In Part one of this article I explained how to reinstall the Windows XP Operating System as a solution for your slow computer. Now you've got Windows going, and if any drivers for chipboard, graphics and sound, came on your vendor restore CD, it should have reinstalled automatically.
In case you had to install from a normal Windows CD, which may not have specific drivers for your computer, it is extremely important that you load the files and updated drivers you downloaded, before you load anything else. If you've added hardware to your computer (except RAM) after you bought it, you'll have to update those drivers as well, even if you have a vendor restore CD.
But, even before this, let's take some precautionary steps in case one or other installation goes haywire. I've experienced this too many times to ignore it. You must create a restore point on which you can fall back.
Click on start , Help and Support, under Pick a Task click on Undo Changes with System Restore. On the right hand side check Create a Restore Point and click on Next. Type in a description. I usually name it something about the next step I am going to take, like B4Drivers, but you can name it anything. Windows adds the date and time. Click create. Click Close and close the Help Window.
Now load the following files and drivers in the mentioned sequence and all should be working properly. It gets a bit difficult here, because each computer is configured a bit different from another and you just might experience a glitch. However, I've found it works in most instances.
First install Service Pack 1 for Win XP. Now install the chipboard driver you downloaded for your motherboard. Next is the Network Drivers. Even if you do not at present have a network, installing these drivers are important if you might connect to a network later on. Now install the sound card drivers.
Remember from the Part 1 lesson, only the power cord is plugged into your computer at this stage. For starters, keep it like this for a bit longer while you install the following. First to go is Windows Installer, then Win XP Service Pack 3. Now install all the printer, scanner, modem, digital camera and other peripheral drivers you need, from their own installation CDs.
After all these installations, I went to the Hard Drive's Properties in My Computer and did a quick cleanup. I then checked the volume for errors and also did a defrag, because the disk was already showing fragments when I analyzed it. However, this is optional, so you can skip it for now and do it later.
Now remove the Windows CD from your CD Rom drive. Shut down your computer and plug in all your peripherals, which also differs from each user. The main things, though, is the network cable, modem or 3G card, loud speakers, printers etc. Also plug in a flash disk if you use one. Now start the computer. Windows should now install any plug and play drivers you didn't install.
Before you start installing your user applications, there are just a few more steps to be taken, mostly for safeguarding your computer.
Set the administrator password. The administrator account has all privileges an account can have. So anyone who can log in as administrator can do anything they like to your computer and also, don't surf the internet with administrator's privileges.
Right click on My Computer, select Manage, in the resulting application expand Local Users and Groups, select Users, right click on Administrator, and select Set Password.
Verify that the Windows firewall is on, because this computer still has no protection other than what was installed from Windows Service Pack 3. There are a couple of ways to do this, so go to Control Panel, Security Center, Manage the Security Settings for Windows Firewall, and select On.
Set the Network Workgroup - Even though Windows Setup may have asked for something like this earlier, it did not actually set the Workgroup name, and that may make it difficult to see other computers on your LAN later.
Right click on My Computer, select Properties, click on the Computer Name tab, update your Computer Description, click on Change. Here you can update the Computer name, as well as select the Workgroup your computer belongs to. Select the same Workgroup name here for all your computers you want to be able to see in your Network Neighborhood.
The same can be done by running the Network Connection Wizard on each computer in your Network Neighborhood.
Now you can connect to the internet to see if everything is working properly, by using the Internet Connection Wizard. Do the same with your email program.
Ok, if you got to this stage without any glitches, you can pat yourself on the shoulder, you're doing pretty well with the reinstall so far. Now just for safety sake, Create another Restore Point.
In part 3 of this article you will be taken you step by step through installation of your applications and then the final setup of your computer to keep it running stable and error free for as long as possible.
As said in part 1 of this article as well, it may not be necessary to do a reinstallation or a reformat of Drive C.
I have researched and tested 30 apps and utilities over a long period of time, to get top performance from our computers without any hang-ups or system crashes. There are 17 products I recommend, each of which is designed to do a certain task on the computer. We use 11 programs and utilities on a regular basis to keep our computers running ship shape.
To really speed up your slow computer you need to:
- Remove unused applications.
- Clean your browser's history, temp data and your Favorite or Bookmark list.
- Optimize the Windows Registry.
- Scan for and remove threats like viruses, malware etc.
- Make the boot process considerably faster.
- Kill all those superfluous startup applications.
- Free your computer's memory whenever possible.
- Schedule your cleanup programs to run automatically.
- Place all your data files together in one easy to use location.
- Defrag and organize your disks so that your most used files are in the fast lane.
- Optimize, tune and tweak your PC for optimal speed and stability.
