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I'm gonna nuke my computer

jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
SUPER Site Supporter
That's right. Restore it to the factory defaults, and start from scratch. Here's my plan:

1. Copy my contacts, bookmarks, music, photos, documents and downloads (setup files for downloaded software, i.e.: antivirus, ad-aware, etc.) to both an external hard drive and my other laptop.

2. Nuke it.

3. Download all the Windows updates.

4. Reinstall antivirus software and updates.

5. Copy all items from #2 back to the computer.

6. Reinstall all the software I use regularly.

7. Uninstall all the crap they put on new computers to sell crappy software.

8. Do a backup to create a restore point for when I have to do this again.

Any suggestions to improve my plan of attack?
 

pirate_girl

legendary ⚓
GOLD Site Supporter
So you're going to do a recovery?
Have fun!
I've done it 4-5 times and it takes hours to do on my HP.
Not fun at all.
 

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jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
SUPER Site Supporter
lol

Have you ever done it before?

Yup. 3x on my work laptop, but that's no big deal, since my data's backed up on the server. I also did it to a couple of my PC's that I didn't care about so much, but now I've got TONS of photos and even more music on my laptop. This stuff is practically irreplaceable and it took me forever to procure, so I don't want to lose it.
 

Galvatron

Spock and Galvatron < one and the same
I would just add i thing...before you nuke it make sure you have all Your system Drivers at hand just in case....i have mine stored on a separate drive..and theres a thought whilst at it partition your hard drive and keep important files on a separate Drive from your OS...if you need to re-install you wont lose a thing.

Takes me just 1 hour 30 to get OS re-installed and everything put back in place.

that's my tips.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
I usually backup everything to a 1TB external drive. I don't use a backup program just a good old fashioned copy of all my files.

Then I can go back and copy over anything I need afterwards and I don't have to worry about forgetting anything.

I keep my photos, video, and music all on separate drives that I mirror copy every so often.

If it's important keep lots of copies of it. ;)
 

jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
SUPER Site Supporter
Well, the redundant-data-ectomy appears to have been a success. The laptop is in the PC-ICU, recovering nicely and getting a slow drip infusion of Windows updates (all friggin' 79 of 'em).

It's funny how little things like the administrator password, or the product key for the anti virus software can really slow up progress when you can't find or remember them. Good news is, with all the time I had waiting for this restore to finish, I've accomplished a lot today.

So far, I have:

Mowed the grass -- with finger nail clippers;
Read the whole Encyclopedia Britannica (twice);
Watched Thunderball in slow motion;
Prepared a Mexican pizza for tomorrow's family get together;
Made tacos;
Ate the tacos (I disagree with the commercial --they really aren't that much fun to make);
Discovered the meaning of life -- apparently I'm supposed to do good stuff and be nice to people, and finally;
Posted an update here.

Cheers!
 

BamsBBQ

New member
i just wanna ask one question.. why do you want to nuke it in the first place?

nuking it and doing a system restore are two different things...
 

jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
SUPER Site Supporter
It was running waaayyy toooo slowly. I didn't want to work from a restore point because I wanted a clean registry slate. Does that make sense?
 

BamsBBQ

New member
It was running waaayyy toooo slowly. I didn't want to work from a restore point because I wanted a clean registry slate. Does that make sense?

yup makes perfect sense....

i was just asking because when i nuke a HD, there is not anything left on it.. the program i uses gets rid of everything

when you do a restore, spyware & viruses sometimes have a way of staying on your drive anyways
 

pirate_girl

legendary ⚓
GOLD Site Supporter
It was running waaayyy toooo slowly. I didn't want to work from a restore point because I wanted a clean registry slate. Does that make sense?
Mine was doing the same Jim all the times I did the recoveries.
Haven't had to do one in a long time now, and hopefully I won't have to.
The second time, I lost the sound driver and went mad, then finally figured it out on my own.:doh:
Since I've gotten Avast and get regular Windows updates and keep all the junk off the pc, it runs smooooooooooooth.
P.S:- Road Runner Turbo with power boost rocks!
 

Kei

New member
yup makes perfect sense....

i was just asking because when i nuke a HD, there is not anything left on it.. the program i uses gets rid of everything

when you do a restore, spyware & viruses sometimes have a way of staying on your drive anyways
Instead of restore you can just reformat your HD using the windows disk with no third party software needed. It wipes out everything.
 

jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
SUPER Site Supporter
Instead of restore you can just reformat your HD using the windows disk with no third party software needed. It wipes out everything.

That's great if you have one. But a lot of manufacturers (Dell, HP, Compaq, Acer) just put proprietary software on the computer in a hidden partition of the hard drive. This software restores the system to the factory defaults.
 

