My computer is a 4 year old IBM NetVista Pentuim III with a 20 GB hard drive (10.3 GB free) running Windows ME. The computer is used for basic home computing (e.g. email, internet, and word processing). No serious gaming or anything like that. The computer has recently been very slow. It is very slow on startup, and often freezes when loading Norton Internet Security. Frequently, NIS doesn’t load at all, causing problems accessing email and internet, so a restart is required. The main issue is with the slow speed of the computer, and regular freezing. Sometimes this will involve green striped lines across the screen (two thirds of the way up) which requires a cold reboot. Other times software just freezes. I suspect the best remedy is a hard disk reformat and start again. However, I am not sure how to go about this confidently and ensure that my software and files can all safely be reloaded. I also think installing a larger hard disk might be sensible. My current computer maintenance includes using NIS, ZoneAlarm, weekly virus scans, regular running Spybot and Ad-Aware, running Disk Defragmenter once a week, and regularly backing up all my important files to a CD. Can you give some pointers on the best way to proceed, and if I need to see a computer technician, how to select a good one?

I’m quite impressed by the amount of maintenance you do on your computer - you would put most other computer users to shame! As you have discovered though, many computer problems are not the fault of the user but are a by-product of many years of system usage. Before we start on cleaning up the computer, one point I noticed is you are running NIS and ZoneAlarm together. Running two firewalls like this is unnecessary and can potentially cause problems with the firewalls conflicting with each other. Since you paid for NIS (which incorporates the Norton Firewall) you can probably stick with this product and uninstall ZoneAlarm. Check if this solves the problem of NIS not loading. If not, you may wish to consider reinstalling NIS to see if that solves the problem.

As you have been experiencing freezes in both Windows and programs, a sensible solution would be to format and reinstall the entire operating system. As you mentioned, you must make sure all important files (including email) are backed-up prior to embarking on this procedure, since all data on your computer will be destroyed. The best way to accomplish this task is by copying the files to CD. However, I strongly suggest you make multiple backup CDs (in case one of the CDs becomes lost or damaged) and ensure all the files are complete and correct on each copy. You should also make sure you have the original CDs for all software you wish to reinstall, plus any driver CDs for other devices you have installed on your computer (e.g. printers).

Once you have all your backups done, you will need to consider the process of reinstalling Windows. As you have a brand name machine, the reinstallation process should be relatively easy. Most brand name machines come with either a recovery CD or a hidden recovery partition (on the hard drive) which will automatically restore your computer to a factory default state (i.e. formatting the hard drive and reinstalling Windows). Because these CDs/partitions are designed for a model/series of computers, they will often install any necessary hardware drivers for hardware which came installed with the computer, although this is not always the case (there may be a separate CD with the computer for this purpose). In any case, you will be able to find information on using the recovery CD/partition in the manual which came with your computer.

Should you not be comfortable completing this process yourself, you may wish to go to a computer technician to complete the process for you. This may be easier anyway, since you want to have a second hard drive installed. Just make sure you provide the technician with any recovery CDs, or inform them about the recovery partition on your computer.

There are a few things you should lookout for when choosing a computer technician. Firstly, make sure they have been established for a while and have a good reputation. Occasionally there are some fly-by-night operators whose technical skills and business motivations are questionable. Secondly, you must get a quote before allowing them to do any work. This protects both yourself and the technician, as you know exactly how much you will be up for before the work starts.