reseting factory settings??

wb · 11th May 2005

heres one for ya!

my pc wont connect to my broadband ethernet cable.
when i checked it out, my device manager said that it had no driver for the usb card. but there is no driver to re-install or roll back on. the device manager recommends connecting to the internet to download updates, but i cant connect without it recognizing my ethernet connection!

not sure why it is not working as it was ok up to a week ago

if i restore the factory settings would that work??
how do i restore the pc to the way it was before my wife messed it up :( ???
any help would be appreciated :)

by the way, before anyone asks how im on the forum, im using my work computer right now!

thanks

**markwales** · 11th May 2005

If you're using XP it may be worthwhile doing a "system restore" to a date before the problem started occuring.

wb · 11th May 2005

sounds like a good idea, is it hard to do? where is system restore in xp? what does it do? does it re set everything to the way it was on the date specified?
thanks

**markwales** · 11th May 2005

Not sure exactly where it is as I'm in work using Windows NT at the moment....but it'll be 'Start', 'Accessories', 'System', 'System restore' potentially!?

Alternaitvely, I think you can access it from the Control Panel.

Basically it resets your PC to the settings that were in place on the date you restore back to.

If you have any data on the PC that has been added since that date, it's best to make a copy.......however I've never had an issue with this.

**markwales** · 11th May 2005

Yes it's easy to do, you just click the relevant restore date, and press, restore!.....it does the rest for you. Just follow any prompts on the screen.

**Win2Win** · 11th May 2005

Network drivers are automatic on XP, maybe worth running AV as well, in case some little critter has got on your system and blocking internet access as some do.

wb · 11th May 2005

sorry, im not all that computer literate, what does AV mean?

**Workshy** · 11th May 2005

Anti virus. Have you tried re-installing the internet software (you should've got a cd when you first got your internet). That cd will have everything you need. If so, follow the instructions to the letter :)

wb · 12th May 2005

:) thanks everyone,

i ran a system restore and it worked. not sure what the problem was.
(well i do actually, it was my wife messing with the computer)

thanks again

**Win2Win** · 12th May 2005

I have the Wife/Child virus attack mine when I'm not looking. My daughter has a habit of clicking any button on any boxes that appear. Hence they have a basic system setup just for them :D It usually carries more viruses than a biolab!!

**eastyorkshireracing** · 12th May 2005

My Mrs has a box clicking habit too. On her machine you go to explorer and you cannot see anything for the flippin' search toolbars

I have to clean her machine up for her at least once a week. Because it is always full of spyware and general rubbish from clicking them little boxes. I have given up telling her not to click them.....

Gordon

**Win2Win** · 12th May 2005

Strange that, mine goes deaf when your explaining something more technical than finger nails

**eastyorkshireracing** · 12th May 2005

You wanna try sorting out my wife's box sometime

Gordon

**Win2Win** · 12th May 2005

You wanna try sorting out my wife's box sometime

OI!! Less of that

**MarcusMel** · 12th May 2005

I keep thinking it would be nice to have a CD your initial PC system setup on it which is an exact copy of your hard drive. When anything goes wrong or you suspect something has gone wrong you just restore the hard drive to its origional setting (factory default

) While XP does something like this - it is still corruptable.

With this you would not care what virus or cookie or advert software was on your PC as on closing down the PC you restore everything back to the way it was removing all virus's etc.

wb · 12th May 2005

there you go marcusMel, patent that idea, you might become the next bill gates, and buy all the bookies

**John** · 12th May 2005

Good idea Marcus, that is what they do with databases in the real world. They create differential (update) backups say, every half hour, and full backups daily. When a fault occurs, they just roll back to the fault and restore it from there.

Having the same idea with a computer hard drive could be implemented, only, you'd need to have a big disk. :)

**eastyorkshireracing** · 12th May 2005

Originally Posted by MarcusMel

I keep thinking it would be nice to have a CD your initial PC system setup on it which is an exact copy of your hard drive. When anything goes wrong or you suspect something has gone wrong you just restore the hard drive to its origional setting (factory default

) While XP does something like this - it is still corruptable.

With this you would not care what virus or cookie or advert software was on your PC as on closing down the PC you restore everything back to the way it was removing all virus's etc.

Norton Ghost does that, in fact, it "Does what it says on the tin....."

Gordon

***GlosRFC*** · 12th May 2005

Not sure the idea is patentable - not only is it impossible to patent an "idea" (although the EEC are actually contemplating the introduction of such a ludicrous concept) - but there is already a host of software available which will actually do what Marcus suggests. Drive Image is one such example which will take a complete snapshot of your disk drives and burn the contents to CD/DVD. Most PC manufacturers will also supply a factory-settings CD but the advantage of doing it yourself is that you can retain all those tweaks you've made to your system such as disabling the accessibility options, mail contact lists, bookmarks, program installations, etc.

Or, as EYR just pointed out, Norton Ghost is another example :D