new external HDD what to do?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Robert J. Lafayette
  • Start date Start date
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Robert J. Lafayette

currently have a HP pavilion , ze 4230, 40 gb hdd, 512 ram, 1.8 Ghz, windows
xp home, sp2.

using lots of memory only 131mb of 512 mb available, acording to system
information.

got a new 250 gb external hdd and am wanting to consider reformatting
internal hdd and reinstalling all appropriate software,
since i suspect loads of old unused software files, as well as ghosts are in
my system.

is this recommended-- reformatting and reinstalling, and if yes, how can i
go about doing it?

thanks in advance,

robert in gozo
 
I would not reformat and reinstall. Review the software installed on your
system and use Add/Remove in the Control Panel to remove software you don't
use. Review your Start folder for programs that don't have to run all the
time.

Just do simple maintenance, such as defragging. Keep spyware off of your
system and don't download a bunch of freebie stuff like Weatherbug. Your
description of your memory usage sounds like you have a lot of icons in your
system tray. Some of these are either programs you don't really need but
thought looked neat so you installed them, or programs you don't need to run
at startup but just want to run when the need to do something arises.

There is a lot of mythology out there about periodically starting all over.
It does not help in the long run because a slow-cluttered system is a matter
of user habits and not the OS. Starting over with the same habits just
doesn't solve anything. XP is well-designed for continuous use without
starting over from time to time. It's the user that gets in the way.
 
Additional note: This is a good website for learning how to keep your XP
running smoothly: http://aumha.org/

--
Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine]
(Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested)
Colin Barnhorst said:
I would not reformat and reinstall. Review the software installed on your
system and use Add/Remove in the Control Panel to remove software you don't
use. Review your Start folder for programs that don't have to run all the
time.

Just do simple maintenance, such as defragging. Keep spyware off of your
system and don't download a bunch of freebie stuff like Weatherbug. Your
description of your memory usage sounds like you have a lot of icons in
your system tray. Some of these are either programs you don't really need
but thought looked neat so you installed them, or programs you don't need
to run at startup but just want to run when the need to do something
arises.

There is a lot of mythology out there about periodically starting all
over. It does not help in the long run because a slow-cluttered system is
a matter of user habits and not the OS. Starting over with the same
habits just doesn't solve anything. XP is well-designed for continuous
use without starting over from time to time. It's the user that gets in
the way.

--
Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine]
(Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested)
Robert J. Lafayette said:
currently have a HP pavilion , ze 4230, 40 gb hdd, 512 ram, 1.8 Ghz,
windows xp home, sp2.

using lots of memory only 131mb of 512 mb available, acording to system
information.

got a new 250 gb external hdd and am wanting to consider reformatting
internal hdd and reinstalling all appropriate software,
since i suspect loads of old unused software files, as well as ghosts are
in my system.

is this recommended-- reformatting and reinstalling, and if yes, how can
i go about doing it?

thanks in advance,

robert in gozo
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