Fight Windows Depletion!!

[wilcopshot]

It seems incredible to me that microsoft have not yet created an OS that is forever youthfull. No matter how well i keep my computer and try to preserve my OS i find that over the course of about a year it gradually gets more unstable and eventually it is too annoying to bother with and its time to FORMAT and REINSTALL.

I know this really can not be avoided but i would like to gather some tools, tips and tricks about keeping XP pro fast, stable and reliable. I will start by just mentioning a few things i do to try and preserve it.

1: Simple file structure. Everything has its place and is organised so i know where it all is. Installations are all to the same directory and i defrag once every few months.

2: Test software on another machine first. I have an old comp that i never really use so i test none mainstream software on that first.

3: Scan for viruses every week. Doesnt take long so why not eh?

4: Keep it up to date. Autoupdate works a treat.

5: Keep HD used space to a minimum. Increases speed. Only affects stability when you break into Virtual Memory space. With 80GB though thats next to never.

Any more suggestions are appreciated.
Now if you will excuse me, i have to create space on my other HD so i move everyhting accross so i can FORMAT and REINSTALL!!

[mystvearn]

I don't get it. How unstable is your system? I have a bad sector HD-and after aggresively using another HD to format my winxp pro hd-everything is ok. I do not see what is unstable. What is your system? Stable-then use Linux or mac :D

[TazZ_Nc]

hah at least urs stays faithful for a yr... i can usually get 4-6months b4 things turn on me and im forced to do a format and reinstall.

my motherboard blows too... and wont let me do a bios flash for some reason. so im stuck with using floppies cause xp wont auto boot off cd =\

tazz

[mystvearn]

Xp wont auto boot from cd? I thought it wil happen-check your BIOS-make sure to have CD as first boot device

[bailey]

xp does autorun as does w98se, if it does not on your system, something is amiss

[jacatone]

Windows is now and has always been a POS. No matter how hard Microsoft tries to perfect it, the truth is you can't polish a turd. Lately, Microsoft has developed a real strategy to combat Linux because they're afraid it because they realize it's better and it's free.

[Markoman01027]

LOL you can't polish a turd LOL

[jca08]

i agree that Linux is making some serious advances, but i also think that Microsoft has done a lot right with Windows. ideas and functions found in Windows (and yes, Mac OS too) have been modeled in most other operating systems. there are pros and cons to each; i think some competition such as what may happen between Microsoft and the open source world through Linux will bring about great things for future user interfaces.

[azscary]

I have never liked XP so I have stayed with Win 2K. I get about 2 years out of it and then I reformat and reinstall it too.

I also do all 5 things you do wilcopshot to maintain my system and when it is time to reformat all I have to do is copy the My Documents folder to the other HD, export my Outlook 2000 PST, rules and accounts and export my IE favorites.

After the reformat and install I update the OS patches and reinstall my other software then copy everything back in.

[Blakhart]

One thing that may help is to do a full drive check where you try to recover any bad sectors. This reads and writes to every sector on the disk, and may stop what is called "bit rot". Defragging often may help too, but not every defrag ute hits every bit.

[Colonel Sanders]

I think the big problem is probbably spyware, and programs that demand they must be constantly running. :mad: I currently have 32 processes running on my PC.... :rolleyes:

Finally for whatever reason, my MS reader in my rat has fianlly started work. :confused:

L J

[morcos]

if you had an imaging program that might help. once you reinstalled and have changed all your settings to the way you want you should do this. then if you find something being dumb you can 'start over' without really starting over. use norton ghost or soemthing. good luck. linux is also a great alternative:D