Formatting HDD?

S

schitz011

Expert Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2005
Messages
1,097
Reaction score
1
Location
No longer BFN
Is it possible to remove all crap from my HDD and leave just windows.

I've got tons of weird crap lying around my system, hidden away in folders god knows where..

I used xp disc clean up util, but would be interested to know if it's possible to remove everything apart from the Win Xp guts and then reinistall what I actually need.

Did consider reformatting the HDD and reinstalling Win XP, but I'm a bit concerned about getting everything to work correctly afterwards and the activation crap with XP (yes my copy is legit)

any advice/ help etc on either cleaning up my laptop would be welcome..
 
There are some programs that get rid of MT folders but really thats it. You need to go through the Pc and get rid of the stuff you want and dont want. I format is always a nice idea- the activation is not a problem at all.
 
schitz011 said:
Did consider reformatting the HDD and reinstalling Win XP, but I'm a bit concerned about getting everything to work correctly afterwards and the activation crap with XP (yes my copy is legit)
Click to expand...

Then you will be able to reinstall XP and re-activate it.
 
Nothing beats a clean install from a formatted harddrive...

*) Do a full backup of all your documents. Backup the "My Documents", Internet Favourites, Outlook Address Book, Outlook Mail folders and any other neccessary documents. If you have a CD burner you can write this to CDR.

*) Download and install freeware Lavalys Everest Home from
http://www.lavalys.com/products/download.php?pid=1&lang=en

*) Use this program to get a full inventory of your machine, including hardware devices and settings. Maybe also save a full report as .html file somewhere.

*) Download the latest drivers for all your hardware devices. Best is to look at the website of your laptop manafacturer. Get your full laptop make, model and type and search for the drivers. Use the Everest report to find drivers for any custom hardware.

*) Get a copy of Windows XP CD with SP2 on. Copy this from a friend, or make your own streamlined CD. The CD can be copied without any restrictions. You just need a unique key to license the software, which is very easy to do once you are online. You can always phone for the activation key.

*) Boot from the Windows XP SP2 CD and first delete all partitions. Then recreate the neccessary partitions and format with NTFS. Complete the installation.

*) Install all the latest drivers you have downloaded. The basic drivers consists of CHIPSET, VGA, SOUND, NIC, TRACKPOINT, POWER MANAGEMENT.

*) You have 30 days to activate the copy of Windows XP. When your internet connection is active and working do the activation online, but leave out the optional registration.

*) Install the applications you want.

*) Restore your backup documents.

*) Enjoy your fast laptop...
 
schitz011 said:
Is it possible to remove all crap from my HDD and leave just windows.

I've got tons of weird crap lying around my system, hidden away in folders god knows where..
Click to expand...

I had the same problem. My solution WAS to format every few months.
Then I got system mechanic 5, if you are unaware of it it is a program that does everything, defrag, thourough cleanup, registry cleaner everything. It works like a bomb and havent had to format since getting it like a year ago.
 
I'm actually thinking more and more like I should reformat my HDD. I've had the laptop for over a year now and feel like it needs a clean reinstall...

Does anyone know a good step by step guide for refomatting my laptop.
Is it just a case of backing up everything I want to keep and reformatting C:/ and then instering my xp disc and going from there?

Whats the deal with partitions etc? do I need to worry about them?
 
Thanks for the advice all :)

I've got the Dell Resource CD that came with the laptop, I'm gathering that that has all the drivers, etc for the components I'll need..
 
yup it sure does

does system machanic remove all your unwanted programs ?

reloading is always best cleans out all the kuk

system mechanic sucks everytime it does its thing all my passwords and internet login stuff is always gone have to redo like 7 different sites over grrr
 
What i did last time i formated my drive is right after i installed the drivers and software that i really need, is that i made a ghost backup of my HDD onto DVD and put that away, now every time i want to format, i just save all my Outlook mail, and My Documents (unless u changed the target to another drive like i did) and format and restore from the CD. Its much quicker than having to wait for Windows to install, and all i hav to do then is get the latest drivers and updates and import my mail.
 
You can even download AutoPatcher that containes all MS updates up to date, very good to have, very good indeed.
 
Format done

Well, after spending the entire day backing up all my work (and still forgetting to back up my outlook addresses!) I've just done a reformat and install. :)

So nice to see My Computer having 55gigs free again!..

Thanks for all your help guys!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X