Computer nightmare please help!!!?

Question

I have to download everything, because i am getting a new computer--I have never downloaded anything in my life--i am terrified, I've had this for 5 years. please be helpful--

Answer 1

You will only be able to recover the data files from the older computer. You will not be able to reuse the software unless you have the original installation disks. The best way to do this is to create a network connection between the two devices and transfer the folders and files from the old computer to the new. Or you can remove the hard drive from the older computer and install it in the newer computer. You could then copy the files you need and then reinstall the old drive back in the original unit.

Answer 2

You mean you want to transfer your old documents to the new computer? If you don't mind forking out a bit of dough you can do this quite easily with kits. 5 year old computer? Still would be Windows XP, right?

So XP to XP connection is really simple, you just need a program for transfer protocol.

The best thing to remember when you get a new PC is you really don't need most of the stuff you think you do. This doesn't always hold true for people that love to do editing or need to keep business very important business records, but there is still a TON of stuff on your computer that you really don't need.

My advice to you is to find all the stuff you know you're going to move to your new computer and save it all into one new folder. That way when your new system does arrive you'll have the hands down hardest part out of the way. From there you can save those files to CD, transfer them over a network, save them to the internet, use a number of high volume data storage devices (Flash Drives, ZIP Drives, ect) or get a serial/usb/ethernet (all types of ports on your computer) file transfer kit (shouldn't be more than $25 at a computer/electronics store.

If you're in desperate need to keep everything, you can even have a professional implant your old hard drive into the new PC (its not even that difficult, but you seem a bit timid about this.) I don't know exactly how much this would cost you -- it really depends on who's doing it. If I was near you I'd do it for like 10 bucks =P

My Advice to you -- Keep any recent important business documents, any favorite downloaded movies/music/pictures, and any other commonly used documents and load them onto a CD and when the new computer comes it will litterally take 3 minutes to unload that all back.

Answer 3

I think you mean you want to transfer everything from your old computer to the new one. There are a number of programs that allow you to connect the computers with a cable and transfer data directly from one to the other. These include products like LapLink and FastLynx. Once you get the files transferred, you might want to hold onto your old box for a month or so to make sure you didn't miss anything. If your old box is Windows XP and the new owner is in the family (as opposed to selling the old box on eBay or something) you might ask them to just make a new account on the box and leave your old one intact for a while in case you need to retrieve something.

In any case, I'd strongly advise you to also use this opportunity to back up anything important to CD and store it in a safe place. Hard disks fail on occassion, and it's best if you have a backup in case something happens to your new machine.

Answer 4

Keeping in ur mind that u never downloaded anything to ur computer u must follow these things:

1) 1st of all you should have a good antivirus which can protect ur computer from virus's attack (virus can crash your system, delete ur important data & even can do some wrong this with ur BIOS-motherboard.) Good software are like: AVG, Avast & e-trust which are available free.

2) U must have a firewall like-Zonelab (it's available free) which can protect ur computer from hackers & other online threats.

3) Never ever go to il-legal website bcoz most of shuch websites are infected from viruses.

4) Whenver u r going to download anything use Download manager. It can speed up ur downloading software/songs & htere are some features like pause & start.

5) Scan ur system atleast 1 times a week.

6) Update ur operating system as far as possible.

That's all.
Best of luck & enjoy.

Answer 5

hey I'm here to help! first do be so nervous about downloading!
now a days computer come w/ software already in the hard drive.

and all you have to do is lick on the icon and type in your personal info IE: name address and such.

I can give you a helpful hint.
Set your computer for automatic downloading:

1. in media player choose options from tools menu to display the options dialogue box and click the privacy tab

2. select this check box to retrieve data from the album

Answer 6

Uhmm huh? Download everything??? :-\
I only have one suggestion...Manually Scan EVERYTHING you download BEFORE opening it!!!!
A very good Antivirus and Anti-Hacker(firewall) program is Kaspersky Personal...I use both as well as a Router for Internet Protection against the bad guys...
Do some researching on Internet Security as well...worth the time now instead of after you're infected...much easier to prevent infection than getting rid of it after your computer's been infected!!!

Answer 7

Downloading, or installing?

