Old Age? Or just clogged arteries? Part 3
In Part 1 of Old Age…? I talked about defrag and the speed increases it can give. Here is the process mentioned in Part 2
What is needed is to restore Windows to something approaching the condition it was in when it was first installed. Remember how zippy it was when you first got the computer? So what we need to do is to start the computer using the Windows CDROM rather than the Hard Disk. To do this we interrupt the normal start up procedure.
Start the computer and press the key to enter Setup. On some machines it’s the Del key, on others F1, depending on the maker. Most PC’s will have a brief message as the computer boots up to tell you which key will bring up the CMOS setup screen.
Now it’s difficult to cover all the possibilities here, but what you want is either the Boot screen or the Startup screen. Once you find it, you will see a variety of start up options, including Hard Disk, CD Drive, (or DVD Drive) Floppy Disk and USB devices. You want to set it to start from the CDROM first.
If you’re lucky enough to have an IBM laptop or desktop, you don’t have to worry about the start up changes – press F12 at the beginning and you can choose which device to start from.
The Windows CD will run and show messages across the bottom. Let it run until the ‘Welcome to Setup’ screen appears. It offers options to Set up Windows, (Press Enter) to Repair Windows (Press R) or to Quit (Press F3)
Press Enter.
The next screen is the User Agreement. If you don’t have enough boredom in your life you can read it. Otherwise, press the F8 key.
Setup will search for previous version of Windows and (should) find the one you normally use. (Usually in C:\Windows)
Press R to Repair.
Let it run to completion.
The process will take maybe 40 minutes or so and at the end should return you to Windows. If you experience any problems, please post here and I will get Mr JM to do his thing.
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