Precaution reminders needed for Re-installing new Windows XP system!!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter cfman
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C

cfman

Hi all,

I am going to re-install windows XP system because of the adwares, and
mal-wares...

I have been trying to avoid reinstalling -- since that signifies a myserable
failure in my life.

The last time I reinstall OS was 1 year ago.

During this one year, the Windows XP gets more and more cubersome and slower
and slower and gets hijacked by more and more adwares, spywares and
mal-wares.

I can still survive without reinstallation, but I figured it might be much
more efficient if I take the pain to reinstall it and get the peace for the
next whole year.

I have been doing reinstallation a lot of times, everytime I lost some data:

This time I am going to need your reminder: in addition to the "Document &
Settings", where else might the system store data so I should make a backup
before I reformat everything on my harddisk?

Thanks a lot!
 
Hi

What kind of re-install have you been using - 'Repair' or 'Clean'?

--


Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups
 
cfman wrote:

During this one year, the Windows XP gets more and more cubersome and
slower and slower and gets hijacked by more and more adwares, spywares and
mal-wares.
Click to expand...

Then you obviously are not using any sort of decent firewall, anti-virus
program or anti-malware and spyware applications. I haven't had my Windows
machine infected for YEARS now.
I recommend that after you do the CLEAN re-install, you do some reading on
how to avoid infection.
 
Try a programme which you can download from the internet called System
Mechanic 6, it works wonders.
Skye
 
Skye said:
Try a programme which you can download from the internet called System
Mechanic 6, it works wonders.
Skye
Click to expand...

Works wonders for re-installing Windows? I think not.
Irma
 
Silly Billy, not for reinstalling Windows, for clearing out spyware and
generally speeding up the PC, it was recommended on this site, I tried it and
it's great.

Skye
 
Hi there,

A clean instalation of XP will give you best result, performance-wise. Beware! A clean install also will erase all your data from c drive. Be sure you have all your data/mails/favorites etc on cd's or on a separate drive of your system. There are tools that will help you overcome these issues. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/bott_03july14.mspx
Before you even try to reinstall, check if you have the serial number for windows, and if you also have the drivers for your system (a good ideea is to check the manufactrer site and download the latest drivers). Then you should be prepared with a good antivirus program and an antispyware (you can dld a very good one for free from MS - http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx ).

Good luck,
--
Marian Gutu

MCP, MCSAs, MCSEs
Be nice, society already sucks!

May the Force be with you!
http://www.google.com
 
cfman said:
Hi all,

I am going to re-install windows XP system because of the adwares, and
mal-wares...
Click to expand...

Formatting the hard drive to solve a virus or spyware problem is
rather like using an axe to trim one's fingernails. Sure, it'll
probably get the job done, but it's rather messy...., and almost always
unnecessary.

However, if that's what you want to do:

Simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered the
opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the
installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of boot
devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm



I have been trying to avoid reinstalling -- since that signifies a myserable
failure in my life.
Click to expand...

And is almost always unnecessary, to boot.

The last time I reinstall OS was 1 year ago.

During this one year, the Windows XP gets more and more cubersome and slower
and slower and gets hijacked by more and more adwares, spywares and
mal-wares.
Click to expand...

To learn more about practicing "safe hex," start with these links:

Protect Your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/default.asp

Home Computer Security
http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/

List of Antivirus Software Vendors
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;49500

Home PC Firewall Guide
http://www.firewallguide.com/

Scumware.com
http://www.scumware.com/


I can still survive without reinstallation, but I figured it might be much
more efficient if I take the pain to reinstall it and get the peace for the
next whole year.

I have been doing reinstallation a lot of times, everytime I lost some data:

This time I am going to need your reminder: in addition to the "Document &
Settings", where else might the system store data so I should make a backup
before I reformat everything on my harddisk?
Click to expand...

Where ever you've told it to save data, which we can't possibly know.





--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrum Russell
 
cfman said:
Hi all,

I am going to re-install windows XP system because of the adwares, and
mal-wares...

I have been trying to avoid reinstalling -- since that signifies a
myserable failure in my life.
Click to expand...


Have you tried removing the malware rather than reinstalling?

The last time I reinstall OS was 1 year ago.
Click to expand...


I've *never* reinstalled Windows XP or any other version of Windows. The
idea that Windows needs to be reinstalled periodically is completely false.
Exercise appropriate care, and it should never be necessary.

During this one year, the Windows XP gets more and more cubersome and
slower and slower and gets hijacked by more and more adwares,
spywares and mal-wares.

I can still survive without reinstallation, but I figured it might be
much more efficient if I take the pain to reinstall it and get the
peace for the next whole year.
Click to expand...


