Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 6:44 am Posts: 14671 Location: Baton Rouge Gender: Male
Hey, my computer has been running very sluggish recently, and it shouldn't (2.3 gig, 1024 megs of ram), so I've decided to restore and reinstall my OS. I have my windows cd, but when I reinstall windows it keeps the file structures and everything in my documents and my program data. What's the best way to just start from scratch?
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 12:53 am Posts: 117 Location: Kentucky
What OS are you running?
With Windows XP, an easy way to start fresh is to boot the computer with the XP install disc. Then, delete the hard drive partition and create a new one of the same size. (Anotherwords, delete all partitions then recreate the same sized partition(s).) After doing this, XP will reformat the partition to NTFS, deleting all data on the disc and starting fresh.
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 6:44 am Posts: 14671 Location: Baton Rouge Gender: Male
Yeabudy wrote:
What OS are you running?
With Windows XP, an easy way to start fresh is to boot the computer with the XP install disc. Then, delete the hard drive partition and create a new one of the same size. (Anotherwords, delete all partitions then recreate the same sized partition(s).) After doing this, XP will reformat the partition to NTFS, deleting all data on the disc and starting fresh.
boot from the cd, i think. it's been a while since i've formatted xp, i switched back to win 98
_________________ i was dreaming through the howzlife yawning car black when she told me "mad and meaningless as ever" and a song came on my radio like a cemetery rhyme for a million crying corpses in their tragedy of respectable existence
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 2:18 pm Posts: 946 Location: State College
the best way to start from scratch is to do a 'low-level' format on your drive.
it turns everything on your drive to 0's. to do this you need to find the brand of hard drive you have, go to their website, and get the program. it will be in the tech support section. put the program on a floppy, and boot your comp from the floppy and follow the directions. depending on the size of your drive it will take different amounts of time to do this.....but well worth it. when it is done your drive will be like it just came from the company. then you will need to put in your os disk and boot from that.....you shouldnt have any problems then
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 11:45 pm Posts: 1698 Location: Morrisville, NC Gender: Male
even with an "upgrade only" cd, you can boot with it to install fresh, but it will usually ask you to insert the old version to verify you have it. at least i remember that from 98 upgrading over 95.
anyways, booting with the windows xp cd will let you manage/create/format partitions.
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 12:53 am Posts: 117 Location: Kentucky
Leehro wrote:
even with an "upgrade only" cd, you can boot with it to install fresh, but it will usually ask you to insert the old version to verify you have it. at least i remember that from 98 upgrading over 95.
anyways, booting with the windows xp cd will let you manage/create/format partitions.
With the exception of only a few products I know of, most 'Upgrade' versions are simply the full versions of software with the lower price coming into effect due to the fact that you own a previous version of the software. The only difference between them is that you provide the old version to 'unlock' (per se) the software.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum
