Single Operation, Part-Time, Wedding DJ.. 17 years in the biz.. From Leduc, Alberta, Canada, North America, Earth, The Milky Way Done it all.. from using LP's, to cassette players, to the first ever Denon Variable speed CD player.. Its not the equipment that makes you a DJ its YOU. Ph#: 780-951-2885 Email: hippydog@yahoo.com

Sat 30 Jan 10 @ 1:15 pm

"Wiping out your computer and rebuilding"
I only recommend this as a last ditch fix.. a "hail mary" if you will..
and you should only do it if your confortable with computers.. If your not, then find a local "computer geek" who will do it for you..

Done right though, you will be amazed at the difference in your computer...

I used to think I was being a "redneck hack" doing this, but after talking to many IT professionals at work (who's job is to fix desktops that are messed up) I found that in many cases they did the exact same thing.. (IE: they never bothered trying to "fix" a computer with problems, they just 'wiped it' and re-installed everything)

Step one : Its a lot easier if you have a second computer, but if you don't, you need to collect all the drivers & software you need.

Step 2: format/Erase the hard drive.

Step 3: Re-install windows (most new computers now use "recovery disks", the good: all needed drivers and software are installed, the bad: if you changed your system it can be troublesome removing the unneeded stuff.)

step 4: install the hardware drivers (if you used a 'recovery disk' then update the drivers)
Windows will install most of the drivers automatically, Audio cards, network cards, video cards WILL have to be installed manually.
sometimes it also makes a difference the order you install drivers.. if unsure, start with 'least used' and finish with 'most used'
**DONT GUESS ABOUT WHAT DRIVERS YOU NEED.. MOST HARDWARE MANUFACTURERS WILL PROVIDE THE CORRECT ONE BASED ON MODEL NUMBER, DON'T INSTALL DRIVERS THE SYSTEM DOESNT NEED**

Also, if you used a 'recovery disk' that also installs all the 'bloatware', now is a good time to GET RID OF IT!

step 5: let windows update itself to the newest version (if this computer will NEVER see the internet, in most cases you can skip this step)

step 6: install the software.. make sure you are the 'admin' and install for 'all users'.. once again: install software starting from 'least used' to 'most used' or 'more important'

step 7: clean the computer up and personalize.. IE: remove unwanted icons, change any "preferences" like backdrop, or 'country' etc etc..

STEP 8: BACKUP UP THE COMPUTER.. DO A COMPLETE MIRROR/BACKUP OF THIS CLEAN/'ERROR FREE' INSTALL!!!!
and since you havent added any documents, pics or music yet you SHOULD be able to put this backup on a single DVD!

step 9: add all your music, pics and working documents back onto the computer..

step 10: use the computer for a couple of months.. (small little things you forgot to fix originally will creep up.. thats fine.. thats why you USE it for awhile) THEN BACKUP THE ENTIRE THING TO AN EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE..

you should now have a working computer (that seems a lot faster then before)
and two BACKUPS..


P.S.
cleaning out a computer and rebuilding it like this, is NOT fun, and not easy..
be prepared to spend an entire weekend to a week doing it!