How do I absolutely wipe out everything on my hard drive, and re-install WinXP Pro?
Oh, and I'd do a System Restore to a time before the damage that I've caused was done, except it won't run.
This all started when I used the Disk Cleanup utility, and I went to the section where you can delete components that you rarely to never use. The only boxes that I had checked were MSN Explorer, and MSN Messenger, I think, and yet when I restarted my computer, it seemed as though everything, but those two that I had checked were wiped out. The programs eliminated were Windows Media Player, and Internet Explorer...At first I thought, "Okay. No biggie. I can just download them again, and re-install them." So, I uninstalled Internet Explorer 6, and went to Microsoft to download the program install iniatializer, or whatever, and the install process will not complete itself, because it detected "a newer version of Internet Explorer", which is bullcrap, because I had removed IE6 from the Program Uninstall utility in Control Panel....So, I became a little desperate, and tried to delete the Internet Explorer folder in Program Files, but that didn't work, because, supposedly, there were other programs running in the background that were using IE components....So, I took it to the next level by deleting IE and IE4 in the registry, and ever since I've done this, I guess I have really knocked my OS upside its head really good, and it won't recover.
So, I obviously need some expert advise on what steps I now need to take, as I've said, to begin anew by erasing everything on my hard drive; uninstalling my OS, re-installing, etc.
First step I know I need to take is back up all my precious files to DVD blanks. My files consist of photos, video files, word and PDF documents, mp3s, programs, and zip files.
My system:
WinXP Pro
Asus P4P800
Pentium 4 2.60 GHz
2x 512MB sticks of RAM (Kingston)
120 GB Seagate HD
ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro
SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS
...So...are there any experienced techies in the house that can give me a hand here?
Oh, and I'd do a System Restore to a time before the damage that I've caused was done, except it won't run.
This all started when I used the Disk Cleanup utility, and I went to the section where you can delete components that you rarely to never use. The only boxes that I had checked were MSN Explorer, and MSN Messenger, I think, and yet when I restarted my computer, it seemed as though everything, but those two that I had checked were wiped out. The programs eliminated were Windows Media Player, and Internet Explorer...At first I thought, "Okay. No biggie. I can just download them again, and re-install them." So, I uninstalled Internet Explorer 6, and went to Microsoft to download the program install iniatializer, or whatever, and the install process will not complete itself, because it detected "a newer version of Internet Explorer", which is bullcrap, because I had removed IE6 from the Program Uninstall utility in Control Panel....So, I became a little desperate, and tried to delete the Internet Explorer folder in Program Files, but that didn't work, because, supposedly, there were other programs running in the background that were using IE components....So, I took it to the next level by deleting IE and IE4 in the registry, and ever since I've done this, I guess I have really knocked my OS upside its head really good, and it won't recover.
So, I obviously need some expert advise on what steps I now need to take, as I've said, to begin anew by erasing everything on my hard drive; uninstalling my OS, re-installing, etc.
First step I know I need to take is back up all my precious files to DVD blanks. My files consist of photos, video files, word and PDF documents, mp3s, programs, and zip files.
My system:
WinXP Pro
Asus P4P800
Pentium 4 2.60 GHz
2x 512MB sticks of RAM (Kingston)
120 GB Seagate HD
ATI All-in-Wonder 9800 Pro
SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS
...So...are there any experienced techies in the house that can give me a hand here?
