How to make XP CD Format when Clean Installing??

[Diggy]

Help! My friend has a new computer, and he already kind of goofed up the
registry (after just three days, ai-curumba). So he wants to do a clean
install. He does have the XP full install disk. However, we ran into a
problem.

When we did what we thought was a clean install, it seems that the hard
drive was not formatted, so that the pre-existing mess of program folders
created by my friend still resided on the drive, and it almost seems like
the registry had the same program entries as before. So, what the heck, we
wanted to just reformat the hard drive to wipe everything clean, and then
install everything from the very beginning.

But, how do you make the XP CD forma the hard drive when doing a clean
install? (When we did the install we chose to keep the previous disk
partitions the same, and installed XP to its previous location. I'm
guessing this is the reason the XP CD didn't reformat the hard drive?? If
so, how much space should we leave for the OS partition? Total drive space
is 60Gigs.)

Thanks for the help!

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ** Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall **
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| Help! My friend has a new computer, and he already kind of goofed up the
| registry (after just three days, ai-curumba). So he wants to do a clean
| install. He does have the XP full install disk. However, we ran into a
| problem.
|
| When we did what we thought was a clean install, it seems that the hard
| drive was not formatted, so that the pre-existing mess of program folders
| created by my friend still resided on the drive, and it almost seems like
| the registry had the same program entries as before. So, what the heck, we
| wanted to just reformat the hard drive to wipe everything clean, and then
| install everything from the very beginning.
|
| But, how do you make the XP CD forma the hard drive when doing a clean
| install? (When we did the install we chose to keep the previous disk
| partitions the same, and installed XP to its previous location. I'm
| guessing this is the reason the XP CD didn't reformat the hard drive?? If
| so, how much space should we leave for the OS partition? Total drive space
| is 60Gigs.)
|
| Thanks for the help!

 

[Tom Swift]

For you:
Performing a Clean Install of Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/expertzone/columns/honeycutt/02october07.asp

For your friend:
Microsoft Press Books About Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/books/windows/windowsxp/default.asp

Tom Swift

 

[Diggy]

Thanks for the tips. I'm gonna read through those articles. I have an OEM
on my own comp, and the restore CD just returns the system back to the
factory default setup, so I had never actually done a clean install.

But it turns out that we just freakin clicked right passed the option to
format! Part of the problem is that the OS is in Korean, and that's neither
of our native languages. Ha, this is kind of dodgy, but I think it'll work.

--
ICQ#
| Help! My friend has a new computer, and he already kind of goofed up the
| registry (after just three days, ai-curumba). So he wants to do a clean
| install. He does have the XP full install disk. However, we ran into a
| problem.
|
| When we did what we thought was a clean install, it seems that the hard
| drive was not formatted, so that the pre-existing mess of program folders
| created by my friend still resided on the drive, and it almost seems like
| the registry had the same program entries as before. So, what the heck,
we
| wanted to just reformat the hard drive to wipe everything clean, and then
| install everything from the very beginning.
|
| But, how do you make the XP CD forma the hard drive when doing a clean
| install? (When we did the install we chose to keep the previous disk
| partitions the same, and installed XP to its previous location. I'm
| guessing this is the reason the XP CD didn't reformat the hard drive?? If
| so, how much space should we leave for the OS partition? Total drive
space
| is 60Gigs.)
|
| Thanks for the help!
|
| --
| ICQ#
|