Re-installing OS (operating system) on PC - what say you?
By coffeebreak
@coffeebreak (17798)
United States
March 22, 2009 10:05am CST
Has anyone ever needed to re=install their Operating System (OS)? I have XP home, PC about 5 years old... and things just haven't been right, things have been slow and just seems like odd things happeneing. I have suddenly got a bunch of stuff on my D drive and that is the one I never touch as that is the one that HP put installation things on and tell you "Don't touch" so I dont' even know how things got on there suddenly - up unti now it was about 10% full all these years, now suddenly it is 95% full! And a few other odd ball things and I ask and get told often, to re-install my OS if I have the disks..which I do, came with the computer.
I know I'll have to re-install everything have on there from my bookmarks and favorite places andall the anti virus programs and stuff like that (that didn't come with the pc) and okay I can do that - take a few days but no real biggie if I have all the URL's.
I have also done Factory Restore - and put things back tot he way it was when I bought it, but that is when the D drive started to fill up and I asked how to delete things on the D drive if I knew what they were and HP gave me this huge rendition of things to do and change the registry file and stuff that I have never heard of and haven't a clue as to the who,what,where,when,why of it all so I was afraid to do anything for fear of crashing and I can't afford a new computer...
So...what's everyone thoughts about reinstalling the OS to get things hopefully, back to normal? Or if you have any other suggestions... sure would be appreciated!
2 people like this
12 responses
@woolf4ever (112)
• Romania
22 Mar 09
i do it for a living :)) i install a OS about once every 2 days :) it's realy child's play and in about 3 hrs it's all done :) all you neeed is a Bootable CD/DVD of you're OS and the drivers of you're pc(if you dont have them you can find them on the WEB). as for the other utilities, there on the web too;)
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
22 Mar 09
Well, sounds like you guys are who I am looking for..got any "reinstall for dummies" version of what and how I should do this? And I do mean "for dummies" as this is totally out of my knowledge ability - - at the moment!!! Appreciate any helps! For starters - a bootable CD/DVD ... and that is......
@woolf4ever (112)
• Romania
22 Mar 09
thrust me ;) it's easy :) a bootable cd/dvd is a OS cd/dvd that starts the setup when you start the computer(without starting the old OS). usualy, the original cd/dvd of the OS it's bootable, but you cam make youre own if you don't have it.
as for a OS that's simple to install, try Windows Vista(the simplest) or if have a Linux-based sistem, you could try Ubuntu(I recommend Win Vista).
for these, you need a computer with at least 1 Gb of DDR(RAM memory) and a hard-disk of minimum 80 Gb(on vista, C: particion needs to be a lot bigger than usual, ~30Gb) and a minimum of Pentium 4 2.0 Ghz or better to run vista properly. but if you have an Win XP, it tells you what to do actualy. all you have to do, is run the setup, and fallow the steps. also there are the builds for XP(such as LastXP, TyniXP etc.) that have a easy install menu ;). althought, you might want to format you're C: partition in the process, just to avoid some problems later on ;).
@woolf4ever (112)
• Romania
22 Mar 09
you know..it's usualy recomended that you format the hard-disk(the C: partition) and re-install the OS once every 3 months. and the hole hard-disk every 5 or 6 months. it makes youre PC work alot faster. also, it's good to upgrade you're system avery 8-12 months(more RAM memory, a bigger HDD etc.)
1 person likes this
@Spook619 (335)
•
22 Mar 09
I'd do a complete re-set, but before that... if you know what it is that is causing the complaints, disable the service (if it has one) and go into "run" and typre "regedit" then go through your registry and delete all files related to it. (you will also have to go through your usual C&D drives deleteing all files related to it).
BE CAREFUL WHEN IN REGEDIT. You can really screw your computer up in there, but I was a complete novice when I went kservice hunting in there and I came out in one piece!
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
22 Mar 09
Totally what I am concerned about - I haven't a clue as to what goes on in there. I haven't a clue either as to what is causing these problems so I don't know hwat to look for! I just hear "reinstall OS" as the solution for so many things! Thanks for you input!
@mariposaman (2959)
• Canada
23 Mar 09
If you do not know what you are doing in the registry do not go in there. One wrong move and you can disable your computer. This is poor advice.
