I have a PC from 2000, and while I know its old, Im going to wait to see how Vista settles down before I think about a new one... In the meantime- this one has slowed way down. I was on top of keeping it 'in tune' and it was fine until I got a virus in Nov. which required a call to MS help line, (more like a rope to hang by)..to get it straightened out, well- at least the bug is gone... But since then, its just too slow. I've defragged, cleaned this & that- all the normal tricks... but here are my 2 quiries- 1)- would a registary cleaner do any good? I read that their just a bunch of hype- like the gas additive that will boost your millage to 120 mpg. 'Do' they do any 'good'? and if so- which one(s)? 2)- Im getting the feeling that the best alternative is to format the HD, and reload. But being that my Home XP was a upgrade from ME, Im assuming I'll have to reload ME, then upgrade to XP, then add XP SP2.... whew!! Think I'll need to take a day off of work for all that! Or- would I gain anything to just reload the XP upgrade, then re-load XP SP2? Ive run Norton, AdAware, SpyBot and a few others...right now, I'm pretty clean. When I try to defrag C:, I can take a vacation when it hits C:something/something/registary which is leading me to believe that my reg. needs to go to the wash... an example that Im having beside just plain slow to open & process anything... when booting up, It'll take forever to get the desktop icons, then forever X4 to get the Start & quick Launch bar- or they'll boot up in reverse order, with the 2nd taking just as long.. great site- 2w
Generally, registry cleaners tend to screw things up. The only one I've heard of that hasn't seemed to bork your system and do what it's supposed to is Registry Mechanic. What I see as your problem: Windows ME uses the Windows 9x code, while XP (Home or Pro) uses the Windows NT 5.1 code. For starters, upgrading from the 9x code to the NT code doesn't always work right since the codes are different. Secondly, you can perform the XP Home install without ever having to install ME. What you may have to do is pop in the ME disc during the install to verify you own a previoius copy of Windows, but it's unnecessary to install ME.
yeah, do a clean install of XP, B's right, XP install will prompt you for your ME CD, just type Code: D:\Win9x when prompted[ot]assuming D: is your CD[/ot]
Slipstream your XP CD, this will further reduce ur installation time and hassles...~! Slipstreamed Windows XP CD Using SP2
The first piece of advice I want to give you is not to use an administrator account for your day to day activities. The more rights you user account has, the more vulnerable your computer is to malware. Registry cleaners can improve performance and stability as long as you choose the right software. I've seen some terrible cleaners that don't give a damn about what they are cleaning, and inevitability things stop working. If you don't mind shelling out a bit of cash then TuneUp Utilities 2007 might be just what you are looking for. This program really can speed up your computer. It's one of my favourite pieces of software for the Windows platform. You might be interested in checking out CCleaner as well, which is freeware. It's not as impressive as TuneUp, but then it doesn't come with a pricetag. On a side note, Norton Antivirus is a terrible product that is more concerned with bogging down your computer rather then actually protecting it. I'd recommend you look at Avast! which is excellent and free of charge
