Issue
How to erase my hard disk drive and start over.
Checklist
The below recommendations are what a user should check before completely erasing their computer hard disk drive and starting over. Following these steps can prevent hours of hassles and headaches. If your computer is not able to boot into Windows Safe Mode skip this checklist.
Did you backup all information on your hard disk drive?
If the computer works, make sure the Windows CD, Recovery CD, or accessing the hidden System Recovery partition works before erasing anything.
Do you have the necessary licensing and OEM numbers needed to register your software again?
If you added any new hardware (e.g. printer, video, card, etc.) since you bought your computer make sure to have the discs needed to install those devices again.
Be prepared to install dozens of patches after everything has been installed. It's very important that you do all Windows updates after installing a fresh copy of Windows on the computer.
Have installation discs or be prepared to download an anti-virus immediately after installing Windows.
Finally, realize that re-installing any operating system to the point of completion is going to take several hours to complete.
Question
How to help make sure all data is erased on hard drive.
Answer
If you concerned with data being read or recovered from your hard disk drive after it has sold or given away, we highly recommend you try the utilities found at the below web pages. Using one of these utilities will allow you to completely remove all data and make it impossible to be recovered or read. After it has been erased you can re-install Windows.
If you have an OEM computer (e.g. Acer, Dell, and Hewlett Packard) the hard drive may have a hidden system recovery partition. Using the below utilities may could erase this partition, making it impossible to restore your computer without a disc.
Try:
Permanent Erasure http://www.winhex.com/security/index-m.html Free
SDelete http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/source/sdelete.html Free
Question
How do I install Microsoft Windows XP.
Answer
Below are the steps required to installing the standard version of Microsoft Windows XP. It is important to realize that some computer manufacturers have their own proprietary install of Windows XP on a Recovery or Restore disc. Therefore the below steps may not all apply to how Windows XP is installed on your computer. If the below steps do not apply it is recommended you contact your computer manufacturer for additional help, Computer Hope will not know how to install Windows using your manufacturers CD.
If you're still able to get into Windows before following the checklist of things to consider before erasing the computer and starting over.
The standard Microsoft Windows XP CD is bootable. Therefore start by placing the Windows XP CD in your computer and reboot.
As computer boots you will be prompted to press Any key to boot from CD, at this time press any key. If you do not get this prompt or are unable to boot from the disc run through the booting from a CD troubleshooting steps.
When the Windows XP setup menu appears press ENTER to continue the setup.
Next, the Windows XP licensing agreement will open, if you agree to this agreement press F8.
Next, Windows will give you the option to repair Windows XP or to install a fresh copy if Windows XP is already installed on the computer. If you're wanting to install a new copy of Windows XP press ESC.
Next, the partition setup will appear, it is recommended that if a partition already exists and you do not plan on having multiple operating systems on the computer that you delete the existing partition before continuing the setup. You will know if a partition exists if you see anything other than Unpartitioned space. Note: When deleting a partition ALL information will be lost.
To delete the partition:
on the drive press D and ENTER then press L to delete the partition and then press ENTER and then if you are aware that this will delete all information on the partition.
Note: If you have multiple partitions, we suggest deleting all partitions unless you plan on using these partitions. Deleting each of the other partitions can be done using the same above steps.
To create the partition:
Select the unpartitioned space you wish to create a partition on and press C, specify the size of the partition in MB, by default this will have the full amount of the drive and press ENTER.
Once you have a partition ready to have Windows XP installed on it press ENTER to install.
Next you will need to select whether the drive will use FAT or NTFS. We suggest NTFS for users who are not sure what file system they wish to use.
After selecting the file system and pressing enter the computer will start formatting the drive. Depending on how big the partition is will determine the length of time the format will take.
After the format Windows will begin installing the files and then take you through a wizard to continue with the remainder of the setup.
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