Reinstalling Windows, everything... - Need help!

I've been always friendly with computers and never had real problems. But I got this new computer, Dell, a while ago and it has been frustrating me all the more. I mean it's completely shit lately at everything. The last straw is that it takes a minute or more to open any program. No response to some commands.

Just a question: how to reinstall Windows, step by step? I've got Windows ME 2000 (shit!) and I want to return to Windows 98 (mmm good!) and destroy everything on my computer.

Please help who knows what to do. :o

screeeeech,what makes you think that windows is the culprit???. before i can help you with your pc woes ill need to know a few things. what are your system specs ie. cpu speed,motherboard make/type,hard drive size,how much ram ect.

do you have a firewall and or any antivirus software running on your pc??

and my most searching question is why would you want to put an almost 10 year old o/s on your computer??

Originally posted by mike powell screeeeech,what makes you think that windows is the culprit???.before i can help you with your pc woes ill need to know a few things.what are your system specs ie. cpu speed,motherboard make/type,hard drive size,how much ram ect.do you have a firewall and or any antivirus software running on your pc??and my most searching question is why would you want to put an almost 10 year old o/s on your computer??

1. I've always used Windows 98 (1998-2004). But this is my wife's computer (Dell, Windows XP, HE 2002 version) and since I started to use it in March it got worse with every day. Now it's really slow and bad at operations. And my wife blames me. But my own computer with Windows 98 used to work so well all those years, so I thought, it's Windows 2000... Hm... I don't know

2. I've got Kaspersky Anti-Virus Sorftware. Yes, it does kill some viruses everyday but they are regenerated again.

3. I've got 128 of RAM. 25 MB of space (59 % free). Maybe Intel processor.

4. My wife got all the original Dell guidebooks lost. So all I've got is a bunch of Dell software discs and none of them seems to contain anything like Windows XP (at least!). So I decided to turn to 98, since I've got that CD.

sorry it's all confusing..........:(:(:(:(:(

Dude, you got a virus. You said that they are regenerating. First thing you need to do is kill the bastards. Get the free and new AVG since it is free and has the latest anti-viral shit. McAfee has a free one called Stinger which has been recently updated and targets 40 known (the most popular viruses).

Second, make sure your RAM sticks are seated properly. Maybe they are loose and this is causing the issue.

Third, SPYWARE/ADWARE Run AdAwARE SE, make sure it's updated. Then run Spybots Search&Destroy.

Finally, remember to run the virus scanner and spyware crap in safe mode. It's easier.

IF you musty reinstall Windows remember to save the files you want to keep. Reinstall is pretty easy--stick the disc in and let it reformat. I use 98SE.

But it really sounds like a virus or spyware issue since these are resource vampires.

PS I am at me Mum's. She has a Dell albeit a 1998 model but all the Dell books. Dell has awesome books BTW. If you got a question I think I can answer it.

Stop visiting porn.

Reformat yer hard drive , it's great fun

Originally posted by A severe young man 3) I've got 128 of RAM. 25 MB of space (59 % free). :(:(:(:(:(

25MB of space? There's yer problem, yer PC is full of shit and nothing can run!

Originally posted by oldmonkey > Originally posted by A severe young man> 3) I've got 128 of RAM. 25 MB of space (59 % free). :(:(:(:(:(

25MB of space? There's yer problem, yer PC is full of shit and nothing can run!

Damn, 25 GB, of course! I got lost :)

Originally posted by twist If you got a question I think I can answer it.

Thank you, twist. I'll try to figure out with the viruses :(

BTW, I heard the opinion that it's good and almost neccessary to reinstall thw whole system at least once a year. I would try to avoid it anyway. I'll see what I can do with antivirus programs. Thanks.

25 Gig HD is small. I downloaded 32 Gigs of music since STG died. I cheap (maybe) repair is an external HD that connects to firewire or USB port. That's where I keep all me music these days.

Originally posted by A severe young man

BTW, I heard the opinion that it's good and almost neccessary to reinstall thw whole system at least once a year. I would try to avoid it anyway. I'll see what I can do with antivirus programs. Thanks.

Not true with reinstalling the OS. The only reason to reinstall your operating system is if you have corrupted a system file and it simply won't boot. I'm thinking you could have one or all of several issues: a virus, spyware, or too much junk running in the background. XP seems to be a sluggish OS on several machines I've dealt with and those items can make it seem worse. Check for viruses with updated definitions, use the above mentioned spware apps to see if they find anything. Also, use "msconfig" to see what starts up and to turn off any un-necessary processes. You might also defrag the drive to see if you gain any performance, especially if it hasn't been done in a while(but you said it was a new machine? hmmm....)

If you choose to dump everything, reformat, and go with win98, you might run into issues with drivers for your machine. I'd make sure there was a win98 compatable driver for each and every component or you could run into trouble.

My bet is still on spyware or a virus... keep us posted as it seems lots of folks are willing to help you get to the bottom of this.

Thank you. Yes, I ran the recommended anti-virus software (McAfee & Lavasoft Ad-aware. Looks like it really removed alot of the infected items. Thank you for the advice!

I have been busy with this computer all day long. First, I found out that I can't install Win 98 (though I have three Win 98 CDs) because they say I need to do in MS-DOS in which I'm pretty bad. I had had an idea to make two OS running on my computer, because I saw that some people when starting have an option to choose either Windows OS. Anyway I gave up on it.

What I'm really still concerned about and what was primarily the reason I started that all is that my Internet Explorer is screwed up. I've downloaded a great deal of versions but nothing helps. I think I could make it better if I would completely unistall IE. But I always fail to uninstall it - it always turns out to exist after all my efforts.

Keep away from Porno sites, they contain all manner of nasty stuff, err so I have been told

You can repair IE by going to settings/control panel/Add/Remove programs. Click on Microsoft Internet Explorer (your version of it) and it will repair itself. Done this a few times meself. Easy fix.

My other question would be this. Did you have AOL then switch to cable or another ISP? When I went from AOL to cable I had to reinstal Windows because AOL is like a virus, hard to kill and is everywhere on the system fooking things up.

Originally posted by twist You can repair IE by going to settings/control panel/Add/Remove programs. Click on Microsoft Internet Explorer (your version of it) and it will repair itself. Done this a few times meself. Easy fix.My other question would be this. Did you have AOL then switch to cable or another ISP? When I went from AOL to cable I had to reinstal Windows because AOL is like a virus, hard to kill and is everywhere on the system fooking things up.

Yeah I know already that about AOL - coz it had been downloaded into the computer when I got it. And I got rid of it eventually because it popped up everywhere in the system... really annoying. No AOL ever!

Now I'm gonna see what I can do with IE like you said.

Originally posted by Digital Mike Binoche Keep away from Porno sites, they contain all manner of nasty stuff, err so I have been told

I don't visit porn sites. They're boring. I'm a tired young man. Have got no strength to look at someone else's beauties.

Originally posted by Expos Forever In order to reinstall your windows, you will need a good-brand scealer, white or translucid.Also, a hammer would be useful.

(Apologies for not adding anything to help, ASYM, but I found the above post highly amusing.)