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#16
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Help Reinstalling Windows XP
On Fri, 2 Oct 2009 18:10:00 -0700 (PDT), Hodges
wrote: On Oct 2, 10:25*am, "Ken Blake, MVP" wrote: On Fri, 2 Oct 2009 02:28:02 -0700, Pete Harris wrote: I need to reinstal windows XP. I have found http//support.microsoft.com/kb/315341 *and some other guides through a google search. These look good but is there any more info, or pitfalls, I need to be aware of before starting. Just being very very cautious before I start!!! You've already gotten some good "how-to" answers. Let me ask why do you "need" to do this? Here's my standard post on this subject: In my view, it's usually a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and now Windows 7, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two or more machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. 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? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. And perhaps most important: if you reformat and reinstall without finding out what caused your problem, you will very likely repeat the behavior that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in exactly the same situation. If you have problems, post the details of them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003 Please Reply to the Newsgroup I'm a sysadmin, and sometimes settings/configurations get FUBAR to the point that it's just not worth it to tinker with it. At work it's easy to just image a machine once a year or so, at home I reinstall XP every 6 months to 2 years. Your choice, of course. But my view is that what you do is a very poor choice. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003 Please Reply to the Newsgroup |
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#17
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Help Reinstalling Windows XP
On Fri, 2 Oct 2009 18:10:00 -0700 (PDT), Hodges wrote: On Oct 2, 10:25*am, "Ken Blake, MVP" wrote: On Fri, 2 Oct 2009 02:28:02 -0700, Pete Harris wrote: I need to reinstal windows XP. I have found http//support.microsoft.com/kb/315341 *and some other guides through a google search. These look good but is there any more info, or pitfalls, I need to be aware of before starting. Just being very very cautious before I start!!! You've already gotten some good "how-to" answers. Let me ask why do you "need" to do this? Here's my standard post on this subject: In my view, it's usually a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and now Windows 7, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two or more machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. 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? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. And perhaps most important: if you reformat and reinstall without finding out what caused your problem, you will very likely repeat the behavior that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in exactly the same situation. If you have problems, post the details of them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003 Please Reply to the Newsgroup I'm a sysadmin, and sometimes settings/configurations get FUBAR to the point that it's just not worth it to tinker with it. At work it's easy to just image a machine once a year or so, at home I reinstall XP every 6 months to 2 years. Your choice, of course. But my view is that what you do is a very poor choice. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003 Please Reply to the Newsgroup |
#18
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Help Reinstalling Windows XP
On Oct 2, 10:25*am, "Ken Blake, MVP"
wrote: On Fri, 2 Oct 2009 02:28:02 -0700, Pete Harris wrote: I need to reinstal windows XP. I have found http//support.microsoft.com/kb/315341 *and some other guides through a google search. These look good but is there any more info, or pitfalls, I need to be aware of before starting. Just being very very cautious before I start!!! You've already gotten some good "how-to" answers. Let me ask why do you "need" to do this? Here's my standard post on this subject: In my view, it's usually a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and now Windows 7, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two or more machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. 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? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. And perhaps most important: if you reformat and reinstall without finding out what caused your problem, you will very likely repeat the behavior that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in exactly the same situation. If you have problems, post the details of them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003 Please Reply to the Newsgroup To elaborate on my previous post... Programs often leave stuff behind. It's easy enough to go into the "program files" folder and delete them, but some leave stuff behind in "My Documents", "Application Data", and lots of other folders as well as temp files and registry keys that get left behind AFTER running registry/temp file cleaners such as CCleaner (which I recommend). After viruses/trojans/malware has been run, it can be cleaned but it often leaves annoying changes, sometimes ones that you won't even notice for a while and will have to dig through group policy or the registry to