Question re: formatting HD to reinstall XP

  • Thread starter Thread starter Peter
  • Start date Start date
P

Peter

Judging by the performance of several components of my programs, I have
several corrupted keys. The question is if I format my disc to clean it
completely, prior to a full install of XP Home, will it keep its current
NTFS format or do I need a tool to do that?
 
Just insert your Windows XP Home CD and the installation process will run.
You need to select to install new copy of xp. Setup will search your hard
drive for any copies of windows. It will find the one you already have.
Install the 'new' copy on the same drive/partition, i.e., C: (read the
screens carefully) The next option will be to format the drive. The default
will be 'leave file system as it is' Change this by using the up/down arrow
keys to 'format using ntfs file system' Your hard drive will now be
formatted with the ntfs file system. After formatting windows will continue
to install. After installation you will have a clean installed copy of xp.
Just remember before installing a new copy of xp that you save any
data/files that you need to save to a floppy or cd. Once the drive has been
reformatted you will loose everything on your drive.
 
Thanks John. It's not too urgent so I'm going to hold off doing it for a
while. I already have some programs/address book/favorites etc in a
special folder ready to transfer to a CDRW and the rest of my downloaded
programs - well I have to figure out the best way of loading them to the
CDRW..never done a "fresh start" before.
I've learned one lesson. When downloading programs - download first to a
disc, not the HD, that way I will always have them handy should a re-install
be necessary.
The PC is still under warranty, but I'm too embarassed to ask them to
re-install Windows again. This would be the 4th time!!!! The problem has
been all along, I believe, that those actions preserved some corrupted keys,
as the problems have been with me from the beginning.
 
I forgot to ask... need I worry about hardware drivers
(motherboard/cdrw/dvdr etc. other than the ones I already have the cds for?
 
Peter there maybe some slight worries about particular drivers depending
upon whether xp has the relevant driver on the cd.
As your machine is still under warranty wre you not supplied with a 'driver'
cd? If you were not then i can only assume that the xp cd you have has all
the drivers necessary to run your machine.
Once you have install xp once you will wonder why on earth you spent hard
earned cash letting the retailer who supplied your machine reinstall xp for
you. The sooner you learn to do it yourself, the better!
 
Hmmmm! Where would those drivers be on the CD. It just says Windows XP
home Edition under the manufacturers logo. Maybe I should bite the bullet
and ask them to do a clean/install for me.
 
Peter exactly what disk have you got - a genuine Microsoft Windows XP Home
CD or a System Recovery Disk issued by the manufacturer.
I recently puchased an E-Machine PC. This came with 3 recovery disks. Two
are for the operating system and 'free applications' that came with the pc
and the third is a 'drivers' cd.
Now the manufacturer installed XP Home on my machine. I have also installed
XP Pro, windows server 2003 and Longhorn. When i installed windows xp pro i
needed to use the manufacturers driver cd to install the modem and the
network everything else worked ok.
 
It's from MDG ( http://www.mdg.ca ) "Windows XP Home/SP1". In looking into
my CDRW/DVDROM they are LG but when I go into properties it says drivers
supplied by Microsoft, but delving further I get B.H.A. Co. Ltd.
I got no further discs other than the freebie programs that they were
offering at the time.
 
If you only have the Windows XP Home/SP1 CD then all the drivers should be
available from that CD. Obviously you have already had the retailer install
the operating system 3 times and you have only supplied them with the
Windows XP Home cd that you have and they didn't report any problems.
Like i said in my last post the only problem i had was my modem, which xp
install the standard driver for instead of the correct manufacturer driver
(it still worked though) and the networking card. Both of the drivers for
this hardware would be availabe from the manufacturer web site.
 
Thanks John, Very helpful. When the shop re-installed they never asked me
for the CD, apparently they keep profiles of customers' systems on file.
Whether that would include all drivers or not I don't know. I emailed their
tech dept. asking what would I need in addition to the CD if I moved out of
area. (Which I'm not doing!)
I'll see what they say.
 
Back
Top