How long does it take to re-install Vista and the Dellprograms/drivers?

"RnR" <rnrtexas@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:gbn124phbr56hv33mdbj4cnd9rk6qajnlu@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 6 May 2008 16:48:55 -0500, "S.Lewis"
> <Gossamer@interesting.com> wrote:
>
>>
>>"Christopher Muto" <muto@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
>>news:iqudnVqfbY5BIb3VnZ2dnUVZ_uadnZ2d@earthlink. com...
>>> "Charles Summers" <vmm@comcast.net> wrote in message
>>> news:09ydnay5WeNLJr3VnZ2dnUVZ_jydnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
>>>>
>>>> "Christopher Muto" <muto@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
>>>> news:J4udndxkYZ7VK73VnZ2dnUVZ_sednZ2d@earthlink.co m...
>>>>> assuming that you have all yoru ducks in a row and have done this
>>>>> before, from start to finish it takes 6-8 hours to completely
>>>>> reinstall
>>>>> windows, install all the drivers specific , etc...>
>>>>
>>>> Are you sure this isn't something that can be done in just a couple of
>>>> hours? Seems to me that last umpteen times that I've done it, it was
>>>> only
>>>> a couple of hours.
>>>>
>>>> To the OP: be sure to back up everything that your dad needs.
>>>>
>>>
>>> generally it is more economical to purchase a new computer than to do a
>>> software rebuild. of course this depends on how you value your time.
>>> with malware scanners you only have to invest the time to start the scan
>>> and then are free to do whatever you want while it does its job.
>>>
>>
>>
>>Geek Squad charges $249 for an onsite OS reinstall. ($129 instore or
>>online). This is with drivers and critical updates only and *no*
>>applications installed:
>>http://www.geeksquad.com/pricing/default.aspx#section3
>>
>>2 hours would be extremely optimistic and dependent upon experience of the
>>installer, organization of same, and the speed of the system itself (and
>>almost surely would not include all applications and utilties).
>>
>
> I take my time and knowledge for granted when at home and I rarely see
> outside pricing for this pc stuff but when I do, I'm blown away by it.
> But I guess in fairness, it's a business too.

that is funny, because my reaction to that pricing is that it is incredibly
cheap. could you image the long winded story that the poor people at geek
squad have to endure before even taking in the computer for an operating
system reinstall only to earn $129... and the follow up calls that are sure
to follow like :my outlook email doesn't work like it used to..." ugh.

now that's the right answer!

"WSZsr" <nospam@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4820ed6d$0$20199$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
> Use the hidden restore partition and it will take 20 or 30 minutes or
> less!
>
> <void.no.spam.com@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:eb79b2d6-285d-4937-a517-7f765b94c98b@m3g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
>> My dad was browsing the other day, and called me over to the
>> computer. Firefox had somehow gone over to onlinexpscanner.com (which
>> I have discovered is a spyware site) and downloaded an executable
>> file, and there were prompts to run some code. I closed all the
>> browser windows and deleted the executable file.
>>
>> Now I am wondering if my dad may have inadvertently installed any
>> spyware, before he called me over. I could spend several hours
>> running a bunch of scans, or maybe I can just reinstall Vista and the
>> Dell Drivers CD? How long would all that take? There are even old
>> posts in this newsgroup where people said their computer runs faster
>> after doing a reinstall of Windows, than it did when Dell shipped it
>> to them.
>

"Christopher Muto" <muto@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:xNednZILaetocL3VnZ2dnUVZ_j-dnZ2d@earthlink.com...
> now that's the right answer!
>


WORD!

And I'd actually attempt a system restore (among other things) before I
wound up doing that. ;-)

A restore from the hidden partition followed by application of all the
band-aids, patches, corrections and fixes via the world class Microsoft Update
site. Typically a couple of hundred MB or more, and two or three reboots. All
because Microsoft has no clue how to design robust and relatively secure
software... Ben Myers

On Tue, 6 May 2008 19:47:00 -0400, "Christopher Muto" <muto@worldnet.att.net>
wrote:

