Solved repair install

[gregrocker]

I've never heard of a wireless keyboard and mouse not starting with Windows. Usually it's only an unneeded bloatware package trying to start up, and FYI this software is the cause of frequent problems.

How do these devices boot and navigate your disks if they need software running?

 

[F5ing]

If it's the Logitech stuff I've seen, there is mouse/keyboard functionality without it, but none of the enhanced features of the two would be available until these apps were manually started.

 

[drpepper]

I phrased that part wrong. I wasn't expecting to need to include details. Since I purchased the mouse and keyboard as a combo, I consider them to be one piece of hardware. I know that they aren't, but I have not trained myself to thinks of them as separate pieces. Part of my wireless functions have to be manually enabled if not included in start up. I inadvertently press cap lock from time to time which is real irritating if I am looking at something in hard copy form while typing. Cap lock and num lock notifications don't work without having Logitech programs enabled at start up. The wireless keyboard does not have indicator lights. The positioning of the indicator lights and their icons on the laptop is not such that I can determine which of the lights (cap lock or num lock) is on without moving my head around to get the proper light angle to tell which is activated. I also have not been able to use my custom hot keys without the Logitech software running. Maybe I am doing something wrong, but that is my experience.

Before purchasing the mouse/keyboard combo, the laptop gave me fits. The smaller keyboard made typos too common. The touchpad caused too many problems from accidentally contacting it while typing. I resolved that issue by disabling tap to click, but that disabled other touchpad functions I wished to use. It looks like I am between the rock and the hard place with the ease of use versus your referenced frequent problems.

 

[F5ing]

The point is to have the minimum starting automatically on boot and keep it that way. If it's something you feel you need right after every boot, then fine, you would be starting it on your own everytime anyway. It's all the other crap that's always trying to get into that same "autostart" category that you want to keep out of there.

Is it Logitech Setpoint software that you are using? Make sure you are using the updated version of it. I think that would be 6.22, some of the earlier versions were known to be problematic.

Bottom line, it's your own satisfaction you're trying to achieve. If you feel you need it, and can live with it, then keep it.

 

[drpepper]

F5ing,

Yes, it is Logitech Setpoint for 64-bit. The version is 6.10.55.0 which was shown as the current version when I checked for updates a few days ago.The combo is MK550 if that makes any difference.

I just checked for updates and found version 6.32, which I installed. I make it a practice to check for updates weekly and had myself scheduled to check Saturday.

 

[F5ing]

Well, looks like you're set then. As long as you don't have a problem with the extra time it takes to boot with that loading, it doesn't interfere with w7 or any of your other programs, and it provides the functionality you "require".

By the way, that's the kind of software I wouldn't worry too much about keeping up to date. There are no security issues to worry about. As long as it's functioning well and error free in your system, and don't need the extra features that may be provided by a newer version, you may as well leave it alone rather than taking the chance on a newer version. Especially if it's a brand new version that's not yet well distributed amongst many users (and therefore not widely tested).

I just mentioned it to begin with because I had heard of some of the earlier versions causing problems. Something I typically pay attention to when working on someone else's machine that has it.

 

[drpepper]

Thanks for the explanation. I searched for info on previous versions and found that some of the 5.x versions of Setpoint had some issues and the 6.x seems to be trouble free. Without the usefulness of the larger keyboard and a real mouse I prefer the old XP desktop for home use. I willingly deal with the laptop's shortcomings when away from home to allow me to use a computer configured to my preferences. My preliminary intended use for the laptop was to be at school until I used Win7 for awhile. Now I use the laptop as my primary computer because of Win7.

My cold boot time is in the 20-30 second range. I have no complaints with that. I suppose that I could trim another 5-10 seconds, but that is not significant to me. Virtually all the other computers I have ever used take around a minute or more, some as long as five minutes, but those are not my machines.

 

[F5ing]

I searched for info on previous versions and found that some of the 5.x versions of Setpoint had some issues and the 6.x seems to be trouble free.

Yeah, that seems to be along the lines of what I remember. I recall rolling back some PC's I was fixing back to some 4.x version when 5.x was out. But there was usually a lot more I was doing with those machines so I'm unsure how bad 5.x really was. Nowadays I just make sure it's up to 6.x when I run across a machine with it.

My cold boot time is in the 20-30 second range. I have no complaints with that. I suppose that I could trim another 5-10 seconds, but that is not significant to me. Virtually all the other computers I have ever used take around a minute or more, some as long as five minutes, but those are not my machines.

