[ad]Dear Computer Lady,
I have a question I have not seen an answer to in your newsletters so far.
When my desktop becomes old and slow, can I just remove all programs from it except my embroidery software, and Microsoft Works and use it just to store and view my embroidery designs and as a word processor?
I have a lot of stuff on spreadsheets.
I do not need to be on line for this.
Linda
Dear Linda,
The short answer to your question is “Yes”.
Yes, you can uninstall all the programs that you don’t want to use, and use the machine for embroidery and Works.
Doing this, however, will not speed up your machine.
If it was my machine, and I was going to devote it to my embroidery files (and I have a LOT of them) and light office work, I would do the following.
First, I would backup all of my embroidery designs and works files (and anything else that I didn’t want to lose).
Then I would have a clean install of Windows on my old computer. This will speed it up, and get rid of any software rot that has happened over the years.
Finally, I would re-install my embroidery software and Works and use my machine for those two applications.
If this is something that you are not comfortable doing yourself, just find a local computer shop and see what they would charge to do this for you.
Backing up files, and re-installing Windows is something I do here in my shop quite often. It will extend the useful life of your computer.
Elizabeth
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Elizabeth Boston is a Web designer, Social Media Consultant and managing editor of, “Ask The Computer Lady”.
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