I have inherited a Dell laptop about 5 years old (Inspiron 8100) with
Windows XP from a deceased relative. He was not someone who did much
maintenance like defragging etc. nor even protected very dutifully
against viruses, etc. I would like to clean off the hard drive
completely and then reinstall I know next to nothing about PCs. Can
anyone direct me to an idiot-proof guide, preferably online and step-
by-step to doing this?

Thanks.

Idiot proof? Never heard of such a thing. However you can go to DELL support
site anddownload all the drivers you need. Just type in the Service Tag and
it will bring you to the download page for that system. We still use the
Inspirion 8100 here at work and I've reloaded and done clean installs many
of times on them. Piece of cake.


"Skookum" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have inherited a Dell laptop about 5 years old (Inspiron 8100) with
> Windows XP from a deceased relative. He was not someone who did much
> maintenance like defragging etc. nor even protected very dutifully
> against viruses, etc. I would like to clean off the hard drive
> completely and then reinstall I know next to nothing about PCs. Can
> anyone direct me to an idiot-proof guide, preferably online and step-
> by-step to doing this?
>
> Thanks.
>

"Skookum" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote
>I have inherited a Dell laptop about 5 years old (Inspiron 8100) with
> Windows XP from a deceased relative. He was not someone who did much
> maintenance like defragging etc. nor even protected very dutifully
> against viruses, etc. I would like to clean off the hard drive
> completely and then reinstall I know next to nothing about PCs. Can
> anyone direct me to an idiot-proof guide, preferably online and step-
> by-step to doing this?

It's always a good idea, with a used computer, to do a clean install of the
OS and applications. That way you don't inherit the operating system
problems and malware.

Do you have a Dell recovery CD or a Windows XP installation CD? If the
former contact Dell tech support for detailed info on how to do a clean
install with their CD, but normally you just boot with the CD and follow the
prompts.

If it's a Windows XP installation CD here is a link with info on how to do a
clean install. Just make sure you delete the old partitions during the
install so XP is installed clean.

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

You'll also need to install all the hardware drivers: motherboard chipset,
Network interface card, video card, sound card, etc. If these devices came
with the Dell then get the drivers from the Dell website and burn them to
CD. If any are retail cards go to the device manufacturer's web site and
get the latest drivers from there.

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

contact your public library and local schools to see if there is a computer club in your area.
people there are EAGER to help. for FREE.
attending the meetings is very educational as well.



(E-Mail Removed)



"Skookum" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:(E-Mail Removed)...
I have inherited a Dell laptop about 5 years old (Inspiron 8100) with
Windows XP from a deceased relative. He was not someone who did much
maintenance like defragging etc. nor even protected very dutifully
against viruses, etc. I would like to clean off the hard drive
completely and then reinstall I know next to nothing about PCs. Can
anyone direct me to an idiot-proof guide, preferably online and step-
by-step to doing this?

Thanks.

"Skookum" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have inherited a Dell laptop about 5 years old (Inspiron 8100) with
> Windows XP from a deceased relative. He was not someone who did much
> maintenance like defragging etc. nor even protected very dutifully
> against viruses, etc. I would like to clean off the hard drive
> completely and then reinstall I know next to nothing about PCs. Can
> anyone direct me to an idiot-proof guide, preferably online and step-
> by-step to doing this?
>
> Thanks.

First, determine what the Windows key is, and write it down; compare it to
the key on the bottom of the laptop.
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

Then, Look through the CDs that came with the computer. There should be an
OS installation CD, and a driver CD. Boot from the OS installation CD, and
walk through a reinstall, choosing to format the drive first. If you are
asked for an install key, use the one you wrote down, or the one on the
bottom of the laptop. It's pretty straightforward, there are no overly
technical questions.

Once the install is done, install any drivers from the driver CD.

For step-by-step, look here:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

Then, go immediately to the Windows Update site, and install all the
updates. In Internet Explorer, go to Tools, Windows Update.

Then, get an anti-virus program, such as AVG Free ( free.grisoft.com ).
Update it.

Then you can create user accounts - don't just use the Administrator
account.

Finally, log onto the account you want to use and install the applications
you want.

HTH
-pk

Skookum wrote:
>
> I have inherited a Dell laptop about 5 years old (Inspiron 8100) with

Write zeros to the hard drive then install the OS you want to use.

--
http://www.bootdisk.com/

On Jul 2, 3:24 pm, "SBS Rocker" <nore...@NoDomain.com> wrote:
> Idiot proof? Never heard of such a thing. However you can go to DELL support
> site anddownload all the drivers you need. Just type in the Service Tag and
> it will bring you to the download page for that system. We still use the
> Inspirion 8100 here at work and I've reloaded and done clean installs many
> of times on them. Piece of cake.
>
> "Skookum" <n...@uniserve.com> wrote in message

For SBS Rocker: from yourdictionary.com:

idiot-proof definition
adj.
Slang
Made or designed to be used or operated with very little risk of
breakage or failure: "These point-and-shoot cameras are almost idiot-
proof" (Donald H. Dunn).

Hope this clarifies my usage.