OT - Finally! DSL!

[another view]

C: Format.........

Well, that would take care of it!! However, if any of you aren't sure what this command will do, don't do it - "format" wipes the drive clean. No more AOL, but everything else on your hard drive (like Windows, documents and images) will be gone too...

[Lara]

Take it from someone who has fdisked, reformatted/reloaded hundreds of computers, literally.... I echo what Steve said. You have to know the process.

Reformatting wipes out everything, leaving you with a partitioned drive, squeaky clean, and ready to install an operating system. All files you wanted to keep would need to be backed up to a zip drive, data storage stick etc. before reformatting. All software that was loaded would have to be re-loaded.

[Liz]

When I was brand new at computers, I got a new one in my home office. I asked a "pro" (over the phone) if he could help me out with a problem. He said he would, but in the meantime he told me not to be afraid to play with it. His last famous words to me were "computers are made to take a lot - you can't possibly do any harm." Heheh

When I called him to say there was nothing on the computer, there was dead silence on the other end of the phone. Then a quiet voice said "what did you do?" and I told him I formatted the computer. He said "YOU WHAT?" - that's a problem. However, he came the next day and fixed it.

So, Almo - I'm glad I had that experience..........or I might have followed your advice!

Have a GREAT THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Liz

[Asylum Steve]

I agree with almo that a clean install (formatting a hard drive) solves MANY problems and probably should be done on a regular basis, but I also agree with Steve and Lara that it should only be done after VERY CAREFUL planning with all your important files backed up and programs on disc.

I've gotten pretty good at the routine, and now it is just a day's work with a checklist of programs to install, links to get program and driver updates, and prefs and configurations for everything. I make it part of my yearly Spring cleaning...

[Liz]

"I've gotten pretty good at the routine, and now it is just a day's work with a checklist of programs to install, links to get program and driver updates, and prefs and configurations for everything. I make it part of my yearly Spring cleaning..."
Well, the next time you're in NJ - save that one day!

Have a great week.

Liz