Windows XP is Still Going Strong! Long Live XP

Your Personal Computer (PC) does not have to be assigned to the recycle bin. There are still many good years ahead, according to Microsoft. You just need to take the time to follow some simple instructions and you could be getting several more wonderful years of use out of the old dog yet.

Backup your system now

This is the most important task you will ever do with your PC because it can save you time and time again. If you have ever spent hours creating your best report only to find the power goes down and all your work is lost. I have done this myself and it is not a good feeling believe me.

Windows Operating System (OS)

If you have a Windows XP or rescue disc or you can create one from your PC then you a third of the way.

Installed applications (programs)

If you have Programs you have installed from disc(s) or from download(s). Then you need to make sure you make copies of them ready to re-install if necessary. All programs must have their serial numbers or activation codes that they were previously installed with, these maybe found on the disk itself, on the case or packaging. You will not be able to re-install these programs if the codes etc or missing. You could contact the company that supplies the program to get the necessary codes. Once you have the codes write them down on your backup CD/DVD itself with a permanent maker.

Personal files

We all have files that we use daily, documents like letters and CV, music files, photograph and art work. These files are the most important of the files you need to backup because you cannot get them from any other source, not like Windows XP or even your Word Processing application disc. So you need to pay particular attention to backing these up.

Once you have copied all your files Windows XP or rescue disc, Installed program disc(s) and your personal files to CD/DVD or any other media, not forgetting to include scanner, printer and other hardware discs. Put them all together and store them in a safe place.

Protect your system

So now you have a complete backup of your PC so if the worst was to happen it can be restored and you would not lose anything, phew.

The next step is to make sure your system is protected correctly. This involves guarding against several threats. I will not go into too much detail here but you will need to defend yourself from Viruses and Spyware attacks etc. There are a number of free programs available on the internet if you search for them. Simply download and follow their installation instructions.

Before we go on to the next section you should make sure that as a minimum your windows Firewall is enable, it will also help to protect your system from threats.

Keep your system up to date

Computers are attacked by several threats and to help with this your system must be kept up to date and Windows XP will be supported will regular updates until at least 2014.

Although the updates are available they need to be downloaded and install on to your PC. You can do this manually, but there is and automatic option that is recommended. You need to Right click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and then select Properties. When the box appears, click the Automatic Updates tab and choose an option, it is best to choose Automatic and let windows do the work.

If you have not updated windows before then be prepared for a process that will take a long time. It is definitely worth doing to improve the security of your PC, so do it now.

Clean you system

Now your PC is as protected as it can be we can move on to making it more effective. You need to look for programs that you do not use and are taking up space and memory on your computer and helping to slow it down. You can remove these with Add or Remove Programs from the Control Panel (just click Start). Choose the program to remove and follow the instructions. Do not remove any programs you are not sure about as it could stop other programs from working as you would expect.

There are other programs you can download that will clean your PC of unwanted programs or files. You could look into programs that clean your registry, an area used by all the programs on your computer.

Disk Cleanup is the last suggested task to remove other unwanted files. Click Start then All Programs then Accessories and then System Tools within this menu choose Disk Cleanup. You may need to choose the Drive you wish to clean if you have more than one Hard disk, The ‘C’ drive is the most likely, but check to make sure. Then simply follow the instructions by choosing the items you would like to remove, I usually choose anything that has files to be deleted.

Detecting and repairing disk errors

After cleaning your PC of unwanted items, the final two tasks I would do is, firstly check your Hard disk for errors that may help to identify a failure before it happens. Open My Computer and then select the local Disk you want to check, again usually ‘C’ drive. From the file menu click properties and then choose the Tools tab. Under Error-checking click ‘check now’ and then under Check disk options select the scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors. This process will take sometime or instruct you that it will perform the task after the next computer start. It will identify and fix any errors if it can.

Disk Defragmenter

This windows process will help to organise all the files on your Hard disk, it will help to speed up your PC. Click Start then All Programs then Accessories and then System Tools within this menu choose Disk Defragmenter. If you have more than one Hard disk then you could defrag all your disks in turn. Just select the disk you want and defrag once complete repeat the process for all other disks.

Back it up again

Now your system should be up to date, secure and optimised. At this point you should back it up again because it is now at its best and if anything goes wrong you should restore it back to how it is now and not to the previous backup, if you made one. Even your rescue disk should not be as good as how you have your PC now.

You have a few options here which include making your complete backup to external drives or CD/DVD, USB drives, USB pens, Flash drives or even Backup tape.

So that is it you have a good working XP computer, give yourself a round of applause. If the worst was to happen and you get a virus, hard disk failure or the system crashes then after a few hours using the pile discs that your have collected you can reinstall XP and all the others programs to the point where your are today.

Tags: Going, Live, Long, Still, Strong, Windows