Windows reinstall help please.

CAC · 09-21-2007, 01:16 AM

I want to wipe my hard drive and reinstall windows, I have my windows xp setup disk. Do I need anything special to do this, can anybody here give me step by step instructions.

PC eye · 09-21-2007, 01:32 AM

Is that a full install version disk you would use on a custom build or a recover/system restore disk for a prebuilt system there? If a full install version you can decide on which way to go as far as reinstalling Windows. What the XP installer lacks and is now seen with the Vista installer and optional tools is the ability to reformat a drive when booting with the installation disk.

For cleaning of a drive totally one fast method would be to delete the current primary partition and choose between the XP installer or drive partitioning tool when going to create a fresh new primary to see a clean install of Windows. For seeing the ideal results a drive partitioning like Partition Magic(retail) or the free Linux Gnome Partition Editor(GPsrted live for cd) will easily create the new primary as well as seeing the actual total of physical drive space available more so then the XP installer.

Often a smal space of 1-8mb is left unallocated by the XP installer at either end of the drive. But for a simple fast installation of a new copy of Windows with no fuss you simply boot from the XP disk by either choosing the F8 boot device menu seen along with the option to enter the bios setup during the first post tests or have to go into the bios to see the cd rom option as the first boot device.

Once you boot from the install disk you simply follow the onscreen instructions for installing Windows by first choosing among the hard drives detected if more then one are installed. If the hard drive is a sata not ide drive then you may have need for a driver floppy to be made up first and press the F6 option seen on the first installation screen when booting from the XP disk.

The installer then copies and loads the driver from the 3 1/2" floppy in order for it to see the sata drive(s) on the system. The need for that depends on the socket type and chipset of the board and the type of hard drive Windows will go onto. Is this on a sata or ide type drive there?

CAC · 09-21-2007, 01:43 AM

The disk I have Is a Microsoft Windows XP home edition backup CD/DVD from Gateway. IT came with my computer.

PC eye · 09-21-2007, 03:47 AM

You should be able to see Windows restored by following the instructions found in the user manual or online support if the recovery partition/files are still intact on the hard drive there. That would be the first step to see XP back running again.

CAC · 09-21-2007, 04:00 AM

Windows is running fine, what I really want to do is wipe every single program off the hard disk and start all over fresh there are other errors in this machine that I for the life of me cant figure out, for instance .net frame work, I cant download the available updates Im getting SL,tmp errors, there was one error that came up once when trying to relaod these programs saying a block of files is missing. It's strange to because in my add remove programs where it shows .net frame work, it shows that it's used rareley and there is no uninstall icon next to them. My automatic updates show that there are two critical updates available but when i try to download them download fails. My system seems to be working excellent, but it bugs me when i have reports of files missing and not being able to download critical updates to the .net framework. All other updates download fine.

That just got me thinking about wipeing the whole disk and i mean every single program on it and reinstall everything from scratch. I dont know how to do it though.

I did try to reinstall windows with the disk that came with my machine but it could not locate one of the files and closed out. Might be better off to take it to a professional, I dont know.

twolves90 · 09-21-2007, 04:22 AM

1) Back up important files

2) Stick in CD

3) Reboot compy

CD should boot up and just follow the instructions, if it doesnt boot up, come back and let us know

PC eye · 09-21-2007, 04:25 AM

There should be a process for seeing Windows restored back to the way it was when the system was first bought. That will see a clean copy of Windows installed and clean up all of the crud and missing system files if any. That's what the recovery disk are for. Again the other option would be to buy a full install copy and see everything removed for that copy's own fresh installation.

That would mean downloading updates for everything and not seeing any softwares that came bundled with the machine. If you can't see Windows restored with the original disks then this is the alternative for seeing everything cleaned off to have a fresh start all over again. This is also why I build my own here not to get bound up when a preinstallation goes bad on you. There's no hidden files to worry about.

twolves90 · 09-21-2007, 04:34 AM

I agree with you.... I hate all the garbage that comes with a prebuilt computer..... now if we could just build laptops too....

PC eye · 09-21-2007, 04:58 AM

The place called Alienware custom build laptops for a ..... "high price"!

there. Those are mainly gaming builds where you can pay $4000-$5000 easily! You can boost up a portable to a degree for far less while laptops/notebooks are still higher priced items to start with.

As far as OSs you can still wipe the original crud off if you want to risk the warrantys for a clean install with a full version OEM for system builders disk. But portable units will always remain seeing limitations for gaming purposes since the best stuff generally goes into a desktop build.

CAC · 09-24-2007, 12:15 AM

the only thing I do with this machine is surf the web, I don't play games on it at all or do any buisness type of work. Mainly just internet.

