[CassimirEffected]

Hello,

I did a reinstallation with winnt32.exe because my laptop had all kinds of probs mostly every program would either run horribly slow of not respond at all. Now my puter isn't the newest so I'm not expecting magic...

But after I ran winnt32.exe it seemed to fix a lot of my problems except that I have weird language issues. Like somethings in the start menu are in a different language I can't tell which but i think its Czech.

Like under add or remove programs tab and when you open it its in a different language here's a brief snip-it from add or remove programs:

"konfigurcia programu urcuje predvolene..." But the OK and HELP buttons are in English but the cancel button isn't.

Like I said it's only effected certain things.



Also upon bootup I get msg's saying " please insert cd labled "creative installer" into your cd rom"...When I click ok i get a million msg's about entering different audio stuff. I'm almost positive this was because I had a creative labs sound card that is no longer on the pc.



I'd basically love to just start my laptop from scratch if possible...

info:Windows XP home edition version 2002
servive pack 2

Dell Inspiron I6000
Intel® Pentium®M
processor 1.60GHz
590 MHz MB of RAM (pitiful, huh?)

Used space: 12 GB
Free space: 58.6 GB
Capacity: 70.7 GB

security programs in use:avast




Any help is appreciated...

Edited by boywonder, 05 January 2010 - 07:40 PM.

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Hello CassimirEffected

Sorry for the delay.

I'd basically love to just start my laptop from scratch if possible...

There are a number of ways to do this with a Dell. The preferred method would be to create the recovery cd using the built in utility. To do this go to Start and then All Programs, Dell Accessories, and then Dell OS Recovery CD and follow the prompts. Hopefully this is available to you. Creating the recovery cd is preferred because you can use this in the future should your hard drive fail and need to be replaced. The recovery information is stored on the hard drive in a separate partition.

Alternately you can press Ctrl + F11 as soon as you power up the laptop. This should start the recovery process and you can just follow the prompts.

Please be aware that using the recovery process will wipe your hard drive and your personal data will be lost, so your data needs to be backed up before you use the recovery process. Also any windows updates accumulated since your laptop was manufactured will be lost and will need to be replaced. The easiest way to restore the updates would be to download XP Service Pack 3 and install that along with a subsequent visit to Windows updates to complete the process.

[Leurgy]

Hello CassimirEffected

Sorry for the delay.

I'd basically love to just start my laptop from scratch if possible...

There are a number of ways to do this with a Dell. The preferred method would be to create the recovery cd using the built in utility. To do this go to Start and then All Programs, Dell Accessories, and then Dell OS Recovery CD and follow the prompts. Hopefully this is available to you. Creating the recovery cd is preferred because you can use this in the future should your hard drive fail and need to be replaced. The recovery information is stored on the hard drive in a separate partition.

Alternately you can press Ctrl + F11 as soon as you power up the laptop. This should start the recovery process and you can just follow the prompts.

Please be aware that using the recovery process will wipe your hard drive and your personal data will be lost, so your data needs to be backed up before you use the recovery process. Also any windows updates accumulated since your laptop was manufactured will be lost and will need to be replaced. The easiest way to restore the updates would be to download XP Service Pack 3 and install that along with a subsequent visit to Windows updates to complete the process.

[CassimirEffected]

ohhhh wow!!!!!!!!!

This is EXACTLY what I needed...I cannot believe the difference it made!

A new question: my dell comes with mcafee security center...but I think avast is better...

What do you recommend?

[Leurgy]

Hey thats great it worked out for you.

Generally the brand name PCs come with an antivirus program included but these are generally just free trials for 60 or 90 days after which time you would need to buy a subscription for them to continue to function. I'm not sure what it would be in your case but it should tell you within the program if you open the interface. Having said that it would be an older version considering the age of the laptop.

Personally I like Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus but Avast is good also. AntiVir gives you a pop up when it updates daily but I can live with that. Its really a matter of personal taste. Avira has better detection rates and uses less resources I find. Certainly they both would use considerably less than the Mcafee you have now since being a security suite Mcafee would include a firewall and an perhaps antispyware (depending on the version) which are not included with the free antivirus programs. So removing the Mcafee will give you a performance boost on top of what the reinstall did.

Antivirus products are difficult to fully uninstall simply through Add/Remove Programs. If you do decide to go with AntiVir or Avast I would suggest you do it this way:

• Download the antivirus you want to use by saving the installer somewhere you can find it.
• Download and save the McAfee Consumer Product Removal tool.
• Uninstall Mcafee through Add/Remove programs.
• Run the McAfee Consumer Product Removal tool.
• Install the antivirus.

Hope I didn't get too long winded for you.