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Reinstall XP

Have you ever had a computer problem and found the need to reinstall windows XP? Somebody may have told you that you need to reinstall XP! If you have never done it it can be quite a daunting task however once you've done it you'll wonder what you were worrying about!

Though there are a few pitfalls to be aware of so please follow these procedures to ensure that you don't get caught when you're trying to reinstall XP.

Firstly lets have a look at the reasons why you might want to reinstall XP. The most common reason these days for someone to want to reinstall XP is that their existing XP installation has been corrupted by viruses, spyware or other bits of software. Viruses & spyware are designed to get into the core components and cause problems. If you have a good up to date anti-virus package then this should not happen however there are still plenty of people around who do not have adequate anti-virus provision

There are of course other reasons why you may need to re-install XP & depending on how severe the problem will determine which method of re-installation you will need to perform:-

In Place Reinstall

1. start windows as you would normally
2. insert your Windows XP CD
3. when faced with the windows XP CD Screen select the "install windows XP" option
4. follow the on-screen instructions to re-install Windows XP over the top of your current installation.
5. connect to the internet & download all available updates
6. re-configure your operating system to act as you require

Warning: you should always backup any data or settings which you do not want to lose. This type of repair should not lose any data however you may find that some settings have changed once you have finished the reinstall. When prompted you will need to ensure that you tell the installer program to repair the current installation instead of create a new installation.

Windows Repair

1. Configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM drive. For more information about how to do this, refer to your computer's documentation or contact your computer manufacturer. Then insert your Windows XP Setup CD, and restart your computer.
1. When prompted press any key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.
2. when prompted press ENTER, and then press ENTER displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen.
3. Do not choose to use the Recovery Console to repair your installation of Windows XP.
4. Press F8 to agree to the Windows XP Licensing Agreement.
5. Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected in the box, and then press R to repair Windows XP.
6. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Setup.

Warning: you should always backup any data or settings which you do not want to lose. This type of repair should not lose any data however you may find that some settings have changed once you have finished the reinstall.

Clean reinstall

Clean reinstall of XP refers to wiping your hard disk by reformatting the drive, reinstalling XP and programs to an empty (clean) hard disk. Once you have backed up your data & settings, follow these steps to reinstall Windows XP.

1. boot your PC or laptop from the Windows XP CD (To do this, insert the Windows XP CD into your CD drive or DVD drive, and then restart your computer).
2. You will see "Press any key to boot from CD" displayed on the screen, at this point press any key to start the computer from the Windows XP CD.
3. You will see the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to start Windows XP Setup.
4. Read and agree to the Microsoft Software License Terms, and then press F8.
5. Follow the instructions to select and format the c: partition where you want to reinstall Windows XP.
6. Follow the remander of the instructions on the screen to complete Windows XP Setup
7. Reinstall any drivers which are required.
8. Reinstall any software programs which you need.
9. copy your data back to the drive.

Warning: You should back up all important information before you perform a clean installation of Windows XP, this needs to be backed up to a seperate piece of hardware. You will need to have the drivers for any hardware contained in your PC or laptop before performing a clean install of XP - these can usually be downloaded from the manufacturers website prior to reformatting. For more information about important things to consider before you partition and format you hard disk and how to partition and format your hard disk by using the Windows XP Setup program, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 313348 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348/) How to partition and format a hard disk in Windows XP.

For those of you who do not wish to complete this procedure yourselves, acesupport are happy to reinstall XP for you either through a Single Incident or via an annual cover contract, however we will need to physically have your PC or laptop at our workshop to satisfactorilly complete this procedure - therefore a collection will be required.