Wipe everything off hard drive except O/S and start again

[Guest]

I'm using Windows XP (home edition I think). A couple of years ago just after
I first bought my PC I started to get an error message everytime I tried to
save anythng to my hard drive. The error was "Hard disk is full" (I've got a
160 GB hard disk with only 40 GB on it so this is not possible). So I called
my then under warranty tech support and they advised this sounded like some
kind of virus and gave me some instructions on how to basically start from
scratch by removing everything from my hard drive except the O/S ( I have no
O/S CD). From what I remember I was given a set of instructions starting off
by pressing F10 or F11 I think but I can't remember accurately. I think the
PC went into DOS mode and I followed certain prompts and ended up with the PC
restored to how it was when I bought it from the shop. I then spent the rest
of the day reinstalling all of my software. This worked for me!!

Lately I'm finding I'm not entlirely happy with my PC's performance. Maybe
there's some spyware on my system and I want to do this same procedure as
before. Does anyone know the exact procedure as I have forgotten? Or maybe
there are other alternatives that can be suggested. I look forward to any
replies. Thanks in advance.

 

[Guest]

start from > scratch by removing everything from my hard drive except the
O/S

If you could find away to do that, you'd be mighty popular!

Basically you only have two options, either attempt to repair the OS you've
got, or wipe the disc completely and reinstall.

Have a look on the HD and see if there is a folder called i386, containing
a file (among many others) called winnt.exe. If so, that may contain the
OS-install files, which you could burn toa CD.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I'm using Windows XP (home edition I think). A couple of years ago
just after I first bought my PC I started to get an error message
everytime I tried to save anythng to my hard drive. The error was
"Hard disk is full" (I've got a 160 GB hard disk with only 40 GB on
it so this is not possible). So I called my then under warranty tech
support and they advised this sounded like some kind of virus and
gave me some instructions on how to basically start from scratch by
removing everything from my hard drive except the O/S ( I have no O/S
CD). From what I remember I was given a set of instructions starting
off by pressing F10 or F11 I think but I can't remember accurately. I
think the PC went into DOS mode and I followed certain prompts and
ended up with the PC restored to how it was when I bought it from the
shop. I then spent the rest of the day reinstalling all of my
software. This worked for me!!

What you did was not wiping everything off *except* the O/S. You wiped
*everything* off the drive, including WIndows, and reinstalled Windows.

It may have worked for you, but it probably wasn't necessary. It seldom is.
It mostly works well for the tech support people who got you off the phone
quickly and didn't have to do any real troubleshooting. It's far too
frequently their answer and unfortunately others latch on to it and think
its the right solution for almost any problem.

But reinstalling Windows creates a lot of work for most people. You have to
restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your programs, you
have to reinstall all the Windows and application updates, you have to
locate and install all the needed drivers for your system, you have to
recustomize Windows and all your apps to work the way you're comfortable
with.

Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may have
trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs? Can you
find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data backups to restore?
Do you even remember all the customizations and tweaks you may have
installed to make everything work the way you like?

Moreover, when you reinstall instead of addressing the issues causing you
problems, you are fixing the symptom, not the problem. The result, almost
invariably, is that you will soon find yourself back with the same problems.

Lately I'm finding I'm not entlirely happy with my PC's performance.
Maybe there's some spyware on my system and I want to do this same
procedure as before. Does anyone know the exact procedure as I have
forgotten? Or maybe there are other alternatives that can be
suggested. I look forward to any replies. Thanks in advance.

You apparently have a hidden partition on your drive with an image of the
operating system. If you want to do this, the exact procedure depends on
what computer you have. This is not a Windows function, but one created by
your hardware vendor. If it doesn't eaplain how to do this in your manual,
contact your vendor to find out how.

But again, I recommend that you do *not* do this. It should normally be a
last resort that you fall back on when nothing else works. If you have
malware infestation, there is lots of software available that can likely
remove it for you. Start with Malke's recommendations here:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

 

[Guest]

I'm using Windows XP (home edition I think). A couple of years ago just after
I first bought my PC I started to get an error message everytime I tried to
save anythng to my hard drive. The error was "Hard disk is full" (I've got a
160 GB hard disk with only 40 GB on it so this is not possible). So I called
my then under warranty tech support and they advised this sounded like some
kind of virus and gave me some instructions on how to basically start from
scratch by removing everything from my hard drive except the O/S ( I have no
O/S CD). From what I remember I was given a set of instructions starting off
by pressing F10 or F11 I think but I can't remember accurately. I think the
PC went into DOS mode and I followed certain prompts and ended up with the PC
restored to how it was when I bought it from the shop. I then spent the rest
of the day reinstalling all of my software. This worked for me!!

