[queasy27]

Is anyone able to give me instructions on how to wipe my hard drive and reinstall from backup? I'm a bit nervous because I've never done it before.

If it's too complicated I can always take it to the geek squad.

Thanks!

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by queasy27

Is anyone able to give me instructions on how to wipe my hard drive and reinstall from backup? I'm a bit nervous because I've never done it before.

If it's too complicated I can always take it to the geek squad.

Thanks!

Why do you want to do this? Wiping the hard drive is not a good idea. The backup will not install the software programs that are loaded on the computer. It will only copy the backed up files, but you will find that some programs will not function without re-installing them from the original cd discs. And, your computer probably came with preloaded programs that do not have cd discs.

[villagetinker]

First, I am assuming that you have created a 'rescue disk' on suitable media (typically a USB drive, or possibly 1 or 2 DVD disks), or you have the original installation disk(s). If so, you should be able to simply format c:, you will be advised this will destroy all existing data. Head the warning, if you have any files that are not suitably backed up, they will be gone.
Once the format is complete, insert your restore disk or the original disk, and reboot the computer. At this point, you will need to follow on screen instructions.
Now here is the potential gotcha, Microsoft has discontinued support for W7, so you may not be able to to update your original install disk, or your restore disk to the last version of W7.
If you are still uncomfortable, contact villages computer club, they should have someone that can help for much lower cost than geek squad, if GS will even work on a W7 system.
Hope this helps.

[retiredguy123]

Another option is to try the "system restore" program that is part of Windows 7. This will restore your computer to an earlier time and it is safe to use, and you won't lose any data files. It is much safer than wiping the hard drive. The "format c:" option is very scary. I agree that the Geek squad is expensive and not a good option. Good luck.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by villagetinker

First, I am assuming that you have created a 'rescue disk' on suitable media (typically a USB drive, or possibly 1 or 2 DVD disks), or you have the original installation disk(s). If so, you should be able to simply format c:, you will be advised this will destroy all existing data. Head the warning, if you have any files that are not suitably backed up, they will be gone.
Once the format is complete, insert your restore disk or the original disk, and reboot the computer. At this point, you will need to follow on screen instructions.
Now here is the potential gotcha, Microsoft has discontinued support for W7, so you may not be able to to update your original install disk, or your restore disk to the last version of W7.
If you are still uncomfortable, contact villages computer club, they should have someone that can help for much lower cost than geek squad, if GS will even work on a W7 system.
Hope this helps.

My Windows 7 desktop just did 4 automatic updates today. Doesn't that mean that it is still being supported?

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

My Windows 7 desktop just did 4 automatic updates today. Doesn't that mean that it is still being supported?

Yes you are right my Geek said that they will continue security updates

[villagetinker]

Thank you I stand corrected, the last I saw was a notice that it was no longer supported, so I am guessing that meant for items that were not security related. There were very good points mentioned above. The more I think about the OPs original request, I suggest to speak to an expert at the computer club.

[JoelJohnson]

I'm going to put Linux on my old PC running Windows 7. That will give new life to an old slow PC. I would put the chrome OS, but I already have a chromebook that I use 99.9% of the time. Just figure I want to play with Linux.

[dsettl]

Click on START and select ACCESSories
Right Click on COMMAND PROMPT
Click on RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR
Select YES
At the command prompt Type chkdsk c: /r /f
(There are spaces between kand c and : and / r and /)
Type Y for yes

Shut down the computer and then restart it.
On restart it will check disk and repair
It will take ~2 hours and then the computer will start

[SFSkol]

Originally Posted by JoelJohnson

I'm going to put Linux on my old PC running Windows 7. That will give new life to an old slow PC. I would put the chrome OS, but I already have a chromebook that I use 99.9% of the time. Just figure I want to play with Linux.

Put Linux Mint, Mate version on it. Easiest to use for Windows users. DL the runtime version and run off the DVD to test out.

Linux Mint 18.3 "Sylvia" - MATE (64-bit) - Linux Mint

Originally Posted by SFSkol

Put Linux Mint, Mate version on it. Easiest to use for Windows users. DL the runtime version and run off the DVD to test out.

Linux Mint 18.3 "Sylvia" - MATE (64-bit) - Linux Mint

Thanks, I am going to try this out.

[queasy27]

Thanks, everyone! The laptop started running extremely slowly this week -- was getting page load and timeout errors for almost every site. Couldn't stream, etc. I ran four different virus removal tools and nothing was found. I tried a system restore but that didn't help so I was hoping to start over using the emergency disc and full system image backup.

This was only happening on one laptop (my favorite!), so it wasn't related to global network connectivity issues. Hours of troubleshooting later, I finally noticed that the slowdowns started when I opened IE, then saw that my ad blocker was using huge amounts of memory. I uninstalled that and things seem to be back to normal. Except, of course, for a few preferences and settings I messed up trying various fixes. Yeesh.

I'm partial to the way IE handles bookmarks/favorites, but things are starting to break all over the place and sites are discontinuing support, so I really need to give it up.

Speaking of browsers, has anyone noticed any improvement with FF Quantum? I've had several things break, but it remains a huge memory hog and not noticeably faster. I still like its UI a little better than Chrome or Opera, though.

Originally Posted by queasy27

Thanks, everyone! The laptop started running extremely slowly this week -- was getting page load and timeout errors for almost every site. Couldn't stream, etc. I ran four different virus removal tools and nothing was found. I tried a system restore but that didn't help so I was hoping to start over using the emergency disc and full system image backup.

This was only happening on one laptop (my favorite!), so it wasn't related to global network connectivity issues. Hours of troubleshooting later, I finally noticed that the slowdowns started when I opened IE, then saw that my ad blocker was using huge amounts of memory. I uninstalled that and things seem to be back to normal. Except, of course, for a few preferences and settings I messed up trying various fixes. Yeesh.

I'm partial to the way IE handles bookmarks/favorites, but things are starting to break all over the place and sites are discontinuing support, so I really need to give it up.

Speaking of browsers, has anyone noticed any improvement with FF Quantum? I've had several things break, but it remains a huge memory hog and not noticeably faster. I still like its UI a little better than Chrome or Opera, though.

My browser choice is Firefox