Specs: Dell Inspiron laptop, 64 bit; 6 GB ram; Seagate 1 TB HDD; Windows 7 HP and Linux (Zorin) on separate partitions.
Windows has become slow and hangs on this computer, Zorin runs fine. Hard drive rated "Caution" by Crystal Disc for reallocated sectors. HDD is about 5 years old. I would like to either do a system restore; reinstall Windows using the non-destructive method (where you pretend it's an upgrade); use a system image; or do a fresh install of Windows. I could also divide the partition and install a new copy of Windows on the new partition.
So far, I have had no luck using system restore. I suspect that's because originally Windows was installed to the entire 1 TB disk, and now it's on a smaller partition. An image restore would probably run into the same problem, most likely (although the paid version of Macrium may allow you to do this).
Currently, I have Windows set to boot in safe mode with networking, although it can't connect to the web, which may be due to wireless issues. I haven't tried using a wired connection; hopefully that would work. If I could get it to work with wireless, that could also be a solution to the problem, if my wife doesn't mind the funky VGA display (although it looks pretty good actually at top resolution, thanks to the laptop's 17" screen).
Windows has become slow and hangs on this computer, Zorin runs fine. Hard drive rated "Caution" by Crystal Disc for reallocated sectors. HDD is about 5 years old. I would like to either do a system restore; reinstall Windows using the non-destructive method (where you pretend it's an upgrade); use a system image; or do a fresh install of Windows. I could also divide the partition and install a new copy of Windows on the new partition.
So far, I have had no luck using system restore. I suspect that's because originally Windows was installed to the entire 1 TB disk, and now it's on a smaller partition. An image restore would probably run into the same problem, most likely (although the paid version of Macrium may allow you to do this).
Currently, I have Windows set to boot in safe mode with networking, although it can't connect to the web, which may be due to wireless issues. I haven't tried using a wired connection; hopefully that would work. If I could get it to work with wireless, that could also be a solution to the problem, if my wife doesn't mind the funky VGA display (although it looks pretty good actually at top resolution, thanks to the laptop's 17" screen).