Hi there,
Short answer: YES!!
The fancy terminology for this is a Clean Install. I did
this just last weekend and I've had better performance
since.
Before you do anything, back up any documents or other
files that you DO want to keep onto a CD or another hard
drive/computer, something that isn't that hard drive.
Another note (I got stuck on this one as Ramesh knows),
if you're using any visual styles other than Luna or the
Windows Classic theme, you'd probably want to back up
your entire C:\Windows\Resources\Themes directory. Once
you've reinstalled windows, copy the backup back into
this directory and reapply the visual style. Also, if you
use any fonts other than the 20 that come with Windows,
back up your C:\Windows\Fonts directory.
As about how to do this, put the WindowsXP CD in your CD-
drive and close the window that comes up because of
Autorun.
Restart your computer, and when you see the BIOS screen,
press the appropriate key to get into your BIOS (it will
either be displayed on the screen or it can be found in
your computer documentation, it's usually an F# key or
Del).
In the BIOS, select the CD-drive to be the first drive to
boot from. Save the changes and then exit the BIOS.
Hit any key when the screen says "Hit any key to boot
from CD..." to boot from the CD (duh...).
The WindowsXP CD will load a set of drivers that are
required for the install. From this point on, the
instructions are pretty much self explanitory.
Press Enter at the "Welcome to Setup" page. Press F8 to
accept the licence agreement. Press ESC to not do a
repair install. From here on, you'll see a list of the
partitions that are currently on your hard drive. Press D
to delete each partition. You have to press L to confirm
your selection.
When you get the option to format the partition,
select "Format the partition by using the NTFS file
system". If you want to be absolutely sure that nothing
is left on your hard drive, do not select the quick
option. It will take a little bit longer to complete, but
it's more thorough.
After this, just follow the instructions. Like I said,
once you've got to the XP setup from the CD, it's pretty
much straight forward. Just read what it says, and select
what you want to do.
Just make sure that when you're done reinstalling
Windows, you turn on your Internet Connection Firewall
(it's in the properties of your network connection,
probably named Local Area Connection). Before you
reinstall, find this setting so you know where to go
after you've reinstalled. After you've turned on the
firewall, go to Windows Update and download all the
critical updates. You'll be asked to reboot. Once you're
back in, go back to the Windows Update site and check
again. Some updates only appear after you've applied the
other ones. Keep updating and rebooting until there are
no more critical updates to install.
Now install any anti-virus software you have. If you
don't have any, you should get some. Symantec sits very
high on my list (Symantec makes the Norton products).
Download all the updates for the Anti-virus program and
use the same method as with the Windows Updates. Keep
checking after each update/reboot until there are no more
updates to install.
Now install any other software that you want.
You're good to go!
Depending on your computer, this process can take
anywhere from 2 to 5 hours, so be prepared to spend a
full afternoon and evening doing this.
Hope this helps,
Nick
(e-mail address removed)
-----Original Message-----
Hello
Is it possible for me to completely wipe my computer and
start fresh? I have the Windows XP Professional CD. Just
Need to know what to do.
