My son is continually installing / uninstalling applications (games) on his PC. The PC is now running very slowly. Rather than re-installing XP from fresh, can anyone suggest a good software package that will get XP back to a good state?
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You can try a repair installation
http://support.microsoft.c
It's non-destructive, but I suppose it will not solve your problem completely.
Further you should check for viruses, worms, spyware...
Free AVG: http://www.grisoft.com/us/
HijackThis!: http://www.spywareinfo.com
Spyware Search&Destroy: http://www.safer-networkin
how long since you defragged? if you cant remember then its way over due, running a defrag from c drive rightclick it and then properties tools defrag, moving stuff around fragments the hd and can really slow it down. cause programs to crash.
Clean out the temp files, temp folder is different from IE temporary files.
Everytime you add install programs a temp file is created. Eventually this folder can become huge.Like in gigs using up valuable space.
In control panel Internet options> delete files.
Update all the drivers to the latest
run a chkdsk and you'll find your machine will run happily again with no need to do any recovery.
It is recomended to do this at least once a month.
Aside from defragging, the total amount of free disk space, if it goes below 20%, can dramatically slow down your PC.
Cleaning out the temp folder Merete mentioned is a good suggestion. It found at
c:\documents and settings\%username%\local settings\temp
and should be cleaned for each user account on the PC. Also, make sure your antivirus and antispyware utilities are up to date, and run them at least once every 2 weeks to make sure there are no viruses or spyware slowing the PC down.
Here is a trick
Run your defrag 3 times in a row... that's what microsoft recomends to us, their eployees.
But to relay correct your problem, I would reinstall with repair option. Over the time of installing and reinstalling programs bunch of system files are replaced or updated with each new install. Well that can tangle some things up. So if you have the CD and 30 min of time, do that. Use "R" for repair (that is after the F8 screen)
Good Luck
Serg G
Hi Serg
Thanks for your comments.
2 questions if I may:
1. Should I run software, like Norton Disk Doctor or Registry Fix, to fix the registry? If so, can you recommend one?
2. If I do a reinstall:
a) will XP automatically repair broken registry settings.
b) will all software settings be retained or will I need to re-install the software?
When I suggest reinstalling, I mean WIPE OUT EVERYTHING on C and Reinstall fresh.
In my experience, trying to get Windows XP (2000, NT, 98, 95, or ME) "cleaned up" is likely trying to rebuild your car so that it looks and runs like the day you drove it off the lot. You just can't do it easily, if at all. Your time would be better spent backing up your personal data, formattinig C: and reinstalling. Then create an image once you have all your software on it so that next time this happens, you can restore quickly.
Further, "Norton Disk Doctor" is for fixing disk errors - not errors with the registry. The registry fix is not going to clean out the tons of garbage in the registry that have likely accumulated. Further, in my experience "Registry cleaners" never work as well as you (or at least I) want them to, do I don't throw my money away on them.
As I believe others have suggested, if you don't want to reinstall, run some spyware tools and clean out the system that way - if it's behaving slowly, it's probably because of a ton of spyware/adware/etc that has gotten onto your computer.
You can tune up a car, you can tune up a PC, but my point is, in my experience, if you only get an oil change every 24000 miles, your simply never going to get back to the efficiency you had when you bought it new - everything wears out. And with a Windows system, programs install themselves and leave remnants all the time and when I've run registry cleanup programs it DOES NOT clean them out. The time an money spent trying to clean up an existing machine is often better spent simply reinstalling fresh and getting rid of things.
And I never said those programs won't help, just that they don't get you back to the level you were at when you just booted up after you finished installing.
And I also find that ever version of the Norton Utilities I have tried since Windows 95 first came out does more to slow down your system than to speed it up. The last version that actually helped a PC, in my experience was for Windows 3.1
lol a mechanic too, I do agree with your Norton opinion though, howeverTimTDP stated> Rather than re-installing XP from fresh, can anyone suggest a good software package that will get XP back to a good state?
If we could teach teenagers better computer practises such my earloier post the machine and hd will last a lot longer.
Also a lot of folks cannot afford to simply buy another hd. Anyway enough said. Thank you for your point of view.
regards M ;)
Do a disk clean-up and uninstall all unnecessary programs
Don't Worry all you need is a BOOTABLE WInXP CD..Just do either an:
In-Place Upgrade:
http://support.microsoft.c
http://www.michaelstevenst
OR Repair Instal:
http://www.michaelstevenst
Good Luck
MD
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by: leewPosted on 2005-06-17 at 01:29:53ID: 14238516
Reinstall. Then buy Ghost or some other imaging software program. Then make an image of the system in a "good" state. Then you can "restore" Windows to that state any time you need to.