I did format and reinstall windows, I have it up and running again. The only difference now is it used to show a drive c NTFS files and a drive d fat32 files. Now all im showing is drive c NTFS files everything is on that drive I dont even understand what the smaller size drive d was for. I got everything back up on drive c and everything seems to be operating fine.

The only thing I do see now is it is showing on the black startup screen two versions of windows xp even though i completely formatted the whole thing. When you select the second version of windows on the startup screen I think it said something like windows is not completely installed. I dont know if this will hurt anything or not. My system runs fine with the other version of windows that it shows on there.

One other thing does anybody know how to fix it so it doesn't count down from 26 second before windows loads. I thought there was a place to type in like 2 in place of the number 26 but i can't remember.

If anybody can please help me understand these two small problems, that is if they are a real problem.

Edit note.
Ok on the black windows startup screen where It shows Microsoft windows Xp home edition twice, I tried clicking on the second one and it took me to the microsoft windows setup page and asked me to insert the setup disk, so it is the setup program. before it said Microsoft Windows XP Setup. the name of it changed for some reason. I closed out of it and went back and choose the first Microsoft Windows XP Home edition and it took me to windows xp, I guess the name just changed for some reason.

09-21-2007, 01:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
CAC Bronze Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 29	Windows reinstall help please. I want to wipe my hard drive and reinstall windows, I have my windows xp setup disk. Do I need anything special to do this, can anybody here give me step by step instructions.

09-21-2007, 01:32 AM	#2 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 19,311	Is that a full install version disk you would use on a custom build or a recover/system restore disk for a prebuilt system there? If a full install version you can decide on which way to go as far as reinstalling Windows. What the XP installer lacks and is now seen with the Vista installer and optional tools is the ability to reformat a drive when booting with the installation disk. For cleaning of a drive totally one fast method would be to delete the current primary partition and choose between the XP installer or drive partitioning tool when going to create a fresh new primary to see a clean install of Windows. For seeing the ideal results a drive partitioning like Partition Magic(retail) or the free Linux Gnome Partition Editor(GPsrted live for cd) will easily create the new primary as well as seeing the actual total of physical drive space available more so then the XP installer. Often a smal space of 1-8mb is left unallocated by the XP installer at either end of the drive. But for a simple fast installation of a new copy of Windows with no fuss you simply boot from the XP disk by either choosing the F8 boot device menu seen along with the option to enter the bios setup during the first post tests or have to go into the bios to see the cd rom option as the first boot device. Once you boot from the install disk you simply follow the onscreen instructions for installing Windows by first choosing among the hard drives detected if more then one are installed. If the hard drive is a sata not ide drive then you may have need for a driver floppy to be made up first and press the F6 option seen on the first installation screen when booting from the XP disk. The installer then copies and loads the driver from the 3 1/2" floppy in order for it to see the sata drive(s) on the system. The need for that depends on the socket type and chipset of the board and the type of hard drive Windows will go onto. Is this on a sata or ide type drive there? __________________ Turning the Tongue into a Device Controller http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Sma...ory?id=5647175 Is EBay going out of the Auction Business? http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5626840&page=1

09-21-2007, 03:47 AM	#4 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 19,311	You should be able to see Windows restored by following the instructions found in the user manual or online support if the recovery partition/files are still intact on the hard drive there. That would be the first step to see XP back running again. __________________ Turning the Tongue into a Device Controller http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Sma...ory?id=5647175 Is EBay going out of the Auction Business? http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5626840&page=1

09-21-2007, 04:00 AM	#5 (permalink)
CAC Bronze Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 29	Windows is running fine, what I really want to do is wipe every single program off the hard disk and start all over fresh there are other errors in this machine that I for the life of me cant figure out, for instance .net frame work, I cant download the available updates Im getting SL,tmp errors, there was one error that came up once when trying to relaod these programs saying a block of files is missing. It's strange to because in my add remove programs where it shows .net frame work, it shows that it's used rareley and there is no uninstall icon next to them. My automatic updates show that there are two critical updates available but when i try to download them download fails. My system seems to be working excellent, but it bugs me when i have reports of files missing and not being able to download critical updates to the .net framework. All other updates download fine. That just got me thinking about wipeing the whole disk and i mean every single program on it and reinstall everything from scratch. I dont know how to do it though. I did try to reinstall windows with the disk that came with my machine but it could not locate one of the files and closed out. Might be better off to take it to a professional, I dont know. Last edited by CAC; 09-21-2007 at 04:02 AM.

