How to reformat and reinstall your Operating System

I have a problem of my PC because I'm always looking for computer tecnician to fix it.
I prepares to study first your guidelines before to do so.
Cool. thanks

DragonMaster Jay wrote:

How to format your hard drive or OS partition, and re-install your Operating System

Preparation

Discs needed

• Operating System disc (if you do not have one, borrow one from a friend) OR Manufacturer's recovery disc.
  
• Product key for the Operating System (no stealing, you must have your own). The product key is a sticker located in the folder of your OS disc or on the side/bottom of your machine. If the product key was purchased separately or replaced, it may be someplace else.
  
• Motherboard driver's disc(s).
  
• Internet-service-provider disc(s) and/or modem/DSL install disc(s).
  
• All of your program disc(s) {Example: Microsoft Office, Adobe CS4, Windows Live OneCare, etc.}
  

the motherboard driver's disc...
is this the disc titled "drivers and utilities" you get when you purchase your computer?

That is the disc for drivers, you need the one for recovery. It usually comes in a few pieces of DVD.

hello , i bought a used pc that only came with a single disk . refurbished pc i mite add which has been great but i got hit with internet security 2010 and ran malwarebytes when it told me to restart i lost my whole computer. i ran the disk to reinstall my os and now i dont have any way to config internet connections or nothing. be honest i really dont know what im doing. know just enough to get me in trouble. can anyone tell me how to get that stuff back. im lost now. i thought i could do it

Last edited by jmjohnson9 on 3rd January 2010, 4:40 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : added some words)

Is there any possibility of finding your product key on your current OS, maybe in a folder or something :S I am in need of rebooting my Computer but i have lost my win XP CD which had the code on it. I built my computer myself. Could anyone tell me my current options? Unfortunantly System Restore wont work at all for me.

What if you get the Blue Screen of Death when you use the cd?

When you are lucky enough to do a reformat and re-install of your system and you have a SINGLE harddrive, I strongly suggest you do the following:

Create TWO partitions. One will be called SYSTEM and one will be called DATA.

SYSTEM will be your root drive (usually C:), containing Windows operating system and all program files.
DATA will be for all your documents, movies, pictures, music, e-mail (outlook) data files, etc. All the information valuable to you, stuff that can not be re-downloaded from the Internet.

Your SYSTEM partition does not need to be big, depends a little on what you run and what size your HD is.

With this configuration your data will be much safer, because malware usually only infects root drive and programs.
Additionally, you can keep backups (images) of your SYSTEM drive on DATA, (e.g. using Clonezilla live CD) allowing you to VERY QUICKLY recover from a malware infection or other OS-related problems (TIP: to keep images smaller, search www and get temporarily rid of hiberfil.sys and pagefile.sys, two large system file you do not need to backup and delete unnecessary files with an effective cleaner like PureRa).

Even better would be to keep your data on a separate HD, but this is not always possible (e.g. with a laptop and no removable drive available).

Blackwand wrote:

Is there any possibility of finding your product key on your current OS, maybe in a folder or something :S I am in need of rebooting my Computer but i have lost my win XP CD which had the code on it. I built my computer myself. Could anyone tell me my current options? Unfortunantly System Restore wont work at all for me.

Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder:

http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

Used it for years.

Thanks Kenny94 ill be sure to use that, Would you happen to know how i could go about rebooting/reinstalling my OS if i dont own a Windows xp CD, could i just use a friends windows xp boot disk or something??? Help is much appreciated.

Maybe you can find a trial version. Then input your activation code there. Which version of Xp do you have? Home, Professional or Media Center?

I have Windows XP home, if that matters XD

~[Filtered]~
help would be appreciated,

KatS

Blackwand wrote:

I have Windows XP home, if that matters XD

Ah okay. It's probably best to contact your computer manufacture(DELL, Sony, Toshiba etc) and request one(for a small fee). You can't buy Windows XP anymore from Microsoft.

When I boot my HP Laptop, all I see is the HP logo, with "Esc" and "F10" options, then nothing but a blue screen. There doesn't appear to be an operating system. I put the Windows XP installation disc into the CD Rom, and it spins, but there are no options on the screen. Willing to reformat and start over, but it won't get me far enough to do that.
Any suggestions?
rlkfox

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simar123 wrote:

I have a problem of my PC because I'm always looking for computer tecnician to fix it.
I prepares to study first your guidelines before to do so.
Cool. thanks

how do I do this
download the driver for your network card and from what computer the different one thats working or what is this driver a network drive or a card drive ,olease help me all I need now after formating and every thing is good except a missing network driver to get on the net