@Redhornet117 (1248)
• Philippines
23 Mar 09
Yeah, don't go into your own registry editor if you don't wanna mess up your system. Go to your friends PC instead and just delete any key handles there and leave. Just kidding. What's inside the registry editor is all the valid key handles your installed programs need to run properly. Most common is the license key registration infos. If you mess up inside the registry, you could end up reformatting your whole OS.
@amitavroy (4819)
• India
22 Mar 09
well although reinstalling everything is a good option but still i will suggest you get a check that if the thing can be repaired back to normal with few tweaks. it is difficult to get everything back to normal if you have huge data stored. generally i have different partitions so i have to fear of backup
all my data are stored in a separate partion and so i can anytime install windows fresh. and yes you can get your bookmarks and mail backed up. i hop you know that...
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
22 Mar 09
Where do I get a "check"? I don't know about different partitions other than PC came with a D drive that has installation things on it that says "don't touch" if I open it and try to see whats there. It won't let me see what's there. Other than that I just use the C.
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
22 Mar 09
I have reinstalled quite a few operating systems over the years, but the first thing one should do (if you haven't already) is complete virus and spyware checks and then do a DEFRAG. Lots of folks do not defrag their hard disk regularly and failing to do that can bring your OS to a crawl.
The other thing a lot of people don't do is pay the cash to buy a good system maintenance program that automatically cleans and compacts the registry and all that good stuff. You really do NOT want to touch the registry file yourself unless you know what you are doing :-) I used a program called System Mechanic. There is a learning curve, but it is worth it. Windows comes with a DEFRAG program, but I think System Mechanic does a better job, and it does a lot of other good stuff too.
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
23 Mar 09
It was just a kids game I bought at target.. But I use AVG and Avast anti virus programs... CCleaner and Yahoo Spy tool and do them about once a week.
@navi33 (113)
• Philippines
22 Mar 09
I have exactly in the same situation as you before. My pc is laggy that i can't work or play properly. I thought maybe i caught a virus and it has messed up my computer. So i download a strong antivirus (the ones that needs payment) then scan my pc. After all the virus has been deleted i checked if its good to work on. But its not. Its just the same. Then my cousin said that my pc needs to be re-installed because it hasn't been for 3 years. He advice me to do this every 4-6 month because the files stack up and even you delete the unnecessary files, there still will be left and the only way to deleted it is by re-installing. So I'm also advising this to you ^_^.
'Bout the important files. I borrow a hard disk from my cousin that can be used as a back-up disk.
Hope my experience help you. ^_^
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
22 Mar 09
Definatley apprecite your experience. Seems like this is what I need to do , but I just don't know all the details and all and sure enough I'll mess things up big time! So I am trying to find some good "how to's" so I can do this CORRECTLY!!!!
@yuriyuuki1213 (60)
• Japan
22 Mar 09
if you surely want to reinstall your OS.. make sure your recovery disk and application disk are complete.. if not it may ruin your pc..
im using the same with you.. xp home, fujitsu, 7 years
i already reinstall my OS 3 times. but everything is normal..
its like im using a new pc..
if not, try to go to control panel, programs.. and erase those downloaded programs your not using.. to free some space..
and did you always clear your browsers memory.? such as temporary files, cookies?
cause even you dont save it in your computer it is automatically save..
@marty3888 (2355)
• Acme, Michigan
22 Mar 09
I've been doing that. manually going in and deleting someof the cookies files. I wasn't sure if that made sense and maybe I was just imagining that my computer ran a little better, but it looks like it was a good idea. Thanks for that.
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
22 Mar 09
Yes I do all those cleaning tricks ..CCleaner and manally. Anti virus scan once a week and all those things. I do delete some from the control panel but things are on there and I haven't aclue as to what they are or do so I just leave them. But I dont' really have much there in the first place that didn't come with the PC. I am just a novice and fear messing things up!!!
@woolf4ever (112)
• Romania
22 Mar 09
you could try using the 'msconfig' option to modify or even stop the startup programs ;) it makes you're computer start up faster, and also, use the Hibernate option when you shut it down(but be carefull, you must restart it at least 2-3 times a week if you are using the hibernate).
another trick is to shutdown processes with the task manager(ctrl+shift+esc or ctrl+alt+del).
