PC Problems

That's a really broad spectrum there. but first things first.

Download Microsoft Windows Defender:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/Microsoft_Windows_Defender_d4466.html
It's free. Run it, and have it remove anything it finds.

Also download Spybot:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/SpyBot-Search_&_Destroy_d2471.html
Also free. Start it and let it do it's thing (update, backup, immunize, everything).

Once that is done, click Start - Run - typr "msconfig" without the quotes and Enter - click the sartup tab (the last one) - uncheck everything buy your firewall, antivirus, Windows Defender, and any driver you have to have (touchpad and such) - Click Apply - OK - Reboot. Once your lappy comes back up, a grey box will pop up saying something about the System Configuration Utility... just check the check box and click OK. [What you just did was to tell Windows to only start up the things you left checked, instead of starting up everything that was check before.]

Now, check for viruses. Use your a/v, but also use an online scanner. http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ is a great one. If you are running without antivirus, WHY??? there are good free ones out there. Download AVG Free Edition:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/AVG_Free_Edition_d886.html

Same thing if you don't have a firewall. Download this one:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/ZoneAlarm_Free_d388.html

Once you have the adware/spyware cleaned out, as well as any viruses, tell me how it is running. I'll be better able to gauge what might be wrong with it once it is clean.

In Christ,
Trotter

 

Trotter gives great advice. One thing though, I find that a total reformat every 6-12 months does wonders as well, particularly if you install and uninstall a lot of software. Be sure to back up your data files first.

Another option, try Linux. My favorite version is at www.ubuntu.com. Free OS, free software, and bid goodbye to spyware and system slowdowns. You can get a live CD that you can boot from and never touch your Windows partition unless you want to install it. Live CDs run slower than a hard drive install, but you can see how it works for you first.

 

I wouldn't worry about it, unless your laptop is really, really old. Microsoft had to issue all of those dire warning because there are some people who are still hacking away on dinosaurs (yes, I'm talking to you, preacher). I have yet to meet anyone who has had any real issues with SP2.

A couple of things you can also do after the above.

Download and run TweakNow (it's free). It will anylize the Windows' registry, and allow you to clean it up. It divides what it finds into three catagories... safe to delete, unsafe, and unknown. Delete all safe (it gives you the option). Check the unknown ones to see if you recognize anything that is no longer installed on your laptop... if it belongs to something long gone, nix it. Ignore the unsafe ones.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/TweakNow_RegCleaner_Standard_d4134.html

Along the same vein, download and run RegCompact. RegCompact defrags your registry, making it samller and faster. It is also free (I just love freeware... have you noticed?).
http://www.majorgeeks.com/RegCompact_d465.html

A reformat can cure all ills, but it means losing anything on the hard drive... as well as having to re-update Windows. I avoid it like the pague, hence all the maintenance tweaks. I am on my fourth year without a reformat, and my Windows is actually more stable now than when I bought my computer.

In Christ,
Trotter

 

Do you have the CDs necessary to reinstall your programs? Do they work, as in, can Windows Explorer read what's on the CDs? If so, don't bother backing up programs because it's a waste of time. If XP2 crashes any of your software (which is relatively unlikely), use the media to reinstall it.

The only thing that you really need to backup are the files that aren't easily recreatable. If XP2 were to crash your entire system (which is unlikely), it would probably take hours to recreate your files, if you could recreate them at all.

There are many ways to backup files. The easiest way is to just copy personal files to an external drive, like a jump/thumb drive. Without more information about what you have, it's impossible to say what the best solution would be.

XP SP2 has been out for quite a while. Go install it. There's nothing to fear here. XP2 will not cause your hard drive to be unuseable, and should there be problems with XP as a result (which is unlikely), there are ways to recover from that as well.

 

I'm with you on this, Trotter. I read all the time about techies who reformat their drive every year or even 6 months and I think it's a complete waste of time. I upgraded to Windows XP in 2003 and have yet to reformat my drive or reinstall Windows. Adaware, Spybot, Antivirus and a good firewall keeps my system running just fine. It's a slow system by today's standards, but that has more to do with the 933 Mhz CPU than the OS.

 

Personal files, such as resumes, letters, documents of any kind. My wife and I have created hundreds of Word documents, spreadsheets, and the like that would be very hard to recreate. The journal you reference is a good example.

 

Jump drives use flash memory. Flash memory will eventually wear out... it only has so many times it can be used..

I would recommend buring your files to CDs or DVDs if you have a huge amount. You can also use an external hard drive, as many of them have become fairly reasonably priced of late.

But, even if SP2 didn't agree with your lappy, you can always just uninstall SP2.

In Christ,
Trotter

 

I've had success dropping them from tall buildings.