Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (
More info?)
--
techy613
"Ken Blake" wrote:
> In news:9294C8D3-FCD0-40CC-A943-904C549AC95D@microsoft.com,
> techy613 <techy613@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
>
>
> >> In news:1FDDF616-7BC5-408E-82D3-165F23DC0EB4@microsoft.com,
> >> techy613 <techy613@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
> >>
> >>> I would like to re-install XP on my PC without losing the
> >>> installed
> >>> applications and associated registry information. How would I
> >>> do this?
> >>
> >>
> >> Why do you want to do a reinstallation? What problem are you
> >> having?
> >>
> >> There is no way to literally do a reinstallation without
> >> losing
> >> all of the above. However you can do what is called a "repair"
> >> installation, which may meet your needs. See "How to Perform a
> >> Windows XP Repair Install" at
> >>
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
> >>
> >> --
> >> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
> >> Please reply to the newsgroup
> >>
> >>
> >> thanks for the info. My PC started to slow down (5 minutes to
> >> start
> >> an application). I tested for virus, spyware etc. and
> >> defragged, All
> >> I found was a suspicous process called DefWatch, which I
> >> stopped via
> >> msconfig. Have you heard of this process? How can I eliminate
> >> it
> >> forever, if its malware? So I thought it would be a good idea
> >> to
> >> re-install.
>
>
> "defwatch.exe is a part of Norton Antivirus Corporarte Edition,
> and is responsible for monitoring the virus definition files and
> ititiating procseses to bring them upto date if they aren't." See
> http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/processlibrary/defwatch/
>
> Randomly stopping processes or programs is *not* a good idea
> unless you know what they are. Google can help you get
> information like this. In this case, stopping this process
> apparently reduced your protection.
>
> In my view, reinstalling is usually a mistake. With a modicum of
> care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or
> any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows
> 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, each for the period
> of time before the next version came out, and each on two
> machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never
> had anything more than an occasional minor problem.
>
> It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical
> support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to
> almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is
> "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them.
> It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it
> doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that
> most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree).
>
> But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You
> have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all
> your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and
> application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed
> drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all
> your apps to work the way you're comfortable with.
>
> Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome,
> you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your
> application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes?
> Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the
> customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make
> everything work the way you like?
>
> Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve
> that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and
> far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for
> troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only
> after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person
> have failed.
>
> Note that a repair installation isunlikely to solve this kind of
> problem, and there is no way to do a full installation "without
> losing the installed applications and associated registry
> information."
>
> You say that you have "tested for virus, spyware etc." Exactly
> how have you done that? What products have you run, and are they
> up to date? When it comes to anti-spyware software, you want to
> be sure to run more than one product, since no single one is good
> enough.
>
>
> --
> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
> Please reply to the newsgroup
>
> techy613
I ran nortorn and Mcafee anti-virus, and microsoft beta and aol antispyware.
I also noticed an unknown service in msconfig called Netropia HK server. Have
you heard of this one? If its malware, how do I get rid of it? You mentioned
that I should reply to the newsgroup. I hope my method of reply was correct
(I hit the "post button").
Thanks again for your excellent help.
>
>
>