Reinstalling Windows XP home edition

[Guest]

Hi people, I need to reinstall windows due to corrupt files and viruses,
deleted dll's etc etc and was want to ask for advice first if theres any kind
of list of things you should do when doing this, or do you just put the disc
in and reinstall windows.

I have alot of stuff on this computer at the moment and is it best to
uninstall as much as possible before reinstalling windows or do I just do the
reinstall.

Thanks for any help and hope my question is clear enough to get the replies
I need!

 

[Guest]

largely depends, do you just want to repair windows ? or do can you afford to
lose all your data and do a format reinstall ? more info would help with the
solution

 

[Edward O'Brien]

Hi.

Whatever option you choose you will want to back up all data you can't
afford to lose.

If you have corrupted data, reinstalling XP over-the-top will not help. If
you have corrupted applications, just reinstall them. If you need to
reinstall XP, I would suggest trying a 'Repair' install first. You lose no
data. You will need to boot from the Windows CD and select this option. It
is not too difficult for the reasonably well informed.

If you want to reformat, that is a "Clean Install", then you need to boot
from the Windows XP CD and select that option. This cleans out everything
(well, almost)! Go here...
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

A note. If your XP is an upgrade, you will need the original OEM (Probably
Win 98) installation disc. You format and reinstall with this disc first.

Good luck.

Ed

 

[John Barnett MVP]

backup all data you don't want to loose, i.e documents etc. The first option
i would try is to repair windows. Visit my website
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP Faq button and look at
question 55 'how do i repair my windows installation'
If you really want to clear your system and start with a 'clean install'
then take a look at question 85 'how do i install windows xp' Questions 7
'how do i reformat my hard drive with xp and 41 'how do i format and
partition my hard drive using xp set-up' may also be of use to you.
Obviously with a clean install you will need to install the operating system
and 'all' software applications. The 'repair' option simply reinstalls
windows and leaves all your other software alone.