One for you IT wizards.

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backwoodsman

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I've got a 3 1/2 year old laptop which has started playing up. Mainly it seems really slow at times, and recently has taken to losing either my "account" or the wifes. (On login, it says the account doesn't exist.) Because we both have "admin rights" we have been using system restore to put things back. However, things are such that I'm thinking of doing a "factory re-set" to try to clear all and any glitches.

Other than the obvious of making copies of files I want to keep, is there anything else I need to be wary of? I haven't many programs or downloads that aren't standard and I can re-install those few I want.

Advice appreciated
 
Make sure you have any drivers you need on a usb drive first.
 
3 1/2 years ? Possibly worth looking at upgrading the ram

Defiantly move files to an external drive
 
Probably easier to take it to someone that knows what they are doing tbh. Its not that difficult but it means dropping it off and picking it up the next day ;)
 
backwoodsman said:
Ta. You're advising a total novice here. How do I do either of those - especially where will I find the drivers being stored?
Click to expand...

If you are rebuilding from a factory restore disk or recovery partition I wouldnt worry to much as these usually have everything you need on the disk. I would only worry about drivers if you are doing a vanilla install of windows. get device drivers from the manufacturers website , most have an easy to use support centre.
 
3 and 1/2 years - excuse for a new one? Ram isn't cheap on a laptop depending on what slots are available and which ram 'fits' your board added to this the charge of fitting and installing and a full system restore you can get a new one with warranty - up to date software and lots of ram for around £250. Just a thought. :)
 
Sirmol said:
3 and 1/2 years - excuse for a new one? Ram isn't cheap on a laptop depending on what slots are available and which ram 'fits' your board added to this the charge of fitting and installing and a full system restore you can get a new one with warranty - up to date software and lots of ram for around £250. Just a thought. :)
Click to expand...

Who pays to have RAM installed... ? 3 1/2 years in computing terms may be fairly old but it all depends on what the laptop is used for. My work one is a 5 year old Dell E6400 and it still does all that I need quite comfortably.
 
all sound advice. If its running win7 then no need to buy a new laptop imho as win8 is crap ;)

If your not using it for anything other than web/email/office and the odd bit of media viewing/streaming I would just look at either a factory restore from the partition (if it has one) or clean install. Where did you get it as different suppliers have different methods to restore from partition. PCWorld for example use the techguys thingy (technical eh lol) this can be accessed at bootup or from within windows itself. Google as always is your friend or post here and someone will know

If you use a mail client on you laptop such as Outlook then you may want to backup emails/contacts etc then again google is your friend, its not massively hard but easier to do via a readme online than anything posted here. Dont forget to write down any passwords for email etc and also the pop/smtp server addresses, if you use webmail then nowt to worry about bar login details.

To backup documents etc just get either an external usb hard drive or memory stick and drag and drop onto there. Also just write a list of programs you use for reinstalling afterwards, it is a good chance to not bother with some that are no longer used aswell.

You will be surprised how much quicker an older machine is after a nice clean install, its like having a full service on a motor, it purrs afterwards :D
 
It might be worth defragmenting the drive before going over the top.

There is a program on your machine in the "system tools" folder for doing this - it can take a few minutes !
 
I'd register with PCHF, (PC Help Forum), and post a thread in the relevant section.
They will guide you through each step which also gives you the opportunity to learn stuff.
I've used them recently and they are first class and free.
The link to their site is below,

http://www.pchelpforum.com/#software.405

Give it a go ....................... what's there to lose?


Slime.
 
If windows is losing profiles then its likely to be a corrupt SAM file, a hard drive mechanical issue wouldnt repeat the same problems, so it looks like windows is screwed.

backup data, do a factory reformat, dont worry about drivers as they will be included in the factory settings.

when finished, load anti virus, windows updates and your programs and data

shout back if you get stuck

Good Luck

Fragger knows about these things :)
 
Thanks all.

It's a Dell Inspiron bought directly from Dell (don't recall the precise model for now as am using tablet for this). Came with windows Vista preloaded. Don't use it for much except internet and email plus storing photos and music. Spent a lot of money at the time

Have de-fragged but it didn't make any noticeable difference. But it's not so much the speed (although it is a bit of a pain) it's the dropping the accounts that worries (mine once, her's three times)

If I do do a factory reset will there be any issues arising from the fact that over the past 3 years the preloaded software will have had updates?
 
Last edited:
Hold the bus, let's just confirm a couple of bits

You say it came pri-installed with vista, does it still have vista or have you put 7 on it?

What recovery discs do you have? Normally you would have an operating system disc and a drivers disc.

If it came with vista it's more like 4 1/2 years old, certainly a machine you don't want to spend any real money on it,
 
PhilTheFragger said:
Hold the bus, let's just confirm a couple of bits

You say it came pri-installed with vista, does it still have vista or have you put 7 on it?

What recovery discs do you have? Normally you would have an operating system disc and a drivers disc.

If it came with vista it's more like 4 1/2 years old, certainly a machine you don't want to spend any real money on it,
Click to expand...

I totally agree with the above which is why I think it's worth going down the PCHF route. As I said, there's nothing to lose except a bit of time as all their work is done on a voluntary basis and is free of charge ........................... they are IT angels.


Slime.
 
Does your Dell have a service code or tag sticker on the bottom? Go to the European support site for Dell and punch the number in. It will lead you to a site where you can download all of the drivers for your machine if you need to reinstall them again.

Personally I would wipe the machine and start over. If it had Vista on it before I would be inclined to install XP instead. I have a Dell OEM XP disk somewhere if you need it. Get someone you know to do it for you if you are not comfortable, or if you are happy post the machine to me (no charge, just pay the postage) and I will turn it around for you.

Backup and remove your personal data first because that's really the only important stuff. The rest can always be replaced.
 
sawtooth said:
Does your Dell have a service code or tag sticker on the bottom? Go to the European support site for Dell and punch the number in. It will lead you to a site where you can download all of the drivers for your machine if you need to reinstall them again.

Personally I would wipe the machine and start over. If it had Vista on it before I would be inclined to install XP instead. I have a Dell OEM XP disk somewhere if you need it. Get someone you know to do it for you if you are not comfortable, or if you are happy post the machine to me (no charge, just pay the postage) and I will turn it around for you.

Backup and remove your personal data first because that's really the only important stuff. The rest can always be replaced.
Click to expand...

Really? Even with support finishing today?
 
I wouldnt consider going to XP as a viable option, are the service packs and updates to date still going to be available for download?
with XP you are stuck on IE8, whereas the rest of the world are on 11, if you want to install Office 2013, you cant, what happens when your new anti virus program stops being Xp compatible.

I could go on
 
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