>now that's the right answer!
>
>"WSZsr" <nospam@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:4820ed6d$0$20199$4c368faf@roadrunner.com.. .
>> Use the hidden restore partition and it will take 20 or 30 minutes or
>> less!
>>
>> <void.no.spam.com@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:eb79b2d6-285d-4937-a517-7f765b94c98b@m3g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
>>> My dad was browsing the other day, and called me over to the
>>> computer. Firefox had somehow gone over to onlinexpscanner.com (which
>>> I have discovered is a spyware site) and downloaded an executable
>>> file, and there were prompts to run some code. I closed all the
>>> browser windows and deleted the executable file.
>>>
>>> Now I am wondering if my dad may have inadvertently installed any
>>> spyware, before he called me over. I could spend several hours
>>> running a bunch of scans, or maybe I can just reinstall Vista and the
>>> Dell Drivers CD? How long would all that take? There are even old
>>> posts in this newsgroup where people said their computer runs faster
>>> after doing a reinstall of Windows, than it did when Dell shipped it
>>> to them.
>>
>

<void.no.spam.com@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:eb79b2d6-285d-4937-a517-7f765b94c98b@m3g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
> My dad was browsing the other day, and called me over to the
> computer. Firefox had somehow gone over to onlinexpscanner.com (which
> I have discovered is a spyware site) and downloaded an executable
> file, and there were prompts to run some code. I closed all the
> browser windows and deleted the executable file.
>
> Now I am wondering if my dad may have inadvertently installed any
> spyware, before he called me over. I could spend several hours
> running a bunch of scans, or maybe I can just reinstall Vista and the
> Dell Drivers CD? How long would all that take? There are even old
> posts in this newsgroup where people said their computer runs faster
> after doing a reinstall of Windows, than it did when Dell shipped it
> to them.

The last time I did a clean install of Vista Premium on my Dell it took just
at 40 minutes to fully complete the installation. The installation of any
additional software, such as Office, Photoshop and so on takes as long as it
takes. Then there's the updates to download and install. As I recall,
after a clean installation of Vista Premium (no SP1) on my Dell, there were
56 updates found. You also have all the device drivers to load, which is
the very first thing you do after the clean install is complete. So, your
answer is that the time varies.

** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

On Tue, 6 May 2008 19:45:09 -0400, "Christopher Muto"
<muto@worldnet.att.net> wrote:

>"RnR" <rnrtexas@gmail.com> wrote in message
>news:gbn124phbr56hv33mdbj4cnd9rk6qajnlu@4ax.com.. .
>> On Tue, 6 May 2008 16:48:55 -0500, "S.Lewis"
>> <Gossamer@interesting.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>"Christopher Muto" <muto@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
>>>news:iqudnVqfbY5BIb3VnZ2dnUVZ_uadnZ2d@earthlink .com...
>>>> "Charles Summers" <vmm@comcast.net> wrote in message
>>>> news:09ydnay5WeNLJr3VnZ2dnUVZ_jydnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
>>>>>
>>>>> "Christopher Muto" <muto@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
>>>>> news:J4udndxkYZ7VK73VnZ2dnUVZ_sednZ2d@earthlink.co m...
>>>>>> assuming that you have all yoru ducks in a row and have done this
>>>>>> before, from start to finish it takes 6-8 hours to completely
>>>>>> reinstall
>>>>>> windows, install all the drivers specific , etc...>
>>>>>
>>>>> Are you sure this isn't something that can be done in just a couple of
>>>>> hours? Seems to me that last umpteen times that I've done it, it was
>>>>> only
>>>>> a couple of hours.
>>>>>
>>>>> To the OP: be sure to back up everything that your dad needs.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> generally it is more economical to purchase a new computer than to do a
>>>> software rebuild. of course this depends on how you value your time.
>>>> with malware scanners you only have to invest the time to start the scan
>>>> and then are free to do whatever you want while it does its job.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Geek Squad charges $249 for an onsite OS reinstall. ($129 instore or
>>>online). This is with drivers and critical updates only and *no*
>>>applications installed:
>>>http://www.geeksquad.com/pricing/default.aspx#section3
>>>
>>>2 hours would be extremely optimistic and dependent upon experience of the
>>>installer, organization of same, and the speed of the system itself (and
>>>almost surely would not include all applications and utilties).
>>>
>>
>> I take my time and knowledge for granted when at home and I rarely see
>> outside pricing for this pc stuff but when I do, I'm blown away by it.
>> But I guess in fairness, it's a business too.
>
>that is funny, because my reaction to that pricing is that it is incredibly
>cheap. could you image the long winded story that the poor people at geek
>squad have to endure before even taking in the computer for an operating
>system reinstall only to earn $129... and the follow up calls that are sure
>to follow like :my outlook email doesn't work like it used to..." ugh.
>

I understand and you are correct.

