Reinstall and Reformat

- Reserve an entire Saturday or Sunday to this process; cancel all your plans, don't go to church, and order take out.

- Key to Reinstalling and Reformatting is always backup your documents, because you will otherwise lose all your data.

- 100 GB External Hard Drive - makes an excellent backup method.

- What Should I Backup?
My Documents
Personal Data Files
Music Collection
Email
Any You Can't Lose

- Outlook Email Client stores its email in a file with a .PST extension. Other email programs will vary, Outlook Express uses .MBX. Check the documentation on your email client to find out how messages are stored.

- Andy's Email Backup FAQ's - Email Backup

- Automated backup software can back up the entire drive, or just directories that you specify.

- Backing up the entire drive means you're also backing up any viruses, trojans or worms that your system may have.

- Sean Carruther's First Personal Plug - click here.

- Backup Updated Drivers:
Drivers are pieces of software that sits on your computer that allows your operatoring system to talk to the hardware.
Download most updated drivers from the Manufacturer's website.

- Reinstalling Windows XP takes about 1 hour depending on the speed of your computer.

- BIOS - Basic Output / Input System. The BIOS preps your computer to launch the operating system on your computer.

- Older versions of the Windows install CD required a floppy disk with CD drivers onboard.

- At the moment, Windows Vista consumer version is scheduled to launch in January 2007. This may change again.
- A manufacturer restore disk will reset your machine to the exact state it was in when you purchased it. Unfortunately, that means that any software updates, including service packs, will need to be reinstalled.

- With a Windows XP Upgrade disk, you will need the previous verison of Windows to be installed prior to using the upgrade cd. Typically, you're asked to insert the old version, it validates, then you move on with the original install.

- It is worth having Service Pack 2 on CD BEFORE you start this process (this applies if your version of XP is a pre-service pack 2 version), please install SP2 in order to help secure and update your PC before connecting to the net.