Hard disk drive recovery c full - help!  

Well Done.

Good afternoon, I hope you are still here
Firstly I want to apologise as i hope I haven't messed up . I did not recieve your message whs (hello and thanks!) until after i had connected to the internet and installed microsoft security. I had taken the link as the go ahead.

Thanks so far for all your help, I have to say it's really rewarding doing it yourself.

Anyway, I had paid for 1 year of virus protection when i purchased the laptop from Dell last April, so it should still have had a couple of months left on it but i'll be honest i can't remember whether it was Norton or not. So like whs said there is a possibility there are traces of that still...

I don't know if this is any help or not but I have attached snips which i thought might help you see if everything is as it should be. Obviously let me know please if you need any further info, or if I do need to uninstall microsoft security.

Many thanks! (I won't be back on here for a few hours now just to let you know)

Hi niccih and welcome back. Glad to see you're back online. In looking at your snips, it appears that (a) you've successfully reinstalled your Windows 7 and (b) your control panel > programs and features only shows two installed programs ... Microsoft Security Essentials and Adobe Flash. Did you happen to look through your newly created start menu > all programs to see if you have any other antivirus or antispyware listed? If you do, let us know and we can probably steer you in the right direction for an uninstaller.

From your Adobe Flash version it looks like it's seriously out of date. The latest version is 10.2.152.32 and if it's not updated you could be leaving your computer open to some security issues. Don't try to uninstall the old one from the control panel. Use the official Adobe uninstaller here:

Uninstall Flash Player | Windows

Then you can reinstall the latest version from here (don't forget to uncheck the free Google toolbar offer if you don't want it):

Adobe - Install a different version of Adobe Flash Player

Since a lot of websites use flash content I think this should be a priority. Once that's done let us know what else you want to do and we can offer some advice or moral support. :)

Can you post a screenshot of Device Manager?

Hi,
I have installed the newest Adobe Flash Player, and hope I have successfully uninstalled the old version. I've attached a snip, hopefully this will be of use to you to confirm that. I have attached also Device Manager for Theog (hello!).
I'm still not sure whether I have any other old virus protection on here, I can't see anything obvious but really wouldn't know if i was missing anything. I checked my old list of all programs as suggested but don't see any. Could it have been uninstalled last time I unsuccessfully tried to reinstall windows?

I don't know if there is anything else I need to do... I can't think of anything. Really I'm just clueless on computers about what I should update and how often. For example, the Adobe flash player I would have had no idea I had to update it. Perhaps if someone would be kind enough to just tell me what I should be updating on a regular basis and where I get the updates so i can keep my laptop in tip top condition.

Thanks so much for all of your help :)

Niccih:

You’ve done very well and received good advice.

Get Windows updated per WHS’s advice.

These would then be major areas left to consider. I would probably attack them in this order:

1: Possibly dividing your hard drive into 2 partitions. It’s entirely optional, but many on this forum do it. It’s easily done. You would then put your data on the new second partition rather than on C. All that would be on C would be Windows and your programs.

2: Configure a few things like System Restore, Windows Update, Windows Firewall, Hibernation, and Microsoft Security Essentials.

3: Restoring your data from your external drive after you decide about #1 above.

4: Possibly downloading and installing a second free program to protect against “malware” as opposed to viruses. This is also optional, but I’d guess most on this forum do so.

5: Develop and implement a backup strategy for Windows and for your data, likely using Macrium for the Windows portion.

I second everything WHS said. Especially the part about getting a system image and a repair disk (which will be a part of the system image process regardless of which imaging tool you decide to use.)

Other than getting a system image sooner rather than later, there's no pressure that you HAVE to install other programs right away. A lot of times you'll discover quite by accident that you need a certain program. It's perfectly OK to wait until you need something and then install it. If you're not sure about something you can always ask other questions here at Seven Forums.

On a personal note, you are not clueless. You are a very capable and adventurous person who sailed through a difficult task with flying colors. As far as knowing when or if a program needs to be updated, look at your snip of Programs and Features. The right column is called Version. Most of the installed programs will have a version number. You could go to that program's website and see if you have the latest version. Or you could use another freebie called Secunia. Under Products (upper left on their home page) is something called Online Software Inspector. You can let them scan your computer periodically to see if anything is outdated. Nothing is installed on your computer with OSI. Or you could install their free PSI program that has a larger data base of programs. For right now, I think the OSI would do you well.

Secunia.com

Take your time, don't rush into something, and ask questions. You've done a really great job! Don't be a stranger here.