# Computer Re-formatting?



## Tricky Grama (Oct 7, 2006)

Anyone had this done? 
A friend is doing this for our 7 y/o 'pooter while we're on vacation next wk. We have a few problems along w/running slow. One that concerns us is the "Not Responding" message that happens a lot, esp when on HT. Sometimes when in our email program too. Then it shuts the program down.
Anyone think re-formatting will help?

patty


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

It could just as easily be cause by lack of resources. What operating system are you running, and how much memory do you have? You can find out both by right-clicking on the My Computer icon and selecting Properties. You'll find it on the General tab.


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## Tricky Grama (Oct 7, 2006)

Nevada said:


> It could just as easily be cause by lack of resources. What operating system are you running, and how much memory do you have? You can find out both by right-clicking on the My Computer icon and selecting Properties. You'll find it on the General tab.


I already did that & there's LOTS of memory. 
I'm not sure of all your ?s but got windows/office 2010, it s a Dell 'pooter, & I know this friend has re-formatted a lot.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Tricky Grama said:


> I already did that & there's LOTS of memory.


define "Lots"

No such OS as windows 2010
Are you running: Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 ? (This has nothing to do with Office)


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## 2horses (Jul 19, 2004)

I'm guessing it's XP if it's 7 years old. Would work best with at least 1 Gb of memory.

What do you accomplish by reformatting? You do realize it's a complete wipe of your hard drive? Did you save any files, documents, pictures etc. that you don't want to lose? ANd what OS is going to be reinstalled?


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

You can do a "soft" reformat, which leaves the files and pictures all in tact. 
But a "Hard" Reformat completely clears everything, and I mean EVERYTHING.
So you better have ALL Cd's that came with the machine.
All the Programs, All the Utilities, and of course Windows CD..


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

arabian knight said:


> You can do a "soft" reformat, which leaves the files and pictures all in tact.


Are you talking about a Windows repair?


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

I am talking about the difference between a "System Restore", Where the computer goes back to where it was when you bought it new, so all programs stay, that were there in the beginning, and the difference from a complete reformat of the hard drive, which wipes everything off.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

arabian knight said:


> I am talking about the difference between a "System Restore"


Isn't System Restore a vendor CD function and not a Windows CD function?


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Well that is what H-P calls it. I don't know. Where it cleans up things and moves the puter back in time to which it came new, but leaves all programs in place the were originally on it. etc. Dell computers have the same thing as "system restore"


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## Kari (Mar 24, 2008)

arabian knight said:


> Well that is what H-P calls it. I don't know. Where it cleans up things and moves the puter back in time to which it came new, but leaves all programs in place the were originally on it. etc. Dell computers have the same thing as "system restore"



There are a few different ways to "restore" a Windows system.

1) Re-format and re-install Windows (from a Generic or Vendor supplied Windows re-install CD) and all other programs completely from scratch.

*- Implications: * If you don't backup data and various program configurations, you will possibly be spending hours in setting up the pc again. It is also important to make note of all installed drivers as you will need to re-install them afterwards. There are a few programs out there that will identify and copy the installed drivers to another drive such as a USB device before you re-format the pc.

*- Positives:* Nice clean pc and setup to your liking.


2) Do a system Restore using the Windows built-in System Restore function.

*- Implications: * If the pc does not have the System Restore service running previously, you will be out of luck. Also my experience has been System Restore is a crap shoot...meaning more times then not, it is not successful. 

*- Positives:* All your 3rd party installed programs are left intact..although this depends on which restore point you choose and how old that restore point is.


3) Do a System Restore from a Computer Vendor (Dell, HP et al) supplied CD/partition on the hard drive. For example Dell creates a system restore partition on the hard drive. Typically this partition is ~ 8GB in size (XP) and when used in conjunction with the supplied rescue CD, this will set your pc back to the same configuration as when it left the factory (vendor's).

