Windows Is By Far The Best OS

[ghaze]

Maybe I should write a How-to

Sounds good, I'm always looking for new tricks.

I tend to agree with you on the re-installation issue. I've run into very few xp computers, recently, that I had to re-install. Re-installation is the first option for most "geek squads".

I recently worked a laptop that had been "repaired" by a local shop. It was having intermittent video problems. They'd re-installed the os and charged the client and a couple of days later the problem came back. It looked like a hardware issue to me, not software. An add on memory chip was going bad. Replaced the chip, fixed the problem.

As far as windows being the best OS, maybe for autocad.

[Archangel-Amael]

I see it all the time, people that don't understand the tools that are available to them, just re-install the OS, leaving it up to the end user to restore all their other things, never thinking about the dozens of hours that the end user will be left with getting their machine back the way it was.

This just happened to a computer illiterate colleague of mine.
Went to the geek squad and they reinstalled xp for him at $100.00 and then didn't even put back all of the other programs that he had installed.
He even gave them the disks but they stated that they would have to charge for those re-installs as well!
So then I had to spend time out of my day to help him fix it back the way he had it.
And that is sorry customer relations.

[streaker69]

This just happened to a computer illiterate colleague of mine.
Went to the geek squad and they reinstalled xp for him at $100.00 and then didn't even put back all of the other programs that he had installed.
He even gave them the disks but they stated that they would have to charge for those re-installs as well!
So then I had to spend time out of my day to help him fix it back the way he had it.
And that is sorry customer relations.

I bet that they didn't even run Windows Update or install any special drivers that XP didn't have included either.

IMO, re-installing an OS is a dis-service to customers. Your average computer user does not distinguish between the re-install of the OS and applications. Most see them as one in the same thing. They assume that when someone says they're going to re-install windows, that they'll also re-install all their applications as well.

It may take a little longer to fix the OS, but in the end, you generally have a happier customer. When I was billing for time fixing machines, I would only bill for time that I was physically touching the machine working on it. If it was sitting there running a scan (Virus/Malware/Scandisk or whatever) I would not bill for that time, because to be fair, you aren't doing anything and you could be actually working on another customer's machine.

Where I'm working now, to be honest, I do not do much troubleshooting of the OS if there's a problem. Since I'm running an AD domain with roaming profiles and stored machines images. If something fails I restore the image and have the user login. Their custom settings are pulled down from the network the first time they log in.

All their documents are synchronized to the network as well and backed up to tape every night along with their profiles.

[Archangel-Amael]

I bet that they didn't even run Windows Update or install any special drivers that XP didn't have included either.

IMO, re-installing an OS is a dis-service to customers. Your average computer user does not distinguish between the re-install of the OS and applications. Most see them as one in the same thing. They assume that when someone says they're going to re-install windows, that they'll also re-install all their applications as well.

In my experiences this is true for about 90-95% of the time.
And yes I had to start with xp home and install every single patch and fix MS has for what 3 years now? Or whatever it is that makes xp secure up till last week.
Had the laptop with me for the entire weekend just letting it run all day and d/l updates.
Then I had to go back and put a few gigs worth of programs back on.
But the good thing for him is that now he has a software firewall and a free a/v scanner.

[hhmatt]

Time to think outside the box about OS's. Really if anything is going to be the next OS for the masses it most likely WON'T be anything we already have. It will be a completely new OS that has features that puts everything else to shame with a wide variety of compatability. It will have to have obvious reasons for change. I can't forsee what exactly could do this but it will be revolutionary. As much as I like linux and wish to see it thrive as a competitor I doubt it will be anything unix based or anything windows based.

[C°KéM@ñ]

Maybe I should write a How-to.

That would be awesome because I'm always open for some new insights.

Personally, I always try to avoid formatting a drive but sometimes it is my only option since I do not have sufficient knowledge on that matter. Therefore, a good tutorial would be more than welcome.

[imported_spankdidly]

That would be awesome because I'm always open for some new insights.

Personally, I always try to avoid formatting a drive but sometimes it is my only option since I do not have sufficient knowledge on that matter. Therefore, a good tutorial would be more than welcome.

... he already wrote it. look in the general section......