correct. Yes, anything that's changed "can" be changed back, but it takes a lot of work and sometimes isn't worth it. It can take hours to troubleshoot a single problem if you've never dealt with it before. Installing the OS may take between half an hour and an hour from cd (longer on very old computers), about 15-20 minutes if you install it over the network through Windows PE, or about 3-5 minutes with Norton Ghost. Assuming you haven't ghosted or used WMI, it will take less than 20 minutes to find, download, and install the drivers if you know what you're looking for. Often I don't really install programs until I need them. Most programs take 5 minutes or less to download and install. The best thing you can do is perform regular defragging/virus scanning/ backups, and disable unneeded startup items. I'll agree that reconfiguring Windows and applications with custom themes and settings as well as backing up & restoring data is time consuming; however, the benefit greatly outweighs the alternative. Besides, the more practice you get the faster you can do it. That gives you more flexibility to learn the intricacies of the OS without having to be afraid of making a mistake you can't undo. Just my 2˘. |
#19
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Help Reinstalling Windows XP
On Oct 2, 10:25*am, "Ken Blake, MVP"
wrote: On Fri, 2 Oct 2009 02:28:02 -0700, Pete Harris wrote: I need to reinstal windows XP. I have found http//support.microsoft.com/kb/315341 *and some other guides through a google search. These look good but is there any more info, or pitfalls, I need to be aware of before starting. Just being very very cautious before I start!!! You've already gotten some good "how-to" answers. Let me ask why do you "need" to do this? Here's my standard post on this subject: In my view, it's usually a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and now Windows 7, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two or more machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. 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? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. And perhaps most important: if you reformat and reinstall without finding out what caused your problem, you will very likely repeat the behavior that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in exactly the same situation. If you have problems, post the details of them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003 Please Reply to the Newsgroup To elaborate on my previous post... Programs often leave stuff behind. It's easy enough to go into the "program files" folder and delete them, but some leave stuff behind in "My Documents", "Application Data", and lots of other folders as well as temp files and registry keys that get left behind AFTER running registry/temp file cleaners such as CCleaner (which I recommend). After viruses/trojans/malware has been run, it can be cleaned but it often leaves annoying changes, sometimes ones that you won't even notice for a while and will have to dig through group policy or the registry to correct. Yes, anything that's changed "can" be changed back, but it takes a lot of work and sometimes isn't worth it. It can take hours to troubleshoot a single problem if you've never dealt with it before. Installing the OS may take between half an hour and an hour from cd (longer on very old computers), about 15-20 minutes if you install it over the network through Windows PE, or about 3-5 minutes with Norton Ghost. Assuming you haven't ghosted or used WMI, it will take less than 20 minutes to find, download, and install the drivers if you know what you're looking for. Often I don't really install programs until I need them. Most programs take 5 minutes or less to download and install. The best thing you can do is perform regular defragging/virus scanning/ backups, and disable unneeded startup items. I'll agree that reconfiguring Windows and applications with custom themes and settings as well as backing up & restoring data is time consuming; however, the benefit greatly outweighs the alternative. Besides, the more practice you get the faster you can do it. That gives you more flexibility to learn the intricacies of the OS without having to be afraid of making a mistake you can't undo. Just my 2˘. |
#20
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Help Reinstalling Windows XP
Pete Harris wrote:
I need to reinstal windows XP. I have found http//support.microsoft.com/kb/315341 and some other guides through a google search. These look good but is there any more info, or pitfalls, I need to be aware of before starting. Just being very very cautious before I start!!! Are you absolutely sure you need to reinstall Windows XP? That's a fairly drastic measure, and it usually is not necessary. Why not tell us your specific problem? Perhaps we can guide you to a solution. |
#21
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Help Reinstalling Windows XP
Pete Harris wrote: I need to reinstal windows XP. I have found http//support.microsoft.com/kb/315341 and some other guides through a google search. These look good but is there any more info, or pitfalls, I need to be aware of before starting. Just being very very cautious before I start!!! Are you absolutely sure you need to reinstall Windows XP? That's a fairly drastic measure, and it usually is not necessary. Why not tell us your specific problem? Perhaps we can guide you to a solution. |