I didn't mean that they don't deserve it but rather I'm very naive to
the real world pricing of pc issues because I do my own so when I do
learn of it, I'm blown away.... no disrespect intended. I worked as
a realtor years ago and I can't tell you the number of calls before
and after the sale as well as non-clients asking about legal issues,
tax issues, real estate issues, repair issues, management issues,
etc... almost 24/7 then. And I heard and hear the same complaint
that realtors make so much money when in fact sometimes they really
don't make as much as it seems especially when you consider they have
expenses too to run their business.

I apologize to you if I was misleading or sounded disrespectful to the
pc repair profession.

On Tue, 6 May 2008 19:47:00 -0400, "Christopher Muto"
<muto@worldnet.att.net> wrote:

>now that's the right answer!
>


Are you sure? I've never used it so I'm naive on this but if it
includes dell bloatware, I'd have to disagree.

On May 6, 7:44*pm, "WSZsr" <nos...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Use the hidden restore partition and it will take 20 or 30 minutes or less!

Glad I posted here, I didn't even know about a hidden recovery
partition. That would be the D drive on the computer named RECOVERY,
I take it? Is it possible that malware could corrupt that partition?

Maybe I'll just run a few scans. I haven't seen anything unusual,
like the browser home page being changed. But not all spyware have
visible symptoms. If I ran a few scans and they don't detect
anything, then I could be 99.9% sure that the computer is not
infected, right?


> <void.no.spam....@gmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:eb79b2d6-285d-4937-a517-7f765b94c98b@m3g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > My dad was browsing the other day, and called me over to the
> > computer. *Firefox had somehow gone over to onlinexpscanner.com (which
> > I have discovered is a spyware site) and downloaded an executable
> > file, and there were prompts to run some code. *I closed all the
> > browser windows and deleted the executable file.
>
> > Now I am wondering if my dad may have inadvertently installed any
> > spyware, before he called me over. *I could spend several hours
> > running a bunch of scans, or maybe I can just reinstall Vista and the
> > Dell Drivers CD? *How long would all that take? *There are even old
> > posts in this newsgroup where people said their computer runs faster
> > after doing a reinstall of Windows, than it did when Dell shipped it
> > to them.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

On Tue, 6 May 2008 12:02:04 -0700 (PDT), "void.no.spam.com@gmail.com"
<void.no.spam.com@gmail.com> wrote:

>My dad was browsing the other day, and called me over to the
>computer. Firefox had somehow gone over to onlinexpscanner.com (which
>I have discovered is a spyware site) and downloaded an executable
>file, and there were prompts to run some code. I closed all the
>browser windows and deleted the executable file.
>
>Now I am wondering if my dad may have inadvertently installed any
>spyware, before he called me over. I could spend several hours
>running a bunch of scans, or maybe I can just reinstall Vista and the
>Dell Drivers CD? How long would all that take? There are even old
>posts in this newsgroup where people said their computer runs faster
>after doing a reinstall of Windows, than it did when Dell shipped it
>to them.

It takes me about 1 1/2 - 2 hours to do a complete system refresh.
Dell makes it easy. That's assuming that there isn't a lot of work
first copying files off of the computer. Doing the actual refresh is
fairly quick.

Also, be aware that if you haven't already reformatted the drive in
the past there is usually a restore partition you can use.

If I were to have to go through the work of reinstalling though, I'd
probably upgrade to XP over Vista, if you have the OS disk to do that.

<void.no.spam.com@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:fa10f31f-2139-414e-bc06-41cc63e4b30c@26g2000hsk.googlegroups.com...
On May 6, 7:44 pm, "WSZsr" <nos...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Use the hidden restore partition and it will take 20 or 30 minutes or
> less!

Glad I posted here, I didn't even know about a hidden recovery
partition. That would be the D drive on the computer named RECOVERY,
I take it? Is it possible that malware could corrupt that partition?

Maybe I'll just run a few scans. I haven't seen anything unusual,
like the browser home page being changed. But not all spyware have
visible symptoms. If I ran a few scans and they don't detect
anything, then I could be 99.9% sure that the computer is not
infected, right?



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>


Download, install, update, immunize and then scan with SpyBot Search and
Destory v1.5.2.

If it's a browser hijacker, SpyBot will almost surely find it and allow you
to remove it.

It's unlikely that the image restore partition would be infected.