Derek Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 I use paragon drive backup and periodically roll my windows machines back to a known uncluttered state. Makes a huge difference in performance. My macbook pro not so much of a problem but I still use time machine as a backup in case of a drive failure. Most computers built in the last few years will do fine except for the clutter that windoz seems to accumulate. People think their computer is bad and all it needs is a clean restore. Of course thats fine with microsoft as they move more units! Derek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Derek nails the issue with Win XP for sure! My laptop is so bogged down that the only thing I can do now is migrate my docs over to another 'new' laptop the I.T. department sent me with a fresh XP Install. C: FORMAT and start over! Bloatware at it's messy-sloppy best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Just bought two dell desktops for a client $500 and I got i5 dual core (not sandybridge, probably why it was on sale ) 6gb ddr3 750GB cd/dvd rom cd/dvd rw win 7 pro built in wifi (puke) Not even referb'ed, just $100 for being a going out model. I have to say that for the price I'm very impressed. It handles windows 7 flawlessly and didn't come with too much dell bloatware. With the money saved we bought some nice 23" Samsung monitors. Makes for quite an amazing desktop for the price. The irony is that the machine it was replacing at one location was only a 3 year old machine. It's a AMD dual core, with 2GB of DDR2, 320GB with vista. I'm going to wipe it and install windows 7 on it, and to most people it will perform almost identically to the brand new $500 machine. I think my charges are worth every penny for my clients. I have clients that have had me format their computers a good 3+ times, but you know what? It's still cheaper and more effective than buying new computers every few years and having to handle transferring your data yourself. The really sad thing, is that despite all the high end computers I've built, my machine at home is ancient. It's a AMD 3400 939 san diego core, with a whopping 1GB DDR333 low latency ram, a 4x80gb raid 0, running a X850XT PE (does anyone still remember that card?). But you know what? It still runs photoshop and solidworks fine and gets the job done. It still surfs the web faster than any new machine thanks to a knowledgeable owner that keeps his machine clean and lean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Handle Transferring Data Yourself....argh! Thats where I'm at, and our serial PC to PC cable is gone missing. And I got to dig up all my application install discs again to put all my 'non-company' company software on it (again!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLOZ UP Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Handle Transferring Data Yourself....argh! Thats where I'm at, and our serial PC to PC cable is gone missing. And I got to dig up all my application install discs again to put all my 'non-company' company software on it (again!) There is an easier way to do this nowadays... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 That was really helpful man. I'm sure you know all about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 basically, the easiest way to copy your data is to buy an external hard drive. it doubles as a backup in case something happens. Copy your documents to the drive from the laptop before format, then copy them back when you get your laptop rebuilt/reformatted. 1 terabyte units cost well under $100 now. Some even come with backup software built in or included with the disk. For example, here's a 1tb western digital external with free shipping for $70. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136469 if you're on XP, you want to back up the following directories by default: c:\documents and settings\username (whatever your username is). Under this directory, copy the following: \my documents \my videos \my pictures \my music \contacts \favorites [internet explorer bookmarks] \downloads \links \saved Games [if you play games] you may need to turn on option to view hidden files and folders under tools->folder options->view->'show hidden files, folders, drives' and also uncheck 'hide extensions for known filetypes' this will display extra folders under your user profile. if you use microsoft outlook (not express), go into local settings\microsoft\outlook. if there's a large file called outlook.pst (or anything with .pst extension), copy that over. That contains all your mail within outlook. In firefox, make sure to export your bookmarks into html. This site has a hefty write up on this as well, but you can generally omit many things under \program files and \windows http://www.argentuma.com/backup/system-backup.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Actually I have an external hard drive for photos mostly. Don't cache them on the machine drive any longer. Some documents as well. But really, that's no easier than simply hooking up the transfer cable and migrating with the MS files and folders wizard. Actually...it adds a step. Argh... But this thing about program file migration...I got to read on THAT when I get home tonight. THAT may be the magic bullet to save me from looking through piles of discs that have been ravaged by son and wife... At one time they are all in a nice, 24 CD Capacity wallet. Easy to get to, all in one place. That wallet appears to be no more, and this is not good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 ARGH! I miss having "GHOST"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB26powered74zcar Posted June 4, 2011 Author Share Posted June 4, 2011 I ended up buying one of these>> Lap Top They went on sale for $599.00 last week, and it came with a free two year warranty . I decided I did not like this machine, so I'm returning it and I just bought this one >> LapTop #2 It has better features in my mind (graphics, processor, ram, screen size), correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noddle Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Handle Transferring Data Yourself....argh! Thats where I'm at, and our serial PC to PC cable is gone missing. The good old days, 12+ years ago, I used xtlink.com to do this, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 ARGH! I miss having "GHOST"... You really should check out paragon drive backup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 I decided I did not like this machine, so I'm returning it and I just bought this one >> LapTop #2 It has better features in my mind (graphics, processor, ram, screen size), correct? Yes. THe only thing is that it's a big laptop. 17" is pretty huge. And hefty. It's more of a mobile workstation. Look at laptops on dealnews.com. If you are near a fry's: http://dealnews.com/Lenovo-Idea-Pad-y560-p-Core-i7-Quad-2-GHz-16-LED-Laptop-for-680-pickup/468536.html or this: http://dealnews.com/Lenovo-Think-Pad-Edge-E420-Core-i5-2.3-GHz-14-Laptop-for-539-free-shipping/468199.html or this: http://dealnews.com/Lenovo-Think-Pad-T420-i-Core-i5-Dual-2.3-GHz-14-Laptop-for-645-free-shipping/468121.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 The good old days, 12+ years ago, I used xtlink.com to do this, LOL....you know that rings familiar! I think that was my utility as well. Who knows where that floppy set went! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noddle Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 LOL....you know that rings familiar! I think that was my utility as well. Who knows where that floppy set went! I have XTGold still sitting on my Win 7 machine, I have the original disk in the cupboard.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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