#22
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Help Reinstalling Windows XP
Thanks for all your replies and views – Ken must have been reading my mind
with some of the issues. Having problems for some time now and not sure haw it all started but here goes with best recollection. Originally purchased system as an ex demonstration model from a local shop (one man business!!) About a year later system was running very slow, purchased RegCure on-line to try and clean the registry ( advised after not a good idea). After running had problems with a program call Document Viewer (part of HP printer package). With help of Regcure tech support eventually resolved (they supplied an “Ignore” list). There was also another problem (not sure if after or before RegCure), when the PC was first turned on there were no sounds. Restarted the PC and sound were there. I did post an issue but no solution was found (tried things like reloading drivers) See the post in “Music” section. (Subject: Start - No Sounds, Restart - Sounds!! 6/5/2009 5:20 AM PST). The problem with the system being slow is that it is very slow to start up but after it has been running for a while the speed approaches normality. Was advised by the local shop that a reinstall would be worth doing but obviously they would want paying if they did it. Took PC home to think about it and have tolerated problem since. A week ago when I turned the PC on nothing happened, apparently a power surge blew the Power Unit and Motherboard which were replaced. Didn’t have a reinstall as already cost a lot for Power Unit and Motherboard so thought a DIY job was an option, and that’s where I am now! A sorry tale I know but !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -- Regards Pete "Hodges" wrote: On Oct 2, 10:25 am, "Ken Blake, MVP" wrote: On Fri, 2 Oct 2009 02:28:02 -0700, Pete Harris wrote: I need to reinstal windows XP. I have found http//support.microsoft.com/kb/315341 and some other guides through a google search. These look good but is there any more info, or pitfalls, I need to be aware of before starting. Just being very very cautious before I start!!! You've already gotten some good "how-to" answers. Let me ask why do you "need" to do this? Here's my standard post on this subject: In my view, it's usually a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and now Windows 7, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two or more machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. 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? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. And perhaps most important: if you reformat and reinstall without finding out what caused your problem, you will very likely repeat the behavior that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in exactly the same situation. If you have problems, post the details of them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003 Please Reply to the Newsgroup To elaborate on my previous post... Programs often leave stuff behind. It's easy enough to go into the "program files" folder and delete them, but some leave stuff behind in "My Documents", "Application Data", and lots of other folders as well as temp files and registry keys that get left behind AFTER running registry/temp file cleaners such as CCleaner (which I recommend). After viruses/trojans/malware has been run, it can be cleaned but it often leaves annoying changes, sometimes ones that you won't even notice for a while and will have to dig through group policy or the registry to correct. Yes, anything that's changed "can" be changed back, but it takes a lot of work and sometimes isn't worth it. It can take hours to troubleshoot a single problem if you've never dealt with it before. Installing the OS may take between half an hour and an hour from cd (longer on very old computers), about 15-20 minutes if you install it over the network through Windows PE, or about 3-5 minutes with Norton Ghost. Assuming you haven't ghosted or used WMI, it will take less than 20 minutes to find, download, and install the drivers if you know what you're looking for. Often I don't really install programs until I need them. Most programs take 5 minutes or less to download and install. The best thing you can do is perform regular defragging/virus scanning/ backups, and disable unneeded startup items. I'll agree that reconfiguring Windows and applications with custom themes and settings as well as backing up & restoring data is time consuming; however, the benefit greatly outweighs the alternative. Besides, the more practice you get the faster you can do it. That gives you more flexibility to learn the intricacies of the OS without having to be afraid of making a mistake you can't undo. Just my 2¢. |
#23
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Help Reinstalling Windows XP
Thanks for all your replies and views – Ken must have been reading my mind
