Clean-up computer and reinstall Win XP Pro

[Tony Vella]

I bought a used laptop that has Windows XP Pro on it plus all kinds of other
stuff most of which I never even heard of. What I would like to do is get
rid of everything except Windows XP Pro and then install my Microsoft Office
97 and nothing else. I also want to put the machine in my name and not have
to use a password every time I turn it on. Can anyone please direct me to
some page some place that teaches me how to do the *safely*. The previous
owner did not have Win XP CDs because the laptop is a Compaq and like all
Hewlett-Packard machines came with Windows pre-installed. The laptop has a
CD reader but not a burner.

When recommending a site, please bear in mind that I am a 63 year old geezer
and not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Thanks in advance.

 

[philo]

I bought a used laptop that has Windows XP Pro on it plus all kinds of other
stuff most of which I never even heard of. What I would like to do is get
rid of everything except Windows XP Pro and then install my Microsoft Office
97 and nothing else. I also want to put the machine in my name and not have
to use a password every time I turn it on. Can anyone please direct me to
some page some place that teaches me how to do the *safely*. The previous
owner did not have Win XP CDs because the laptop is a Compaq and like all
Hewlett-Packard machines came with Windows pre-installed. The laptop has a
CD reader but not a burner.

When recommending a site, please bear in mind that I am a 63 year old geezer
and not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Just uninstall any unwanted applications from add/remove programs (in the
control panel)

If there is anything that does not uninstall...


run msconfig and make sure it's removed from startup...

 

[Andrew E.]

A great place to start is at microsoft,try this link for xp
info:http://www.microsoft.com/technet/solutionaccelerators/howto/winxphow.mspx
Youre only problem(s) is the pc & OS is registered to the previous owner
(actually
not legal with microsoft),purchase a retail version of xp or vista,& you can
register in youre name...

 

[Plato]

I bought a used laptop that has Windows XP Pro on it plus all kinds of other
stuff most of which I never even heard of. What I would like to do is get
rid of everything except Windows XP Pro and then install my Microsoft Office
97 and nothing else. I also want to put the machine in my name and not have
to use a password every time I turn it on. Can anyone please direct me to
some page some place that teaches me how to do the *safely*. The previous
owner did not have Win XP CDs because the laptop is a Compaq and like all
Hewlett-Packard machines came with Windows pre-installed. The laptop has a
CD reader but not a burner.

Delete all partitions, or just write zeros to the HDD first.

 

[John John]

It is perfectly legal to sell or give a computer and its operating
system to anyone you wish and that person will then legally own the
computer and will be able to use it without impediment. There is
absolutely no legal requirements that a new copy of the operating system
be purchased.

John

 

[PA Bear]

Reboot the machine & keep tapping the F11 key to bring up boot options.
Does one of these options say something like "Recovery" or "Restore"? If
so, selecting that option will use a hidden recovery partition to restore
the machine to the condition it was in when it was purchased.

[To navigate in the boot option screen, use the up & down arrow keys. To
select an option, press the ENTER key.]

Using the restore/recovery option will end up giving you the equivalent of a
"new computer" so take care of everything on the following webpage before
otherwise connecting the machine to the internet (e.g., to browse, email,
chat, or download anything other than an anti-virus application):

Before You Connect a New Computer to the Internet
http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/before_you_plug_in.html

Security FAQ & Checklist
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/8463

You may find all sorts of free-trial software installed, including an
anti-virus application. Do NOT assume any of them will work! Uninstall all
of them, and purchase a reliable anti-virus application.

 

[Poprivet`]

I bought a used laptop that has Windows XP Pro on it plus all kinds
of other stuff most of which I never even heard of. What I would
like to do is get rid of everything except Windows XP Pro and then
install my Microsoft Office 97 and nothing else. I also want to put
the machine in my name and not have to use a password every time I
turn it on. Can anyone please direct me to some page some place that
teaches me how to do the *safely*. The previous owner did not have
Win XP CDs because the laptop is a Compaq and like all
Hewlett-Packard machines came with Windows pre-installed. The laptop
has a CD reader but not a burner.
When recommending a site, please bear in mind that I am a 63 year old
geezer and not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Thanks in advance.

If you do not have some way of recovering the computer, or putting it back
to the way it was delivered, see where you bought it from and ask for those
instructions. They have to accompany any computer sold with XP on it.

Failing that, you'll have to buy a copy of XP for yourself.

Without your COA and a recovery method the first time it crashes you'll be
finished and unable to rebuild it. YOu'll have trouble with Activation and
updates, also, so this should be gotten out of the way ASAP.

