Reinstalling Windows without reformatting

Vehementi · Jul 20, 2002

Anyone know the validity of this? I'd like to do it.

From powerjoe.tripod.com/noformat.html
1. While in Windows, copy the Windows installation files from the CD to your HD.
Win95: They are in \win95 (~35MB)
Win98: They are in \win98 (~100MB). You don't have to copy the subdirectories (OLS, channels...)
To international users: There are usually 2 versions: language-Enabled at \win9x\ena, and Localized at \win9x\loc. You can choose either.

I recommend creating a directory named "\install", preferably in a partition other than C:, and having under it the win9x directory. You could also keep other installation files there (DirectX, drivers...)

2. If your CD is an upgrade version, you'll need a copy of an older OS (Win3.x for Win95upgrage, Win3.x or Win95 for Win98upgrade). If you have it on CDROM, you should copy its installation set as well.

3. Reboot your machine, press F8, and choose "Safe mode command prompt only".

4. Remove any DOS drivers:
del autoexec.*
del config.*

5. Make sure the new installation won't see the old one. In order to do that, type:
cd windows
ren win.com win.co-
cd \
ren windows windows.old
ren progra~1 progra~1.old

6. Install!
D: (if it's on D: )
cd \install\win98 (Or whichever is appropriate)
setup

Now, you'll have a fresh Win9x installation. All the files from the old installation will be in c:\windows.old and c:\progra~1.old, from which you can recover whatever information you want. After you're done, you can remove these directories to save space.

Notes:
* I recommend leaving the Win9X installation on the HD. That way, if you ever need anything from it, you won't need to insert the Win9x CD. Remove it only if you're extremely short on free space.
* This procedure requires a lot of free space on C: - I recommend 500MB.
* If you have any DOS-based programs that rely on specific Autoexec, Config or "Boot to previous version of MSDOS" configurations, this procedure may render them inoperational.
* This procedure can work even if you can't start Windows at all. In most cases, you'll still be able to boot to "Safe mode command prompt only", and perform the above procedure. However, if you haven't copied the Windows installation beforehand, you'll need to have a DOS CDROM driver installed.

StormBringer · Jul 20, 2002

It looks similar to something I saw in an article in Maximum PC(may have still been Boot at the time) I'll have to check my old issues to be sure though.

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Reinstalling Windows without reformatting

Vehementi TechSpot Paladin Posts: 3,199

StormBringer Newcomer, in training Posts: 2,871

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