with some of the issues. Having problems for some time now and not sure haw it all started but here goes with best recollection. Originally purchased system as an ex demonstration model from a local shop (one man business!!) About a year later system was running very slow, purchased RegCure on-line to try and clean the registry ( advised after not a good idea). After running had problems with a program call Document Viewer (part of HP printer package). With help of Regcure tech support eventually resolved (they supplied an “Ignore” list). There was also another problem (not sure if after or before RegCure), when the PC was first turned on there were no sounds. Restarted the PC and sound were there. I did post an issue but no solution was found (tried things like reloading drivers) See the post in “Music” section. (Subject: Start - No Sounds, Restart - Sounds!! 6/5/2009 5:20 AM PST). The problem with the system being slow is that it is very slow to start up but after it has been running for a while the speed approaches normality. Was advised by the local shop that a reinstall would be worth doing but obviously they would want paying if they did it. Took PC home to think about it and have tolerated problem since. A week ago when I turned the PC on nothing happened, apparently a power surge blew the Power Unit and Motherboard which were replaced. Didn’t have a reinstall as already cost a lot for Power Unit and Motherboard so thought a DIY job was an option, and that’s where I am now! A sorry tale I know but !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -- Regards Pete "Hodges" wrote: On Oct 2, 10:25 am, "Ken Blake, MVP" wrote: On Fri, 2 Oct 2009 02:28:02 -0700, Pete Harris wrote: I need to reinstal windows XP. I have found http//support.microsoft.com/kb/315341 and some other guides through a google search. These look good but is there any more info, or pitfalls, I need to be aware of before starting. Just being very very cautious before I start!!! You've already gotten some good "how-to" answers. Let me ask why do you "need" to do this? Here's my standard post on this subject: In my view, it's usually a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and now Windows 7, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two or more machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. 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? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. And perhaps most important: if you reformat and reinstall without finding out what caused your problem, you will very likely repeat the behavior that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in exactly the same situation. If you have problems, post the details of them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003 Please Reply to the Newsgroup To elaborate on my previous post... Programs often leave stuff behind. It's easy enough to go into the "program files" folder and delete them, but some leave stuff behind in "My Documents", "Application Data", and lots of other folders as well as temp files and registry keys that get left behind AFTER running registry/temp file cleaners such as CCleaner (which I recommend). After viruses/trojans/malware has been run, it can be cleaned but it often leaves annoying changes, sometimes ones that you won't even notice for a while and will have to dig through group policy or the registry to correct. Yes, anything that's changed "can" be changed back, but it takes a lot of work and sometimes isn't worth it. It can take hours to troubleshoot a single problem if you've never dealt with it before. Installing the OS may take between half an hour and an hour from cd (longer on very old computers), about 15-20 minutes if you install it over the network through Windows PE, or about 3-5 minutes with Norton Ghost. Assuming you haven't ghosted or used WMI, it will take less than 20 minutes to find, download, and install the drivers if you know what you're looking for. Often I don't really install programs until I need them. Most programs take 5 minutes or less to download and install. The best thing you can do is perform regular defragging/virus scanning/ backups, and disable unneeded startup items. I'll agree that reconfiguring Windows and applications with custom themes and settings as well as backing up & restoring data is time consuming; however, the benefit greatly outweighs the alternative. Besides, the more practice you get the faster you can do it. That gives you more flexibility to learn the intricacies of the OS without having to be afraid of making a mistake you can't undo. Just my 2¢. |
#24
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Help Reinstalling Windows XP
Hodges wrote:
I'm a sysadmin, and sometimes settings/configurations get FUBAR to the point that it's just not worth it to tinker with it. At work it's easy to just image a machine once a year or so, at home I reinstall XP every 6 months to 2 years. Then I'd have to conclude that you really shouldn't be a "sysadmin." You admit to lacking the basic technical abilities such a position warrants. -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375 They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers. ~ Denis Diderot |
#25
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Help Reinstalling Windows XP
Hodges wrote:
I'm a sysadmin, and sometimes settings/configurations get FUBAR to the point that it's just not worth it to tinker with it. At work it's easy to just image a machine once a year or so, at home I reinstall XP every 6 months to 2 years. Then I'd have to conclude that you really shouldn't be a "sysadmin." You admit to lacking the basic technical abilities such a position warrants. -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375 They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers. ~ Denis Diderot |
#26
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Help Reinstalling Windows XP
Posting again as intended for Ken but replied to Hodges!!
