Rebooting Comp?

[Chippy1]

Just wondering if anyone could help? I am a bit of a computer novice and I would like to reboot my computer to its factory condition. I don't have any manafacturers back up disks only an original Windows 98 disk. I don't use my computer for anything else apart from surfing and email so would windows 98 be up to date enough to use? Secondly would rebooting effect a recent broadband setup? And finally is it as simple as just inserting a windows disk to reboot? Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks

[stevie21]

If you're online I'd want my PC to be as secure as possible so would use the most modern version of Windows that your PC can handle. Without knowing the specs of yours, if it has been running Win 98 for some time then it might not be powerful enough to run Windows XP.

I wouldn't know if reinstalling Windows (not rebooting) would affect your broadband without knowing how you connect to it. If it's via a router you'd be fine. If not and you format your hard drive to reinstall Windows, you would also need to reinstall your broadband software.

If you did have a Windows CD then you can put that in and instruct your PC to load a new version of Windows from there.

What exactly is it that you're not currently happy with? There might be an easier solution. Also, do you know your processor speed and how much RAM you have?

[Chippy1]

Hi Thanks for the reply. My main problem seems to be with programs and components I can't uninstall. I have tried going into add/remove programs but still don't seem to be able to do it due to getting messages like setup.exe and file error etc.. I am running XP at the moment but was thinking because I use my laptop for main activities would it be okay to install win 98 on to the desktop just to be able to access mail and for browsing? You mentioned reformatting Is that a better option? My computer processing speed is celeron 240 and Ram 224. Im sorry I can't give you more detailed info as I am really a new starter in the computer world. Many Thanks

[stevie21]

If you're online at all, then I'd use something more modern than Win 98.
Is your only problem that there are programs that you can't uninstall? I wouldn't have thought that's a reason to completely wipe your computer and start from scratch. You could download a program like this which apparently helps uninstall things. Never used anything like that myself though

[Chippy1]

Hi, Thanks Stevie21. I managed to find the original backup disk so I just went for a clean start, everything seems okay for the time been. Many Thanks for your time.