You need your installation CD's for this:
An operating system software and the Laptop support CD.
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.
Expert
