Better to reinstall or fix?

Hi all,
I have a few questions (in bold below in case you want to skip ahead).
I'm having small odd troubles here & there & about once a day restarts (usually while in sleep mode) & some artifacts when playing my game, Eve-online. It all started when I downloaded W7 64 latest update. I have uninstalled it but nothing has been the same.

I also have a Momentus XT that I want to install as my boot drive. To top it off when I got the G73 it has the builders version win7 # and not the one taped to the bottom. I guess they didn't instal my OS so I'm sporting whoever did the re-manufactured test on it.

I know it's a pain but should I re-install my OS with the new bios & just start over? Back up the good stuff & just reload what I need?

Or Should I just move the current boot drive to my 2nd drive & just install my OS on the XT then remove windows from the old boot drive once I have it booting on the new drive?

One last question, I have a Lilliput 7" USB monitor from thinkgeek.com & it won't work with ATI's catalyst controller.
Can I run my ati 5800 without the catalyst stuff or is the drive for the card in it? I have not been able to find just a drive w/out Catalyst.

Thanks Brother & Sisters

 

Personally I like a good factory reset every now and then and the reason why I dont have an SSD because I need a good 1TB of partitions to store all my data on separate drives so that its easy for me to do a reset without having to reinstall everything again.

I was having some strange issues before I did a reset the other week and after spending hours trying to fix them I just reset which took 30 mins reinstalled all my drivers again 30 mins and I was running smooth.

Clean drive, clean registry, no clogged up crap. Worth doing.

I cant answer your second bit about the 7 inch usb screen - If you cant overclock it or repaste it im not your man

 

thanks for the quick reply.

If I do this, it is okay to just switch my old drive over & start with the new one as the boot?

I'm guessing that as long as I don't set the boot drive to the other drive I should be okay.

The only issue is that my my single hd in it now is partitioned into C & D. WHen I install the new hybrid hd should it become c or set it as Z and make it boot?

thanks

 

You can do a custom install and just select Drivers Only

 

Sorry I'm thick. When you say custom install & drivers only, do you mean that I would install the Win7 OS drivers only to put on the new drive & have the rest of the data run from the other older drive?
thanks

 

Not thick just learning

You have a recovery module and a factory partition you can either go into the recovery facility during boot holding F8 to bring up the boot menu to fix things like the boot sector, drivers, broken files etc or you can do a total reset by restarting and holding ALT and F9 which will load the factory recovery partition and will wipe everything on the chosen partition which will most likely be C: - My D: partition is on the same HDD but was not affected when I reset.

Chastity might be talking about resetting all the drivers to factory using the recovery disc that came with the laptop or that you created using DVD's in the recovery creation program or even some other clever master plan that my futile knowledge cannot elaborate on

 

GuruJ, I would install your new hybrid drive, and then do a fresh/clean/custom/new windows 7 install on that drive (which will become C: )

You can remove the original HDD to prevent any confusion. Once you are done use the original drive as your D drive.

That is what I would do.

 

@ValkerieFire, I like that idea. Would allow me to keep all the info & the fresh install will keep my baby running good. No worries about extra imaging or backups.

A few questions,

--I have the disk partitioned into c & d. When I install a new C drive how do I then change the old HD to D & E?


--Can I use the drivers from the old drive or should I load it all fresh into the new drive?


--I had made a list of links to do this start to end but ROG forums is dead & all my links toast. I saw Valkerie Fire's guide & wondered if I could apply that to me? (is it up to date or do I need to check for new drivers.)


--When I got my computer it was in testmode & had some OEM Reg # installed, not he one on the bottom of my computer. Should I stick with the OEM # & use the other for my wife's laptop? Would this work on a reload?


--How do I load the vid card drivers without loading Catalyst? I haven't seen then separated.


--If I'm just swapping out the HD's I really don't need to back anything up correct?


I really appreciate everyone's help. Normally I do all the research & become an expert first. I just don't have the time to learn it myself with life happening. That and the ROG forums being down ruined my back plan.

Again thanks & if anyone needs advice on anything else... I will know it & be happy to share my knowledge for yours.
Jason

 

Chastity is refering to the ATI drivers, when you run the installer, there's an Express or Custom option. If you choose Custom, you can choose to only install the drivers and not Catalyst Controller.

 

Thanks frosty. I wasn't sure but now that's crystal.

I just need the rest of the info and I'm golden to start this fresh & perfect.
Thanks all

 

When you install the 2nd hard drive windows should automatically make it the next logical drive (D,E,F, etc). You don't need to do it. Personally I don't like how Asus partitions the drives, I like one letter for each drive (not 2), partitions just complicate matters in my opinion.

[/B]I would install new ones, I guess you could use the old ones, but they are easy to install and it will prevent problems.

If you have a JH just use my guide, it will set you all up. If you have a JW or SW, use the Asus Driver web page and download all the drivers for your model. If you can find the link for your driver disk, just use that and it will do it all for you.

I would use ABR to save the old registration just in case you need it (you probably won't). Here is the link to ABR.

Assuming you have a JH (because the JW and SW don't use Catalyst), then why would you not want to use catalyst? You can download it from ATI, no reason not to.

If you install your new Hybrid drive, install windows on it, and then install your old drive, then yes you can copy all your stuff off the old drive to the new one. I wouldn't do this for programs, better to do a fresh install of everything in my opinion, unless you have Steam game backups or something. Once everything is copied over I'd format the original drive to remove the old windows install if you want.

 

Thanks for the time consuming reply, I really appreciate it!

After getting all those answers I think it's just a matter of jumping in.

The reason I don't want to use Catalyst is because I bought a Lilliput 7" side monitor. ThinkGeek :: Lilliput Mini USB Monitor

It seems that the monitor conflicts with Catalyst & there is no fix for it.

If you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask. Stock tips to recipes, I know it all.

 

Catalyst = ATi Drivers, essentially. If you're referring to Catalyst Control Center [CCC] If memory serves [and it may not, as I don't really pay too much attention outside of un-checking bloatware] the Driver install requires CCC installation as well. It does install a startup process, which can be disabled via msconfig. [windows key + R, type "msconfig" without quotes] may or may not help depending on which part of "catalyst" you're referring to.

 

Just wanted to thank everyone for the help. I finally pulled the trigger.
I installed 2gig ram now 8gb, and Momentus XT hybrid ssd.
Other then slow downloads for the iso's it has gone perfect.
Laptop boots up like my CR-48 or iPad. Love it!

I haven't seen my laptop ever so fast or using so little resources. The cpu is even using 10% less at chill & 30% at load!

Again thanks to Kalim, ValkerieFire & Chastity for their guides & the people that put up the iso for download. Thanks to all who have helped in the threads!

Jason

 

Good choice going for 8gb fella I have 8 and its more than enough and a good solid amount. I am considering picking up an XT hybrid to swap in for one of my 500GB how much space is the SSD 4gb?