System Recovery

[spokeshave]

After a trip to the computer repair man (my power supply died) it was recommended to me to 'run a system recovery'.

This was suggested to me because my system is running very slow (especially on start up). Other than speed my computer is running fine.

It's a 5 year old H/P 510a and i have never had a problem with it up until now. I'm no computer wizard and doing such things scare me because of a fear of once started there is no turning back and if i encounter a problem i wouldn't know what to do.:(

The computer manual says that if i hit f10 on start-up a menu will appear that allows me to select a 'non-destructive system recovery'. It says this will re-install all the software without losing all my data.

Has anyone done this?

Does this mean that once the process is complete that my computer will be as it is now or will i have other things to do? Is it relatively quick process or will i have to set aside an afternoon and are there any precautions i should take before i start?

Sorry for all the questions but i am reluctant to start anything like this without some advice.

Thanks all. Steven.

[manoftalent]

no you will be fine mate, choose the "non destructive " method first, this option usually loads all the drivers and other software that came with the pc out of the box ......in most cases it will fix your system .....however ...if you have accumilated a lot of junk files, especially redundant registry keys .....this may have little effect on the speed your pc runs at ....and its efficentcy ......try it first and see how it goes ....pm me if you like and I can help you step by step ..

[Ianab]

are there any precautions i should take before i start?


Backup anything important :!

Although it says it will do a non-destructive restore, and it will if nothing goes wrong, if it has a problem it can leave the system in a non-working state, and then you have to do a full wipe and restore. Most times it works, but it's never 100%.

You may have to reload some software that had been installed after you got the machine. It will put the windows system back to 'factory' and that may break some applications. The data files for those programs wll be left intact, but the program may not work due to missing registry entries or system files. You will need to run windows updates again as well.

It's probably worth doing though, you dont notice how much a machine slows down over time through windows getting cluttered. I find that if I format an older PC like that and reload everthing it does in fact run much better.

Cheers

Ian

[FXST01]

:fingerscrossed:
[quote=Ianab;638429]Backup anything important :!

:whs:
Think about backing up 'My Documents" your email data files, your favourites or bookmarks and anything specific to you, like eg sketchup files you have created etc

[munruben]

As suggested above, back up all the stuff you want to keep and go ahead, everything should be fine. If not, you can always reformat the hard drive and reinstall the OS and your programs then the computer will run like new.

[manoftalent]

As the others have said, it is wise to back up important files/programs send the installer file to cd/dvd...also go to "start">all programs>accessories>system tools>"files and settings transfer wizard"...and load all your settings onto cd.....this will also include browser settings and favorites ...and internet settings ..an easy to use feature.....just tell the program the pc your on now is the "old"......and when its cleaned up ...select "new version" to reinstall ....quite simple really ....and if you have programs installed in the c/windows directory ...it will save them too .....

[Fuzzie]

If it's just a speed issue, another option to try before you do any software restore is to delete any old files you have lying around that you really don't want. Maybe get one of the free utilities off the net that also cleans out temporary file folders or you can use WindowsExplorer->RightClickCdrive->Properties->DiskCleanup and check recycle bin and temporary files.

Having got rid of the junk do a a disk defragment.

WindowsExplorer->RightClickCdrive->Properties->Tools-Defragmentation
or
ControlPanel->AdminTools->ComputerManagement->DiskDefragmenter

This is non destructive and should really be run every now and again anyway. It can give a significant speed improvement if you disks are badly fragmented.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

One thing I'd try first is to look at how much free space is on C: drive.

If there's <1GB odds are that the following will significantly speed things up:delete all "junk" files (temp, cache, cookies, etc.) perform a scandisk, checking for errors do a defrag

Come to that, I'd be inclined to do the above even if there is plenty of room, 'cos it can make the reinstallation process faster too. :)

Mmmm... as t'others have said: perform a backup first! It can't hurt and may save a lot of cussing later. :wink:

Edit: beaten to the punch by a Fuzzie. The story of my life! :roll:

[spokeshave]

Thanks every one for your replies and advice. Other people's experience is an invaluable resource to have.

As far as back-up is concerned, is it worth (and safe) to send files to a 2gb flash drive as opposed to a cd?
I dont have a dvd drive so it's either cd or flash drive.

My system has a 40gb hard drive that is only 50% full so it's not totally clogged with rubbish. I've already deleted alot of stuff that has accumilated over the years.

