How To Program

For what do you want to program your computer? What kind of computer do you have to start with, and what software comes with it? Do you actually have a computer, or are you expecting us to tell you how to construct one from an old TV and bits and pieces arund the house?

Basic outline:
There are specific procedures that are different for each version of Windows and for different hardware.

Boot with a startup disk.

Partition the hard drive.
(partition planning at www.aumha.org)
(fdisk tutorial links at www.fdisk.com/fdisk)

Re-boot from the startup disk, and format the hard drive.

Insert your Windows CD, and run setup.

Install drivers in the following order:
Chip-set drivers for the motherboard.
DirectX (from Microsoft) (install the latest version supported by your video card driver)
Video card driver
Modem driver
Sound driver
Other devices

Connect to Microsoft, and run Windows update.
There are some updates that can cause problems with some versions of Windows and specific hardware.

Boot into safe mode, and run scandisk and defrag.

Install application software.

Again, this is a very basic outline.
If we knew what version of Windows, and what hardware, we could be more specific.

Chas

My guess is that you were just given someone else's computer. It's unlikely that you're asking for help constructing a computer out of spare toaster parts, although that would be cool...

Anyway, does the computer have an existing Operating System (does it do anything when you turn it on)?

If it does, you should be able to tell us what OS it is and what kind of Computer it is. We can then recommend things to do to upgrade it or make it faster etc.

If it does not have an OS, then you need to get one. Depending on the computer (what's inside) we can recommend a few OS choices.

Basically, the answer is "it depends". You need to give us more info.