Re install / reactivation

i want to format my hard disk and start again. what is the process to
reinstall and reactivate my XP Home operating system?
I am reasonably literate just never done this before :-)

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

peter

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"steveKiddy" wrote in message
...
i want to format my hard disk and start again. what is the process to
reinstall and reactivate my XP Home operating system?
I am reasonably literate just never done this before :-)

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

peter

--
If you find a posting or message from me offensive,inappropriate
or disruptive,please ignore it.
If you dont know how to ignore a posting complain
to me and I will be only too happy to demonstrate :-)

"steveKiddy" wrote in message
...
i want to format my hard disk and start again. what is the process to
reinstall and reactivate my XP Home operating system?
I am reasonably literate just never done this before :-)

On Sun, 18 Jan 2009 05:21:01 -0800, steveKiddy
wrote:

i want to format my hard disk and start again. what is the process to
reinstall and reactivate my XP Home operating system?
I am reasonably literate just never done this before :-)



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://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how...windows_xp.htm

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
usually 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,
Windows XP, and now Windows Vista, each for the period of time before
the next version came out, and each on two or more 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.

And perhaps most important: if you reformat and reinstall without
finding out what caused your problem, you will very likely repeat the
behavior that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in exactly the
same situation.

If you have problems, post the details of them here; it's likely that
someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required.



--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Sun, 18 Jan 2009 05:21:01 -0800, steveKiddy
wrote:

i want to format my hard disk and start again. what is the process to
reinstall and reactivate my XP Home operating system?
I am reasonably literate just never done this before :-)



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://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how...windows_xp.htm

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
usually 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,
Windows XP, and now Windows Vista, each for the period of time before
the next version came out, and each on two or more 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.

And perhaps most important: if you reformat and reinstall without
finding out what caused your problem, you will very likely repeat the
behavior that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in exactly the
same situation.

If you have problems, post the details of them here; it's likely that
someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required.



--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

See this link from my website:
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how...windows_xp.htm

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://www.winuser.co.uk
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com
Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org


The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..


"steveKiddy" wrote in message
...
i want to format my hard disk and start again. what is the process to
reinstall and reactivate my XP Home operating system?
I am reasonably literate just never done this before :-)

See this link from my website:
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how...windows_xp.htm

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://www.winuser.co.uk
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com
Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org


The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..


"steveKiddy" wrote in message
...
i want to format my hard disk and start again. what is the process to
reinstall and reactivate my XP Home operating system?
I am reasonably literate just never done this before :-)

steveKiddy wrote:
i want to format my hard disk and start again. what is the process
to reinstall and reactivate my XP Home operating system?
I am reasonably literate just never done this before :-)

Clean installation?
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

You can install and activate with ease.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

steveKiddy wrote:
i want to format my hard disk and start again. what is the process
to reinstall and reactivate my XP Home operating system?
I am reasonably literate just never done this before :-)

Clean installation?
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

You can install and activate with ease.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

steveKiddy wrote:
i want to format my hard disk and start again. what is the process to
reinstall and reactivate my XP Home operating system?
I am reasonably literate just never done this before :-)



After backing up any data you wish to transfer to the new OS
installation, 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

Then the backed up data can be restored and applications
re-installed from their original installation media.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

steveKiddy wrote:
i want to format my hard disk and start again. what is the process to
reinstall and reactivate my XP Home operating system?
I am reasonably literate just never done this before :-)



After backing up any data you wish to transfer to the new OS
installation, 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

Then the backed up data can be restored and applications
re-installed from their original installation media.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot