Reinstalling XP

  • Thread starter Thread starter BP
  • Start date Start date
B

BP

I had to replace a bad mainboard and I am not happy with my repair install
of XP. I'm going to do a clean install some time in the near future.
Please note that I will back up all of my user files and I will have copies
of all of my programs ready for reinstallation. I have read several how-to's
on the subject but I haven't found an answer to this question:
During installation there are two paths one could take: to install the new
OS over the old, or format the partition first then install. All the how-to
sites (that I've read) instruct you to install over. If you install over the
old, does the installation delete ALL of the files and folders on that
partition and then install, or does it delete just the Windows folder and
then install?
If you choose to format the primary partition does that leave the extended
partitions alone? I have a primary partition C: for OS and programs and an
extended partition D: E: F: for user files. Noting line 2 above, will the
data on the extended partition be safe?
Which path do you take?
 
If you want to leave D, E, F intact then to clean install boot the Windows
XP install CD-Rom. When you get to the point, format-only C:\ and continue
the install.

To wipe the drive and start over boot the Windows XP install CD-Rom. When
you get to the point, delete the existing NTFS and or other partitions
found. After you delete the partition(s) abort the install, then again
restart the pc booting the CD-Rom to avoid unexpected drive letter
assignments with your new install.

Be sure to apply SP2 or at least these two below to your new install before
connecting to any network.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...be-3b8e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5a&displaylang=en

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-043.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-049.mspx

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
|I had to replace a bad mainboard and I am not happy with my repair install
| of XP. I'm going to do a clean install some time in the near future.
| Please note that I will back up all of my user files and I will have
copies
| of all of my programs ready for reinstallation. I have read several
how-to's
| on the subject but I haven't found an answer to this question:
| During installation there are two paths one could take: to install the new
| OS over the old, or format the partition first then install. All the
how-to
| sites (that I've read) instruct you to install over. If you install over
the
| old, does the installation delete ALL of the files and folders on that
| partition and then install, or does it delete just the Windows folder and
| then install?
| If you choose to format the primary partition does that leave the extended
| partitions alone? I have a primary partition C: for OS and programs and an
| extended partition D: E: F: for user files. Noting line 2 above, will the
| data on the extended partition be safe?
| Which path do you take?
|
|
 
Thanks Dave.
I've thought of another potential problem/annoyance: Currently my CD drive
is X:. During the install Windows will want to assign D: to the CD drive
wont it? And would that cause drive letter assignment issues with the
extended partitions? Or is that just a temporary drive letter assignment?

When I built this box I installed XP with only the HDD, CD, and FDD
connected. After XP installed I connected and detected the DVD, Zip, Modem,
etc. one at a time. Then changed drive letters for CD and DVD to X: and Y: .
This kept the drive letter assignments simple. Installed network cards after
SP2 (which I originally installed long after the original setup. I'd install
it first in this case). Then start installing software. Overkill? (assuming
no problem with doing a little extra set up work).

Dave Patrick said:
If you want to leave D, E, F intact then to clean install boot the Windows
XP install CD-Rom. When you get to the point, format-only C:\ and continue
the install.

To wipe the drive and start over boot the Windows XP install CD-Rom. When
you get to the point, delete the existing NTFS and or other partitions
found. After you delete the partition(s) abort the install, then again
restart the pc booting the CD-Rom to avoid unexpected drive letter
assignments with your new install.

Be sure to apply SP2 or at least these two below to your new install
before
connecting to any network.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...be-3b8e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5a&displaylang=en

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-043.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS03-049.mspx

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
|I had to replace a bad mainboard and I am not happy with my repair
install
| of XP. I'm going to do a clean install some time in the near future.
| Please note that I will back up all of my user files and I will have
copies
| of all of my programs ready for reinstallation. I have read several
how-to's
| on the subject but I haven't found an answer to this question:
| During installation there are two paths one could take: to install the
new
| OS over the old, or format the partition first then install. All the
how-to
| sites (that I've read) instruct you to install over. If you install over
the
| old, does the installation delete ALL of the files and folders on that
| partition and then install, or does it delete just the Windows folder
and
| then install?
| If you choose to format the primary partition does that leave the
extended
| partitions alone? I have a primary partition C: for OS and programs and
an
| extended partition D: E: F: for user files. Noting line 2 above, will
the
| data on the extended partition be safe?
| Which path do you take?
|
|
Click to expand...
 
After you complete the install you can re-assign any non-system, non-boot
partition and or removable drive letters in Disk Management.
Start|Run|diskmgmt.msc

If you change the drive letter of the CD-Rom used to install the OS then you
can also edit the drive letter in the Reg_Sz string;
'SourcePath'
found at;
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| Thanks Dave.
| I've thought of another potential problem/annoyance: Currently my CD drive
| is X:. During the install Windows will want to assign D: to the CD drive
| wont it? And would that cause drive letter assignment issues with the
| extended partitions? Or is that just a temporary drive letter assignment?
|
| When I built this box I installed XP with only the HDD, CD, and FDD
| connected. After XP installed I connected and detected the DVD, Zip,
Modem,
| etc. one at a time. Then changed drive letters for CD and DVD to X: and Y:
..
| This kept the drive letter assignments simple. Installed network cards
after
| SP2 (which I originally installed long after the original setup. I'd
install
| it first in this case). Then start installing software. Overkill?
(assuming
| no problem with doing a little extra set up work).
 
BP said:
If you choose to format the primary partition does that leave the
extended partitions alone? I have a primary partition C: for OS and
programs and an extended partition D: E: F: for user files. Noting
line 2 above, will the data on the extended partition be safe?
Which path do you take?
Click to expand...

Yes, it leaves the other partitions alone. Just format C:. If the
other 3 partitions only contain data files, there's no need to touch
them. They will be intact when you're done. Just be careful only to
format C:, and do not re-partition the entire drive, etc.

It sounds like you may not have done this before, so just in case you
screwup... BACKUP all your data first! This cannot be overemphasized.
 
Looks like other people already helped you, so I just want to add one
comment. You may need to reset the owner of all the files on the
partitions you don't change. It will most likely say something like
"current owner cannot be displayed". Just use an admin account to "steal"
the ownership. This is especially true if you're using disk quotas.

If you don't care about security permissions (i.e. who can acces
files/folders) you can safely ignore me, most likely you'll still be able
to access your files fine :-)
 
The easiest and far simplest way is to do what is know as a 'clean install'.
That basically means that during the windows xp setup you delete the
partition (in your case C: ( installation will not affect any other
partitions you have created unless you instruct it to do otherwise)) and
then create a new partition, format it and then install windows xp.
Installation insturctions are available on my website
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP Faq button and take a look
at question 85 'how do i install windows xp'
 
Not a good solution as this will cause the system partition to shift.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| The easiest and far simplest way is to do what is know as a 'clean
install'.
| That basically means that during the windows xp setup you delete the
| partition (in your case C: ( installation will not affect any other
| partitions you have created unless you instruct it to do otherwise)) and
| then create a new partition, format it and then install windows xp.
| Installation insturctions are available on my website
| http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Click the Win XP Faq button and take a
look
| at question 85 'how do i install windows xp'
|
| --
| John Barnett MVP
| Associate Expert
| http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
 
It is a solution that has worked perfectly well for me for years. Drive C:
has always been drive C: and shift nowhere. Okay maybe the drive letters
have changed on the 'alternative' partitions but that not even a problem.
 
After recreating the partition you'll need to boot a win98 startup disk and
mark the partition active again before starting the install.

--
Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
| It is a solution that has worked perfectly well for me for years. Drive C:
| has always been drive C: and shift nowhere. Okay maybe the drive letters
| have changed on the 'alternative' partitions but that not even a problem.
|
| --
| John Barnett MVP
| Associate Expert
| http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
 
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