Format hard disk and reinstall XP Home???

  • Thread starter Thread starter Steve
  • Start date Start date
S

Steve

Hi guys,
My PC is acting very weird and after trying loads of things to try to
fix it that didn't work, I'm thinking of trying a complete wipe of the
hard drive and starting over with a fresh install of XP Home. But
how?... (see the thread about my mouse problems)
Can I just slot the XP CD in the drive and go from there or will that
still leave old files on the drive that may have been the problem in
the first place?
Is it possible to remove every trace of old files so that the PC is
sort of returned to the state it was in when it left the factory?
Cheers,
Steve
 
Hi

Depending on which type of XP CD you have, please have a look at the
following article by Michael Stevens regarding a 'Repair' install of XP.
This will keep your files, programs and settings in place:

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

--


Will Denny
MS MVP Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups
 
Will.... to be brutally frank, I'd much rather lose the few progs I
have on here which can all be re-installed in an hour or soand start
from fresh. All my doc files are saved so there's no data that I'm
worried about losing.
I just need the best way to do that if it's possible.
Cheers,
Steve
 
I would simply reinstall XP. It will save you hours of time, since it is not
entirely clear exactly what the repair option actually can repair.

The most efficient route is to buy software such as Norton Partition Magic
(Symantec) and partition your hard drive so that the boot partition contains
only the operating system and program files. Move all of your documents to an
extended partition.

When you reinstall XP, erase and reformat the boot partition. The extended
partitions and all the documents will not be affected. Save all of the
programs you want to reinstall in a folder, on the extended partition, so
they can be quickly reinstalled. I also save a "My documents clone" folder
that has all of the subfolders from the original My Documents folder. After
you rebuild the system copy the cotents over to the new My Documents folder.

Also, back up your DRM files from Media Player. Back up your e-mail program.
Check Documents and Settings folder. You can't just copy over this folder to
the reinstalled WinXP, but some data from your installed base of programs may
be usefull.

By the time you reinstall all the updates and reinstall your programs - my
experience has been that you a looking at one day's effort.

Arne
 
Steve said:
Will.... to be brutally frank, I'd much rather lose the few progs I
have on here which can all be re-installed in an hour or soand start
from fresh. All my doc files are saved so there's no data that I'm
worried about losing.
I just need the best way to do that if it's possible.
Cheers,
Steve
Click to expand...
As someone who does clean installs quite frequently, I agree with you. I
tried the "repair" once, but for the time spent it wasn't worth it and
didn't correct my problems. I too have my files backed up, so doing a
reinstall works best for me. It takes a while to format, then install
XP, and do microsoft updates, but after that it's a snap.
 
Arne

A repair install does more or less re-install the entire OS, the only
difference being that it tries to preserve non-OS stuff..ok, so a repair
install doesn't always work, but it is worth the hour taken and can save
hours of re-installing and re-organising one's system..
 
Is the OS going to be the source of the problem though? Usually, it is the
amateur tweak attempts or layers of changes to the registry system from
programs that are reconfigured or installed and uninstalled.

WinXP works when it is installed.

It is always more than an hour. Even if you could run XP repair in an hour
it will take more time to decide if the repair worked.

Having a dedicated backup drive is becoming as much a part of the computer
system as having a UPS. Hours of my time and the anxiety factor are a
significant opportunity cost.


Arne
 
Steve said:
Hi guys,
My PC is acting very weird and after trying loads of things to try to
fix it that didn't work, I'm thinking of trying a complete wipe of the
hard drive and starting over with a fresh install of XP Home. But
how?... (see the thread about my mouse problems)
Can I just slot the XP CD in the drive and go from there or will that
still leave old files on the drive that may have been the problem in
the first place?
Is it possible to remove every trace of old files so that the PC is
sort of returned to the state it was in when it left the factory?
Cheers,
Steve
Click to expand...


Simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered the
opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the
installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of boot
devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

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

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


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH
 
OK, I did a clean install of XP Home by changing the boot order and
booting from the XP CD and activated it by phone so no internet up to
this point.
I then installed my AVG and the latest updates and did a full scan....
All clear.
Then I got my PC plugged into my router and connected to the internet.
Next on the list was all the windows updates which are now installed.
Then it was the turn of the latest mouse drivers.
Guess what???
Yep. the mouse still freezes every few seconds.
 
Steve said:
OK, I did a clean install of XP Home by changing the boot order and
booting from the XP CD and activated it by phone so no internet up to
this point.
I then installed my AVG and the latest updates and did a full scan....
All clear.
Then I got my PC plugged into my router and connected to the internet.
Next on the list was all the windows updates which are now installed.
Then it was the turn of the latest mouse drivers.
Guess what???
Yep. the mouse still freezes every few seconds.
Click to expand...

Try uninstalling the mouse drivers and see if that works. If your mouse is a
USB mouse with a PS/2 adapter, unplug it from the PS/2 port and plug it into
an empty USB port. If that doesn't work, go buy a new mouse and see if the
new mouse freezes. If the new mouse works perfectly, it was your old mouse
that was the problem.
 
Cheers for the help.
I can give that a try but before I did the clean install I had tried
several mice and they all reacted the same way.
Back in 5.
Steve
 
Steve said:
Cheers for the help.
I can give that a try but before I did the clean install I had tried
several mice and they all reacted the same way.
Back in 5.
Steve
Click to expand...

Make sure it is USB capable to try the USB port. From what you said, it
sounds to me like the PS/2 port may be messed up.
 
OK, I bet you're all hanging on the edge of your seats wondering what
has been happening here so I'll put you out of your misery and tell you
what the problem was and how it was solved.
The problem was nothing to do with the XP installation.
The problem was nothing to do with the mouse.
It was caused by a faulty USB slot on the back of the PC.
As far as I can work it out, each mouse I used was plugged in via a 4
port powered USB hub but the USB slot on the PC that the hub was
plugged into was duff. So, when I tried to plug the mouse directly into
the PC, I removed the hub and used the same slot and got the same
result. The mouse is now in a different slot and all is well.
 
Steve said:
OK, I bet you're all hanging on the edge of your seats wondering what
has been happening here so I'll put you out of your misery and tell you
what the problem was and how it was solved.
The problem was nothing to do with the XP installation.
The problem was nothing to do with the mouse.
It was caused by a faulty USB slot on the back of the PC.
As far as I can work it out, each mouse I used was plugged in via a 4
port powered USB hub but the USB slot on the PC that the hub was
plugged into was duff. So, when I tried to plug the mouse directly into
the PC, I removed the hub and used the same slot and got the same
result. The mouse is now in a different slot and all is well.
Click to expand...

I figured it either was the port or the mouse. Good troubleshooting Steve.
I'm glad all is well now. :)
 
Steve

Way to go.. and on the bright side, you have experience of repair installs..
:-)
 
"Mike Hall (MS-MVP)" said:
Steve

Way to go.. and on the bright side, you have experience of repair installs..
:-)
Click to expand...
And a nice fresh XP installation with all the accumulated junk removed.
;)
 
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