How 2 Clean Install Without Having To Reinstall Other Programs
Dec 11, 2005
Does anyone know how to properly configure a multi-hard drive Windows XP Home PC with XP OS files on the boot hard drive (30 GB in my case) and all other program & data files on two separate partitions of a 160 GB drive, so that whenever my system starts slowing down, I can wipe the Windows OS drive clean & do a clean install of XP on it, without having to reinstall some 50+ and growing applications I have downloaded but don't have on CD or DVD?Someone I met in passing but didn't get the details from said this was how he had his PC set up, and that all you have to do is make a backup of your Registry files on the non-OS HD and just restore/reinstall the registry on the OS HD after clean installing XP on the OS HD. Microsoft tech support personnel I have asked about this say this is not something they support and they deny this is possible.
But, as I have run semi-weekly virus & malware scans using multiple products and deleted all of the suspicious files they find and am still experiencing increasingly slow and erratic system performance, MS told me I should do a clean install, after burning all of my downloaded program files to DVD and backing up all my data files (already being performed nightly to the 160 GB drive data files partition), then reinstall all drivers and programs off CDs & DVDs. I estimate this will take a good 8-10 hours every time I want to reinstall XP, which I consider an excessive drag on my productivity in my real business. Does anyone know whether the concept I outlined above is feasible, and if so, where can one find a succinct guide on how to implement it, including a clear map of what directories other than C:Windows any OS files are in, and recommendations for a good registry editor program?
I want to upgrade my CPU, seems I also need to upgrade my MB. I have been informed I need to do a clean install of WINXP including SP2 and all updates, I would also have to re-install all my programs and software some of which have been upgrades others I am not sure which are data ,As I am not a newbee but also not that computer savvy to risk loosing a lot of what I consider survival programs. Old enough to be smarter, young enough to know better. No major changes made to computer in over 120 days, just a hard drive way over 6 months ago. Can new MB and CPU be installed without such drastic steps as needing to reinstall everything? At present running on Intel 933MHZ, 640 Ram.
I just completed a clean reinstall of xp. After installing Photoshop CS3 & iTunes my computer has been running severely slow! I know it's the "Bonjour Service" that is auto installed when installing both programs. I have stopped the program through "services" and have been instructed to remove a file via cmd prompt but when I try to do this I get a message stating C:program is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
Yeah I have had this Sony Vaio PCG-FRV37 labtop for almost 4 years now. I just recently discovered that my friend who helped me with installing Windows XP SP2 installed
Professional instead of Home, which came with my computer. Is there a way I can fix that? Or do I have to strip my computer clean and reinstall but with Home edition this time? This has been a problem because I went to go do an upgrade from the Microsoft site but it said I was probably a victim of fake windows. So that's what I am more worried about because I got the windows XP program from Sony pre-loaded.
Also I dunno if this has to do with Windows or not. But my Matshita UJ-810 dvd/cd drive will not open when I click it's eject button. I have to use iTunes to open it. Also it seems to be unable to read cds.
I have downloaded 4 different registry programs and they all give me a different number of problems with my computer. One (Windows Registry Repair Pro) gave me 264 problems, with 255 invalid paths being part of the problem. This one sells for $9.99, is it a good one? I guess there aren't any free registry cleaners available? Which registry program does CNET suggest to be a good one? I have Win XP SP2 Home edition My computer has slowed down and it is probably from the registry right?
I have a bunch of money. So i thought i might as well spend it on something useful. Im looking for several programs or if there is one program that does it all even better I would like a program that just
- cleans my pc, and gets rid of crap like spyware and viruses- makes my pc run as fast as it can -e.g boot up faster and runs programs better
I've reinstalled XP and some icons are missing from the "Start"/"all programs" menu. Both Outlook Express and Internet Explorer are missing. I was able to locate them using "search" then open and pin to start menu. (The search function displays i.e. shortcuts for "administrator", "guest" and the other user, but not for me. The icons do display on the "all programs" list for the other user). Any suggestions as to how to get them back on the "all programs" menu?
Running XP Pro,And wondering how do I clean my registry of ALL the old uninstalled removed programs folders that were long, long ago removed but still remaining in software areas of the various HKeys?
I am trying to clean up my computer.. I use tonIARTS thingy and that works great for me but I do have an awful lot of programs that came with the computer that I don't know if I can get rid of safely.. some I have down loaded myself.
This one has really got me stumped, and even worse, I need this stuff installed ASAP,So yesterday I formatted/install windows xp pro sp2, I did my usual thing, windows updates, fire fox,Skype. I then tried to install MS Office 2007 Enterprise. I (still do) recieved the following error message, "Setup cannot find Office.en-usdwtrig20.exe. Browse to a valid installation source, and then click OK", allowing me to browse for dwtrig20.exe.dwtrig20.exe IS THERE, the installation works perfectly on another machine of mine!I then tried to install MS Visual Studio 2008 Pro, this time, i received an error while trying to install Visual Studio. It failed while installing "Visual Studio Web Authoring Component". I extracted this component and attempted to install it 'on its own' and it failed.
I am reinstalling windows xp. i have had it running for 4 years and its getting slower so i'm thinking of doing a clean install.
what i want to know is; is there a way to list all the currently installed programs to assist me with the reinstallation. I want to be able to print out a list so i can install the same programs again-- bar a pile i will leave off.
I recently overwrit a version of windows. It did not save settings and files for programs that are integral with windows. When I want to use Yahoo or other programs that require integration from windows I get warning messages. I want to just start from scratch. (all programs and apps are on the hard drive and accessable from explorer) is there a function that allows me to format and remove all info except windows? Otherwise I have to reinstall/repair all programs
I bought 2 SATA HDDs and would like to set them up as RAID and clean install XP and all the drivers/programs on them. I don't want to use those image drive programs to transfer the old drive to the new drive. My old HDD has XP on it (activated) and I would like to format it and use it for data storage later. Do I need to reactivate after I clean install XP on the new HDDs (same mobo and CPU)? I have NOT plugged the HDDs in my computer yet.
I am going to try to do a clean install of XP. When i am ready to get my updates do i download all of them at once then reboot or do i have to get one at a time and reboot after each one?
what drivers will I need? ..I have most of the stuff but some of the disks were for my winme OS I think. How do I find out what motherboard I have and what driver I need?if it all goes pear shaped will I be able to put my old master in and get back to square one?if it the Xp install goes fine can I put in my old master as slave and copy the needed files over to the new master? The old master is fat32, so would that be a problem?I only have the winme version of word but my dads laptop has word perfect for xp...could I use this?
I am unable to reinstall my HP printer driver and accompanying software and after spending more than enough time trying to remedy the problem, I've decided to reload Windows XP either by a clean install or a reinstall per this thread. I hope to get some advice here.The details that led to the problem of being unable to install my printer drivers and my attempts to remedy the problem are very long and drawn out and may not be relevant to this post or my desired solution, so I will not go through them unless requested. Suffice it to say that I have spent a good 30 hours attempting to remedy the problem, with a good portion of that time spent with free HP Support. None of their "fixes" or any of my own attempts after lots of research have been successful.
I have installed XP several times on several different machines and thus, I'm very confident with a routine install. However, due to a special configuration on this computer, I need some advice.First: Will a reinstall per this thread potentially fix my printer problem? I know there may not be a definitive answer here, but I would just like to get some feedback.If more detail is needed on the problem, I will be happy to provide it.Second: Due to space restraints on my boot drive (18 GB SCSI drive), I moved the Documents and Settings folder to a large IDE storage drive (E:) on this machine. Will I be able to refer to the Documents and Settings folder during a clean install, so that all of the current settings will load? If not, is there a solution for getting the current settings loaded into the clean XP install?
In reinstalling Windows XP, I did a full format to erase the old programs. While reinstalling the various programs, Sun Java, it posted a screen stating that a version of this program was present in Document and settings. I thought that the full format would clear this out.but evidently it didn't.
how can I clean my c drive so that I can do a complete clean install of xp pro. I do not need to save any of my files or programs. I would rather get rid of all the bugginess and start fresh.
