall (the built-in Windows XP
one is fine), if you have high-speed Internet - do have a SOHO router
seperating you and the Internet just a little more, do use strong passwords
on all of your accounts.
It's all in the maintenance. It's the same with just about anything.
Computers usually have a smaller life-span only because people want the
latest/greatest stuff and manufacturers of that stuff start putting
limitations on what can/cannot run their stuff. It's pretty difficult now
to find new hardware/software designed for "Windows 98SE". ;-) So that
camera you buy, the scanner, the printer, the cell phone... may not work on
anything but Windows XP with SP2 or later due to restrictions put on it by
the product manufacturer - at a 'not-so-far-in-the-future' date that may be
Windows Vista SP2 or later.
Backups are a big thing. Imaging (backing up the entire hard disk drive)
before large changes is just wise. After all - if you could make a backup
of yourself and revert to it - I would bet more stuff would get tried/done
in life. ;-) Computers give you this option.
Investigating the large changes, understanding them also helps.
You will be doing your computer experience a dis-service if you go with what
seems to be your plan of not updating except when absolutely necessary and
it doesn't look thought out (foxfire?) or researched very well - so you may
want to sit back and think on it some more.
Windows XP is very stable - truthfully the longest lived OS Microsoft has
put out in terms of mass-usage and acceptance. It doesn't stay that way
without a little maintenance though. Don't overdo it - but...
- Antivirus - small footprint, Avira is a good choice for free, eSet NOD32
for cost.
- Firewall - use the built-in Windows XP SP3 firewall. Small, does what
most SOHO users need without much in the way of setup.
- Occassional antispyware scans - MalwareBytes and SuperAntiSpyware are tops
right now, free and only run when you tell them to.
- OS Updates - critical ones at lease - the rest *are* optional. Internet
Explorer 8 is *not* critical. IE7 is nice too. If you exclusively use
another browser (like FireFox), then just update to IE7 for good measure
(just in case you need to use IE for something - it does happen) and keep it
updated and use your alternative browser most of the time.
- Application updates - Windows XP is the OS, but I bet you have other
things on your computer. Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash, Adobe Shockwave, Apple
Quicktime, Apple iTunes, Real Player or Real Alternative, Microsoft Office,
OpenOffice, Mozilla FireFox, Google Chrome, Mozilla Thunderbird, Opera,
Picasa, IrfanView, FoxIt PDF Reader, PDFCreator, 7-Zip, etc and so on. Keep
them up to date too!
- Hardware updates - usually you only *need to do these when you first
install clean and then only again if you have trouble or need a feature you
know the new drivers/software gives you. It's a good thing to do during a
cleanup. The latest video driver and sometimes BIOS update can make a world
of difference.
- CHKDSK and DEFRAG - do them every so often - or get something like
"MyDefrag" and schedule it or use the screensaver.
- Backups. Backups. Backups. Your stuff is most important - but don't
forget - the installation media and product key/serial numbers *are* your
stuff too. Make a backup copy of your media (copy the CDs) and write down
the product key/serial numbers to store in a seperate place for safe-keeping
in case things go really bad. Make periodic/consistent copies of your files
(bookmarks, email, contacts, documents, pictures, etc.) Get a third-party
imaging/cloning utility and make a full backup of the system every so often
(and right before big installs) so if things go really bad - you are out
only time.
Hope that helps. I tried to not get too specific - give you an overview
first with a few suggested applications. If you want more - just ask.
