Freethought & Rationalism Archive

lunachick · 06-26-2003, 07:11 PM

What's a really good PC diagnostics and fix-it program?

Thanks.

kwigibo · 06-26-2003, 07:43 PM

in general or do you have a specific problem?

lunachick · 06-26-2003, 07:48 PM

In general, I think kwig. I get lots of crashes and error messages.

I received a diagnostics and fix-it ad in my email - offered free diagnotics, then you pay for the key to fix up the problems. I had about 100 problems on my pc - which really doesn't surprise me at all. Anyway, I can't afford to get the program and don't have a credit card anyway, so I thought that if I had a specific name, then perhaps a certain astala... can help me out.

Secular Pinoy · 06-26-2003, 07:52 PM

Norton SystemWorks is what I use, and it's quite good.

Derec · 06-26-2003, 07:55 PM

If you have a lot of crashes etc. you might try reinstalling Windows. It can do wonders - especially if you went a long while without.

UMoC

lunachick · 06-26-2003, 07:59 PM

Hmmm, I've tried the reinstalling Windows thing. It didn't really help. maybe during the server upgrade I'll try to reformat my hard drive, strip Windows and start all over again.

In the meantime, I'll try to score Norton and give that a go.

Thanks, guys. Much obliged!

lunachick · 06-26-2003, 08:43 PM

Okay - I can't download a trial version of Norton System Works.

Does anyone know of any others that you could recommend?

Cheers!

Loren Pechtel · 06-26-2003, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lunachick
In general, I think kwig. I get lots of crashes and error messages.

I received a diagnostics and fix-it ad in my email - offered free diagnotics, then you pay for the key to fix up the problems. I had about 100 problems on my pc - which really doesn't surprise me at all. Anyway, I can't afford to get the program and don't have a credit card anyway, so I thought that if I had a specific name, then perhaps a certain astala... can help me out.

Yeah. Ignore it. That was simply spam.

lunachick · 06-26-2003, 08:57 PM

Yeah, it was definitely spam! I got the same email 3 times in an hour.

I know I have some PC issues, though. Do you know of anything I can use, Loren?

The Other Michael · 06-26-2003, 09:04 PM

Jerry Pournelle (BYTE magazine) wrote about getting ready to upgrade Larry Niven's wife's PC that had gotten extremely slow and clunky. He discovered, IIRC, that she had no type of antivirus etc on the PC. He ran some of the software that searches out spyware and apparently the thing was loaded with them.

After cleaning the crap out, defragmenting, etc it was said to have been good enough that she told him not to bother with the hardware upgrade.

Windows can get cluttered up enough that just reinstalling the OS doesn't necessarily fix everything. If you can scrub the HD and reinstall everything it will probably be better. That does mean locating all the service packs and installation discs.

I'd suggest you just buy a new hard drive (pretty cheap these days) and start fresh with that. Once it is up and running stick the old hard drive in as a secondary drive, and then you'll have easy access to the contents which you can move over to the new one in an orderly fashion. An in a pinch, you can change the boot sequence and boot off the old drive if you have to. Or get everything transferred over and scrub the old hard drive and reinstall enough stuff that you can use it as a bootable spare to periodically mirror the contents of the main drive (get a copy of Norton Ghost to make that really easy).

cheers,
Michael

06-26-2003, 07:11 PM	#1
lunachick Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NZ Posts: 7,895	Another question for techie-types, please! What's a really good PC diagnostics and fix-it program? Thanks.

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06-26-2003, 07:43 PM	#2
kwigibo Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Gold Coast, QLD, Australia Posts: 5,814	in general or do you have a specific problem?

06-26-2003, 07:48 PM	#3
lunachick Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NZ Posts: 7,895	In general, I think kwig. I get lots of crashes and error messages. I received a diagnostics and fix-it ad in my email - offered free diagnotics, then you pay for the key to fix up the problems. I had about 100 problems on my pc - which really doesn't surprise me at all. Anyway, I can't afford to get the program and don't have a credit card anyway, so I thought that if I had a specific name, then perhaps a certain astala... can help me out.

06-26-2003, 07:52 PM	#4
Secular Pinoy Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Quezon City, Philippines Posts: 1,994	Norton SystemWorks is what I use, and it's quite good.

06-26-2003, 07:55 PM	#5
Derec Contributor Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 15,686	If you have a lot of crashes etc. you might try reinstalling Windows. It can do wonders - especially if you went a long while without. UMoC

06-26-2003, 07:59 PM	#6
lunachick Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NZ Posts: 7,895	Hmmm, I've tried the reinstalling Windows thing. It didn't really help. maybe during the server upgrade I'll try to reformat my hard drive, strip Windows and start all over again. In the meantime, I'll try to score Norton and give that a go. Thanks, guys. Much obliged!

06-26-2003, 08:43 PM	#7
lunachick Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NZ Posts: 7,895	Okay - I can't download a trial version of Norton System Works. Does anyone know of any others that you could recommend? Cheers!

06-26-2003, 08:57 PM	#9
lunachick Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: NZ Posts: 7,895	Yeah, it was definitely spam! I got the same email 3 times in an hour. I know I have some PC issues, though. Do you know of anything I can use, Loren?

06-26-2003, 09:04 PM	#10
The Other Michael Honorary Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: In the fog of San Francisco Posts: 12,631	Jerry Pournelle (BYTE magazine) wrote about getting ready to upgrade Larry Niven's wife's PC that had gotten extremely slow and clunky. He discovered, IIRC, that she had no type of antivirus etc on the PC. He ran some of the software that searches out spyware and apparently the thing was loaded with them. After cleaning the crap out, defragmenting, etc it was said to have been good enough that she told him not to bother with the hardware upgrade. Windows can get cluttered up enough that just reinstalling the OS doesn't necessarily fix everything. If you can scrub the HD and reinstall everything it will probably be better. That does mean locating all the service packs and installation discs. I'd suggest you just buy a new hard drive (pretty cheap these days) and start fresh with that. Once it is up and running stick the old hard drive in as a secondary drive, and then you'll have easy access to the contents which you can move over to the new one in an orderly fashion. An in a pinch, you can change the boot sequence and boot off the old drive if you have to. Or get everything transferred over and scrub the old hard drive and reinstall enough stuff that you can use it as a bootable spare to periodically mirror the contents of the main drive (get a copy of Norton Ghost to make that really easy). cheers, Michael

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