09-21-2007, 04:22 AM	#6 (permalink)
twolves90 Gold Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: California Age: 21 Posts: 379	1) Back up important files 2) Stick in CD 3) Reboot compy CD should boot up and just follow the instructions, if it doesnt boot up, come back and let us know __________________ Current: Intel Core 2 Duo e6400 ASUS P5B Deluxe / Wifi (Socket 775) Mobo + ZALMAN CNPS9500 Corsair XMS2 3 GB ddr2 800 (2 x 512MB) + (2 x 1GB) PC2 6400 eVGA 8800 GTS 320MB & Antec 500W PSU Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 7.1 Channels Seagate 120 GB 7200 rpm HDD 3 GB/sec Windows XP Home Ed Cooler Master Centurion 5 Blue/Black+Window Case LG Dual Layer DVD RW & LiteOn DVD R - - - I've finished 5 builds so far! P.S. XP > Vista

09-21-2007, 01:43 AM	#3 (permalink)
CAC Bronze Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 29	The disk I have Is a Microsoft Windows XP home edition backup CD/DVD from Gateway. IT came with my computer.

09-21-2007, 04:25 AM	#7 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 19,311	There should be a process for seeing Windows restored back to the way it was when the system was first bought. That will see a clean copy of Windows installed and clean up all of the crud and missing system files if any. That's what the recovery disk are for. Again the other option would be to buy a full install copy and see everything removed for that copy's own fresh installation. That would mean downloading updates for everything and not seeing any softwares that came bundled with the machine. If you can't see Windows restored with the original disks then this is the alternative for seeing everything cleaned off to have a fresh start all over again. This is also why I build my own here not to get bound up when a preinstallation goes bad on you. There's no hidden files to worry about. __________________ Turning the Tongue into a Device Controller http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Sma...ory?id=5647175 Is EBay going out of the Auction Business? http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5626840&page=1

09-21-2007, 04:34 AM	#8 (permalink)
twolves90 Gold Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: California Age: 21 Posts: 379	I agree with you.... I hate all the garbage that comes with a prebuilt computer..... now if we could just build laptops too.... __________________ Current: Intel Core 2 Duo e6400 ASUS P5B Deluxe / Wifi (Socket 775) Mobo + ZALMAN CNPS9500 Corsair XMS2 3 GB ddr2 800 (2 x 512MB) + (2 x 1GB) PC2 6400 eVGA 8800 GTS 320MB & Antec 500W PSU Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 7.1 Channels Seagate 120 GB 7200 rpm HDD 3 GB/sec Windows XP Home Ed Cooler Master Centurion 5 Blue/Black+Window Case LG Dual Layer DVD RW & LiteOn DVD R - - - I've finished 5 builds so far! P.S. XP > Vista

09-21-2007, 04:58 AM	#9 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 19,311	The place called Alienware custom build laptops for a ..... "high price"! there. Those are mainly gaming builds where you can pay $4000-$5000 easily! You can boost up a portable to a degree for far less while laptops/notebooks are still higher priced items to start with. As far as OSs you can still wipe the original crud off if you want to risk the warrantys for a clean install with a full version OEM for system builders disk. But portable units will always remain seeing limitations for gaming purposes since the best stuff generally goes into a desktop build. __________________ Turning the Tongue into a Device Controller http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Sma...ory?id=5647175 Is EBay going out of the Auction Business? http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5626840&page=1

09-24-2007, 12:15 AM	#10 (permalink)
CAC Bronze Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 29	the only thing I do with this machine is surf the web, I don't play games on it at all or do any buisness type of work. Mainly just internet. I did format and reinstall windows, I have it up and running again. The only difference now is it used to show a drive c NTFS files and a drive d fat32 files. Now all im showing is drive c NTFS files everything is on that drive I dont even understand what the smaller size drive d was for. I got everything back up on drive c and everything seems to be operating fine. The only thing I do see now is it is showing on the black startup screen two versions of windows xp even though i completely formatted the whole thing. When you select the second version of windows on the startup screen I think it said something like windows is not completely installed. I dont know if this will hurt anything or not. My system runs fine with the other version of windows that it shows on there. One other thing does anybody know how to fix it so it doesn't count down from 26 second before windows loads. I thought there was a place to type in like 2 in place of the number 26 but i can't remember. If anybody can please help me understand these two small problems, that is if they are a real problem. Edit note. Ok on the black windows startup screen where It shows Microsoft windows Xp home edition twice, I tried clicking on the second one and it took me to the microsoft windows setup page and asked me to insert the setup disk, so it is the setup program. before it said Microsoft Windows XP Setup. the name of it changed for some reason. I closed out of it and went back and choose the first Microsoft Windows XP Home edition and it took me to windows xp, I guess the name just changed for some reason. Last edited by CAC; 09-24-2007 at 12:52 AM.

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