"Bare Metal" Windows XP Clean Install

If your desktop or laptop PC is two years old or more, it may be suffering slowdowns, freeze-ups, spyware or virus infections, Trojan Horse compromises, system crashes or bluescreens of death. These ailments are caused by a wide variety of issues, but, in general, a completely fresh (clean) installation of Windows XP WILL make that system run even BETTER than when it was new. Here's why:

PCs purchased at retail are loaded with extra software - trialware, demoware and "shovelware" - stuff you will not likely ever use. Much of it loads up every time you startup the computer and runs invisibly in the background, sapping precious memory and processor resources. Retail PCs are not updated with the latest service packs (typically) and all security patches and upgrades. They MAY have a limited anti-virus program running, but few if any have software firewalls, browser protections, script blockers, anti-spyware, system cleanup, or any kind of general malware protection. That's a fact of life in the PC business.

PCs that have been used for any length of time have had a variety of applications installed and uninstalled, many hardware and software configuration changes made, updates, patches and security fixes applied, device drivers installed and then abandoned for other, newer devices, stuff connected, stuff disconnected, and in general seen lots of things come and go in their life as a tool for business, an outlet for creative expression, an extremely fanciful plaything and game player, and all the other things we do and ask of our computers. Bottom line is that we get these machines into a pretty tattered state as we use them, and they tend to slow down and misbehave more and more as time passes.

This means that a typical unsecured, non-updated, unpatched retail computer, or one that's seen active duty in the trenches of technology, WILL slow down, crash, freeze, bluescreen, become compromised/infected after it's connected to the Internet, and generally NOT do what you most need it to do at the moment you need it most. Hey, the Web is a jungle out there, it's the wild west where outlaws operate uncontained and unrestrained, and you gotta be secure and protected against the tidal wave of crap that is everywhere out there.

It's a simple thing to do: wipe the hard drive with a complete reformat, install a SECURED and UPDATED copy of Windows XP that has been tweaked to minimize its vulnerabilities and maximize its performance. Then inoculate the PC to protect it from the bad guys. Defrag the drive and spend some time testing everything. Then take a snapshot of the finished installation and save it to CD/DVD so it can be restored quickly and easily should you hose the thing all over again.

That's where I come in.

I've setup laptops that bootup in less than twenty seconds (really!), and desktop systems that are ready to go in thirty. I can't guarantee these numbers for older hardware, but I can tell you that a clean, secure, optimized installation of Windows, along with a balanced set of security software that includes using Firefox for your web browser and Thunderbird as an email client, can and will make your computer run better, faster, longer and more reliably than it ever has before. Period, end of quote.

There are MANY performance optimizations that can be made to a typical retail PC that will make it work better, and I know many of them. I'm always willing to listen to YOU if you want something special, so just tell me what you need. Special orders don't upset us.

I've been doing custom installs on PCs for over twenty years, and secured, high performance Windows setups since the nineties. I KNOW how to make your old hardware run better than new, because I won't install all that crapware that slows you down and hogs hard drive space, and I will install the latest updates and service packs, all secured and tweaked to run at blazing speed. I'll download all the latest drivers so your hardware works as well as possible, and test networking, video and sound to be certain I did it right.

Caveat - you can't get lightning in a bottle, and sometimes you might NEED small hardware upgrades to make your system realize its full throughput potential. If your computer has only 256MB RAM, that will limit you - A LOT. 512MB is a much better place to start, and 1-3GB RAM truly makes the PC sing like a bird!

Hard drives also affect how fast you can go - usually the larger the drive, the faster it works. 7200 RPM drives work much better than 5400 RPM or 4200 RPM drives, and of course, newer drives usually work better than older ones. SATA interfaces are faster than PATA ones, and 32MB caches make hard drives work even faster. Are you getting this picture?

You may not need or want any hardware upgrades, and if so I'll do your Bare Metal Clean Install of Windows XP for ONLY $199. Here's the deal: You bring the system unit to me (no mouse, monitor, keyboard or printer - just the CPU), along with a deposit, then give me about five working days to get it all done and tested. You can pick it up and pay me the balance due at the time of delivery. Simple. If you need it sooner, I can turn it around in two days for just $249, or in one day for only $299.

If you are REALLY rushed and need it THE SAME DAY, I'll usually do the work BY APPOINTMENT for $399. Rush jobs are available first come, first served, require full payment in advance, and you'll need to have the system to me by 11AM to get it back by 7PM that same day. Any desired hardware upgrades will be priced separately from the clean install with full payment to cover the cost of parts. That's just the way I do it, and it works for me.

