Re-format time...

[BMG_SKULK]

If you go by the advice of most geek sites, you should re-format your
comp(s) at east once every 6 months or so if not more.

My current install has worked for 9 maybe 10 months now with nary a
hitch. But it has become slower and I have gotten a lot of little
program errors lately.

Even if you don't have much in the way of programs on your PC,
just using Windows, (whatever version...95...98...2000...XP)
causes the programs and even little root files to get fragmented
and over time slows your compuer down considerably.
It can also cause program errors and cause files to get lost...

The Windows built-in defrag tool is a joke.

I was going to make a long list of things to do before you wipe
your hard-drive clean and put on a fresh install of your O/S, but
there are plenty of sites that can explain it better than I can.

Just always back up your important files, be they music or
important anti-virus or firewall programs either by making copies
onto a second HDD or by burning at least 2 copies of each
on seperate CD-RW/CD-R or DVD-R's. I'm going with the latter
this time to save time.

Make sure and copy all the latest security updates for your particular
O/S as now adays even a second or two unprotected on the internet
will get you a virus. I have re-formatted several times in the 2-3
years I have had a PC of my own.

I actually ot a virus while at Microsoft's own site downloading security
updates. So you always want those up to date and running before
venturing onto the internet. Make sure you do the same with your
AV and Firewall programs.

Re-format with your connection to the internet UN-plugged...

Hope someone got something out of this...

[mishmannah]

If you go by the advice of most geek sites, you should re-format your
comp(s) at east once every 6 months or so if not more.

My current install has worked for 9 maybe 10 months now with nary a
hitch. But it has become slower and I have gotten a lot of little
program errors lately.

Even if you don't have much in the way of programs on your PC,
just using Windows, (whatever version...95...98...2000...XP)
causes the programs and even little root files to get fragmented
and over time slows your compuer down considerably.
It can also cause program errors and cause files to get lost...

The Windows built-in defrag tool is a joke.

I was going to make a long list of things to do before you wipe
your hard-drive clean and put on a fresh install of your O/S, but
there are plenty of sites that can explain it better than I can.

Just always back up your important files, be they music or
important anti-virus or firewall programs either by making copies
onto a second HDD or by burning at least 2 copies of each
on seperate CD-RW/CD-R or DVD-R's. I'm going with the latter
this time to save time.

Make sure and copy all the latest security updates for your particular
O/S as now adays even a second or two unprotected on the internet
will get you a virus. I have re-formatted several times in the 2-3
years I have had a PC of my own.

I actually ot a virus while at Microsoft's own site downloading security
updates. So you always want those up to date and running before
venturing onto the internet. Make sure you do the same with your
AV and Firewall programs.

Re-format with your connection to the internet UN-plugged...

Hope someone got something out of this...

Been there, done that.

My pc is due another defrag....it gets clogged up often. Got two Trojans the other day, Blackbox.vb and Classloader.a, a couple of keystroke buggers.

Got another on the Temp. Internet files, created 16 may, called Exploit-Ffox.a.

Microsoft Browser has more holes in it than a fishing net.

In my experience, making sure you have backup is very important!

[martinedwards]

I have disks for everything & I back up my "my docs" to CD every month or so.

I couldn't even be bothered with a virus scanner!!!!!!!

It dies?

sod it, reformat & rebuild

Back online in an hour or so!!!

[LesPat]

I usually go through the whole reformat routine every 6 months just to bring things back up the speed & clear out all the garbage IE lets through...got it down to a science now. I keep perpetual backups of everything important & personal. The whole reload process takes less than 2 hours.

Very important to install the anti-virus software and update it right away before venturing back out to d/l all the various software upgrades to bring your system back to the pre-reboot point.


$.02

[mishmannah]

I usually go through the whole reformat routine every 6 months just to bring things back up the speed & clear out all the garbage IE lets through...got it down to a science now. I keep perpetual backups of everything important & personal. The whole reload process takes less than 2 hours.

