Korean Job Discussion Forums

bucheon bum · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

Long story short, I've got a lot of junk on my computer, causing it to be really slow, randomly shut down at times, and not have any sound. The idea of "starting from scratch" is quite appealing. I'd like to just get rid of everything and was wondering what the best way to go about it is.

Wangja · Joined: 17 May 2004 Location: Seoul, Yongsan

Just done the same thing, on one of my laptops. Tried also to use Windows XP pro but was eventually forced to use the original Toshiba CD.

It was definitely worth the effort. I had all the same problems you have, and it is now much snappier and more stable.

A chum of mine does it as a routine about every 6 months which might be excessive as it took me almost a whole day!

mishlert · Joined: 13 Mar 2003 Location: On the 3rd rock from the sun

You should partition your hard drive and put all the files that are important to you in that drive; 10 to 20 GB is big enough for music, pictures, the great novel in progress, etc.
Once you have the files set aside, shut down the computer and begin.

bucheon bum · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

so how does one "partition" the hard drive? i'm one or two steps up from the level of "complete ignoramous" when it comes to computers.

mishlert · Joined: 13 Mar 2003 Location: On the 3rd rock from the sun

Download a partition app, like Partition Magic, and create a backup partition.
Where can you download it? Any P2P client (Kaza), or bit torrent sight will have it. Just in case, if you decide to bit torrent, you'll need a client for that; I use Shareaza.

Demophobe · Joined: 17 May 2004

You may or may not want to partition...depends on how big your hard drive is. The OS, windows, will only need a 6 to 10GB space, the OS with most program installations will fit comfortably on it. This will comprise "C:" drive.

Partitioning can be done a number of ways, but getting a copy of Partition Magic is perhaps the best.

I partition in order to keep organized, and when it comes time to re-install, all of my data (movies, pictures, etc...) is on another partition, which allows them all to remain intact through a format. C: is the only drive affected in this way.

Again, depending on your hard drive space, allocate certain amounts for different storage needs.

I have a drive for OS and programs, a drive for media (music, movies, photos) a drive for games and a drive for odds and sods.

SuperHero · Joined: 10 Dec 2003 Location: Superhero Hideout

Tomorrow I am about to do my semi-annual reinstall. One poster above said it took all day - it did on my old P3 but on my current 2.4Ghz machine it only take about 3 hours to get all the basics installed - windowsXP, SP2 (I have it on my hard drive so no downloading), updates, MS Office, Adobe CS2 Suite, Norton, Azureus, and numerous drivers (USB 2.0, printer, etc..)

My primary drive is partitioned 25gb for O/S & programs, 55gb for data and other files. My 250GB drive has several ISOs, tv downloads, and files in use for photoshop and premier as it is best to do your video/photo work on a seperate drive.