Quote:
Originally Posted by dad911
I didn't mean to be flip, sorry. Last year I spent weeks trying to get rid of vicious spyware from my office PC. Did all of the common things, and the Hijack route. Finally gave up and re-installed, only took a few hours.
Back up the data to an $89 USB drive, reformat and re-install. You'll have less grey hairs in the end. Slo, what are the cons? It will likely take less time, you can be sure that the virus will be gone, and the system will be good as new and probably faster.
And I didn't mean the built-in bloat of windows, I meant it will clean up all the residue that accumulates over the years.
Now to be flip, although I didn't say 'dump the PC and buy a mac', (this thread should be about helping a fellow pelican, not a pc vs. mac debate) I must have hit a sore spot. By the way, how did you know I was typing this from a virus & spyware free MacBook?    |
The cons are like you stated about your office computer. About 2 hours by the time you are done formatting, reinstalling and applying Windows updates (longer if it is an earlier version of XP (no SP or SP1), reinstall all your third party apps and configuring. Email setup is always fun. Since most people are terrible with backups something important almost always is lost for ever. If you are good with backups, did you remember to back up your bookmarks/favorites? How about that password program that stores all of your passwords?
Then the fun begins with those reinstallation CDs that install every unwanted 90 versions of third party apps.
Anyway, it's easy to say "hey, just format and reinstall", but for the average person, it can cause problems. I have been heard of too many people that had no idea that there existing data would be gone (and have no BU's) when they are advised to reinstall.
I make my living off of Windows, I like the challenge some spyware and viruses present. I don't have any problems with Macs (although I can't use one to save my life) and I know they have a valid place in the world. Most companies need to run a Windows environment - heck, even the ATM's at WAMU are run on Windows.
Dave
