Perpetual Ruminations

Sunday

I've been putting things back on my laptop computer after doing a factory reset. It was running so very slow, messing up all the time, and just didn't seem to have enough memory left. I have a good antivirus and it couldn't find anything, I have an anti ad-ware program and it's updated and run frequently, and I have a tune-up program I use all the time, but none of them could speed up this older laptop, and none of them could restore memory.

So, I decided to make some backups and then reset the computer back to what it was when I purchased it. After the task was done, it started up quickly and the first thing I did was to put my anti virus program back on. The first thing it found was my Windows 7 was out of date and needed some security updates. Of course, there have been a lot of updates since I purchased this computer.

I clicked the install button and it did a search and found something like 89 updates available and recommended. I clicked the button to download and install them, and that took most of the rest of that first day, Wednesday. I had them all downloaded and installed about the time we got ready to head off to bed. I seen there was a notice on my anti virus, so I looked at it. More Windows updates had been found.

I took a few minutes to look this notice over, and the log indicated the last batch of updates had downloaded and installed. Now, at this point my system needed additional updates, and these were the ones now indicated. I went into Windows Update on my computer and ran that, and it confirmed the same, another 185 updates were available, and required for security reasons. I should add here, I am not 100% positive on the exact numbers I am giving out, I didn't record them, but could look in the log file and get the exact amounts. I do know, however, that my estimates here are very close.

So, with almost two hundred more updates needed, I went back into my anti virus program and once again let it download and install these needed updates. While my computer updated, I went to bed and slept. The next day, after work, I looked, and my system was ready to reboot. I shut down, restarted, and soon I was up and running. I was eager to start putting programs back on my computer so I could use it again. But, I soon discovered I needed seven or eight updates. These would not take long, so I downloaded and installed these. Again, I had to restart my machine.

And, after it was up and running, it informed me I needed to install a service pack update for Windows 7. I did, and after it finished it restarted my computer and informed me I needed to update my Internet Explorer to 11. I followed the link, and soon enough I had the new Internet Explorer, too. Only, I had limited sleep the night before, needed to get to bed, and so just shut down and got myself some sleep.

By Saturday, after work, I was once again ready to install my programs and start using my laptop.  I did have to do some stuff on the van, so I started the computer, and after Windows was running, seen I had to install another eighty some updates. So, again I let my anti virus program do the work while I messed with the van. It took a while to complete, and by last yesterday evening, I finally had this last batch of downloads installed. Another shut done and start up, then check and see. Finally I was not getting any messages that my system needed updating. I downloaded a couple of the programs I wanted to install, activated Office 365 and reinstalled it, then did a backup of everything at this point.

I wanted to have a complete back up of the system with the programs I had set up, and all the updates to Windows, so if I ever have to do this again, I won't have to take three days and over three hundred updates before I can add the items I want. I was beginning to wonder if the slowness and shortness of memory were all problems from all these updates. But, today I ended up with the day off and have been installing browsers and a few other items, and the computer seems to be doing fine.

Along with my re-installing browsers, I set up to syn my bookmarks on Chrome and transferred them over to Firefox. I have been checking to make sure they are all here, and work. So, I decided, since I had logged in already, to write this up early today. Finally, I made my entry before bedtime. Even better, I'm back on my laptop. I still have a lot of installing to do, but the worst is over. I just hope, after everything is back on here, that it continues to run fast and not have all the problems it did in the past.