questions about windows xp CD installation

im gonna buy a new windows xp CD and if i use it and start my windows over do i need to reinstall my graphic card and all that? because i just bought a graphic card recently but all the other componenets such as the sound card are all from a premade computer, so i dont have those CD's, so if i reinstalled windows and started fresh would i lose all that or just the programs like games, etc
please help
 
If you reformat and install you will lose everything, just go to the pc makers site and download the drivers, same for the video card
 
Upon installation XP will prompt for drivers upon detection of the various hardwares including the SMBus and memory controllers on the board itself. Once you have internet connection established you can right click on any items found in the device manager with yellow exclaimation marks next to them. By choosing the "automatic search" option when right clicking on those XP will search it's own data base in order to download and install the drivers for the board. It that doesn't see those marked items disappear from the "other devices" list there then you have to the board manufacturer's support site to download updated drivers there. In some cases you have to contact the manufacturer's support staff for a link for this as well as recovery partition iso images to be written to cd-rs.
 
If you reformat and install windows xp with sp 2,PLEASE REMEMBER TO INSTALL A FIREWALL BEFORE YOU CONNECT TO THE INTERNET!Or..you'll screw yourself over.
 
Why? I been running XP with SP2 for a few years now and only recently threw on a pair of free ones. You first want to make sure the correct drivers for the board are installed along updates and at Microsoft. Then you can go after a firewall, antivirus protection, spyware and adware removers, and the like. You don't get hit the instant you connect through your ISP. It's when you start coming across a good number of questionable sites that "things" will find a way onto your system.
 
Nope actually without protection,windows will panic and give you false registry error spam,which is why its best to do what i said,happend to me and about 12 other people personally know.Just a heads up.
 
When you first install XP and setup your ISP connection you should see the default Microsoft XP page as the first thing. Registry error spam? Never heard of it! By default you are taken to Microsoft to start the update process. That's when you get the load of special fixes and if needed SP2 thrown your way. You can readily stop that by going to the page you choose as your home page and set that in the IE options. At a later time you can go through the update link at MS to have that download and install the current list.
 
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