Thanks for all your replies and views – Ken must have been reading my mind with some of the issues. Having problems for some time now and not sure haw it all started but here goes with best recollection. Originally purchased system as an ex demonstration model from a local shop (one man business!!) About a year later system was running very slow, purchased RegCure on-line to try and clean the registry ( advised after not a good idea). After running had problems with a program call Document Viewer (part of HP printer package). With help of Regcure tech support eventually resolved (they supplied an “Ignore” list). There was also another problem (not sure if after or before RegCure), when the PC was first turned on there were no sounds. Restarted the PC and sound were there. I did post an issue but no solution was found (tried things like reloading drivers) See the post in “Music” section. (Subject: Start - No Sounds, Restart - Sounds!! 6/5/2009 5:20 AM PST). The problem with the system being slow is that it is very slow to start up but after it has been running for a while the speed approaches normality. Was advised by the local shop that a reinstall would be worth doing but obviously they would want paying if they did it. Took PC home to think about it and have tolerated problem since. A week ago when I turned the PC on nothing happened, apparently a power surge blew the Power Unit and Motherboard which were replaced. Didn’t have a reinstall as already cost a lot for Power Unit and Motherboard so thought a DIY job was an option, and that’s where I am now! A sorry tale I know but !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -- Regards Pete "Ken Blake, MVP" wrote: On Fri, 2 Oct 2009 02:28:02 -0700, Pete Harris wrote: I need to reinstal windows XP. I have found http//support.microsoft.com/kb/315341 and some other guides through a google search. These look good but is there any more info, or pitfalls, I need to be aware of before starting. Just being very very cautious before I start!!! You've already gotten some good "how-to" answers. Let me ask why do you "need" to do this? Here's my standard post on this subject: In my view, it's usually a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and now Windows 7, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two or more machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. 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? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. And perhaps most important: if you reformat and reinstall without finding out what caused your problem, you will very likely repeat the behavior that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in exactly the same situation. If you have problems, post the details of them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003 Please Reply to the Newsgroup |
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Help Reinstalling Windows XP
Posting again as intended for Ken but replied to Hodges!!
Thanks for all your replies and views – Ken must have been reading my mind with some of the issues. Having problems for some time now and not sure haw it all started but here goes with best recollection. Originally purchased system as an ex demonstration model from a local shop (one man business!!) About a year later system was running very slow, purchased RegCure on-line to try and clean the registry ( advised after not a good idea). After running had problems with a program call Document Viewer (part of HP printer package). With help of Regcure tech support eventually resolved (they supplied an “Ignore” list). There was also another problem (not sure if after or before RegCure), when the PC was first turned on there were no sounds. Restarted the PC and sound were there. I did post an issue but no solution was found (tried things like reloading drivers) See the post in “Music” section. (Subject: Start - No Sounds, Restart - Sounds!! 6/5/2009 5:20 AM PST). The problem with the system being slow is that it is very slow to start up but after it has been running for a while the speed approaches normality. Was advised by the local shop that a reinstall would be worth doing but obviously they would want paying if they did it. Took PC home to think about it and have tolerated problem since. A week ago when I turned the PC on nothing happened, apparently a power surge blew the Power Unit and Motherboard which were replaced. Didn’t have a reinstall as already cost a lot for Power Unit and Motherboard so thought a DIY job was an option, and that’s where I am now! A sorry tale I know but !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -- Regards Pete "Ken Blake, MVP" wrote: On Fri, 2 Oct 2009 02:28:02 -0700, Pete Harris wrote: I need to reinstal windows XP. I have found http//support.microsoft.com/kb/315341 and some other guides through a google search. These look good but is there any more info, or pitfalls, I need to be aware of before starting. Just being very very cautious before I start!!! You've already gotten some good "how-to" answers. Let me ask why do you "need" to do this? Here's my standard post on this subject: In my view, it's usually a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and now Windows 7, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two or more machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. 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? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. And perhaps most important: if you reformat and reinstall without finding out what caused your problem, you will very likely repeat the behavior that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in exactly the same situation. If you have problems, post the details of them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003 Please Reply to the Newsgroup |
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