TECHiE TALKS

computer booting

Boot used to be a noun — the leather thing you put on your foot to protect it from rough terrain. These days boot is a verb just as often; it’s the process that your computer performs to start itself when you turn it on or press Ctrl+Alt+Del (the “three-finger salute”). You guessed it — just because your computer won’t boot, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your computer has a virus. Maybe yes, maybe no. There are several other likely explanations — for example, a corrupted master boot record (the part of the hard drive that your computer uses to start up), or damage to an important file that your computer uses to start up. If either of these was the case, you’d probably have to rebuild your computer’s operating system and file system from scratch — not fun, even for the experts — and recovering any lost data could get dicey in a hurry. But you know, if you’re running Windows and have to reinstall your computer’s operating system, here are a couple of basic improvements to consider:

1. What better time to upgrade to Windows 2000 or Windows XP (unless you’re already running one of those)?

2. What better excuse to curl up with a good book — say, whichever book covers your newly installed version? This could be the perfect opportunity to read up on Windows while you’re waiting for the install to finish.