I want to start over

[circulate]

Hey guys please help me with this

I built my first computer about 4 months ago, used about 80% new parts, 20% of parts are about a year old from another computer.

I want to start over from scratch really, I wanna wipe everything, clean out everything, pretend like it's all brand new again.

Problem is, I don't have a lot of discs/driver discs anymore.

I need your guidance on what to do.

What exactly I'll need ie. "You will NEED to have your OS disc" etc.

I need to know how to get the proper drivers (this is a big one because even though the manufacturers website says I have the latest graphics drivers, i still get a kernal error popup sometimes.)

Please lead me through a successful wipe and start over.

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

Some specs would help lol..or nobody can help you.....

All the best Brett

 

[scottiemedic]

Go through your Device Manager and make a list of all the hardware you have (minus things like USB ports). Then go to each manufacturer's website and download the latest drivers, burn them all to disc then you will have them all ready for after the OS install.

 

[circulate]

@scottiemedic thank you

@Brett928S2 what do you want to know?

 

[scottiemedic]

After you make your list from the Device Manager, post the results here, then we can help you find all the right drivers for your hardware... Thats what Brett is surely looking for too...

 

[amuffin]

full system specs please.

 

[circulate]

Computer > ACPI x64-based PC

Disk drives > MAXTOR STM31000340AS ATA Device

SAMSUNG LTE Card USB Device ( i think these two are because my cell is plugged in)

SAMSUNG LTE USB Device (^)

Display adapters > NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti

DVD/CD-ROM drives > TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S223Q ATA Device

Human Interface Devices > LOTS of stuff that says HID - compliant (will list if asked)

IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers > ATA channel 0, ATA Channel 0, ATA Channel 1, ATA Channel 1, Intel(R) 6 series/C200 Series Chipset Family 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller - 1C08, Intel(R) 6 series/C200 Series Chipset Family 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller - 1C00

Network adapters > Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller

Other devices CDC Serial (this has a yellow !) not sure what it is or why it's not working...

Portable Devices > E:\, F:\

Ports (COM & LPT) > Communications Port (COM1)

Processors > Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2500k CPU @ 3.3GHz (x4)

Sound, video and game controllers > Logitech G930 headset, NVIDIA High Definition Audio (x5)

System devices > SO MUCH STUFF will post if asked.

Universal Serial Bus controllers > Again a ton of stuff will post if asked or needed
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CPU: i5 2500k
MOBO: MSI P67A-C43 (MS-7673)
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 822Mhz core 1645 MHZ Shaders 2004Mhz memory 1024Bytes
RAM: 8gigs ddr3 665.2MHz FSB: DRAM 1:5 CAS# Latency 9.0clocks Cycle time 24clocks Comand rate 1T
OS: windows 7 home premium 64 bit 6.1 build 7601

 

[HEXiT]

go yo the motherboard manufacturers site and get all the drivers. the 1s you will need are the audio, the chipset/nfo installer and the Ethernet drivers. if you have a raid setup then you may need the raid drivers also...
then get the gfx drivers and any other drivers you need for your mouse and keyboard... if you have a sound card, get its drivers 2... now put them all on a dumpstick (256mb 1 will do)
lastly you have 2 choices for sp1 for win7, you can either download the standalone installer or wait till your installed ant add it later.
now your ready to fresh install
go to bios select the dvd drive as primary boot... set ahci mode if you have an ssd,(if you have 1 or more ide drive then you cant use ahci its 1 or the other im afraid but wont affect performance either way. it just allows hot plugging which i dont recommend you use anyway) then just save and quit... insert the win7 boot disk and fresh install... when you get to the drive select set up your partition/s size/s and just fast format it... carry on with the install.. and your done... 1s complete install all the drivers you downloaded onto your dump stick,

the chances are when you completely rebuilt the system you didnt repair install so the old HAL is still active and causing issues (the hardware abstraction layer load system drivers for specific hardware. if you then change the hardware it will still try to load thoughs old drivers even if there not needed and wont install new drivers for the new hardware you added)... you can if you want to save some time just repair install but it really is best to fresh install...

 

[circulate]

I don't need BIOS downloads or firmware or anything?

 

[scottiemedic]

No BIOS update needed. BIOS updates are usually for hardware compatibility or system stability problems. You can check MSI's website for the latest BIOS and see if it affects you, otherwise you don't need it to get your system back up running. Worry about the reinstall before the BIOS update.

Firmware is essentially the same thing, but for individual peripherals instead of the mobo. You only need to flash firmware if there is a problem with your hardware. You can check the manufacturer's websites for those also. The only firmware that MIGHT be available would be for your Maxtor HDD. I have the same burner you do and there isn't a firmware update for it.

 

[circulate]

Can you help me with the other stuff I'll need to download, like 64bit Java? Etc, an unzipping program, etc etc.

 

[scottiemedic]

I use 7-Zip for unzipping, you can google it. Java comes from Sun Microsystems/Oracle (www.oracle.com). Head to www.adobe.com for Flash and Acrobat Reader (for pdfs). You also need an antivirus and anti malware program. I use Microsoft Security Essentials for AV and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. Both are free, but there are commercial alternatives. Norton is top rated, but I personally don't like it, too bloated and slows down boot time. What other programs are you looking for?

 

[circulate]

That should be it I believe, idk why I compiled that list above really, didn't do much good lol.

I guess I got all the drivers I need, got sound, gfx, chipset, ethernet, and maybe 1 more

 

[scottiemedic]

You'll want to download the latest nVidia drivers too...

 

[circulate]

Something is wrong, in my game of choice, world of warcraft, my recommended settings are only "good" they used to be "ultra" Plus, some of the textures are off in game..??

 

[scottiemedic]

I know nothing about WoW, nor ever played it. Are you saying you have already reinstalled Windows, or are you still on your original install?