Plan to do a clean re-install of my Toshiba Satellite P10 series , I have the disc's that came with the computer IE . Microsoft Works , and two Discs marked Product Recovery CD-ROM, is this everything i need to do a re-install and what order do i use the Disc's , as you may gather i haven't done this before.
I had gotten some malware, and despite all my efforts(combofix etc.) I couldn't get rid of it, so I bit the bullet and wiped the partition and reinstalled windows XP professional clean. I have gotten malware before and done this no problem.Now after installing windows XP and installing some drivers, I noticed the computer would lag horribly, I checked task manager and it showed 100% CPU usage. I Checked the processes and it is always showing that "system" is the one doing this. Also windows XP is incredibly slow on boot up, and won't even shut down. Now, I'll state what I KNOW is not the problem.
I am working with a small school as IT help (along with other hats). We recently replaced PC's in a computer lab with new IMACs. I now have these older PC's that came preinstalled with Windows XP Home on them. I was going to keep them around to use as back-ups in the classrooms or additions for tutoring,etc. My first question is, since they were used for about 2-3 years in a lab scenario, should I do a fresh install of Windows Xp or just try to clean them up the best I can. (They all are DELL running 797mhz and 512mb RAM.)
If a fresh install is the best option, I have another question.
Its time for me to rebuild the old machine and i started looking for a guide i once saw on here (TG) which showed you the best way to install a clean copy of XP on a new machine.
I recently did a clean install of Windows XP but for some reason one of the features I used to have no longer works when previously it did work. I can't set the PC to hibernate. It's not really a big issue I know but it bugs me and I hate being stumped by such an issue. I've tried everything including looking for drivers. XP says it doesn't need a APIC driver yet it's listed under system hardware. Everything else works fine it's just this little thing that is bugging me silly.
I was trying to do a clean install with my Sister's PC because she messed it up so badly with adwares, spywares, and what-not.First, I tried to boot the XP Home cd but it didn't work. I don't even know if it's bootable?anyways, then I tried installing from Windows itself, which I later read was something I shouldn't have done.The install was going well, then it rebooted the PC. Now, I see an option to boot the XP cd.Specifically, before, I only had options to boot Windows XP Home and go into the Windows Recovery Console.I chose the XP setup and tried to delete the C: drive, but it said I couldn't. Then, I tried to delete the D: drive, and it worked. I tried once again to delete the C: drive to no prevail. So, I thought I'd restart the PC to see if it would change.And then it happened. It didn't start up with the XP setup option nor does it boot Windows. It just loops inself to the Windows XP Home logo, restart, rinse and repeat.
My current situation: C: 1.97gb/109mb free/Healthy System//xp pro installed (stupid me) D: 4.87gb/3.10gb free/Healthy Boot//xp pro installed G: 12.1gb free/Healthy/nothing on it yet. *3 are logical drives on one physical drive I want to delete all partitions and put everything at C: and install xp on it. How am I able to this? Or do you have any of your suggestions about on how to manage the space. Last time I accidently installed xp on c, and it lagged like hell!
I have wanted a new PC for so long, almost 8 years since my last IBM desktop Well my last child is a smarty and she got a ("full boot") paid scholarship to college for upcoming Sept. So wife said go ahead, I bought a Dell, the PC desktop I have always wanted. Now my question, I have had the Dimension E-510 for about a month, I love it, really, from day I took it out of box just perfect! It has XP's Media OS on it. It also has so much "junk" I'm wondering if I should do a Clean Install of the OS. I bought the Operating System on a CD when I purchased the PC. Am I nuts or should I just leave well enough alone? I didn't get a Floopy drive so I guess I would just Boot with the OS CD in it.
Just clean installed XP for the 3rd flippin time in 4 months. Before I load any programs onto the PC. I would welcome any advise as to recovery programs, utility and back up programs etc. that would be a help down the road in case of trouble. Also a recommendation for a good AV program. I used the free Grisoft AVG program last time around and it created some conflicts for me. I also have a firelight 40 g external HD I can use.