Resurrect Your PC

I've covered how to speed up Windows by uninstalling most of your programs for these better, free apps. Well, if XP/Vista still just doesn't seem to run fast enough, I've got the solution. BUT BE WARNED: if you don't know what a hardware driver is, don't attempt this. Basically we're going to install a fresh version of XP or Vista that can run on ANY computer.


The bottom line is, over time with use, every computer will begin to slow as you mess it up with your crap.

The process I'm going to walk you through involves erasing your hard drive and installing a fresh copy of Windows XP or Vista. This task isn't as daunting as it sounds. I've done this to over 30 computers in the last year.

Here's the good news: Your computer will run faster than the day you took it out of the box.

There's an amazing group called eXPerience that has created modified, super-fast versions of XP and Vista. They are called TinyXP and TinyVista.

WARNINGS:

• You'll need a 2nd computer to read these directions during the install and possibly to download drivers.
• If your computer (especially laptop) is currently running Vista, don't use TinyXP.
  
• Make sure you really do backup all your crap before starting this, or you're going to cry really hard.
• Unplug all flash drives and external drives before proceeding (you don't want to erase these on accident)
• If you're running multiple OS's or partitions you want to keep, don't delete them in Step 2.
• I don't assume any liability if you have half a brain and mess something up

Step 1: Backup Data and Burn Disk

1. Backup anything you don't want deleted: songs, documents, videos, pictures, bookmarks, etc... If you aren't sure where all your files are, you can use WinDirStat. It lets you visually see what file types are where.
2. Download whichever operating system you want through torrents: TinyXP here or TinyVista here.
3. Burn the operating system image to a CD/DVD. ImgBurn can do that.

Step 2: Install Windows

1. Put your freshly burned disk in your CD drive and reboot your computer
2. Your computer will tell you "Press Enter to Boot from CD...". You only have about 5 seconds to press enter. If you don't get this screen, you need to change your settings so your computer boots from the CDROM before the hard drive. To do this, restart your computer and immediately start pressing F2, F10, the delete key, or TAB. This will take you into the BIOS. Look for the option to change the boot order. Save and Exit.
3. TinyXP users will see a red screen. Choose Option 1.
4. Once TinyXP/TinyVista setup loads, you need to delete your hard drive. If you have multiple hard drives on the list you know you're not keeping delete those too. The process is different depending on the version you're using:

TinyXP users: Press "D", then "Enter", then "L" to delete a hard drive/partition. Then on the Raw Unpartitioned hard drive, press "Enter" then format "NTFS (quick)."
TinyVista users: click "Drive Options (advanced)". Then choose "Delete" on all the hard drives. Once the screen shows you one big raw, unpartitioned hard drive, choose "Format". NTFS (quick) will get the job done nicely.

Step 3: Walk away for at least 30 minutes

No I'm not joking, the installation is "unattended". That means it will install everything automatically after a few reboots and will give you a clean desktop.



Step 4: Finish your installation
This next step requires a bit of patience if this is your first time.

1. Open the Start Menu and go to the Control Panel. Click "User Accounts" and add an account with your name.
2. Click the Start Menu and log out. Sign in under your name.
3. Right-click My Computer and choose "Manage". Click "Local Users and Groups". Open "Users" and right-click "Administrator" then choose "Properties". Check the box next to "Account is disabled"

Here are optional changes that I always make:

1. Right-click the desktop and choose "Properties". Under "Themes" tab, change theme to "RoyaleNoir". Under "Desktop" tab click "Customize Desktop..." and put a check next to "My Documents"
2. Right-click the taskbar (big black/blue bar next to start menu that goes across bottom of screen) and choose "Properties". Put a check next to "Lock the taskbar". Under "Start Menu" tab, choose "Classic Start menu" and then "Customize". Scroll down and uncheck "Show Small Icons in Start Menu"
3. Open Start Menu and delete "Microsoft Update" shortcut with a right-click
4. Open My Computer and click Tools > Folder Options. Choose "Show common tasks in folders" then click the "View" tab. Scroll down and put a check box next to "Show Control Panel in My Computer"
5. Once again, while looking at My Computer, click View > Toolbars > Customize... Click "Map Drive" and remove everything below it on the list except "Views". Under "Icon Options" change the dropdown box to "Large icons"
6. Go to interfacelift.com and download a sweet wallpaper

At a minimum, install these programs (found here): Firefox, SumatraPDF, VLC player, ImgBurn, and MS Office.



Install your missing drivers:
Please don't search google for "driver download" or you're going to immediately trash your computer with things like Driver Detective, DriversKit, etc...

1. To find which one's TinyXP/Vista didn't install, right-click My Computer and choose "Device Manager"
2. Anything with a yellow exclamation mark needs attention. Most often these will be modems or video cards
   
3. Go to your computer manufacturer's website and look for a support/driver link (if your computer doesn't have internet access, you'll need to download ethernet/wi-fi drivers on a 2nd computer)
   
4. Search your computer's model number in their driver section (Dell and Gateway computers typically have a service tag # that makes searching a breeze. Use that.)
   
5. Only download drivers for the devices in the "Device Manager" with yellow exclamation marks

That's it! Your computer is ridiculously fast.