full restore

[Jody]

I am selling my computer, and need to find out how to
restore everything to the way it was on the day I bought
it. The person buying it is new to computers, and I want
her to be able to start from scratch.
How do I do this without using System Restore..? My
Restore settings don't go back all the way to the day I
bought the thing.

How do I do this..?

thanks a lot,
Jody

 

[Will Denny]

Hi Jody

If you are selling your PC, it may be best to perform a 'clean' install and then re-install any other software that was already installed when you first had it. Any user accounts that you have will be referenced in 'Documents and Settings' and also in the Registry.

The following article by MVP Michael Stevens will help you:

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

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I am selling my computer, and need to find out how to
restore everything to the way it was on the day I bought
it. The person buying it is new to computers, and I want
her to be able to start from scratch.

To reinstall WIndows cleanly, boot from the CD and follow the
prompts.

 

[Alex Nichol]

I am selling my computer, and need to find out how to
restore everything to the way it was on the day I bought
it. The person buying it is new to computers, and I want
her to be able to start from scratch.
How do I do this without using System Restore..? My
Restore settings don't go back all the way to the day I
bought the thing.

System Restore is not the tool for the job. You need to format the disk
and reinstall the system. If you bought the machine new with XP
pre-installed, the makers will have supplied a means to do this - maybe
a CD to 'Restore System', maybe material in a partition of the disk
which you get at by hitting a Hot key at boot (HP in particular do
that). See the manual.

If it was a 'retail' system you installed yourself, do a reinstall of
the system after booting the XP CD direct. Enter Setup, and after the
license agreement take New Install. When it asks you to confirm where,
hit ESC; select and delete the current partition and make a new RAW one
to be formatted at the next stage.

Then install any applications programs that you might want to sell as
part of the deal - passing on *their* installation materials with it