Arrrrgggghhhhhh

After a few weeks of getting fed up with my computer not working properly, I finally decided to re-install windows xp. After about a week of making sure I had all my data backed up (including stuff like email which sneakily hides in the Application Data folders, and things that are easy to forget like the iTunes library), I took the plunge and re-formatted my hard drive.

Getting windows back onto the computer was childs play. Getting everything else to work was the problem. It took a lot of fiddling to get my ADSL wireless Internet connection to start working again. I can now access the web, but AVG can't get to it's servers to run an update... I'll come back to that later. Now it's back to the fun job of re-installing all my applications and getting them configured the way I like them.

Update: 12:15pm
I decided to update AVG by downloading the installer again from their web site. Zone Alarm also demanded an update. Time for re-boot number 4 before I continue...

Update: 1:30pm and re-boot number 5!
Trying to install MS Word... I inserted the Works Suite CD which came with my PC and told it to install Word. It immediately decided to reboot my computer first, without any prompt and with no warning greater than a vague 'may reboot your computer after install'. I only wanted to install Word and Autoroute, but was forced to accept crap like Works and PhoneSync which I never use. About to take the brave step of clicking on 'Exit Setup' and hope I don't have to wait for another reboot...

Update: 2:25pm
Decide to take a break for the rest of the day. I've got Firefox and Thunderbird reinstalled and copied my settings and emails back over, so my computer is just about useable now. I'll install anything else as and when I need it...