"Downloading" is when you get something off of the internet. "Installing" could be from a CD or DVD or diskette or even the internet....

I am guessing you need help installing things...

Well, my personal opinion is that the best way to deal with these things is as you go along.

Answer 8

Well secuity must be your first priority so click on these safe links below to get things you dont have installed on your new pc when it arrives.

To download any thing you just follow the instructions on the web page and be causious dont just download everything as some people will give you bad advice and you need to be diligant in what you do. When installing the software you will get instructions wgat to do, just read and dont be in a hurry.

Security. make sure you look at the 20 best from download.com at the bootom of this, there is good information there.

Antiviral. (free)

AVG free. Excellent protection available from: http://www.Grisoft.com

Don't use two antiviral products together as they may be incompatible. If your Antiviral trial has run out, then remove product from your computer and get the AVG installed.

Anti-spyware (all free)

Essential products are: Adaware SE from: http://www.lavasoft.com

Spybot SD http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html

Spywareblaster http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Windows Defender - from Microsoft downloads.

Spycatcher
http://www.tenebril.com/consumer/spyware/spycatcher-express.php
Ewido http://www.ewido.com

PC starter kit at download.com 20 of the best recommended programes for people new or less advanced in computers. Check all three pages, at bottom see Security/Tools/Fun

http://www.download.com/PC-Starter-Kit/2001-12350_4-0.html?tag=dir

C Cleaner. http://www.ccleaner.com/

This will tell you a lot about what is on your computer, such as running programmes,cookies, History, settings etc. and will help you clean up and remove unwanted items. Be careful how you use it as it is a very powerful programme and you should read the help index before you do anything with it.
If you dont have Microsoft Office, get this free product, it is very good.
Open Office has an extremely good free to use and distribute product at http://www.openoffice.org

It contains programmes fully functional in Word-processing, Database, Spreadsheets, Drawing and Presentation. It looks and feels like Microsoft Office and can even make PDF's
OpenOffice.org is more than a collection of five superb tools.
Unlike some competitors, this suite was not created from a collection of separate pieces of software. From the start, it was designed as one complete office package.
All the packages have a similar 'look and feel' making them very easy to use, with common 'learn once use everywhere' tools like the Styles and Formatting. OpenOffice.org takes its 'look and feel' from your computer - if you change your desktop, OpenOffice.org will change to match.
The same tools are used consistently across the suite - for example, the tools you use to work with graphics within Writer are also found in Impress and Draw.
You don't need to know which application was used to create a particular file - you can 'File Open' any OpenOffice.org file from anywhere and the correct application will be launched.
All the packages share a common spell-checker, etc.; and if you change an 'Option' in one package, it's changed in them all.
Information can be transferred easily between all the packages.
All the components save in OpenDocument format, the new international standard for office documents. This XML based format offers substantial disk savings compared to common competitors' formats. It also means you can access your data from any OpenDocument compliant software.
All the packages are installed in one single operation, using the installation process you are used to on your computer.
All the packages are released under the same open licensing model - there are no hidden charges now or in the future.
Everything you need in an office productivity suite

If you are in to digital photography, get thes two products.
Picasso. http://www.picasa.google.com/
Find and enjoy the pictures on your computer in seconds.
A free software download from Google.

Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organised by date with folder names you will recognize. You can drag and drop to arrange your albums and make labels to create new groups. Picasa makes sure your pictures are always organised.

Picasa also makes advanced editing simple by putting one-click fixes and powerful effects at your fingertips. And Picasa makes it a snap to share your pictures – you can email, print photos home, make gift CDs, instantly share via Hello™, and even post pictures on your own blog.

For advanced and fully functional photographic manipulation gimp2 is very similar to Photoshop and is available from http://www.gimp.org

The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) is a freely distributed piece of software suitable for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It is a powerful piece of software with capabilities not found in any other free software product. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, and an image format converter.
Browsers and E-mail programmes.

Can recommend Firefox for browsing and has many safety features installed and is self updating.