Very important to install the anti-virus software and update it right away before venturing back out to d/l all the various software upgrades to bring your system back to the pre-reboot point.


$.02

My husband's workmate is an avid online gamer and computer whizz kid and does away with firewalls, he just reformats his PC frequently. Can you believe it? :eek:

[Voltimus]

I reformat my hard-drive around every three months, what a lot of people don't know is that the clutter they are experiencing from Windows doesn't always have to do with fragmentation. Most of it is deleted files and programs in your hard drive. When you delete it, it doesn't disappear, just the path to the information disappears, That's why if you go for about a year without reformatting say a 30GB harddrive, and you have 10 programs installed, and you remove a couple programs periodically and add some programs here and there. Even though when you first installed the 10 programs and had 25GB of free space, after a year you'll find you only have 15GB and the same 10 programs installed.
I take all of my online upgrades and save them to a disc, so my reformat only takes about 2 hours.

[Plstrcast]

I have NEVER even HEARD of doing this!!!.. My PC has gotten slow as HELL.. and it's only 2 years old.. hmmmm.. ok, I'mma scared to try it... :brick:

[Voltimus]

Be scared....

The best advice i can give you is to go to a good computer site, such as www.pcworld.com and read their advice concerning Hard Drive Re-Formatting. Usually they will have a step by step procedure for you to follow according to your OS.

[Voltimus]

Be scared....

The best advice i can give you is to go to a good computer site, such as www.pcworld.com and read their advice concerning Hard Drive Re-Formatting. Usually they will have a step by step procedure for you to follow according to your OS.

[Keith]

If you go by the advice of most geek sites, you should re-format your
comp(s) at east once every 6 months or so if not more.

...I format every 2 months using the a format tool by my HD Co.
It cleans up the 8meg cache as well.But mind you, I have alot going on with my system.

Everyone should de-frag the PC at least once a week to clean up the fragmented parts of the HD.You can use the disk cleanup section of your OS to do this as well, and then run scandisk./checkdisk

[Fox]

Just a little advice..

For those of you who find the computer running far too slow, have defragged to no avail, or have slow boot ups, try this.

Run Spyware, Adware, Visrus scan etc first though...

1. Go to STart // Run

2. Type in 'msconfig' and hit Enter

3. In the new window, click the StartUp tab

4. Uncheck everything

5. Restart.

If you find that your frienewall won't start or some programs you want running don't start, either open them up after startup, or drag and drop them into the StartUp menu in the start menu // Programs area.

[BMG_SKULK]

I format every 2 months using the a format tool by my HD Co.
It cleans up the 8meg cache as well.But mind you, I have alot going on with my system.

Everyone should de-frag the PC at least once a week to clean up the fragmented parts of the HD.You can use the disk cleanup section of your OS to do this as well, and then run scandisk./checkdisk
You must have a Western Digital? (8MB Cache you referred to etc.)

I have a WD 80GB with the 8MB cache.

Out of all the HDD's I have tried the best is the WD by far.
No system crashes in like I said...nearly a year.

Seagates are decent. Even when they fail and won't re-format Windows
anymore, you can still pull old files off of them...and/or use them as a
dump drive.

The worst HDD I have ever had....has to be the Maxtors.

I bought one Brand new at a local shop.

Lasted 2.5 months before BSD.

I returned it of course and they replaced it....with another new Maxtor.

I haven't used it yet. Still in the box. What a POS....

And don't be scared to do this...re-formatting I mean.

The only way to learn anything is to jump in....screw things up once
or twice, then get it right.

[TheChef]

Re-formatting isn't a huge thing. When I Overclocked my processor regularly, my computer wasnt exactly stable and I would end up reformatting it every week and re-installing both Linux and Windows every week, sometimes more. Just make sure you back up your computer and have the installation CD for whatever OS you are running. If you screw up, just do it again until you get it right. It's actually really hard to screw up permanently while reformatting using a program like FDISK.