Here's what YOU have to do: backup any and all data you want to keep. My Bare Metal Clean Install process will absolutely, positively destroy every last bit of data on the hard drive, both good and bad - this includes documents, downloads, pictures and music, as well as viruses, spyware and all the other bad stuff. If I have to back up your data it will cost you AT LEAST $200 extra and probably more because everything will be saved to DVDs and then restored back to your newly repartitioned, reformatted, clean-like-a-baby's-behind hard drive.

Just remember that old data and old downloads can contain spyware and worse, so I will virus scan all of it to verify it's clean and safe to put back on your pristine, new system. I know what I'm doing, so you can rest easy that this important work will be done the right way, the first time. No excuses. Just field-tested, battle-proven results. You'll have the backup data disks to put in a safe place in case anything else goes wrong later. Better to be prepared, right?

I'll also need any CDs/disks that came with your computer, if available. You will also need a valid Windows XP Product Key/ID sticker, usually located somewhere on the exterior of your computer system unit. This is five sets of five characters and is proof of your ownership of an OEM Windows XP license, either Home Edition or Professional. If you have no license, I'll have to charge you extra, between $90-$140 at current mail-order prices. I would prefer using your license, and I want all the legal beagles to be happy knowing I'm doing this all the right way. Any additional application software or drivers will have to be installed by you, as well as drivers for your peripherals (printers, scanners, cameras, and the like). I can do it for you, but it'll cost more - I'll give you a reasonable quote.

Over the years, I've collected a wonderful set of freeware and shareware Windows programs that you can use to do all kinds of stuff, like create and edit office documents and spreadsheets, burn CDs and DVDs, compress and backup your data, protect your computer from spyware and clean it if necessary, check for programs that run at startup time, diagnose all manner of problems, analyze network traffic, check your software licenses, display every detail of your system, remotely control your office PC from home or vice-versa, and MUCH MORE.

This CD collection contains dozens of updated, current freeware and shareware applications and utilities, and I'll give you a copy with any Bare Metal Clean Install service I perform for you. You could spend days or weeks locating and downloading these fine programs, but now you won't have to!

I've done these custom setups for many years with well over a thousand systems, and they ALL WORKED BETTER. No useless crapware, all the latest Windows updates and service packs, current device drivers, antivirus and system security software, better browser and email clients (Firefox, Thunderbird), hard drive defragmentation, boot-time optimization, BIOS tweaking, cooling fan cleaning, and a general physical inspection are what you NEED to get the most from your technology investment. I've been doing that long enough to GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME.

Bare Metal Clean Installs are just the tip of the iceberg.

I can help you with data conversions, backups, recoveries, network design, setup and security, user training and documentation, Internet connectivity, general information research, technical writing, digital media (audio, video, photos, etc.), spyware and virus cleanup, direct mailing with mail merge, website setup, maintenance and domain registration, remote PC access, printer setup, and much more. I can be YOUR personal technology consultant to help you OR YOUR BUSINESS move up to the next level of productivity. More choices makes for a better world. I will help you Make It Go!

I'm located in Roswell, GA.

THANK YOU and Good Luck in all your computer and technology endeavors.

MARK STRELECKI, ACP
markworks@strelecki.com
http://www.strelecki.com

Geeks On Time - AVOID THE BAD MEN

Here is the reason I decided to create this web log here at Blogspot.

Geeks On Time (GOT) owes me several hundred dollars and they haven't paid me many months after I performed scholarly work for them and spent my own money on expenses. I'm not just out for the labor, I'm out of pocket for my expenses, and that makes it a doubly hurtful situation.

A VP at GOT told me "they lost their short term funding." (What does that REALLY mean?)

Heck - they lost a Great Experienced Technician, too. (I KNOW what that means!)

Bottom Line - AVOID THE BAD MEN calling themselves Geeks On Time. I'm sure they continue to string along other techs and they are not paying on-time and in a timely fashion like the signed contract demands. (Anyone know a really good contract lawyer?)

I'll revise my comments here ONLY upon the deposit of the monies owed to me, whenever that happens. And you, dear blog reader, will be the first to know.

UPDATE: As of May 2009, no contact from Geeks on Time or any demonstration of good faith on their part. What a bunch of criminals these folks are. Cheating, lying lowlifes, Venus McNabb and her crew of no-gooders. DO NOT TRUST THEM OR DO BUSINESS WITH THEM. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.


Mark Strelecki, ACP
Atlanta, GA.

Welcome to my first-ever Blog here at Blogspot!

I've been computing and programming since 1975, and started using BBSes in 1986, but my introduction to the Internet and the Web in 1994 was a real eye opener.

I hope to post here often and regularly, but likely will do neither. Please feel free to drop me a line here or at my email address blogspot@strelecki.com if you'd like to share something.

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope to see you again soon!