A Better Web Experience
Firefox 1.5 has an intuitive interface and blocks viruses, spyware, and popup ads. It delivers Web pages faster than ever. And it’s easy to install and import your favorites. Packed with useful features like tabbed browsing, Live Bookmarks, and an integrated Search bar, Firefox will change the way you experience the Web, for the better.
Faster Browsing
Enjoy quick page loading as you navigate back and forward in a browsing session. Improvements to the engine that powers Firefox deliver more accurate display of complex Web sites, support for new Web standards, and better overall performance.
Automatic Updates
The new Software Update feature makes it easy to get the latest security and feature updates to Firefox. Firefox automatically downloads these small updates in the background and prompts you when they are ready to be installed.
Tabbed Browsing
Use tabbed browsing to open multiple Web pages in a single browser window, and quickly flip back and forth. Drag and drop open tabs to keep related pages together.
Improved Pop-up Blocking
Firefox’s built-in pop-up blocker has been enhanced to block more unwanted pop-up and pop-under ads.
Integrated Search
Tap into the power of the Web’s most popular search engines with the built-in Search bar, and easily add new engines.
Stronger Security
Firefox keeps you more secure when you’re browsing the Web, closing the door on spyware, worms, and viruses. The Firefox community of developers and security experts works around the clock to monitor security issues and release updates to better protect you.
Clear Private Data
Protect your privacy with the new Clear Private Data tool. With a single click, you can delete all personal data, including browsing history, cookies, Web form entries and passwords.
Live Bookmarks
Stay up to date with your favorite Web sites and blogs. Use Live Bookmarks that update themselves automatically with the latest content from the Web.
Accessibility
Firefox 1.5 delivers easier navigation for everyone, including those who are visually or motor-impaired. Firefox is the first browser to support DHTML accessibility, which, when enabled by Web authors, allows rich Web applications to be read aloud. Users may navigate with keystrokes rather than mouse clicks, reducing the tabbing required to navigate documents such as spreadsheets. Firefox 1.5 (Windows version) is also the first browser to meet US federal government requirements that software be easily accessible to users with physical impairments.
Customize Firefox
Select new button controls for your toolbars, install extensions to add new features, or change the look of your browser with themes - the way Firefox looks and works is under your control.
Next Generation Web Support
Innovative new Web applications and services deliver a richer Web experience. Support for open Web standards in Firefox ensures you can get the most out of this emerging class of Web-based tools.




and for a general e-mail programme,(non-web based)

Thunderbird is very good. Go to: http://www.mozilla.com/products/

Full-Featured Email
Simple to use, powerful, and customizable, Thunderbird is a full-featured email application. Thunderbird supports IMAP and POP mail protocols, as well as HTML mail formatting. Easily import your existing email accounts and messages. Built-in RSS capabilities, powerful quick search, spell check as you type, global inbox, deleting attachments and advanced message filtering round out Thunderbird's modern feature set.
Junk Mail Filters
Each email you receive passes through Thunderbird's leading-edge junk mail filters. Each time you mark messages as spam, Thunderbird improves its filtering so you can spend more time reading the mail that matters. Thunderbird will also use your mail provider's spam filters to keep junk mail out of your inbox.
Anti-Phishing Protection
Thunderbird protects you from increasingly common email scams—also known as “phishing”—which try to fool you into handing over your passwords and other personal information. Thunderbird will tell you when it thinks a message might be a scam.
Advanced Security
Thunderbird provides enterprise and government grade security features including S/MIME, digital signing, message encryption, support for certificates and security devices. Attachments are never run without your express permission, protecting you from many worms and viruses.
Automatic Updates
The new Software Update feature makes it easy to get the latest security and feature updates to Thunderbird. Thunderbird automatically downloads these small updates in the background and prompts you when they are ready to be installed.
Customize Thunderbird
Select new button controls for your toolbars, install extensions to add new features, or change the look of your browser with themes—the way Thunderbird looks and works is under your control.

Finally for a bit of fun look at this.

Have a look at Calendar Magic, http://www.stokepoges.plus.com/calendar.htm


it has lots of Scientific, Geometry, Factor and Expression calculators as well as Global distances, Sun and Moon Data, a Pregnancy Calculator, Time Data and Alarm clocks as well as an extremely comprehensive range of Calendars in about 27 different formats from Afghanistan to Vietnamese, including Chinese and Hindu.