Even though i have an anti-virus and spy-ware software installed and regularly updated my system did succumb to a virus several years ago that had the system un-usable. Maybe this may have something to do with it's speed (it was sent to the computer fix-it bloke then too and was repaired).

My first port of call now is to delete anything else i can find i dont need, run scandisk then a defrag. Then back-up everything.

Then maybe take a deep breath and run the recovery.:oo::(

Thanks again to you all, great advice very much appreciated.:2tsup:

Steven.

[FXST01]

Backing up to a flash drive is fine :)

[Pusser]

You can clean out a lot of junk including your registry using a tool like CCleaner
http://ccleaner.com/

You can download it free and if you make a donation they keep you up to date on upgrades. You should also clean out unnecessary programs loaded through the startup directory.
if you clean out the system before doing a disk defrag you will recover space and make things quicker to load. You should do it before a system rebuild as the crap will remain unless you reformat

You can also tweak the loading and setup using Tweak - there are versions for XP and Vista from http://www.totalidea.com/content/index.php

There is plenty of help and it enables you to identify useless junk being loaded. I have used both utilities on an HP laptop and a dsktop and they improved performance markedly. The best of course is a full rebuild with fresh software but it will take ages to download all the fixes. These two utilities will restore most performance and help you keep it in good health.

[spokeshave]

Well, i've tried a few things to speed up my system.

After much thought about what you people have written and what friends have suggested i thought i would leave a full system restore as a last resort.

I've performed a disk clean-up, defragment, scanned my hard drive for errors, cleaned out my systems tray of unneccesary icons (i was told that these run in the background ready to start), un-installed programs that i dont use anymore then updated and scanned for viruses.

I'll use it for a few days and see how it performs.

thanks again.
Steven.

[manoftalent]

spokeshave, your registry is the most important part to fix and clean, it will slow even the best pc's down......try this site for a free (30 day) trial ...I just ran it and was amazed on how quick and efficient it is ......it picked up a couple my "paid" cleaner missed

http://www.click-now.net/downloads10.htm

download and run RegSupreme 1.1.0

[spokeshave]

Thanks for the link manoftalent.

It's has now been downloaded and run.:2tsup:

You're right, it is very quick to detect and repair errors. It found 22 errors in my registry.

Jeez, all this stuff i've done now has gotta help!!! I guess regular maintenence is the key.

Thanks again.

Steven.

[manoftalent]

my system is as follows .....my pc runs xp software that came outta the box ....everything else goes to my external harddrive...pictures, word doc's ....programs .....I backup my external hd every month just in case ....and by doing this my pc runs as new, .....if I loose an external, it'll only cost me $200......compared to the price of a new pc ......I clear cookies twice a week, and temp files .......and do a defrag about every three weeks ....running a registry cleaner now and again helps to keep everything in order ....you have to remember that if you store pictures, word doc's, music files,video clips,or add fonts to your pc ......windows loads them ALL up every time to boot up......and this accumilation can slow you down considerably .....free up little used programs by sending them to dvd/cd for storage and later use ...your pc will work much more efficiently and last much longer in the long run.

[Pusser]

Quote "...you have to remember that if you store pictures, word doc's, music files,video clips,or add fonts to your pc ......windows loads them ALL up every time to boot up......"

Windows does not load pictures, word doc's, music files,video clips every time you load up. Data files are only loaded when required.

Outlook takes a long time to load as you add more files as it loads all of the PST files and these contain all the email data and picture links. If you load outlook at startup you will considerably slow down startup. You can speed this up by using the archive facility as archives are not loaded until opened.

The amount of software on the system effects the load time as windows loads the registry and has to set all the variables and the size of the registry grows with additional software load. It processes every item in the regisrty whether or not the software is present hence the need to ensure the software cleanup process removes unneccessary items.

Shortcuts are a common problem here. Unnecessary shortcuts alsso slow the system.

In xp if you have more than 400 fonts loaded the speed is impacted significantly. Loading devices including external drives, printers, memory card readers etc slow down the load and the temp file is also critical - this is processed on loading and if you have too many files here you can actually stop windows loading.

Having programs loading at boottime also slows the load as the programs not only have to be loaded but they eat up cycles while loading.

A good but expensive resource os Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks by David A Karp. There is also http://www.annoyances.org/