Those 5 minute boot machines obviously need work, and probably not just booting. I'd bet there are plenty of other issues just using them after they're up.

Keep up your images/backups as your system changes and you're all set....

 

[drpepper]

I constantly remind myself about two friend's computers I tackled to speed them up. The computers had not been maintained with routine security scans, updates, backups, and file maintenance. They were a nightmare for me because of my limited knowledge and experience at the time, but I learned a whole bunch by taking on the tasks. The same friends have complained within six months of problems again because of lack of routine maintenance.

That was enough to make me maintain my machines despite the extra time involved to stay with a routine.

 

[drpepper]

by the way ... in addition to the comments about keeping my computer running fast in the previous post...

There is one other area I keep an eye on at least twice a week, Ccleaner. For the past two days I have spent over eight hours per day in internet research and further tweaking of my libraries. My system was Ccleaned the day before doing that work. A fresh run of Ccleaner found over 700MB of assorted temporary files to be removed. That kind of stuff can really build up over time and slow things down significantly.

 

[F5ing]

I keep user data on all my machines on separate partitions so that the OS/apps are own their own partitions. User data is continously backed up to other media, the OS/apps are only imaged after relatively significant changes. Because of this setup I sometimes go a full month without imaging. There's really no need to if I've only done OS/app updates. If I had added apps or made significant changes to OS/app settings I'll image more often.

That setup can help in determining the true effectiveness of these cleanup activities. In order to reduce the size of the images (and the time it takes) you'd want to get rid of all the temporary/dead files before making the image, but there have been times I've held off the cleaning for many months, on heavily used machines, just to see how effective the cleaning actually is. I'm often amazed at how tolerant the Windows OS's really have been.

If you refrain from installing apps willy nilly, don't allow installs via family members/guests, and treat your network/machines more like corporations handle their networks you'll find yourself much better off. Instead of spending time trying to recover from some mess, invest the time in researching the stuff you will install and I think you'll find it takes a lot less work/time to manage your systems. When you do install (or update) pay close attention to the process and make sure it proceeds like you expect it to and without the add-on useless "freeware" crap they sometimes try to get you to take. And apart from hardware failures you may find that you never need to revert to any of your saved images or doing any reinstalls.

Oh, one last thing: always know ahead of time how to undo what you just did. Otherwise you may find you'll have to learn to live with the consequences, regardless of how it turns out.

You can learn a lot if you have access to some expendable hardware.

 

[drpepper]

You can learn a lot if you have access to some expendable hardware.

If things work according to plan, I will be getting an test (sacrificial) computer on the cheap this summer.I suppose that is what you mean by "expendable hardware."

Oh, one last thing: always know ahead of time how to undo what you just did. Otherwise you may find you'll have to learn to live with the consequences, regardless of how it turns out.

That is one of the reasons I attempt to fully understand every task I undertake.

One of the procedures I have never dealt with is segregating user data from OS and applications on the same drive. The closest thing I have done is to use an external drive attached via USB for seldom used (but important to me) data. Maybe the test machine will be a good platform for me to use for checking that out.

 

[F5ing]

You can learn a lot if you have access to some expendable hardware.

If things work according to plan, I will be getting an test (sacrificial) computer on the cheap this summer.I suppose that is what you mean by "expendable hardware."

Yes. All the better if you know of any folks looking to get rid of their old machines. Even if there's some bad hardware in there you might be able to get that part from another "donated" machine. Become familiar with any local computer parts stores around you. Some sell used parts very cheap (usually a "no returns" policy though).

Oh, one last thing: always know ahead of time how to undo what you just did. Otherwise you may find you'll have to learn to live with the consequences, regardless of how it turns out.

That is one of the reasons I attempt to fully understand every task I undertake.

One of the procedures I have never dealt with is segregating user data from OS and applications on the same drive. The closest thing I have done is to use an external drive attached via USB for seldom used (but important to me) data. Maybe the test machine will be a good platform for me to use for checking that out.

Check out the tutorials here written by forum members, including some by the guy that helped you in this thread, gregrocker:

Tutorials - Windows 7 Forums

The second thread in there contains a searchable (Ctrl-F) index:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/257-windows-7-tutorial-index.html

Although I've never gone through any of the tutorials on user folders or accounts in detail, they appear to be written such that even the very inexperienced user can benefit from them.

The first thing you'll probably have to get done is to make an image of your working machine and then work on creating another partition for the user data.

 

[drpepper]

sounds like a good job to try out on the test manchine