[Keith]

You must have a Western Digital? (8MB Cache you referred to etc.)
I have a WD 80GB with the 8MB cache.
I have both the WD1000 (100 gigger) and a 160gb.Both WD's.
Seagates are ok,but they are loud.Maxtors are in my eyes, not the greatest.They have a tendancy to crash for some reason, and I found they were louder than the Seagates.
Fomatting is a last resort for some problems that come up.
As mentioned,get some anti-virus and spyware programs running.
The ones I use:
AVG (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1) (anti virus scanner)

Adaware (http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html?part=69274&subj=dlpage&tag=button) (Spyware killer)

And Spybot (http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/collection/0,collid,1347,pg,1,00.asp)

[Vangogh1129]

As long as we're talking programs to run to keep your comp cleaner/more secure, I'm going to throw Firefox in the mix. A much, much better/safter alternative to Microsoft IE. It's free, so give it a shot. If you don't like it for some reason, just uninstall. :p

Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/central.html)

[BMG_SKULK]

I have both the WD1000 (100 gigger) and a 160gb.Both WD's.
Seagates are ok,but they are loud.Maxtors are in my eyes, not the greatest.They have a tendancy to crash for some reason, and I found they were louder than the Seagates.
Fomatting is a last resort for some problems that come up.
As mentioned,get some anti-virus and spyware programs running.
The ones I use:
AVG (http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1) (anti virus scanner)

Adaware (http://www.download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html?part=69274&subj=dlpage&tag=button) (Spyware killer)

And Spybot (http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/collection/0,collid,1347,pg,1,00.asp)

Actually, I avoided having to re-format...least for the moment.

Grabbed a coupla' Registry Mechanic type proggies, and fixed some of the errors that have been occuring lately.

(This portion of this post will self-destruct in 24-hours)

As for AV-ware...I have the 2003 version of Norton AV. It's worked well
in my experience. Plus...for some reason, even though my virus subscribe
service is supposed to be expired, the way I have Zone Alarm Pro set-up,
nothing gets in or out without ZAP's approval, everytime I re-format,
my subscription service renews for another 12 months.

Hehe...eat the RICH!

I didn't set it up that way on purpose...just happened.

Course I intend to tell Norton about it if it happens again.

Good God man...I'm just itching to pony up another $40 bucks.

NAV is my friend...I could never hurt them.

====================================

Van Gogh 1129 said:

As long as we're talking programs to run to keep your comp cleaner/more secure, I'm going to throw Firefox in the mix. A much, much better/safter alternative to Microsoft IE. It's free, so give it a shot. If you don't like it for some reason, just uninstall.

Firefox is my browser of choice 85% of the time.

There is the odd site that is not compatible.

IE is a joke compared to Firefox...you are correct sir! ;)

[pml]

If you go by the advice of most geek sites, you should re-format your comp(s) at east once every 6 months or so if not more.Being a computer professional myself, I find this kind of advice ludicrous, to say the least... I had a computer running and being used continuously for over 10 years, 24/7, never needed to reformat and performance was as top notch as it could be. My current system, which is fairly new, hasn't been reformatted for little over a year (when I bought it). Other computers I own got only reformatted if I wanted to change the OS, etc.

Here's one for you, it's quite an oldie, maybe ten years or more, and I apologize if you already know it, but it seems the basic idea still applies today...

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with the technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating, "If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

2. Every time they painted new lines on the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Only one person at a time could use the car unless you bought "CarNT," but then you would have to buy more seats.

6. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive -- but it would only run on five percent of the roads.

7. The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "general protection fault" warning light.

8. The airbag system would ask, "Are you sure?" before deploying.

9. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the antenna.

10. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally Road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they neither need nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by 50 percent or more. Moreover, GM would become a target for investigation by the Justice Department.

11. Every time GM introduced a new car, car buyers would have to learn to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

12. You'd have to press the "start" button to turn the engine off.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-


PML

[zappatude]

pml, thats a great post. lol