Install It Right & Sleep Good At Night
by Jackson Morgan
Published on this site: June 13th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
Why Is My New Computer So Slow?
You know it’s funny, buying a new system can be a great experience,
but I run into so many people ready to throw their brand new “Piece
of trash” out 3-6 months later.
Over the years I have received a lot of phone calls saying: “How
come my PC is sooooo slow, I just bought it”. “When I
first got my new system it was fine, but now I can’t get on
line” And my all time favorite, “Uhh, I got a message
that said something like, you need to install something, or something
will happen after the next time you do something”..........
So why does this happen?
Well that’s actually quite easy to answer. Most images supplied
from vendors come with an average of seven unwanted/unneeded applications.
They run in the background trying to make you register this, upgrade
that, or perform a job that your OS (Operating System) already does
on its own. It’s amazing how easy it is to exhaust your system
resources with a few shoddy programs.
Ask any technician and the majority (if not all) will tell you;
when buying a new system whether for home or office they “wipe
it”, “kill it”, spank it” (Technical terms for
formatting the hard drive:), before they ever use it.
Also, some PC’s may sit for six months to a year at the store
before they actually see the light of day. During this time, new
bugs and vulnerabilities may be discovered. Updating your system
as soon as it hits the internet is a must.
That’s right Toto, Spyware, Viruses, and Worms oh my….
Their out there and waiting for new machines with old installs.
Other workstations may simply need a boost in RAM (Random Access
Memory) Vendors cut prices to sell inventory but they also cut hardware
where they can. Adding memory to your system is the easiest way
to increase your systems potential. However, if you feel your hardware
is adequate and you still see a decrease in system performance,
you may need a complete re-installation of your OS.
So how do I do it?
Vendors make it sound easy with their re-installation or recovery
CD. But, this will leave you in the same situation of poor computer
performance that lead you to this article in the first place. Unfortunately
in order to re-install or re-image the correct way, you really need
a professional technician. But, in case you have the right tools,
and your feeling confident; let me give you a brief tutorial onproper
installation.
Under these instructions I will assume you have a general knowledge
of hardware and software and are able to obtain the tools needed
for a proper installation.
At the end of each step, I will give you a Tech rating of 1-5 (1
being easy, 5 being you better know your stuff)
Instructions for a Windows XP Professional Installation
- You will need to know your hardware profile (i.e. I have an
internal network interface card, Manufacturer – Broadcom
/ Model – 40Family) Your PC usually comes with a CD that
has all hardware drivers for proper functionality. If it does
not, or you simply can not find the CD, go to your vendor’s
website and download them all. Make sure you download all drivers
and bios updates necessary for your particular PC.
- Back up any files that you do not want to lose. This is important
because for a proper installation you will need to format your
hard drive. Most techies never use the upgrade feature supplied
in Windows. There is an unwritten law that the upgrade feature
only covers up problems, not solve them.
- Boot the PC to your Windows XP CD, format the drive and install
Windows. This could take some time depending on the size of your
hard drive and your processor speed.
- After XP sets up, check you systems device manager and install
any drivers or bios upgrades needed. This is a simple step to
perform, and a crucial one. Proper communication between your
hardware and the OS is critical to the stability of your machine.
- Uninstall any unwanted or unneeded applications that came with
you XP installation CD. May manufacturers load their Operating
System distributions with a ridiculous amount of "Free"
or "Trial" software. On top of this, some of these software
packages can really decrease your system performance.
- Connect your machine to the internet and download all Microsoft
service packs and security updates that are needed. Service packs
are usually very large so if you can obtain a CD do so. Note you
will need to reboot and return to Microsoft’s website several
times in order to complete all updates.
- Install a reputable Anti Virus. (i.e. McAfee, Norton, Trend
Micro, etc.) Immediately update after the install. These will
all cost money, but will save your machine in the long run. In
my experience I have found only one free Anti-Virus package that
works well. You can check it out at www.grisoft.com
- Install Microsoft’s Anti-Spyware or similar application.
Again, updating immediately.
- Install each application separately updating them completely
before installing the next. You can often find and icon in the
tools menu with a Check for updates option. If not, check the
manufactures website.
- Defrag your machine and have a beer.
- Please note having a beer before step 1 will add one point
to each tech rating.
Conclusion
Now you have a clean install on your machine and should be running
at peak performance. You may want to tweak settings here and there
to your personal satisfaction. But you should see a significant
difference when you surf the web, check your email, play music,
etc…
Jackson Morgan is a Sr. desktop support specialist and
works with small to large businesses. He is certified to work on
many platforms and has over eight years experience in the field.
If you would like to contact Jackson you can e-mail him at [email protected].
If you would like to know more about computer security please visit
us at http://www.defendingthenet.com
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