Re-formatting & re-loading windows XP

[Guest]

Every 6 months or so, I back-up my necessary files, then re-format 'C' and
re-load my XP OS (OS purchased separately) and my programs to get rid of a
lot of junk that accumulates. I've done this 4 or 5 times in the past. I just
attempted the process again (clean-up the computer), but I'm getting the
message "current system is newer than one attempting to be installed". This
one is news to me...never have seen it before. I'm booting from my XP CD. I
would appreciate any suggestions.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Every 6 months or so, I back-up my necessary files, then re-format
'C' and re-load my XP OS (OS purchased separately) and my programs
to get rid of a lot of junk that accumulates. I've done this 4 or 5
times in the past. I just attempted the process again (clean-up the
computer), but I'm getting the message "current system is newer
than one attempting to be installed". This one is news to
me...never have seen it before. I'm booting from my XP CD. I would
appreciate any suggestions.

Then you are not doing a clean install...
There is no 're-format' involved if you are seeing that message.
What that means is you put in your Windows XP SP1 or prior CD into a Windows
XP SP2 or later system...

You can slipstream SP2 and most post-sp2 patches into your installation
media and burn a new copy.
However - you just need to change the BIOS to boot from the CD, step through
until it asks you where to install, delete the partition(s), create new
partition(s) and format/install on those new partition(s). Then update with
the latest hardware drivers direct from each hardware manufacturer and make
sure your Windows has SP2 and the 70+ post-sp2 patches.

 

[Leonard Grey]

A side issue: There is no reason to reformat and clean install every 6
months. That might have been good advice under certain conditions for
the 9x versions of Windows, but not for XP. And if you ever do feel the
need to reformat/reinstall, the wiser course of action is to maintain an
updated image of a clean install, set up the way you like, which you can
restore in a matter of minutes.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Every 6 months or so, I back-up my necessary files, then re-format 'C' and
re-load my XP OS (OS purchased separately) and my programs to get rid of a
lot of junk that accumulates.

Your choice, of course, but there is absolutely no reason to do this.
It's very poor practice, and often causes more problems than it
solves.

I've done this 4 or 5 times in the past. I just
attempted the process again (clean-up the computer), but I'm getting the
message "current system is newer than one attempting to be installed". This
one is news to me...never have seen it before. I'm booting from my XP CD. I
would appreciate any suggestions.

The reason you are getting the message is that you are trying to do an
installation with a CD that's an older service pack level than what is
already installed.

However, it doesn't matter. If you get such a message, it's because
you are doing the installation incorrectly. When done correctly, the
installation formats the drive, so what starts out on it doesn't
matter at all.

Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if
necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean
installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when
prompted, then create a new one).

You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

or here
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how_do_i_install_windows_xp.htm

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm