hi mag
re "Now that machine is stable (knock on wood) I have a real fear of changing it"
interesting point of view, that. and one shared by many, for certain. but not me. <g3>
now that your machine is stable, the time is right to change things. changing things while unstable is what causes grief. but when you get things running smooth, then add one program, you know right away where to look if things get crashy on you again.
i hasten to add, a couple of broad steps must be taken to give yourself the very best chances for success when reintroducing systemworks. these steps break down into two main categories... good system maintenance, and good install procedure.
to quickly illustrate what i feel is a common occurrence, someone gets right up to the point that you are at now (stable pc), then they forge ahead with an install of new software (systemworks) without clearing cache and defragging and turning off background applications, etc. on reboot, the puter begins acting funky again and guess what gets blamed? yep. the software. when all along, good preparation and procedure were not adhered to. imo, this little scenario repeats itself time and again, and it sort of perpetuates the idea that, "Now that machine is stable (knock on wood) I have a real fear of changing it".
imo, once you begin understanding and practicing good system maintenance standards, the prospects of adding new software are no longer threatening. and btw, one very good feature of norton systemworks is its cleansweep component, that has an uninstaller that is almost without equal, it is so good. the idea is to allow cleansweep to monitor every software install you perform. then, in the event that you change your mind and want to get rid of the software, cleansweep knows exactly where each .dll file resides and is able to completely uninstall them without leaving a trace. the windows add/remove feature, otoh, leaves lots of residual files scattered about that can be a problem down the road. i use the uninstall feature of systemworks regularly and point to it as a major component in the suite of tools provided by norton.
sorry for the long ramble, mag. i hope you don't mind me taking all this out on you <g3>. above all, let me say that i recognize that everyone has their own way of doing things and their own comfort zone, and that i only offer up my theories and practices on a 'take what you think you'll need' basis.
hope this helps
:)
mark |