Lately I'm finding I'm not entlirely happy with my PC's performance. Maybe
there's some spyware on my system and I want to do this same procedure as
before. Does anyone know the exact procedure as I have forgotten? Or maybe
there are other alternatives that can be suggested. I look forward to any
replies. Thanks in advance.

 

[Guest]

Blake,
It appears to me that you have no solutions either.
I do have to resolve to the reburn which speeds up the performance, please
note, any other solutions posted are not even close to the same kind of
payback for reburning the computer. Yes it is time consuming.

reinstall os, defrag
run all bios update and driver updates,
defrag
then run all the ms updates
defrag
then install defender...
and other apps
defrag

i have not had any issues with malware, and I do regular defrags however,
from time to time, maybe every 6-8 months i have to do this stupid reburn

defrags, cleanup and msconfig and services cleanup is done when necessary

I do a lot of coding, .net and whatever, i no longer run sql on my system
because it drags it even more and the freq of reburn goes up. And I do a lot
of heavy graphics from time to time. 2gig of ram, i run xp pro sp2

if you are running less, get more the actual min should be 2gig
i never have problems with mal ware or virus...knock on wood

What is the best way to avoid this then Blake?

 

[Guest]

PM Blockers can be a pain in forums o_O

I meant to say:

It appears that you're using a Dell computer. Maybe i'm wrong about built-in
restore for computers only being available with Dells. Anyway, to use the
Dell restore feature, wait until the Dell loading screen appears when the
computer starts and the press and hold Ctrl and F11 for a few seconds. The
restore screen should then appear which gives you the option to restore your
pc. I was personally thankful for this because I once had a problem with my
pc where even a restore disk would not work. I would only recommend this
option as a last resort to solving pc problems because it takes too much time
to reinstall everything.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Kairozamorro, Ken, Ian & RSB

I'm actually using a COMPAQ PC. After browsing on the links recommended by
Ken & RSB I start to worry about making things worse by meddling with things
that I am unfamiliar with. I know it is a lot of work reinstalling,
recustomising etc but I have always been pretty meticulous when keeping all
my installation disks and installation codes. Backing up everything up first
is a long process too I know but I think I'd rather do things this way than
try to identlfy and eliminate problems one by one using software that I am
not sure whether to trust or not. This software can also be expensive too I
assume. As too would taking the PC to a tech. The comparison with car
maintenance is interesting. I'm imagining the Blond taking her car to an
unscrupulous mechanic and getting "Fleeced". It may sound uncharitable but
how do I know the PC Tech is not giving me a load of old rubbish and telling
me I need this, that and the other when all i need to do is a disk cleanup or
something along those lines?

All things considered I think I can trust the result if I do things the way
I did the first time. I would be happier and more confident of having a
stable platform this way. To my way of thinking I treat it like buying a
whole new system, bringing it home and loading it up with all the software I
want and getting optimum performance.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Thanks Kairozamorro, Ken, Ian & RSB

You're welcome. Glad to help.

I'm actually using a COMPAQ PC. After browsing on the links
recommended by Ken & RSB I start to worry about making things worse
by meddling with things that I am unfamiliar with. I know it is a lot
of work reinstalling, recustomising etc but I have always been pretty
meticulous when keeping all my installation disks and installation
codes. Backing up everything up first is a long process too I know
but I think I'd rather do things this way than try to identlfy and
eliminate problems one by one using software that I am not sure
whether to trust or not.

Your choice of course, and I won't further try to convince you otherwise.
But I wanted to stress what I pointed out earlier. "Moreover, when you
reinstall instead of addressing the issues causing you problems, you are
fixing the symptom, not the problem. The result, almost invariably, is that
you will soon find yourself back with the same problems."

This software can also be expensive too I
assume.

What software? If you mean anti-malware software, most of it is freeware.

As too would taking the PC to a tech. The comparison with car
maintenance is interesting. I'm imagining the Blond taking her car to
an unscrupulous mechanic and getting "Fleeced". It may sound
uncharitable but how do I know the PC Tech is not giving me a load of
old rubbish and telling me I need this, that and the other when all i
need to do is a disk cleanup or something along those lines?

An excellent question. Finding a good technician to do work for you isn't
easy, whether you're talking about a car mechanic or computers. In both
cases, your best bet is usually to get personal recommendations. Also
technicians at small local companies are usually much better than the big
ones: Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, etc.

All things considered I think I can trust the result if I do things
the way I did the first time. I would be happier and more confident
of having a stable platform this way. To my way of thinking I treat
it like buying a whole new system, bringing it home and loading it up
with all the software I want and getting optimum performance.

Optimum performance, perhaps, but if, for example, your problems are caused
by spyware, reinstalling will teach you nothing about what spyware was there
and what you may have done wrong to allow that spyware to get installed. My
prediction is that you will quickly find yourself back with the same
problems, because, having learned nothing, you will repeat the same
dangerous behavior.