FIX: Laptop Hardware Problems

I recently blogged about how my Dell laptop was starting to act strange by not recognizing the hard drive and excessive heat problems. While I couldn't figure out how to resolve the heat issue, I did manage to fix the majority of other problems.

First, to fix the problem of multiple errors and the laptop not recognizing the operating system, I reinstalled Windows. That was easily accomplished by simply insterting the Windows XP CD and running it from boot. Then I proceeded as if I was installing Windows (do not use the restore option). Then I repaired Windows. This will overwrite the current windows files and replace them with the files from the CD. The problem with this is now you have to install all of the patches for Windows. When Windows attempts to do this almost all of the updates fail due to the updater (which was reinstalled) not being registered with Windows. I'll post the link when I find it again. Sorry. The updater worked fine after that.

After installing all of the updates, I proceeded to uninstall all programs that I did not use. You should be careful when doing this as you don't want to remove any programs that your system needs to run.

Then I ran the disk clenaup in the Accessories folder in the Windows Start Menu. This removed nearly 1GB of unnecessary data.

Ran disk defragmenter again and now I have my screaming machine back to normal. It even boots up faster than ever before. Amazing what happens when you clean things up. It's a wonder why I never listend to my Mom about cleaning my room?