Fix Your Desktop

I want to completely format my main C: drive and re-install windows XP, somehow I mess up whenever I have tried doing that, is there a way I could do that?
-rv

Dear “RV” Lets start with the tools you’ll need to begin this project.

1. Download Driver Collector From Major Geeks.com
   

This is a Freeware tool that finds the currently installed drivers for hardware currently installed on your PC, then copies the files to a pre-defined folder. Run it and save all your drivers to a location on your computer (C:\drivers).

Then save the directory (The “Drivers” folder on your c:) to a USB drive ($7 at Amazon), CD Rom or External Hard Drive.

2. A Windows XP installation CD with a valid Product Key

3. The CDs and serial numbers of all the software you will re-install.

First Step: BACKUP YOUR DATA

Use an external drive (see above) of some sort to save all your data/software/drivers before you begin the format. Whichever drive you decide to use, you will probably need to copy tons of files and folders. One of the main problems I’ve run into in the past when trying to copy lots of files is that there is always 1 that won’t copy (usually because it’s being used by the system at the tiem) and so your entire process stops, and you have to restart the copy.

The solution to this problem is to use the freeware program YCopy. With this program you designate a source (where your files currently reside) and your destination (where you will back them up to). Just use the Browse button to find the folders for each. Then begin the copy and sit back and wait for the copy to begin. Once it is done, you are ready to move forward.

Second Step: Boot from the Windows CD

Insert the Windows installation disk into your CD drive. Shut down your PC. While your PC is starting up you should be prompted to boot from your CD or from your C:. Use the arrow keys to select Boot from your CD and hit enter.

If not, you will have to do some more tweaking.

If you don’t get prompted to start from your CD you will need to change the BIOS settings on your computer. I know this sounds daunting but it’s not that bad.

Accesing the computers BIOS:

While the PC is rebooting you will see prompts to enter the configuration/settings. Usually it’s F10, F8, Delete or ESC. You may have to reboot a few times to catch the exact command for this. Now on some PC’s you may get a splash screen. It’s usually a logo of some sore that comes up before the Windows Logo appears. If this happens press ESC and it should go away and let you see which of the above commands you will need to use to enter ino the BIOS settings.

Once you are in the BIOS section, go through all the menus (use the arrow keys) until you find something that says “Boot Order” or “Device Boot Order”. Here is where you will tell the computer to try and boot from the CD drive first, and if there is no CD then to use the main C: drive. This will allow you to boot from the Windows CD. It might be tricky to change the boot order, usually you have to press the page up or the page down keys to modify the settings. Sometimes it’s the space bar. Look around the screen at the top bottom or side and you’ll see the list of commands you can use.

Once this is all done, exit the BIOS (again look at bottom side or top for how to do this) usually by hitting ESC or F10. Make sure you SAVE and then continue. The PC will then reboot and if all went well you will then see the prompt to boot from a CD. Select

Third Step: Delete the disk partition and Install Windows

At the Welcome to Setup page, press Enter. Press F8 to accept the Windows XP Licensing Agreement. You’ll be asked if you want to repair your existing Windows XP installation. Press ESC to bypass the repair and install a fresh copy. All your existing disk partitions will be listed, like this.

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 unpartitioned space and press C. To create a new partition with the maximum amount of space allotted to it, press Enter.

Now select the brand spanking new partition you’ve just created to install Windows on. Format the drive as NTFS (Quick if you want, but I went thorough just to be sure.) Depending on the size of the drive and how fast your computer is, this will take some time. Get a sandwich. Then, follow Windows Setup’s steps, set your area code and name and password and let it reboot as many times as necessary until it asks you to log in for the first time. Congratulations! Welcome to your fresh new Windows installation.

But we’re not done yet.

Final Step: Install Software

Once the computer is up and running your PC will prompt you to install the drivers for your hardware. This can be tricky depending on where you saved your drivers.

If you used a USB drive, then you will need to plug it into the PC and then point the driver search tool to the USB drive you just plugged in. You may have to navigate to the directory for that particular product until the system will let you click OK to continue.

If you used an External Hard drive you may need to install this first, using the CD that came with the drive to install the drivers. I know it sounds wierd..”install the drivers so you can install the drivers”. But this is how it works.

If you used a CD, then just put the CD in the drive and point the driver search tool to the CD rom (usually d:)

Make sure to install an Anti-Virus BEFORE you connect to the internet. Then be sure to run Windows Update to download all the latest security updates. Write me if you have an questions, or if anything is unclear.

-thank you LifeHacker for much of this info.

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