XP installation getting old?

[steeve]

my xp pro sp3 installation has developed some bad behaviour lately. it's an old install, maybe 4 years. but well maintained, all updates, anti-malware, firewall etc.

but these days it

will not see my digital camera
will not install any new hardware (printers, mice)
will not uninstall some software
restarts during reboot

otherwise, it runs sweetly and fast!

i know what you are thinking...clean install

this is something i generally avoid because:

my settings / installed software are highly customised
i like to find the reasons why things go wrong

so, what about re-installing sp3, is there a chance that could fix my problems (some of them at least) ?

 

[brucethetech]

you may have to make the choice. your issues sound like a good enough reason to do a fresh install. it's healthy every once in a while. you can always reinstall software. alternative is to have your system looked to make sure its in working order since you may have some other issues.

 

[steeve]

thanks bruce...it's looking more and more like a fresh install is looming

actually, in the time i have already spent trying to fix this thing, the new xp install could already be humming!

i have recently come to see that a fresh install is a healthy choice as you say. i started using revo uninstaller and i am amazed at the amount of crud that gets left behind in the registry during most uninstalls...scary...in 4 years i have installed and uninstalled a s**t load of software!

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

You may want to verify virus possibilities with the malware forum...

restarts during reboot

Isn't it supposed to.

 

[steeve]

thanks, hk

yeah i've done endless av scans not finding any sign of badness. but i might get some advice at the malware forum anyway...

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Oh yeah...with what?
Four years is a while, mine feels rather sad after just two...

 

[steeve]

i've used allsorts...recently, super-antispyware, malwarebytes, a-squared, comodo. i'm downloading alvira as we speak...to start the 8 steps

 

[pjamme]

Steeve,
If you don't want to re-insall all your programs again, Fred Langa came out with a no format re-install some years ago, 2006 I think. It re-installs Windows and leaves all your programs and Documents unaffected. I have used it many times i the past and it is actuallyon the XP CD, you just need to know where to look. Of course you will get all the updates again. If you have a slip cd with SP3 that saves some time. I make mine with IE7and Media player 11.
Here is a link to the article in Information Week: http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=189400897

 

[steeve]

very nice link, thanks, pj. i like that option. a slipstreamed disc is the way to go. would i just use my current product key? it's not the same as the original because i have reinstalled before and windows had to be re-activated. what about the activation thing...would i need to re-activate again after this procedure?

thanks to bobbye at the malware forum my install would seem to be clean, so it must all be system problems

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Do tell how it turns out, I think i'll go do that very soon too.

 

[LookinAround]

Oh! I just left you (Steeve) a note in your other thread.

Slipstreaming SP3 is also a great idea (and relatively straight forward). But one "heads up" to note: If you have an OEM install CD (like from Dell) they don't always slipstream easily vs. if you have a Microsoft install CD.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

I just tried the rebuild...seems to work, but you will have to reenter your CD-Key, and reactivate, which hasn't been working (>.< i'm pretty pissed off about it), though that might be because I entered the wrong CD-Key.

 

[steeve]

i decided to go the way of the fresh install. have to say it is a big relief to have a fully functioning installation again

sorry about your woes, hk...that reactivation thing is a real pain in the butt
i had the luxury or having Boot-It NG boot manager and a second hard drive. so my original XP partition is still there, which i can access to move things over

thanks for giving me the push i needed to do this thing and to stop wasting time trying to fix it

 

[Patosan]

Hope your re-install goes well, 4 years is a while. I've had a few problems and a long wish list for a while and have been researching, DLing, etc for months. Finally got XP just how I like it, a great hotfix list source and many new,better utilities.

the point I want to make is to make an image of your C drive after you have got everything just as you like it. That way in the future getting you sweet XP back will be a quick and relatively painless process. In my view this is more important that having a slipped os.

Anyway good luck

 

[steeve]

yes, very good advice... this time i will make the image! the reinstall went very well

please tell us what new utilities you have found

 

[Patosan]

please tell us what new utilities you have found

Well ... new for me at least.
FSCapture - after moving from MWsnap300, which was a good screen capture app
Beyond Compare - file, folder, hex, etc comparing app
radio Sure - names says it all
PDF-XChangeViewer - lighter and more options than Foxit, which is of course better than Adobe
Xplorer2 - great little file manager, Free Commander is also good.
USDownloader - for set and forget DL from Hotfile, etc sites
TreeSizeFree - niffty for quickly and graphically checking drive use
Portable menu Start - very light launcher for portable or any apps
MagicJellyBean KeyFinder - as says
MelloWare PlacesBar - adding, changing windows and office PlacesBar items
AnyDVD Converter - as says
PDF Tools - wonderful for splitting, merging, etc pdf
CrystalDMI - get all BIOS info
XPLite - removing XP components after install, as opposed to wonderfull nLite
Advanced Task Manager - system analysis, with great grahical display
SIW - system analysis ... doesn't miss a thing
WinFonts View - as says
Space Monger - good little drive mapping tool

There are a few others that I haven't had time to test yet. The key point is that all of these are portable or as I prefer to say "standalone", so I set them up on a different drive and don't have to worry about reinstalling if windows goes pear shape. Also handy to have them inside a launcher so they can be easily copied to a usb drive when away from your pc.

As an example I still use office 2000 since it's so light and fast but I have a standalone copy of office 2007 on another drive which I fire up from time to time. Also I use ms Ie8 but also use Firefox portable in my standalone drive. This keeps my C drive very simple and uncluttered, easy and light to image or reinstall plus it removes the unstall hassles which sometimes happen since more than half of all my apps are standalone - NOT installed ... so there's no unstalling to do ... simply delete or don't use.

Oh yeah one last and important point is that I got all the above apps and many more FREE.

 

[steeve]

yes, i really like those standalone / not installed type apps that don't depend on registry entries!

i also keep most apps in a separate partition...this time i was surprised at how many of them ran without reinstalling them...nice!

nice list of apps, thanks, i will check them out. some that i like:

greenshot for image capture
sumatra pdf reader
pdfsam for pdf split and merge
the font thing

and i will definitely be buying an uninstaller, maybe revo or ashampoo