Password question

learninmypc

Posts: 9,659   +724
I need to know if there is a free & easy to use program I can put on a USB to save ALL passwords on a friends pc so I can do a factory reset on it? He has a Vista Home Premium, TIA :)
 
Do you have a better suggestion/idea? :) I'ne known him a few years & have cleaned his pc in here a few times. Am open to any idea :)
 
I'm thinking that you are about to take the computer back to how it was many years ago (possibly to 2007) and that if it's working OK it's an unnecessary risk. Check how old the hard disk is and whether it is almost filled up which would slow it down considerably. I don't think Vista had an auto defrag so that may need doing. I have cloned my best XP desktop to a newer high capacity hard drive. No way would I want to reset it to how it was in 2002. Whether you should do it or not I don't know but I'd give it some thought first.
 
Ok, offhand I don't recall the gb size of the harddrive on his pc but I do know it is almost full & has been crashing regularly so I'm "guessing" its crashing because no room. .
I realize there is alot of difference between my W10 (1 terrabyte harddrive) & his Vista but my W10 also was crashing & my harddrive also was almost full. My W10 finally did crash, & went back to W7. Got it back to W10 & no more crashing.
Maybe I am way off base here with my reasoning.
I did defrag it but still crashing . Am open to suggestions :)
 
I'm thinking that you are about to take the computer back to how it was many years ago (possibly to 2007) and that if it's working OK it's an unnecessary risk. Check how old the hard disk is and whether it is almost filled up which would slow it down considerably. I don't think Vista had an auto defrag so that may need doing. I have cloned my best XP desktop to a newer high capacity hard drive. No way would I want to reset it to how it was in 2002. Whether you should do it or not I don't know but I'd give it some thought first.
Capture.JPG 7 years old. I'm not going to be able to reinstall the OS like I had planned on, I'm now simply trying to figure out why it was crashing so often on him. I've had it for 7 plus hours & no crashes.
I don't recall the percentage full on the harddrive, but its not full as I had thought. I did do a FULL defrag & have been running security programs, clean so far.
 
If nothing is flagged up in device manager then give it a go with CCleaner and it may be fine. You could install a free utility like Open Hardware Monitor to be certain that it isn't overheating. Encourage the owner to keep important stuff backed up on a USB stick.
 
Nothing flagged in Device Manager & I've run ccleaner. Open Hardware Monitor is beta, I hesitate on them. He knows this pc is near death. I even had problems booting it up this morning. Thank you for your input, :)
 
There's lots of other choices like SpeedFan.
As there's a chance that it's the motherboard or power supply that's on the way out it's worth thinking about replacing the computer. You can often spot motherboard problems on a desktop where the cylindrical capacitors bulge on the top, leak or discolour.
 
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