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wowaza · #21 09-01-2007

I don't have a windows xp disk but when i first got my laptop i made a back up disk. i followed this as a rough guide to help me and it all worked well. the problem that made me decide to do this was fixed, however, now my laptop runs slower than it did before. start up and shut down take forever. my cpu usage is above 30% most of the time and just generally takes longer to open programs etc.

is this normal and/or is there anything i can do??

thank you

Rik · #22 09-01-2007

Did you put any security software on it before going online with it?

wowaza · #23 09-01-2007

yes i did, avg, ad aware, spybot but went online to get zonealarm

Rik · #24 09-01-2007

Its probably best if you start a new thread off about your problem.

Mthunzi · #25 09-07-2007

Thanx a bunch,it's been helpful for the first part.
thank you.:giddy:

Quote:

Originally Posted by korrupt

So you want to start from scratch, just because you like the brand new feeling of a freshly reformatted pc? Or has spyware and viruses made your pc virtually unusable? Then the following tutorial will help you reformat your hard drive and reinstall windows. I personally reformat my HDD and reinstall windows at least once every 3 months. Please note, I am not responsible for any damage although I don't see how you can possibly damage anything whilst reformatting. Follow these steps exactly and you should be fine.

Step 1: Make sure you have your Windows XP disk. I personally delete everything I don’t need, and uninstall all programs that I don’t use. I then make a list of all the programs I still have installed and download all the installers I will need. Also download Spybot Search and Destroy and Ad-Aware but do not install them. I then backup all my important data and all the installers onto a portable hard drive – if you don’t have one you can build one (see HERE how to build your own external hard drive cheaply) or you can use DVD’s or CD’s. Make sure you have everything backed up and then disconnect the portable hard drive.

Step 2: Insert your windows disk into the Master CD drive (if you have more than one) and turn the computer off. Make sure you are disconnected from any networks. You will need to have your cd drive selected as your first boot device. If it not already selected, you will need to go into your bios and set the boot priority to cd/hdd, then with your Windows cd in your cd drive, save and exit bios.

Step 3: Turn on your computer. A screen will come up saying “Press any key to boot from disk”. Press any key (where’s the “Any” key gone?!). Now wait about 10seconds for the setup utility to be loaded. When asked if you want to set up or repair, hit Enter to set up Windows. Read the license agreement and hit F8 if you agree. If the setup program detects an existing installation of Windows and asks if you want to repair it, hit Esc to skip the repair. The setup program will ask you where to install Windows. Highlight the existing "C: Partition1" partition and hit D to delete it. Hit L to confirm. Next, hit Enter to install Windows on the "Unpartitioned Space". Format the space as NTFS - You will get an option to choose full or quik format. My experience is that quick format is for disk that have previously formatted. If the disk has not been formatted, then you will have to use the standard format option. Usually you will get a popup message "This disk can not be quick formatted" or something along that line. Then continue the installation. Please note: During the installation process, your computer will reboot. You will then see a message to press any key to boot from cd. Do not press any key a second time, otherwise the installation will start from scatch again. Complete the next several screens on the setup process and make sure you do not leave the administrator password blank. After following these steps, setup should be complete.

Step 4: Firstly you should install your antivirus software, Spybot S&D and Ad-Aware. Also enable the windows firewall by going to Start>Control Panel>Network and Internet Connections>Network Connections (icon on the bottom-right)>Right-click the Local Area Connection>Properties>Advanced tab>Check the box next to "Protect my computer and network...">OK. After this has been done, install all updates from the Microsoft website (including windows XP service Pack 2). Then install all drivers from your motherboard utilities CD. Now it is time to install your programs.

Step 5: Enjoy the brand new feeling of your Reformatted PC

Hope this tutorial will help some people.

Please feel free to ask any questions.

Regards,

Korrupt

Credits: Additions courtesy of Howard Hopkinso and olefarte

Teng · #26 09-08-2007

Thanks howard_hopkinso for the explanation.
This will come in handy for me because I have
2 computers to fiddle.

So far non have given me any trouble.

Regards

wowaza · #27 09-08-2007

It's fine now. Thank you for your help

Cregeorgia · #28 09-20-2007

um i had one question my cd drive on my computer is broken so is there another way to redownload the windows like use a usb drive?

Rik · #29 09-20-2007

Just get a new cd rom drive, they are really really cheap nowadays.

Ph30nIX · #30 09-21-2007

If you dont have the money to buy a cd drive, try and borrow one from someone.

smoke banshee · #31 09-26-2007

I tried to reformat my computer today, and when I got to the point where I would start formatting my drive and reinstalling Windows, a message to the extent of "no hard disk detected on your computer" appeared. Am I now the proud owner of a dying hard drive, or is there a solution to this?

Johnnie Y · #32 10-12-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by korrupt

Just wondering if anyone used this tutorial to format their pc? If so, how did you go and did you find this helpfull?

Regards,

Korrupt

Been trying your tutorial but still am having problems. I changed the BIOS to start with the CD Drive, but as it goes through the startup I see "Boot from ATAPI CD-ROM: NONE ", then goes to "Please select the operating systme to start: MS Windows XP Professional or MS Windows 2000 Professionsl" and proceeds to start without the CD turning on. Need help.

Johnnie Y

Ksenia · #33 10-18-2007

i wish i read this tutorial few weeks ago))

Ray B · #34 10-18-2007

thanks for all the help, but I have another question, is C drive the only one to get reformatted? is D drive not necessary to be reformatted???

I have the win xp pro cd, but dont have the cd that came with the PC, will I lose all the original stuff that came with the PC when I bought it?

If I understand this right, Im supposed to save Spybot, Adaware and firewall on a CD before starting the reformat???

Thanks

Ray

Rik · #35 10-18-2007

A format will only do your c: unless you get it to do d: too. So anything you wish to keep will be safe on your d:.

Cinders · #36 10-18-2007

If you installed programs on D drive they will not work anymore when you format C because all the registry entries that allow the program to run will be gone.

howard_hopkinso · #37 10-18-2007

Computer questions/problems are not supposed to be posted in this forum.

If you have any questions pertaining to any of the topics in this forum, open a new thread in the appropriate forum and ask. I.E for this topic, questions should probably be posted in our Windows OS forum.

Thread closed.

Regards Howard

lowrider03 · #38 11-05-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by korrupt

Just wondering if anyone used this tutorial to format their pc? If so, how did you go and did you find this helpfull?

Regards,

Korrupt

These are the best instructions on the net, thank you so much! The step by step worked perfectly!

dohayoussef123 · #39 02-12-2011

Hey there. Thank you so much for the step by step on how to format the computer. After I formatted the computer, I realised that the audio device is not present and I cannot hear anything. How can I retrieve the audio device. Please reply soon and thank you!

rickct · #40 02-19-2011

Will this tutorial work for Win 7 and, if not, what modifications are necessary?
Thanks for your help.

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Tutorial: How to reformat your hard drive and install/reinstall Windows

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