Kill or cure?

[ggreig]

It occurs to me that I've never run an LJ poll, so here is one that may - or may not - actually influence my behaviour. Think of it as the electronic equivalent of poking a stick into an ant-farm.

Over the weekend, one of three pieces of software installed on my PC appears to have gubbed it to the extent that it's difficult to log in and get anything done before the machine blue-screens. Safe mode, though it doesn't crash, is not tremendously helpful in solving the problem, though no doubt if I persevere more I would be able to fix it eventually.

However, I am considering just wiping the disk and reinstalling, as it is long, long overdue.

What should I do? (I'm making no promises to do what the poll results say!)


[Poll #627066]

Comments

[sharikkamur.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, I've generally found that I have to completely wipe and rebuild Windows machines at least once a year. It sounds like that time has come for your machine.

[ggreig]

This install is four years old. It was done when Windows XP had just been released, at the end of 2001 - and yes, I think that time may have come!

[very-true-thing.livejournal.com]

Four years? That's very good going. I think the half life of Win 98 was six months (I was very happy to get 18 months between reinstalls) and whilst we would expect XP to be somewhat better it is still Windows.

[ggreig]

I used to do much more frequent reinstalls with older versions of Windows, and even enjoyed it on occasion, but age has dampened my enthusiasm for the reinstall! Still, I am quite pleased with four years.

[msinvisfem.livejournal.com]

...then KILL! >:-)

Really though, I think you would feel better if you solved the problem rather than scraping your current setup and learning nothing. (Though I believe there is a mild learning curve for saving your current setup without actually reinstalling, i.e. iTunes...)

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Total reinstallation usually has to be done sooner or later, though Windows XP is actually a lot better at cleaning up its messes than previous versions. Remember to back up things like your browser favourites etc. as well as documents, mail, etc.

[ggreig]

A weekly full, uncompressed back up to an external hard disk (and daily incrementals) should mean I'm OK. I'll be checking it before I do anything rash though!

[qidane.livejournal.com]

Oh also remember to deauthorise any protected content before the wipe. e.g. iTunes purchased music.

[ggreig]

I don't think I have any - I still like to get a physical product when I buy music.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

I agree entirely. I like my music with the informative booklet in the case!

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Have you though of going Mac? The new wee tiny ones can hook up to your existing screen and keyboard.
I'm not being a Smug Mac-user, I promise: it just seems to be a more operating platform, and may save you a lot of frazzled nerves.

[ggreig]

I borrowed a Mac once from tobyaw, in order to broaden my mind, but found it was too late. Aspects of the Mac experience that Apple are widely regarded as having got "right", and that I had expected to be at worst indifferent to, I found I actively disliked.

When I bought my first PC, I was advised to do so by an established Mac supporter (flybynightpress) and am lastingly grateful for his impartiality. He reckoned it was the right choice for someone looking for a career as a developer, and I think time has shown him to be right.

Also, to give Windows its due, it has to cope with a range of hardware and applications that Apple just don't have to work to accommodate. It does pretty well when you take that into account.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Oh, work-wise I understand the use of the PC. I have to use one at work, and it drives me mad at times as it has a habit of crashing (especially Explorer).
But for home use I prefer something more stable.

Kill It

[scottymcleod.livejournal.com]

If it does not bounce back from last known good or a mild amount of tinkering and you have no data to recover then the time you will spend on this is just not productive.

Take it from someone who would like the weeks or maybe months of his life back.

One thing to watch out for is that your four year old hardware is on the way out and this is just a sympton.

Re: Kill It

[ggreig]

I zapped it last night and am now in the process of reinstalling. I haven't ruled out the possibility of hardware failure, particularly as other symptoms were starting to show up last night before I gave up; but they might just be knock-on effects of the original instability.