i'm thinking about upgrading, would you guys recommend this os
HAHA Just Kidding, but seriously…
I work at a computer repair place and the customer finds it absolutely necessary to clean up and "Devirus" an old gateway with windows ME,
i was wondering if anyone knew of a reliable antivirus that might also have been used in WWII (another joke, i'm hilarious)
thanks fellas
Sure.
It's called the Microsoft Millennium Edition Installation CD.
It even provides an on-screen opportunity to Format (clean up the system) before freshly Installing.
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OK. I'm not so funny either.
But if you have an old 40gb or 20gb or even 10gb IDE HD laying around the shop, pop it in, format and install ME just to show your customer how good it can perform when returned to factory settings. (keep their old drive separately and safely available)
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Most shops know of a few folks who still run Win98, Win95, and even earlier DOS systems.
Some of those folks still even exchange email and browse a bit on the internet.
But they don't do so in a way that is secure, nor recommended.
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The problem with old operating systems and old security utilities is that they are old.
ME can run "locally" to meet ordinary computing activities (office, onboard games, image and video display) but once it is connected to the internet, it encounters an environment for which it is no longer prepared.
MS fully supported ME for a 5 year life-cycle and then an additional 5 years of extended security support (my actual math may be faulty here)
That's pretty good for a major appliance. But that time has passed. And neither do AntiVirus and Firewall publishers offer competent solutions that can completely secure a machine running ME.
I have a dishwasher in my home that was installed much more than 10 years ago, and I intend to keep using it til it quits.
But I realize that once it stops working, I probably won't be able to find parts for it.
(my backup plan is that I already have a second well running copy of the same dishwasher stored in my garage from a neighbor who already "upgraded" to a nice modern, quiet, and feature rich dishwasher. So I'm bound to have a few more years)
The point is that if your customer was dealing with a clothes washer, dishwasher, TV, stereo, turn-table, or other aging power tool or appliance, they would not be having this discussion. They'd just replace it.
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If the issue is preserving the "machine", there are plenty of competent operating systems in the Linux family of distros.
XP may even run on that machine, though the support cycle is diminishing for XP as well.
Or your customer may accept running a freshly installed ME, but use it locally only.
If not, then perhaps they would accept a dual-boot solution, running Linux when they wish to browse and exchange email.
The best service you can offer is to back up all the important user information, and even email and internet favorites for your user.
Then format and reinstall. (realizing that new versions of application utilities will have to be reinstalled)
Some or most may be available at: www.oldversion.com/
Best Regards
I use ClamWin AV on older computers. It's about all there is any more that still runs on a DOS based OS like ME.
No idea how effective it is against new malware, but is still being maintained and virus signature database still gets updated often, so worth a look.
Doug's suggestion is the way to go though. Put in a new, smallish HD and install a clean copy of ME.
Mount the old HD as a slave in a new computer capable of running good online AV scan's as well as Malware Bytes Anti Malware. Once it's "clean", mount it back in the ME box as a slave drive and copy the users data to the new drive, then format the old drive and use it for data or backup.
All these scanners require you to use Internet Explorer because they need to install an ActiveX component to run the scan.
