Are you missing dll’s? Blue screen of death (BSOD) leaving you feeling blue? System taking minutes and minutes to boot up to a ready status? Cleared so much spy ware and virii off that your not sure what you have left? Well then fear not, this guide will cover how to format your hard drive and reinstall Windows XP to a shiny brand new state.
This is my blunt area. Reinstalling an operating system is honestly not for the faint of heart. The process, once you get used to it, is relatively easy, but still can have it’s nerve racking points for some. There are lots of ways to fix PC problems before reinstalling Windows, a fresh install should be an absolute last resort. END BLUNT.
Still interested? Alright, let’s do this.
What you Need:
- A Windows XP installation CD with a valid Product Key
- The CD’s/DVD’s and serial numbers of all the software you need to install on your new OS install. (If you use downloaded software, it’s always easiest to download it and put it on a jump drive or onto a CD/DVD before hand. That way after the reinstall you don’t have to worry about finding all of the software you once had.)
- Hardware driver discs that shipped with the PC and any components you added on (If this is not available go to the manufacturers website and download the drivers for your particular model number or use http://www.driverguide.com to download applicable drivers.)
- Anywhere between 1-5 hours to get your PC fully up and running. This is all dependent on what you have to install or how complicated your install process is.
STEP 1: Back Up Your Data.
Formatting your hard drive and reinstalling Windows will COMPLETELY ERASE EVERYTHING! Make no mistake, if you have anything you wish saved, now is the time to back it up. Examples and ideas include: Bookmarks (All major internet browsers offer the capability of saving and exporting your bookmarks and links so you don’t have to type them all in again.), family pictures, photos, movies, music, chat logs, address book, saved email attachments or email. Most if not all of these have a tool in Windows or in the software itself to save or backup your information.
Step 2:Make sure you have your hardware Driver’s
Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Device Manager -> Action -> Print , this will print all of the hardware that you have attached to your computer. Make sure you go over your download’s and or CD’s/DVD’s to ensure that you have all of the neccessary driver’s. (Driver’s are a piece of code that allows the operating system to interact with your hardware. Popular drivers include modem, network card, audio, video/display, usb, etc.)
Step 3: Say goodbye!
Seriously, if you are nervous or scared just revisit step’s one and two and double check you have everything. If you do, your good to go.
Step 4: Insert Windows disk into your drive. Shut down your PC. Then, boot from CD/DVD.
Do not install windows from within Windows itself. Shut down first, and then boot up the machine from CD. If you’re not sure how to boot from CD, check your PC’s user guide for more info. If your computer will not boot from your cd, you will have to change the settings in the BIOS. Something you will also need to consult the user manual for. Typically you enter the BIOS by hitting the delete key during bootup.
Step 5: Walk through the Windows Installation
You’ll be met with blue screen’s with white text which can be scary at times but on each screen the instructions are clearly marked out. At the Welcome to Setup page, press Enter. Press F8 to accept the Windows XP Licensing Agreement. You’ll be asked if you wish to repair your existing Windows XP installation. Press ESC to skip the repair and install a fresh OS. All your existing disk partitions will be listed.
You want to delete the current partition where Windows is installed. Use the arrow key to select it, and press D to delete it. Press L to confirm. Then, to create a new partition, select the UN-partitioned space and press C. To create a new partition with the maximum amount of space allotted to it, press Enter.
Now select the new partition you just created to install Windows on. Format the drive as NTFS. Follow Windows Setup steps, set your area code and name and password and let it reboot as many times as needed until it asks you to log in for the first time.
Step 6: Congrat’s, but were not quite done yet. Time to install your drivers.
Once you get up and running, there’s a pretty good chance that not everything will be working properly. So now it’s time to install your drivers. First, get a list of what Windows doesn’t have installed correctly. From Control Panel, go to System, then Hardware, and click on the Device Manager. Those yellow question marks and exclamation points are the computer’s way of saying “I know this hardware is here, but I don’t know what to do with it.” Insert each CD you’ve got and install the software needed.
Step 7: So close to being done.
Update Windows. As soon as you install all your driver’s and have everything functioning properly go to the Windows Update Site and update your copy of Windows. Please be aware that this process can take some time.
Step 8: Install all of your software and restore backups.
Download or use the cd’s to reinstall all of your software and then restore your back ups. After this step do one final restart just to make sure you didn’t miss anything, and as long as everything turn’s on again and works. You are GOOD TO GO! Conrats on your first successful reinstall.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Ha! I reinstall on my machine every time i screw it up, I don’t even bother to try to fix it. I have to try to fix customer’s computers too much to even worry about it on my own machine.
I have to say I like OS X’s install a lot better than Windows’ you can just copy the previous system to a folder and do a clean install of the OS from there…
Ah, I would add to Step 4 to make sure you check in the BIOS the ability to boot from a CD/DVD.
Never mind that comment ^ I guess I should read the entire article first. xD
Bravo, your opinion is useful