*- Implications: *With this method, the pc is completely wiped without any regards to user data so it is imperative that you backup all your important documents/files beforehand to a USB device or other network pc etc.

*- Positives:* The pc is like factory new and with some extra work installing any other programs, you can be up and running in a short time.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Well I have had to do both. The last one being a complete reformat on my Dell.
Which was great, when I put things back on, I only put those on that I would use.


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## 2horses (Jul 19, 2004)

arabian knight said:


> You can do a "soft" reformat, which leaves the files and pictures all in tact.


Umm....... no. 

That sounds more like a widows repair than anything.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

The only fix that I guarantee will fix all virus and malware issues. Start with FDISK. 

The last windows implosion I had wiped even boot sector completely. And it was instant.


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## Tricky Grama (Oct 7, 2006)

Well, I'm sure y'all realize I'm about (...) close to 'pooter illiterate.

We have Windows XP. Office 2010. My friend added 512 of 'something'. We had one '512' & room for another. (gigs?) She saved stuff & put it all back. 

It's so fast now I'm afraid of falling off.  Also, no longer does dumb stuff like kicking me off HT.


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

timing out loading HT is a PC issue.. Once the browser is loaded, its loaded. Most of the resources need to load HT are network related.


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## rean (Nov 18, 2008)

if you do an fdisk you will have to partition and format your hard drive. If you are computer illiterate, I don't suggest doing this yourself. Find someone else to do it for you. 

If you have another computer that you can access your email with, I can walk you through it.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

If working fine now, and has blinding speed just with doubling the RAM memory, why do anything else?


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

rean said:


> if you do an fdisk you will have to partition and format your hard drive. If you are computer illiterate, I don't suggest doing this yourself. Find someone else to do it for you.
> 
> If you have another computer that you can access your email with, I can walk you through it.


I'd like to stress the same point rean did; you DO NOT want to 'start with fdisk' if you're a standard user and want to fix your computer.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Kung said:


> I'd like to stress the same point rean did; you DO NOT want to 'start with fdisk' if you're a standard user and want to fix your computer.


Kung, I said it was the only thing that guarantees a virus free environment.

As to the novice user using Fdisk. I agree with you and disagree. If your going through the trouble of formating the main drive and doing a complete reinstall. You might as well take this step and ensure a clear disk. 


Course you could always get rid of windoze and get a less virus prone operating system.


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

Some tips to help with dealing with virus infections :

- use a web based email like gmail or whatever, don't use POP email since all your email will be on your system (more to transfer over in the event that you'd like to wipe your system)
- keep you data (like Word documents, etc.) backed up regularly on an external drive, CD, whatever
- keep current drivers for your hardware on a CD or DVD (especially your network driver)
- some decent backup software will actually make "images" of your system, and restoring it to that point can be extremely quick
- don't let your kids operate the system with administrator rights
- assume that you will get infected at some point, and prepare for it
- being prepared for a virus infection also prepares you in the event of catestrophic drive failure

Sometimes, trying to repair even minor virus infections is far more time consuming than completely wiping your system. Repairing virus infections can sometimes lead to unstable and unreliable systems... if the repair is not done exactly correctly... and repairs are often extremely difficult.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

stanb999 said:


> Kung, I said it was the only thing that guarantees a virus free environment.
> 
> As to the novice user using Fdisk. I agree with you and disagree. If your going through the trouble of formating the main drive and doing a complete reinstall. You might as well take this step and ensure a clear disk.


I don't disagree with this, from a technical standpoint. HOWEVER, we're not all technicians here. This forum is primarily for people like you and me to help the novice user - and using fdisk as a novice user is not something I recommend, UNLESS you personally are willing to walk them through the steps and provide support should something go wrong.

That's the reason we don't suggest people do it themselves *IF* they're not computer literate - and Tricky Grama made it pretty clear that she WASN'T all that computer literate.  Just be ready to stand in and assist if you're going to recommend that as a course of action.


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