Quote:
|
Originally Posted by ChileMass 1 - what should I do in advance about backing stuff up that I want to keep? Should I try to do this myself or pay to have the "PC Doctor" do it? I'm capable of burning my own CDs, so I'm guessing that will take care of it. |
Depending on how much data you have, you might be able to put it on CDs. Probably a better solution would be to pick a a second hard drive and backup all data to that. They're simple to install. Chances are any EIDE hard drive will work unless it's a new machine with SATA drives. What model is the PC? Don't forget about backing up things like bookmarks, address books, Email, etc...
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by ChileMass 2 - are there any particular PC Doctor/housecall geeks in the Framingham/Worcester area that anyone knows of that are reputable and don't charge $300/hr? Some of the quotes I have gotten are high ($165-275/hour plus any applicable software). Are any of the national service providers (esp Geeks on Call) any good? |
If I was closer I would do it for you. It's not hard to reformat and reinstall Windows. It's simply a matter of booting to a Windows CD, reformatting the partition and reinstalling. The end result is a nice clean stock Windows installation. You'll then need to update it and reinstall all your applications.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by ChileMass 3 - I originally got my installation of MS Office (XP Pro 2003) from a former employer and do not have the disk. A new MS Office package at Staples is $400. There are a zillion discount software vendors online that offer cheap versions of Office, but I don't want to get ripped off by buying a copy that is illegal and can't be upgraded. Any recommendations for a software source that is reliable, legal and cheap? |
I'm not sure of your working environment right now, but if you use Office at work, that license entitles you to install a copy of it at home. Check with your IT guys at work.