Reformatting CPU......recommendations

warwick.hoy · #1 06-14-2008, 07:36 AM

I want to reformat my computer. I plan on backing up my iTunes library and my photographs to DVD. FYI I'm borrowing a DVD/CD burner from a friend to do that as the stock burner went tits-up a few years back. Aside from that does anyone have any recommendations.....tips......hints......tricks?

I'm pretty computer illiterate; should I skip it and leave it for a professional to do?

~James

ric1312 · #2 06-14-2008, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

I want to reformat my computer. I plan on backing up my iTunes library and my photographs to DVD. FYI I'm borrowing a DVD/CD burner from a friend to do that as the stock burner went tits-up a few years back. Aside from that does anyone have any recommendations.....tips......hints......tricks?

I'm pretty computer illiterate; should I skip it and leave it for a professional to do?

~James

If you are computer illiterate then I don't recommend you do it. O ya, it's not, "reformatting your CPU," it's , "reformatting your HARD DRIVE."

CPU = central processing unit.
Hard drive = a hard disc that holds all your information on it.... programs, music, game, ect....

When you reformat you also have to reinstall your computers operating system as well. That is windows, and you have to reinstall all the programs and all the drivers for periphrial devices, like your printer, keyboard and montitor. So, make sure you have all the discs that have the drivers for your devices and all the discs for the programs you want to reinstall.

Basically after reformatting and before reinstalling your computer is tottally blank and useless.

It's not hard to reformat, but it can take some time, and I don't recommend doing it the first time without help or a very good step by step instruction manual in front of you.

fenderhutz · #3 06-14-2008, 08:00 AM

HEED THIS POINT FROM THE ABOVE POST.

Get all of your drivers on disc BEFORE the reformat. Especially if it's your only machine.

eedre · #4 06-14-2008, 08:13 AM

I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you have another computer to use. There are too many unexplained and unpredictable things that can happen (special hard drive drivers etc.) that you need some planning and basic troubleshooting skills to get around.

RWP · #5 06-14-2008, 08:28 AM

Agree with above posts. Not sure why you want to do this but here is one tip. Buy a second hard drive and backup your main C: drive to the second drive on a regular basis. Hard drives are cheap and if you use a utility like Casper it will back up the drive completely. So completely in fact you can boot from either drive if you have a failure.

warwick.hoy · #6 06-14-2008, 08:51 AM

Hmmmm....Rethinking the reformatting.

My computer is about a five year old compaq presario. It seems to barely run. I am amazed every time I get firefox and iTunes to open. When I close a program it kind of cascades off the screen and the the Icons on the desktop flash like I right clicked and refreshed the desktop.

There seem to be a lot of programs running in the background. It came with a bunch of that trial-ware crap that I've tried to get rid of and in the process may have deleted something vital. I can rip maybe 2 cds before the computer locks up and I have to restart it. Burning a cd? forget it. I haven't burnt a CD in years. Maybe it's time to invest in a new computer, or have someone build one for me.

Thanks for being the undeniable voice of reason smacking me in the face and curb stomping me into realizing that I was about to fall victim to another one of my cockamamie scheme.

eedre · #7 06-14-2008, 08:58 AM

A 5-year-old PC will lock up when doing basic things with modern applications like iTunes and Windows Media Player 11. Especially when running them at the same time

Ripping and burning CDs is very taxing on your computer so it's no surprise to me that that old crone of a machine you have crashes when you try to do these things. I think a reformat would really speed it up and may let you squeeze a few more years from it but you need to ask someone who is more computer literate to format.

RWP · #8 06-14-2008, 09:09 AM

The past 5 years have seen huge performance increases and price drops that make it easy to justify upgrading if you have the cash. Reformat if you want but I suspect you will not see much difference. Applications these days are written for the newer OS's and processor / hard drive speeds. They also expect huge amounts of RAM to run well.

Mingus · #9 06-14-2008, 09:57 AM

Yeah, you should think about an upgrade. Having someone Build one for you shouldn't cost too much.

Jeremy Crockett · #10 06-14-2008, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warwick.hoy

...My computer is about a five year old compaq presario. It seems to barely run....

Throw it into the ocean... seriously. And never mention (let alone buy) a Compaq again.

warwick.hoy · #11 06-14-2008, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OctoberMooN

Throw it into the ocean... seriously. And never mention (let alone buy) a Compaq again.

I didn't pay for it

. It was sent to me by my father as I needed one for classes. It has served its purpose, but the next computer I get is going to be cusom built. None of this crap I don't business.

Minger · #12 06-15-2008, 11:59 PM

Reformat it. Just make sure you download all of the drivers for the system before you do it.

You'll be amazed at how fast the computer is, but you may also want to look into some cheap ram if it supports DDR2.

mothmonsterman · #13 06-16-2008, 06:28 AM

get to a bookstore and buy an A+ certification book, even an old one so you can get some basic knowledge on computers before you do anythign IMO.

MonetBass · #14 06-16-2008, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eedre

A 5-year-old PC will lock up when doing basic things with modern applications like iTunes and Windows Media Player 11. Especially when running them at the same time

Oh really? We have a PC that I had built back in 2000. It's a 1.5 GHz with 1GB of RAM. I've had IE, Photoshop, iTunes, and WMP 11 open at the same time (with WMP burning a CD) and it doesn't lock up. Of course, being an IT person, I installed the OS myself and didn't put any unncessary crap on it, which helps.

Warwick, take your PC to a PC shop and have them look at it. It may just need a good hard drive cleanup and defrag, and registry clean. And you should invest in some more RAM if you don't have at least 512MB.

mothmonsterman · #15 06-16-2008, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonetBass

Oh really? We have a PC that I had built back in 2000. It's a 1.5 GHz with 1GB of RAM. I've had IE, Photoshop, iTunes, and WMP 11 open at the same time (with WMP burning a CD) and it doesn't lock up. Of course, being an IT person, I installed the OS myself and didn't put any unncessary crap on it, which helps.

Warwick, take your PC to a PC shop and have them look at it. It may just need a good hard drive cleanup and defrag, and registry clean. And you should invest in some more RAM if you don't have at least 512MB.

my thoughts exactly, my 486 700mhz doorstop runs itunes and internet just fine.