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-   -   How do I reboot my computer and start frest as though it was a new computer (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=81412)

  • Apr 11, 2007, 06:06 AM
    amrdoherty
    How do I reboot my computer and start frest as though it was a new computer
    My computer is very slow I want to reboot it from the start
  • Apr 11, 2007, 06:11 AM
    ScottGem
    Reboot means to power the PC off and back on again. So that's not what you want.

    Did your PC come with Recovery disks or does it have a recovery partition? If so, that would be the best thing to do. Use the Recovery feature to restore it to factory settings. This will wipe out any data and programs you have saved, so you might want to save the data to CD first. And make sure you have the install disk.files for all the other software.
  • Apr 11, 2007, 06:19 AM
    TheSavage
    Assuming you mean restore the computer to its out of box as you got it state, back up everything you want to save to a different drive or cd`s / put the windows cd in the cd reader / reboot and follow the instructions for a new install of windows.

    Note --alot of times a slow PC is due to lack of maintenance, I would recommend you try these instructions first if you have been slack in this area -- it might resolve the issues for you. -- Savage

    [2nd post by curlyben] https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/intern...pyware+removal
  • Aug 23, 2007, 12:32 PM
    snowflake22
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ScottGem
    Reboot means to power the PC off and back on again. So that's not what you want.

    Did your PC come with Recovery disks or does it have a recovery partition? If so, that would be the best thing to do. Use the Recovery feature to restore it to factory settings. This will wipe out any data and programs you have saved, so you might want to save the data to CD first. And make sure you have the install disk.files for all the other software.

    The first time I heard of a computer that come with no recovery disks and had the info that would be on disks right on the computer was when my roommate bought a computer in Nov 2005. Lets say a computer crashes and needs to be reloaded again like it was when the computer was bought. How can having no recovery disks, but rather a recovery partition work to restore the computer? If a computer needs to be reloaded again than wouldn't the recovery partition also have problems with it. If I am wrong it's OK. What is install disk.files? If one only have the recory partition than would they not have the disk.files you are talking about.
  • Aug 23, 2007, 04:26 PM
    wtfury
    If your computer came with no recovery disks, then you should be able to make them. Provided you can burn your own cd's. This is usually the option given on new pcs.
    My laptop came without any recovery disks either but I've since burned mine onto cd's. Took four cd's in all.
    You can look in the Help and Support section on your PC for info on how to make your recovery cds and how to restore your computer to factory specs without them. The recovery partition is separted from the Windows partition so you can do this. Provided you are running Windows XP. When you are running Windows XP the recovery partition is separate. Loading programs onto you PC does not affect that partition. Unless it's a virus of some sort.
    By the way, what type of PC do you have, and what version of windows are you running on it? When was the last time you did a scandisk and a defrag on it? This is regular maintenance that should be done. Before running a Scandisk or a Defrag, remove the programs you no longer use or want. Takes awhile to do this but it does help with slow pc's. Hope it helps.
  • Aug 23, 2007, 04:37 PM
    ScottGem
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by snowflake22
    The first time I heard of a computer that come with no recovery disks and had the info that would be on disks right on the computer was when my roomate bought a computer in Nov 2005. Lets say a computer crashes and needs to be reloaded again like it was when the computer was bought. How can having no recovery disks, but rather a recovery partition work to restore the computer? If a computer needs to be reloaded again than wouldn't the recovery partition also have problems with it. If I am wrong it's ok. What is install disk.files? If one only have the recory partition than would they not have the disk.files you are talking about.

    Yes, if the drive itself fails, then the recovery partition might not work. That's why the mfgs give you the ability to create recovery disks.

    But if just the C partition fails, you can boot to the Recovery partition and run the Recovery software.
  • Aug 23, 2007, 06:15 PM
    umarthecyrus
    Assuming you mean restore the computer to its out of box as you got it state, back up everything you want to save to a different drive or cd`s / put the windows cd in the cd reader / reboot and follow the instructions for a new install of windows.
  • Aug 24, 2007, 04:07 AM
    snowflake22
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by wtfury
    If your computer came with no recovery disks, then you should be able to make them. Provided you can burn your own cd's. This is usually the option given on new pcs.
    My laptop came without any recovery disks either but I've since burned mine onto cd's. Took four cd's in all.
    You can look in the Help and Support section on your pc for info on how to make your recovery cds and how to restore your computer to factory specs without them. The recovery partition is separted from the Windows partition so you can do this. Provided you are running Windows XP. When you are running Windows XP the recovery partition is separate. Loading programs onto you pc does not affect that partition. Unless it's a virus of some sort.
    By the way, what type of pc do you have, and what version of windows are you running on it? When was the last time you did a scandisk and a defrag on it? This is regular maintenance that should be done. Before running a Scandisk or a Defrag, remove the programs you no longer use or want. Takes awhile to do this but it does help with slow pc's. Hope it helps.

    Where does one find the recovery partition for a computer? How did you know where to start for the next CD you used to burn what is in the recovery partition? Where is the help and support section of a computer located?
  • Aug 24, 2007, 05:48 AM
    ScottGem
    It depends on the brand. You may not see it your drive list, but there is usually instructions to stsart Recovery during the boot process. If you made your own recovery CDs they tell you to number or label the disks as you burn them. The Help and Support are part of the OS They may also be located in a folder for mfg specific issues.
  • Aug 24, 2007, 07:09 AM
    snowflake22
    Is the drive list located in My Computer. If so I see a drive that says D. Is D drive the partiton recovery drive or the partition drive could be labeled a different letter depending on what computer you are using that has a partition drive.
    What I was trying to ask is how does one know how much of the partition info will fit on one CD or DVD before a new one is needed?
  • Aug 28, 2007, 03:50 PM
    wtfury
    Snowflake22

    On my system the recovery drive is the D: drive. Yes, it is located in My Computer. If you will just right click on the D: and go to Properites it'll show you how much space this partition takes up. Mine uses 12gb.
    Now how much of the partition that fits onto one cd actually depends on the cd you are using. Read the label for the cd to see how much it will hold, and make sure it's not a re-writable cd.
    Once you start making the recovery cd it will automatically come up and tell you when the cd is full and when it insert the next one. Make sure you write on the cd "recovery cd" and the number; i.e. "recovery cd #1, #2, etc, etc.
  • Aug 29, 2007, 05:39 AM
    snowflake22
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by wtfury
    Snowflake22

    On my system the recovery drive is the D: drive. Yes, it is located in My Computer. If you will just right click on the D: and go to Properites it'll show you how much space this partition takes up. Mine uses 12gb.
    Now how much of the partition that fits onto one cd actually depends on the cd you are using. Read the label for the cd to see how much it will hold, and make sure it's not a re-writable cd.
    Once you start making the recovery cd it will automatically come up and tell you when the cd is full and when it insert the next one. Make sure you write on the cd "recovery cd" and the number; ie, "recovery cd #1, #2, etc, etc.

    Why does your D drive use up 12GBs? Is that the total amount of space available or is the 12GB what is being used. If the 12GB is how much space is being used up in the D drive than what is the total available space for the D drive for the computer you use.
    Why did you say not to use a re-writable CD? How do you find the next place you need to go to to continue to burn more of the partition drive to a CD? How come D drive doesn't say it's the partition recovery drive or info?
    Does your computer show disk cleanup in the D drive? If so what is that for. Does your computer say under D drive FAT32 and if so what is that for?
    I still don't know how one can burn the partition info to a CD or DVD. Do you burn it the same way you would burn pictures to a CD or DVD?
  • Aug 29, 2007, 05:55 AM
    ScottGem
    Recovery partitions are generally sized to meet the needs of the recovery data. Some mfgs add a cushion so that there is wasted space. Others figure the partition size more precisely. It really doesn't matter and you do not want to fool around with the recovery partition.

    Why would you need a rewriteable CD for a recovery disk? You aren't going to change anything, you are going to burn the disks once and that's it.

    Most PCs include a way to make the Recovery disks. Its usually not as simple as burning the files to disk.
  • Aug 29, 2007, 06:09 AM
    snowflake22
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ScottGem
    Recovery partitions are generally sized to meet the needs of the recovery data. Some mfgs add a cushion so that there is wasted space. Others figure the partition size more precisely. It really doesn't matter and you do not want to fool around with the recovery partition.

    Why would you need a rewriteable CD for a recovery disk? You aren't going to change anything, you are going to burn the disks once and that's it.

    Most PCs include a way to make the Recovery disks. Its usually not as simple as buring the files to disk.

    Why would a company want to have wasted space for a partition and what do you mean by wasted space?

    Now I see why a rewriteable CD isn't needed to burn info from the recovery disk.

    Where would one go to see how to make CDs of the partition info? Why is it not as simple as burning the files to a disk?
  • Aug 29, 2007, 07:04 AM
    ScottGem
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by snowflake22
    Why would a company want to have wasted space for a partition and what do you mean by wasted space?

    Now I see why a rewriteable CD isn't needed to burn info from the recovery disk.

    Where would one go to see how to make CDs of the partition info? Why is it not as simple as burning the files to a disk?

    Why I don't know. But it happens. For example the Recovery partition on HP Vista laptops is 8g and is about 90% filled. On Gateway Vista laptops it was 10G and only 70% filled. Since you don't use that space for anything else its wasted.

    Different mfgs have different procedures for making a recovery CD. The CD has to be bootable for instance, that's part of why its not as simple as just burning the files.
  • Aug 29, 2007, 07:15 AM
    snowflake22
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ScottGem
    Why I don't know. But it happens. For example the Recovery partition on HP Vista laptops is 8g and is about 90% filled. On Gateway Vista laptops it was 10G and only 70% filled. Since you don't use that space for anything else its wasted.

    Different mfgs have different procedures for making a recovery CD. The CD has to be bootable for instance, that's part of why its not as simple as just burning the files.

    Do you own a HP Vista laptop and a Gateway Vista laptop? If so why do you have two laptops? I didn't know HP made computers. Does the D drive actually say how much percent is being used in it? I did see a pie chart when I went to D drive and properties?

    What do you mean by the CD has to be bootable? I know when I have put pictures on a CD before and wanted to view the pictures on the CD using the computer it gave me choices as to how I wanted to view the pictures. I mean the program I wanted to use to view the pictures on the CD from the CD-Rom slot. Is what I am saying a form of a CD being bootable and if I am wrong on this it is OK.
  • Aug 29, 2007, 07:58 AM
    ScottGem
    No I don't own either laptops, but you can go into any retail store and check out the display models, which is what I did.

    I forget whether I saw a screen that listed the pct or whether I just did the math.

    For something to be bootable, it means that the system can be started from that drive. A Recovery CD has to be bootable since it might be needed due to a system crash. And no, what you describe is not bootable.
  • Nov 19, 2007, 08:55 AM
    Stratmando
    My Sony has a hidden partition, You hit a button on start up. Brings it back to Original.
    You lose all Programs and Data.

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