Clean install of XP Pro in my laptop

[hierogrammate]

Lately, my TOSHIBA Satellite Pro 4600 (800 mHz PIII, 256 MB RAM, 20 MB HDD, TOSHIBA DVD-ROM, latest drivers on everything) has become unusually slow with XP. It was never blindingly fast, but decently so, so the difference now is noticeable. I checked the loaded programs with CodeStuff Starter, and there isn't anything there that should cause that. Checked also with my AV and spyware programs (Kaspersky, Adaware, Spybot S&D) and the system is clean.

The only thing that occurred to me was to repair the XP Pro installation, then reapply SP1 etc., but there's basically no difference.

I want to do format the whole thing and do a clean install, and see if things get back to normal... but how do I do that? I've always done that in my desktop PC, which is a dual boot system, and use Win98 to run the XP disk. However, can I do the same in my laptop? I mean, if I fdisk and format the HDD, how do I install XP since the install app doesn't run in DOS (that I know of anyway)?

E.

 

[gpalmer711]

Your windows XP CD should be bootable.

During the installation you are able to delete/create partitions.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=313348

Greg Palmer
Free Software for Adminstrators

http://www.palmersoft.co.uk

 

[hierogrammate]

Thanks for the link! I'll read it thoroughly

 

[bcastner]

heirogrammate,

Forum member gpalmer711 is recommending a clean install. I have two thoughts:

. Forum member linney recommends as well a clean install for notebooks. I have never been happy with this advice, but at a minimum prior to a clean install, backup your hardware drivers:

http://www.driverguidetoolkit.com/

You can collapse the folder structure this utility creates to simplify things.

. I routinely redo Win9x installs, sometimes redo Win2k, but for XP a reinstall should not be necessary. Consider in the alternative:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;819101

If you could provide details of what no appears slow to you under XP it would help a great deal.

. Do Service Pack 2 and then test for a week or so prior to a clean install of the OS. See my several notes on obtaining Service Pack 2 and its installation on this Forum.

 

[bcastner]

Darn it.
I forgot to mention my favorite site for instructions on a clean install of XP:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

 

[hierogrammate]

bcastner: Ok, I'll try an SP2 install first, and post my results here....

I don't know if the following details will be good enough or too vague, but here they come:

The first time I started noticing an unusual slowness was during startup. It always took some time to load, granted, but not as long as now. It specially takes a bit longer than normal when it begins to detect my wireless PC card and while loading Kaspersky Anti-Virus (I uninstalled it and reinstalled an older Norton AV 2002, thinking KAV may be the culprit, but truth is that the laptop loaded just as slow... I have KAV again). Then the icons take a bit to refresh, and the START>Programs menu takes a bit longer to open. Programs also take longer to load... Photoshop like 45 and Illustrator like 2 minutes... In Windows Explorer, the PC has to "think" a bit before showing the directory tree... things like that. The only effect I have active is "Use visual styles for windows and buttons." Defragmentation wasn't too effective either.

Now, this should probably improve if I add more memory to the laptop (which I intend to do eventually)... it's just that I'm peeved that it wasn't THAT slow before, and I have no clue why it is like that now or how to fix it...

Edwin

 

[linney]

FAQ779-4784 may help.

windows XP running very slow
thread779-796508

 

[bcastner]

More RAM will help. There is no reason to go crazy, 512 will help a lot.

It is likely a WEP or driver issue with your wireless card. Here is what you can do:

. Service Pack 2 profoundly changes the XP support for wireless adapers. Apply SP2.

. Upgrade your wireless AP/router firmware. Slow DHCP services from wireless routers due to firmware is a common issue.

. Upgrade, if possible, your client driver for the wireless adapter.

And review my earlier notes. A reinstall of XP should not be necessary. You likely will see a performance benefit from doing so temporarily, but a persistent result requires getting it right, and a reinstall is not required to do so.

 

[hierogrammate]

Thanks , I'll give it a try...

E.