On the contrary, if you don't apply appropriate protection, you will very
likely find yourself back in the same situation, and very quickly. The
solution to your problem is nor periodic reinstallation, but constant use of
appropriate safeguards: anti-virus program, firuwall, and multiple
anti-spyware programs, all kept up-to-date.

Instead of reinstalling, I recommend that you read and follow the directions
here: http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
 
Why don't you just get spysweeper and see what they can do for you.
They've worked very well for me and after the first time I installed it I
never have any spywares and I usually sweep once per week.
They block browser hi-jacks and adwares, spywares from being installed on
your computer.

J
 
Hi,

I'm about to install Windows XP Pro on my new notebook, which comes
installed with XP Home.

Question 1: When I install XP Pro, should I do a clean install and not an
upgrade?

Question 2: May I know what is the recommended sequence of installation of
the following:

SP2
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6.0
Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite 6.5 (i wil not be enabling the anti-virus
feature)
Webroot Spy Sweeper
Lavasoft Ad Aware
Spybot
Spyblaster
MS Office 2003
All other Windows applications

Thanks a mil!
 
If you have backups of everything and can do a format / clean install I'd
always recommend that method. Upgrade on a clean system is okay but if it's
been having problems at all then clean eliminates a lot of unknowns.

Sp2 from a CD is best, download it first and burn a CD if you can. The
perfect method would be to download subsequent updates first but that will
be time consuming, you should be okay as long as the next thing you do is
visit ONLY the update site and install all security updates. If you have a
router your security will be improved somewhat.

You should always disable anti virus when installing things (Although most
don't bother and most have little trouble) so there's not much point in
installing that first, and if you have a router the firewall is probably
superfluous too. I know that ZA will detect outgoing connection attempts as
well as deflecting incoming, but if you have some malware making attempts to
connect out so it's already too late... :)

Others will have different ideas, but IMHO the most important defense is to
get all those updates done and the order in which you install the rest
doesn't really matter.

Prevention is better than cure and with a clean system you should not have
to worry about scanning for malware.

Charlie
 
txs a lot for the response. Will i be opened to virus/ spyware attack if am
to connect to MS site to do my updates?
 
overclk2000 said:
I'm about to install Windows XP Pro on my new notebook, which comes
installed with XP Home.

Question 1: When I install XP Pro, should I do a clean install and
not an upgrade?
Click to expand...


My recommendation is to at least try the upgrade, since it's much easier
than a clean installation. You can always change your mind and reinstall
cleanly if problems develop.

Moreover the upgrade from XP Home to Professional is the easiest and
most-likely successful of all possible upgrades, since so little needs to be
changed.


However, don't assume that doing an upgrade relieves you of the need to
backup your data, etc. before beginning. Before starting to upgrade, it's
always prudent to recognize that things like a sudden power loss can occur
in the middle of it and cause the loss of everything. For that reason you
should make sure you have backups and anything else you need to reinstall if
the worst happens.



Question 2: May I know what is the recommended sequence of
installation of the following:

SP2
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6.0
Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite 6.5 (i wil not be enabling the
anti-virus feature)
Webroot Spy Sweeper
Lavasoft Ad Aware
Spybot
Spyblaster
MS Office 2003
All other Windows applications
Click to expand...


Of you do an upgrade, you shouldn't need to reinstall any of these. If you
do a clean installation, get all your security software installed first.
 
Well, you won't be reading email or visiting other websites so that reduces
risk considerably, and you won't have old versions of the Sun Java Machine
to worry about but yes, strictly speaking it might be possible to attack a
vulnerable service while you are doing updates. A router defends you against
this somewhat if you have one, especially if it's firewall is running. In a
perfect world one could download all the needed updates first etc, but
that's a lot of time consuming work and SP2 is a major step in the right
direction. I prefer to do all the Windows stuff first because it keeps all
the system stuff in clean files, but that's just "Me" I guess.

As long as the machine is "Clean" and you are sure of it then the upgrade
path will save you some of this, but there'll still be updates to do and if
you upgrade you really don't want other stuff running whilst installing the
subsequent updates, if you do and anything goes wrong it may trash the
system and then all is back to square one again.

Charlie
 
overclk2000 said:
Question 2: May I know what is the recommended sequence of installation of
the following:

SP2
Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6.0
Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite 6.5 (i wil not be enabling the anti-virus
feature)
Webroot Spy Sweeper
Lavasoft Ad Aware
Spybot
Spyblaster
MS Office 2003
All other Windows applications
Click to expand...

The first thing you will want to do is to pull the network cable, particularly if you do a clean install. These days, you can be
infected with a worm before you see the desktop, before Windows is even finished installing. As soon as the network components are
installed (phase 3/4.5), Windows can get infected. If you're installing Windows XP Gold or XP SP1, you will be vulnerable because
unlike SP2, the Windows firewall is not on by default.
 
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