Then, do a complete clean install of XP and reinstall the apps you want with
it, assuming you have all the keycodes etc. to go with those things. If
not, you don't have a valid license to run them.

HTH

 

[nick]

Before I went to all the trouble of reinstalling XP, I would
click START>Settings>Control Panel>Add or Remove Programs.
There I would remove every program you have no use for.

Then play with the PC for a while.

You might also search the hard drive (is it just a C: drive
or is it partitioned into a C: and a D: drive?) for installation
files that might come in handy in the future.

OBTW - I am older than you. This ain't rocket science.

nick

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I bought a used laptop that has Windows XP Pro on it plus all kinds of other
stuff most of which I never even heard of. What I would like to do is get
rid of everything except Windows XP Pro and then install my Microsoft Office
97 and nothing else.

Good. That's a wise thing to do with a used machine.

I also want to put the machine in my name and not have
to use a password every time I turn it on. Can anyone please direct me to
some page some place that teaches me how to do the *safely*. The previous
owner did not have Win XP CDs because the laptop is a Compaq and like all
Hewlett-Packard machines came with Windows pre-installed.

You should contact HP for instructions on how to do this. The
instructions can vary depending on the particular computer, so general
information may not help you.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Just uninstall any unwanted applications from add/remove programs (in the
control panel)

Sorry, but I think that's poor advice. With a used computer, he
*should* reformat and reinstall Windows cleanly. He has no idea how
the computer has been maintained, what has been installed incorrectly,
what is missing, what viruses and spyware there may be, etc. I
wouldn't want to live with somebody else's mistakes and problems,
possibility of kiddie porn, etc., and I wouldn't recommend that anyone
else do either.

 

[philo]

Sorry, but I think that's poor advice. With a used computer, he
*should* reformat and reinstall Windows cleanly. He has no idea how
the computer has been maintained, what has been installed incorrectly,
what is missing, what viruses and spyware there may be, etc. I
wouldn't want to live with somebody else's mistakes and problems,
possibility of kiddie porn, etc., and I wouldn't recommend that anyone
else do either.

True enough but the OP specifically said he does not have the install cd...
so I answered the question in the context from which it was asked.

 

[Daave]

True enough but the OP specifically said he does not have the install
cd... so I answered the question in the context from which it was
asked.

Part of the context was:

If this is accurate, then OP should use the method Compaq provided, most
likely restoring the original image from a hidden partition.

To the OP: What is the model number?

 

[Tony Vella]

Part of the context was:


If this is accurate, then OP should use the method Compaq provided, most
likely restoring the original image from a hidden partition.

To the OP: What is the model number?

It is a Presario 700 originally purchased in Copenhagen. It has a 3.5 floppy
A:, the main local disk C:, and a DVD drive D:

 

[philo]

Part of the context was:


If this is accurate, then OP should use the method Compaq provided, most
likely restoring the original image from a hidden partition.

To the OP: What is the model number?

If the machine does have the hidden partition...
then he could reinstall a clean OS...
of course he'd still have to uninstall all the unwanted apps...
but at least he'd be assured of an absence of any of the previous owners
data

 

[Daave]

It is a Presario 700 originally purchased in Copenhagen. It has a 3.5
floppy A:, the main local disk C:, and a DVD drive D:

Did you see PA Bear's post?

If F11 doesn't work, try F8. But you may need to contact HP if your goal
is to start anew.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I bought a used laptop that has Windows XP Pro on it plus all kinds of
other stuff most of which I never even heard of. What I would like to
do is get rid of everything except Windows XP Pro and then install my
Microsoft Office 97 and nothing else. I also want to put the machine in
my name and not have to use a password every time I turn it on. Can
anyone please direct me to some page some place that teaches me how to
do the *safely*. The previous owner did not have Win XP CDs because
the laptop is a Compaq and like all Hewlett-Packard machines came with
Windows pre-installed. The laptop has a CD reader but not a burner.

When recommending a site, please bear in mind that I am a 63 year old
geezer and not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Thanks in advance.

With second-hand computers, especially if acquired from strangers
but perhaps even if acquired from a family member or friend, your wisest
course of action would definitely be to format the hard drives and start
fresh. You don't want to get in trouble because the original owner may
have filled the hard drive with kiddie porn, or have problems because
the original owner downloaded/installed viruses or other malware.

However, to fix the "Registered to" information for WinNT/2K/XP,
you can use Start > Run > Regedit.exe to edit:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\RegisteredOwner

and:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current
Version\RegisteredOrganization

How this will affect the name displayed in previously installed
applications will vary depending upon each individual program; some read
the registered owner information dynamically, while others read it only
during installation.


--

Bruce Chambers

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