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> I'm in a recursive process right now, which started out as an attempt
> to use a demo copy of Flare. Flare needed Flash, Flash needed Windows
> .net (or something), .net wouldn't install till I installed XP service
> pack 2 (which I cannot find at the download site) and on and on. In
> the meantime, my system decided it needed to update too (twice), so I
> haven't actually accomplished much in the last couple of days. But I
> did disable Aero, and started looking into defragging, clearing out
> temp files, and cleaning the registry.
There's something very wrong here. You're running Windows Vista. You
can't possibly need (or install) Windows XP Service Pack 2. And if your
system "decided it needed to update," it means you have Automatic
Updates turned on, so you don't need to search for things at the
download site.
As for the registry, if you need help with what and where it is, then
don't even _think_ about doing anything with the registry. Quickest way
in the world to hopelessly mess up your system. Unless you've installed
and uninstalled scores of software packages, it's highly doubtful that a
PC young enough to come with Vista has an overly-bloated registry. Just
put it out of your mind.
Deleting temp files and the like? Again, I doubt this will help. But in
any case, you shouldn't be rummaging around deleting things manually
unless you very much know what you're doing. In XP, there's a utility
program that will do this for you -- Accessories > System Tools > Disk
Cleanup. Don't know about Vista, but I'm sure it or something like it is
there somewhere. Try searching the help if you can't locate it in your
Start menu.
By _far_ the best thing you can do is install more memory. That's _light
years_ ahead of all this other stuff, and it's pretty cheap these days.
If you're not comfortable opening the case and installing the DIMM(s)
yourself, recruit a knowledgeable friend/co-worker or pay the folks at
Best Buy / Circuit City / wherever to do it for you.
HTH!
Richard
Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
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rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-777-0436
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