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Clean reinstall Win XP: an old question . . .

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18 replies

by imanother

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

. . . but one I can't find a satisfactory answer to. Plenty of advice on offer, but none of it goes through the procedure step by step, all respondents assuming the poor sods experiencing the problems that caused them to decide to do a reinstall know what to do already, in some respects.

In my wife's case, her heavy-duty graphics apps, such as Corel's Painter, having slowed quite a bit, I wished to begin her setup from scratch. Now having tried to reinstall from the Win XP CD, however,I found the procedural windows far from intuitive.

I am not a computer novice (I have my own three computers running Win7, an op. system my wife does not want), but please treat me as one on this question, if you are able to help. May the gods smile on you if you are able to sort out this question that seemingly baffles many.

18 replies

by seanferd

Because you never actually stated the question. :D (But this is what I get from context.)

Could you be a bit more specific as to where you are hung up on the installation process? Because I don't recall having to do anything besides picking a time zone and keyboard region. Maybe setting up a new user account afterward (so that we are not surfing the internet with Administrator privileges!)

Oh, or is it backing up the existing data and settings, and/or reformatting which puzzles you? Whatever the case, you might like to see this http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_clean.asp

Or other sites, if you prefer
http://www.google.com/search?q=step+by+step+xp+clean+install

by oh smeg

As apposed to a System Makers Recovery Disc is the Issue here.

If that is the case you need to press the [b]F6 Key[/b] when the first Blue Screen Appears and then wait till you are prompted to Insert a Floppy with the Driver on it to the A Drive. You will need to previously copy the SATA Driver to the Root of the Floppy.

If you do not have a Floppy Drive you can make a Slipstreamed Install Disc and include the SATA Driver as well as any other Drivers and Service Packs/Hot Fixes that you require by using nLite available free here

http://www.nliteos.com/download.html

Step by Step guides for this program are available here

http://www.nliteos.com/guides.html

Just click on your preferred language for them. ;)

If that's not the issue could you please post back with the actual problem?

Col

by imanother

Hello, OH Smeg. Here you are trying to help me out again. Thank you for the links, which, now that I have more time available, I will return to soon in order to further my education. Also, while I know what a SATA drive is I have not struck the term SATA driver. I must check it out.

To save my having to retype the account of the actual problem I struck and what I did to get around it, would you please check out my reply to the previous response to my question.

Thanks again.

imanother

by imanother

. . . I assumed that the smart peaple who populate this TechRepublic forum would do exactly what you did: pick up from the context of my post that it was indeed in the form of a question. Anyway, seanferd, thanks for your response.

Once I had got passed what I had previously found to be a dead end, the installation of XP went without a hitch, just as you said it ought. The problem I had struck was that the installation wanted to install to a drive other than C:, with no other option on offer. Since I did not want it to install to that, my data drive, I went back to try again, and again . . . Finally, when I reached that point again, I hit Esc ? and was presented with a window wherein I was able to choose the drive I wanted to reinstall to. From then on installation went through smoothly.

Thanks again.

by seanferd

Now that would be confusing, indeed, to be asked to choose a drive other than C: in such a manner. Good work figuring out the road to take! Hope the system runs as smoothly as it finally installed.

For a clean reinstall, you would have wiped the drive first, then XP should ask to format it, then proceed to install. I did not gather this specific trouble point from the original post, my apologies.

Edit: Just a little helpful hint (hopefully) from a forum user: If you find that you are posting the same lengthy question or response frequently, it is useful to type it into a text file and save it for copy/paste operations later. I tend to do it also because long posts are easier to edit that way, and because of all the times forums software or servers have choked and lost everything I typed. (Even when I don't plan on saving the text beyond making sure it actually gets posted.)

Er, not that you need to post a response multiple times in any one forum thread - it is the readers job to view all the posts. ;)

by oh smeg

You have Formatted Drives in a system and add either a new HDD that you want to install the OS to or wipe the OS Drive and reformat it. When you go to reformat it as the C Letter has already been allocated the Boot Drive gets the next available drive letter.

Doesn't hurt the system at all as it will work perfectly with the Boot Drive set to any Drive Letter having it set to C is just a convention that need not be followed.

However to get around this after formatting the Boot Drive all you need do is hit the Reset switch and restart the install. This time as the Drive is Formatted and not set a letter it will display as the C Drive when you get to the stage of installing the OS. ;)

Col

by imanother

It should have been 'clean install'. I was suffering from scrambled brain at the time of my posting. Thanks for your response, balge, and thanks for the useful links.

To save my having to retype the account of the actual problem I struck and what I did to get around it, would you please check out my reply to a previous response to my question.

Regards.

imanother

by balge

hi
no worries, it always helps if everyone's using the same terminology!
So you got through the install ok? Only thing I can add is it might be worth your while looking at slipstreaming, as mentioned previously, if you want to save time updating to SP3.
cheers!

by seanferd

So, for an OS which did not come with at least generic SATA drivers (like XP), you would press F8 when asked, and load the SATA drivers from another disk so that XP installation could find and use the SATA HDD.

Newer operating systems come with at least some SATA drivers, so you wouldn't need the extra step on a clean install.

by ron k.

My solution was to place the drive in an external USB enclosure and format the entire first partition, including the small 4MB (or so)partition, with PartitionMagic; then the installation went easily.

by imanother

Thanks, Ron. I've made a note of that.

Kind regards.

by imanother

Thanks for that, Col; I have salted away that info. You are a gent. In your cool, unassuming way, you are always ready to help. This old feller appreciates it.

Kind regards.

by imanother

If so, I suggesat you enrol for one or two of its terms. If not, try meditating.

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