A Windows-XP Re-install

allthedoyles

After some serious problems , I have now re-installed windows XP and its great to be back online again .
However , my desktop PC has now gone back in time to 2004 , and there are many upgrades to be done .
Just wondering if you could help me out and let me know what I need and in what order .

This is my list :

1. service pack 2
2. Then service pack 3 ( it would'nt allow me to install SP3 without SP2 )
3. internet explorer 7
4. avg
5. spyware Microsoft Office
6. Adobe Acrobat
7. Windows media 10

What essentials am I missing from windows XP. -

There is only one icon on the desktop ;' recycle bin '

JonathanAnon

allthedoyles wrote: »

After some serious problems , I have now re-installed windows XP and its great to be back online again .

1. service pack 2,
2. Then service pack 3 ( it would'nt allow me to install SP3 without SP2 ),
3. internet explorer 7,
4. avg,
5. spyware , Microsoft Office
6. Adobe Acrobat,
7. Windows media 10

What essentials am I missing from windows XP. -
here is only one icon on the desktop ;' recycle bin '

Jesus that was quick, you dont mess around.. ;-)
If you switch on Windows Automatic Updates, they should pull down SP2, SP3, IE7 (though I would recommend you use either Google Chrome or Firefox) and all the other Windows Updates. WMP 10 can be downloaded from the Microsoft website also. AVG is downloadable from http://free.avg.com (and I would suggest you get this first). Acrobat Reader is downloadable from www.adobe.com .

Microsoft Office is not free to download, do you have a disk for it?

Start | Right Click on My Computer | Show On Desktop

Fysh

You'll want to put IE8 on there, rather than sticking with IE7. Likewise Windows Media Player is up to version 11 at this point.

I'd suggest the following:

• Adobe Reader - PDF Viewer (hefty enough, but gets security updates on a regular if slow basis, which can't be said of Foxit).
• VLC - the closest you're likely to get to a one-size-fits-all media player.
• 7-Zip - for handling compressed files, better than Winzip or WinRAR and it's legitimately free.
• Paint.NET - for all your image-editing needs, Paint.NET is the middle ground between MS Paint and Photoshop.
• CDex - decent little CD-ripping program.
• Filezilla - nifty little FTP client.

If you need software for a specific task or purpose, you could do worse than go to the Sourceforge Windows Open Source Software page.

woolymammoth

Foxit or Sumatra over Acrobat Reader any day!
MS Security Essentials over AVG..

but, maybe you have tonnes of RAM to spare!

Personally, chrome or firefox over IE. As for the desktop icons; Right-click on desktop > properties > Desktop tab > customize desktop..

Fysh

woolymammoth wrote: »

Foxit or Sumatra over Acrobat Reader any day!

In terms of system load, sure.

In terms of security updates to protect against the various vulnerabilities that afflict the PDF file format, not so much.

woolymammoth

Fysh wrote: »

In terms of system load, sure.

In terms of security updates to protect against the various vulnerabilities that afflict the PDF file format, not so much.

ya, true, but adobe had the issue too. so i'd still take any alternative to acrobat. Sumatra didn't succumb to the attack at all.

allthedoyles

Thanks everyone , - some great info up there -

I have laods of ram , and HDD as I ugraded 6 months ago.

Will complete the job this evening after work

Fysh

woolymammoth wrote: »

ya, true, but adobe had the issue too. so i'd still take any alternative to acrobat. Sumatra didn't succumb to the attack at all.

To that attack. Aside from which, you seem to be missing my point. There are enough vulnerabilities affecting Windows systems in general and the PDF file format in particular that it makes sense to use viewing/editing software produced by a developer who will release patches in a reasonably timely manner. AFAIK Adobe do this better than Foxit or Sumatra, which means that I personally would suggest taking the overall hit on installation footprint and system load.

Amalgam

4. avg

Have you tried Avira as an alternative?

http://www.free-av.com/

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Free and legal CD\DVD burning applications.

Burrrn: http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4

ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/

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Video encoding applications. (free)

Handbrake: http://handbrake.fr/

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Little applications that help you along.

Florian Balmer's Notepad2.

http://www.flos-freeware.ch/

Just a few suggestions.

allthedoyles

One thing that annoys me is that even though the hard drive has 75gb -after re-installing I have 10gb in drive C and 65gb in drive D

Is it possible to switch around and have the largest space in Drive C

woolymammoth

Fysh wrote: »

To that attack. Aside from which, you seem to be missing my point. There are enough vulnerabilities affecting Windows systems in general and the PDF file format in particular that it makes sense to use viewing/editing software produced by a developer who will release patches in a reasonably timely manner. AFAIK Adobe do this better than Foxit or Sumatra, which means that I personally would suggest taking the overall hit on installation footprint and system load.

OK! OK! Google docs FTW then! hah!

as for partitioning, http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html will let you edit and resize the partitions.

Fysh

allthedoyles wrote: »

One thing that annoys me is that even though the hard drive has 75gb -after re-installing I have 10gb in drive C and 65gb in drive D

Is it possible to switch around and have the largest space in Drive C

You can resize the partitions, but not with native XP tools.

My suggestion would be to use GParted - download the ISO image, burn it to a CD, then boot up from that CD.

You'll need to shrink your data partition (the drive) first, then extend the C: drive. It can take a while for the changes to be committed, and the most important thing of all is to have a backup of any data you need to keep on either partition before you start changing them.

It's not likely you'll have problems, but it is possible.

There is an advantage to having two partitions on your disk - you can keep all your data on the non-OS partition and thus preserve it in the event that you need to reinstall your operating system again. However, I do understand the frustration of having to juggle space between your OS partition and your data partition.