Ask Leo!: Windows Installation

Can a recovery partition be infected?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:17:42 -08:00

Many of the new computers make a "D" partition that holds the equivalent of a Restore Disk, that used to be common practice to come with a new machine. My question is: if a machine is contaminated with viruses and/or malware, is the "Rebuild Partition" also infected?

]]> Is it affected? Maybe, maybe not. It varies.

Can a recovery partition be infected? Absolutely.

Add that to my long list of why I dislike recovery partitions, and typically get rid of them - after doing a couple of things first.

Will I need to install drivers after reinstalling Windows?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:18:24 -08:00

I am running on Windows XP Pro and want to install Vista premium after wiping my hard drive. Will I need to install system drivers or will this be done when I install vista from disk?

]]> Probably, but not necessarily.

I know, that's not very helpful, but the problem is that once again this is a question with a hundred different answers, or more.

It depends on your machine, the specific installation of Windows you're using, and your own needs and preferences.

I'll walk through the what, why and how of drivers you might need after a reinstall.

How do I know what programs are safe to uninstall?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 11:32:06 -08:00

I use Windows XP and am wanting to rid my computer of programs that I never use or rarely use. I know about using the removal function in the control panel. My question has to do with "How do I know that it's okay to remove these program?"

For example, I have a program that's called "Java2 Runtime Environment SE v1.4.2_03" This program takes up 135.00MB and it's used "Rarely." I have several programs like this that are used "Rarely." It is okay to remove them?

]]> It's my experience that "rarely" is rarely accurate. I have no idea how that moniker is created, but for the most part my sense is - it ain't right. I just checked, and a program that I use quite literally every day (the HTML editor in which I write these articles) is listed as being used "rarely", and last used about 5 months ago.

That's so wrong as to completely remove any trust I have in any of the other tags of "rarely" in the Add/Remove entries.

Unfortunately, that kind of limits the information we have at hand in order to make our decisions.

If I move a hard disk from my old machine to my new one, can I just run my old applications from it?

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:23:52 -08:00

If I buy a new PC with Windows 7 can I then install my old hard drive as a slave and access and run programs installed on it such as PhotoShop CS3 and Microsoft Office 2007?

]]> Yes, no, maybe and most likely not.

I'm sorry to be that vague, but the answer isn't always clear (though it is for the two programs you mention).

It's a common desire, and a common question. I'll look at the scenarios where it works, and where and why it does not.

What is Windows 7's "Windows XP Mode"? (And can I use it to get Outlook Express back?)

leo@pugetsoundsoftware (Leo A. Notenboom) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:10:36 -08:00

I'm hearing a lot of backlash against Windows 7 for a completely unexpected reason; not for incompatibilities or instabilities but for the removal of Outlook Express.

Outlook Express was actually removed in Windows Vista, being replaced by Windows Mail. That, in turn, was removed from Windows 7, and replaced with ... nothing. The official approach is to download Windows Live Mail, which is very Outlook Express-like.

But it's not Outlook Express.

It turns out that, yes, Windows XP Mode might be a solution.

It's not terribly simple, but it can work.

In fact, it can work for many programs that for one reason or another simply will not work in Windows 7, but used to work in Windows XP.