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Kit to fix a laptop

BillieTheBotBillieTheBot Posts: 8,721 Bot
in General Chat
Friends laptop is a bit under the weather, shes a bit illeterate when it comes to tech so I dont think its worth asking too much detail on whats wrong when the answer is likely to be "Erm whats wrong, it dont work properly"

If I was going to take some bits of software with me on a dvd+r to aid in clean up etc, what would you recommend.

Obviously a check of windows update, defrag and disk clean up. Spyboy S&D? Or something similar along the lines?

Oh and a few blank dvds incase of needing to back up and redo windows?

Anything else you can think of?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    First delete all temp files etc in Internet explorer and do a clean in Windows Explorer, by right clicking C drive, Properties and Disc clean. Then make sure that the system is set up for best performance, right click My Computer, Properties, Advanced system settings, Advanced, Performance Settings. Select Adjust for Best Performance. Then click the Advanced tab, click on the Change button in the virtual memory. See what the recommended number is and make sure that is entered in the recommended field. On my laptop I have set the initial to what is recommended and half as much again in the Maximum field. It may be a bit wasteful on disc space but it works!

    Assuming she can go online, go to f-secure.com go to Tools and run online scanner. It will take a while but it's good.

    Hope that helps.
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    Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is a good anti-malware tool. It seems to find more stuff than Spybot S&D too.

    She's really giving absolutely no info about what's wrong (does it even boot? does it even turn on?) so I've no idea what to guess. But if I'm going for tech support, I always carry a live linux distro CD with me (to access files in case windows doesn't boot) and a Super GRUB disk (to boot something if the MBR is broken). It's also useful to have a windows cd, but it's best if it's her own (hoping there is one) to use fixmbr or chkdisk etc.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Its booting, thats about all I know.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If it is booting, but not getting to Windows, I would use a bootable CD to access the users files and back them up to an external hard disk. That way, if all else fails, at least she will have her own files. In the absence of a recovery disk having been created in the past you may have to reload Windows. If she hasn't updated Windows since getting the laptop the original Windows disk may repair the installed version without overwriting it.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    For booting there are a few tweaks I'd carry out in msconfig.exe:

    Remove non-essential software from startup.
    Under boot, change timeout to 3 sec.
    Also tick 'no GUI boot'.

    If you have the time, disable non-essential services from services.msc. Black Viper has a list for each version of Windows - use the 'safe' options if you're unsure.

    In my experience these can improve boot speeds a fair bit. Also, if you can find out the laptop model, download the latest BIOS and update it.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Sorted :)
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    What did you do?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Backed up photos/music/documents. Nicely held in one place.

    Format and reinstalled OS :)
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    It's the best way - just a bit of a pain to install software afterwards... although if they aren't a power user it's probably not as much of a problem.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    wooooooooah wrote: »
    It's the best way - just a bit of a pain to install software afterwards... although if they aren't a power user it's probably not as much of a problem.

    I took a dvd disc with most of the software installs like msn, norton etc, and all the other bits I knew she used.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    For a laptop that isn't working properly best course of action is backup files, then c:/format.......

    Then reinstall windows using the disc provided. It's easier and quicker than trying to wade through several years worth of viruses, spyware and trojans on a computer belonging to an illiterate (pc speaking) noob.
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