BamsBBQ

New member
Instead of restore you can just reformat your HD using the windows disk with no third party software needed. It wipes out everything.

the problem with that is alot of newer PC's do not come with a Windows disk... some you have to make back ups like emachines,gateway etc etc..

but whatever works for you PC whoas is a step in the right direction..lol

i had to wipe out my new PC about a month after i got it... could i have waited until i sent it in?? probably but of course i didnt.wouldnt..lol
 

Galvatron

Spock and Galvatron < one and the same
the problem with that is alot of newer PC's do not come with a Windows disk

My son's new Compaq PC was like this...no windows disk and was on a partition of it's own....problem as well was the partition had Norton security installed too so you got a 3 month free trial and then HAD to buy the full working key or it shut you down...major rip off...hence the partition was removed and a full working OS and my chosen spyware installed for him...all a scam to make you spend ya hard earned $$$.

i now understand why people download files for a freebie....and i dont blame them as why should we the public pay twice:hammer:
 

Kei

New member
Yes most PCs do not come with a recovery disk but they do come with the ability to make recovery DVDs off of that factory image partition.
Mine has the norton on the extra partition too but I just uninstall it after I do a reinstall of everything.
 

jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
SUPER Site Supporter
It's ALIVE!!!!!! Up and runnin' and smooooth. I know this is not a big deal to most of you, but I'm kinda cyber-challenged.

But I have another question. I did a backup after I reinstalled all the updates, antivirus, drivers, and shareware (Firefox, Ad Aware, Irfanview, etc) but before I transferred my data (photos, documents and music). I also created a restore point at this juncture. Since system restore deletes older restore points, I'm wondering if there's a way to permanently save the restore files I created today after the 'puter was set up just the way I like it. I'm thinkin in an external drive seperate from the one I have the backup and my data on.
 

Kei

New member
Yes you could put it all on an external hard drive or create a DVD image and put it on DVD. Depends on how big it is though.
 

jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
SUPER Site Supporter
Sooooooooo, how do I find the system restore file(s)? So far, it's kinda like finding the G-spot on a virgin, no wad-I-mean?
 

Kei

New member
You'll need a third party software to make a backup DVD if your windows doesn't already have that function.
System restore files are usually in a separate partition on the hard drive. On mine it's labeled as drive D. Might be different on yours.
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
Documentation from whatever vendor you bought it from should have that info, or it might be on their website. Many times they hide a partition with the restoreable files and you have to boot with a CD that came with the system to get to the software and hidden partition.
If you are having a tough time with this you might check with a local PC repair shop. It could save you a lot of time and frustration but will cost you a few bucks.
 

jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
SUPER Site Supporter
I appreciate the suggestions but I think I confused system restore with restoring my computer to a particular point in time (i.e. yesterday after all the updates and other stuff were installed). What I want to find are the files that are created when a system restore point is created (i.e. before new software is installed). Does this make sense?
 

pirate_girl

legendary ⚓
GOLD Site Supporter
Makes sense to me Jim, and when I first read your previous post, I searched my own PC for the recovery files.
They ARE there, I just can't remember where.:doh:
You didn't do a restore, you did a recovery, yes?
I don't need a disk to save them.. everything on this HP recovers the system to it's original condition as when I first bought it.
Nothing much gets lost in the process either.
Just hit F4 and sit back with a pot of coffee.. while pulling my hair out lol
 

jpr62902

Jeanclaude Spam Banhammer
SUPER Site Supporter
Recovery = return computer to its factory fresh state. Did that. Then I installed all the updates, antivirus and software (took hours and hours).

I then created a restore point to which I could revert and save hours and hours of updates, et al. re-installation. The problem with restore points is that they eventually get deleted as newer restore points are automatically created. I want to find where those restore (not recovery) files are and save them to an external hard drive so they don't get deleted as newer restore points are created.
 

pirate_girl

legendary ⚓
GOLD Site Supporter
Recovery = return computer to its factory fresh state. Did that. Then I installed all the updates, antivirus and software (took hours and hours).

I then created a restore point to which I could revert and save hours and hours of updates, et al. re-installation. The problem with restore points is that they eventually get deleted as newer restore points are automatically created. I want to find where those restore (not recovery) files are and save them to an external hard drive so they don't get deleted as newer restore points are created.
I am hoping a comp geek can help you with that, and it ain't be babe.:wink:
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
Staff member
GOLD Site Supporter
From what I've read I do not believe you can copy out a system restore point and save it for future use. MS does automatically update the system restore point periodically, so as you said, older restore points are overwritten as time goes by. I don't know for sure but suspect registry entries are also involved so even if you saved the restore point info if registry did not match the restore data would do you no good.

There is other software that will snapshot your whole disk at a given point in time and give you the exact capability you are looking for. Both Ghost and True Image can accomplish this. It's impossible to back up an entire operating system while it is running. Both Ghost and True Image boot in a low level OS and snapshot your drive while it is basically sleeping, this way they can copy everything as it is at that moment in time. Works like a charm and easy to use.

For more info on the System Restore point check out this Tom's Hardware link:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/16685-45-restore-point-file-location-cleaning

Tom's has been a great site for quality info for years. Hope it helps get you on the right track.
 
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