@chrislotz (8137)
• Canada
22 Mar 09
I sure hope you know what you are doing. I wouldn't know what I was doing as I am not too smart when it comes to the computer. I know how to turn it on and off and how to get to the sites I want and that is about it. My daughter does all the other stuff that needs to be done, I think. I hope it works out for you and you don't end up with more problems or can't get back on the computer. I would be afraid to do anything that drastic. How do you know what you are doing? Has someone showed you how to do this before? Let me know how it goes as I sure wouldn't want to not see you around here because you can't get your computer working.
Alrighty then, talk to you later my friend,
Have a good mylotting day, Chris 
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
22 Mar 09
No I know nothing about it other than it is a solution to my problem. I'm a novice, but I can learn - which is what I hope to acheive from this discussion.. and how to do it!
@chrislotz (8137)
• Canada
22 Mar 09
Oh my, I have read all of the other responses and I don't have a clue what they are saying. It is way too complicated for me. I know my computer is really slow and needs this done but I would never attempt to do it myself.
@nocovi (514)
• China
23 Mar 09
Yes,it is a big prob for me to reinstall OS on my computer,I use desktop with a cd drive at home,however,now I use a netbook without cd rom at school,I have some difficulty in reinstalling OS on it..yesterday I successfully installed xubuntu on my usb drive,however, I do not know how to install it on the drive of my netbook,its wubi seems not working so well.
@twinklee (894)
• India
23 Mar 09
remove the fear of pc hanging up out of your mind.....installing the new os is not risky....in fact it is better that you do once in every 2 or 3 months.....what it does is removes the the heap of temporary files that gallops the disk space .....in your case it is your D: showing 95% full in rather quick time...also i recommend using advanced system cleaner 3 to get rid of the temp files , cookies
.....
@cableman67 (872)
• United States
29 Mar 09
A lot of times we just get too many programs running in the background using up the random memory. But if you do need to re-install windows it's not the end of the world. It will really put your PC back to new condition.
If you were anywhere near Charlotte,NC I could help you out otherwise if you need help pm me and I'll try to talk you through things. There not too bad.
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
29 Mar 09
I'm the opposite coast! But now I can't find my installation disks, was sure I had put them with these other software programs I have.. but apparently I didn't as the disks are not there. I know I had them, they came with the PC.. but just moved about a year ago, but there are here somewhere.. can't continue at all until I find them, but will keep you in mid.. thanks alot.
Do you know anything about deleting files on a D: drive? After being only 10% used for about 4 years, now suddenly it is 90% USED and I haven't a clue as to what is on there. I know I am not to touch that drive and never do,so what and how it got there I haven't a clue, but I can't do a defrag until I free up space! I have maybe 20% USED on my C: drive...
@cableman67 (872)
• United States
29 Mar 09
Go here and try their 8 step program and see what happens : http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic58138.html
I'm not going to tell you to delete any file without knowing what they are but if you got that drive filled up by accident then something is going on. Try this place above; it's all free and let me know what happens. Let's get any virus and malware out and get the free space cleaned and then we can optimize the system.
By the way how many hard drives do you have and what size are they? Any other information would help too.
@my1341 (456)
• China
23 Mar 09
Nowaday, It is faster to reintall the operating system with a ghost image. Don't know whether you have ever heard the dos-based application "ghost" which can backup or restore your operating system. You may download a universal ghost image(usually with the file extension "gho") on the web and boot your pc into the dos mode, then restore the ghost image onto your c: drive with the application "ghost". It is an automatic process. It only takes about less than fifteen minutes to finish. Faster compared to a clean installation from an installation CD of Windows xp. After it completed, you already have most of the useful softwares and applications installed because they are integrated into the ghost image. I save you much time to complete. Very convenient. But before you start the process, you need to back up all your personal documents and any other important files.
@arjemma (3)
• Sweden
23 Mar 09
On my laptop before this one, I had to re-install it numerous of times. It started to go fast very quickly and in the end you had to wait like 20 minutes for it to start up properly. But I recommend you to do it once in a while, the computer will be nothing but happy about it and everything will go a lot faster. Plus you will get rid of all those programs and stuff that you don't even use.
