Do I delete Partition1 [NTFS] to re-install windows xp professiona

[John]

I used the cd set to recover stuff, now the system continues to work slow and
not work with software it use to work with. So now I feel that the only way
to get this computer working is to re-install the system software. In doing
so I have come to a window that lists the existing partitions on C:. It asks
if I want to delete partition, install windows xp (if you select that it says
that you cannot have two operating systems on the same partition, so I did
not do that) or quit. Do I delete the Partition1 [ntfs] 38146 MB ,21953 mb
free>? and what do I do with the unpartitioned space 8 mb?

 

[GreenieLeBrun]

I used the cd set to recover stuff, now the system continues to work
slow and not work with software it use to work with. So now I feel
that the only way to get this computer working is to re-install the
system software. In doing so I have come to a window that lists the
existing partitions on C:. It asks if I want to delete partition,
install windows xp (if you select that it says that you cannot have
two operating systems on the same partition, so I did not do that) or
quit. Do I delete the Partition1 [ntfs] 38146 MB ,21953 mb free>?
and what do I do with the unpartitioned space 8 mb?

I you wish to remove *everything* on the drive, then yes you delete the
partition. The 8Mb is reserved to allow the conversion of the disk to a
"dynamic disk", don't worry about it you cannot alter this.

How to install or upgrade to Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=316941

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

Before you do a complete nuke and reinstall have you tried a repair install?

How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315341

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Remember you need to have the product key and the relevant drivers for the
hardware in the machine.

If your machine is a proprietry OEM (e.g. Dell, HP, IBM etc.) the the
recovery disks should give you the option of restroring the machine to the
factory defaults.