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#1
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Reformat and install XP
How do I reformat & re-install XP? I can't seem to get past the sys
configuration files at the beginning, after experiencing some problems. I don't mind losing existing data, it's all backed up. |
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#2
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Reformat and install XP
In ,
Happy typed: How do I reformat & re-install XP? I can't seem to get past the sys configuration files at the beginning, after experiencing some problems. I don't mind losing existing data, it's all backed up. You can't format the Windows drive from within Windows, since that would leave Windows without a leg to stand on. Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one). You can find detailed instructions he http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view, it's almost always a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all your apps to work the way you're comfortable with. Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make everything work the way you like? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. If you have problems, post them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup |
#3
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Reformat and install XP
Ken -
QUOTE from yr reply - It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works...etc. UNQUOTE Totally agree! Had XP(OEM) system 3 years now. Within a week had a prob with CDRW, OEM helpdesk advice was "re-install XP from recovery disk". Was a real novice then, so did that, prob solved. Since which, have lost my OEM disk, but XP still works despite the many changes made since. Bog-standard routines and protection (AV, Firewall, Spybot, disk hygiene, defrag and automatic updates) has kept my system virtually trouble-free. And I'm a Silver Surfer, no expert, but still with enough savvy to learn (you CAN teach an old dog new tricks). Reading these NG postings should be compulsory. Funny how most posters blame XP when it's actually user error, often of the most basic kind! "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: How do I reformat & re-install XP? I can't seem to get past the sys configuration files at the beginning, after experiencing some problems. I don't mind losing existing data, it's all backed up. You can't format the Windows drive from within Windows, since that would leave Windows without a leg to stand on. Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one). You can find detailed instructions he http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view, it's almost always a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all your apps to work the way you're comfortable with. Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make everything work the way you like? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. If you have problems, post them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup |
#4
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Reformat and install XP
It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical
support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). SNIP had a friend that worked at gateway tech support a couple of years ago. he told me that at that time, there was a 10 minute rule....if you can't get the customer back up and running in 10 minutes, tell them the only thing to do then is a restore. it's pretty sad, since while it might take more than 10 minutes, with 5 of those spent re-booting multiple times, i've found it usually takes under 30 minutes to get someone back up. |
#5
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Reformat and install XP
In ,
DanS typed: It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). SNIP had a friend that worked at gateway tech support a couple of years ago. he told me that at that time, there was a 10 minute rule....if you can't get the customer back up and running in 10 minutes, tell them the only thing to do then is a restore. Thanks. I'd never heard of the "ten-minute rule" before, but it doesn't surprise me that they have one. -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup |
#6
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Reformat and install XP
Happy wrote:
How do I reformat & re-install XP? I can't seem to get past the sys configuration files at the beginning, after experiencing some problems. I don't mind losing existing data, it's all backed up. You do it as part of a reinstall of the system after booting the XP CD direct. Enter Setup, and after the license agreement take New Install. When it asks you to confirm where, hit ESC; select and delete the current partition and make a new RAW one to be formatted at the next stage The important point is the delete. Without that it will just go ahead and make a new install over the top of the old one -- Alex Nichol MS MVP (Windows Technologies) Bournemouth, U.K. (remove the D8 bit) |
#7
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Reformat and install XP
Won't boot from CD, and the message I get is "load needed DLLs for kernel"
"Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: How do I reformat & re-install XP? I can't seem to get past the sys configuration files at the beginning, after experiencing some problems. I don't mind losing existing data, it's all backed up. You can't format the Windows drive from within Windows, since that would leave Windows without a leg to stand on. Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one). You can find detailed instructions he http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view, it's almost always a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all your apps to work the way you're comfortable with. Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make everything work the way you like? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. If you have problems, post them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup |
#8
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Reformat and install XP
In ,
Happy typed: Won't boot from CD, Have you set the BIOS boot order for the CD drive to be first? -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup and the message I get is "load needed DLLs for kernel" "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: How do I reformat & re-install XP? I can't seem to get past the sys configuration files at the beginning, after experiencing some problems. I don't mind losing existing data, it's all backed up. You can't format the Windows drive from within Windows, since that would leave Windows without a leg to stand on. Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one). You can find detailed instructions he http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view, it's almost always a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all your apps to work the way you're comfortable with. Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make everything work the way you like? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. If you have problems, post them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup |
#9
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Reformat and install XP
Yes, I did. It says "cannot boot from Cd, error 5,' or something to that
effect. "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: Won't boot from CD, Have you set the BIOS boot order for the CD drive to be first? -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup and the message I get is "load needed DLLs for kernel" "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: How do I reformat & re-install XP? I can't seem to get past the sys configuration files at the beginning, after experiencing some problems. I don't mind losing existing data, it's all backed up. You can't format the Windows drive from within Windows, since that would leave Windows without a leg to stand on. Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one). You can find detailed instructions he http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view, it's almost always a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all your apps to work the way you're comfortable with. Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make everything work the way you like? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. If you have problems, post them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup |
#10
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Reformat and install XP
Are you using a Microsoft Cd or a copy?
-- Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine] (Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested) "Happy" wrote in message ... Yes, I did. It says "cannot boot from Cd, error 5,' or something to that effect. "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: Won't boot from CD, Have you set the BIOS boot order for the CD drive to be first? -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup and the message I get is "load needed DLLs for kernel" "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: How do I reformat & re-install XP? I can't seem to get past the sys configuration files at the beginning, after experiencing some problems. I don't mind losing existing data, it's all backed up. You can't format the Windows drive from within Windows, since that would leave Windows without a leg to stand on. Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one). You can find detailed instructions he http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view, it's almost always a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all your apps to work the way you're comfortable with. Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make everything work the way you like? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. If you have problems, post them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup |
#11
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Reformat and install XP
In ,
Happy typed: Yes, I did. It says "cannot boot from Cd, error 5,' or something to that effect. That sounds like there's something wrong with the CD you're trying to boot from. Have you tried other bootable CDs? -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: Won't boot from CD, Have you set the BIOS boot order for the CD drive to be first? -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup and the message I get is "load needed DLLs for kernel" "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: How do I reformat & re-install XP? I can't seem to get past the sys configuration files at the beginning, after experiencing some problems. I don't mind losing existing data, it's all backed up. You can't format the Windows drive from within Windows, since that would leave Windows without a leg to stand on. Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one). You can find detailed instructions he http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view, it's almost always a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all your apps to work the way you're comfortable with. Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make everything work the way you like? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. If you have problems, post them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup |
#12
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Reformat and install XP
Happy wrote:
How do I reformat & re-install XP? I can't seem to get past the sys configuration files at the beginning, after experiencing some problems. I don't mind losing existing data, it's all backed up. Simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of boot devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.) HOW TO Install Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/default...B;en-us;316941 http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. - RAH |
#13
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Reformat and install XP
It would appear to be a copy, but the person I got it from (the computer)
said it was his back up copy of XP. "Colin Barnhorst" wrote in message ... Are you using a Microsoft Cd or a copy? -- Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine] (Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested) "Happy" wrote in message ... Yes, I did. It says "cannot boot from Cd, error 5,' or something to that effect. "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: Won't boot from CD, Have you set the BIOS boot order for the CD drive to be first? -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup and the message I get is "load needed DLLs for kernel" "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: How do I reformat & re-install XP? I can't seem to get past the sys configuration files at the beginning, after experiencing some problems. I don't mind losing existing data, it's all backed up. You can't format the Windows drive from within Windows, since that would leave Windows without a leg to stand on. Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one). You can find detailed instructions he http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view, it's almost always a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all your apps to work the way you're comfortable with. Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make everything work the way you like? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. If you have problems, post them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup |
#14
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Reformat and install XP
I don't think I have other boot Cd's
"Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: Yes, I did. It says "cannot boot from Cd, error 5,' or something to that effect. That sounds like there's something wrong with the CD you're trying to boot from. Have you tried other bootable CDs? -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: Won't boot from CD, Have you set the BIOS boot order for the CD drive to be first? -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup and the message I get is "load needed DLLs for kernel" "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: How do I reformat & re-install XP? I can't seem to get past the sys configuration files at the beginning, after experiencing some problems. I don't mind losing existing data, it's all backed up. You can't format the Windows drive from within Windows, since that would leave Windows without a leg to stand on. Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one). You can find detailed instructions he http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view, it's almost always a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all your apps to work the way you're comfortable with. Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make everything work the way you like? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. If you have problems, post them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup |
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Reformat and install XP
In news
Happy typed:
I don't think I have other boot Cd's If I were you, I'd try to borrow one from a friend. That will let you find out if the problem is with the CD or the drive. -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: Yes, I did. It says "cannot boot from Cd, error 5,' or something to that effect. That sounds like there's something wrong with the CD you're trying to boot from. Have you tried other bootable CDs? -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: Won't boot from CD, Have you set the BIOS boot order for the CD drive to be first? -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup and the message I get is "load needed DLLs for kernel" "Ken Blake" wrote in message ... In , Happy typed: How do I reformat & re-install XP? I can't seem to get past the sys configuration files at the beginning, after experiencing some problems. I don't mind losing existing data, it's all backed up. You can't format the Windows drive from within Windows, since that would leave Windows without a leg to stand on. Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when prompted, then create a new one). You can find detailed instructions he http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm However why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view, it's almost always a mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next version came out, and each on two machines here. I never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor problem. It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree). But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all your apps to work the way you're comfortable with. Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make everything work the way you like? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed. If you have problems, post them here; it's likely that someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required. -- Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User Please reply to the newsgroup |
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