Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (
More info?)
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87551E3-AA08-43E2-B359-28367F50B63F@microsoft.com,
kirkycake <kirkycake@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
> How do I do a clean reinstallatoin of the OS? Meaning
> completely
> wipe out the hard drive and then install the OS again. I have
> a
> Windows XP Professional SP1 disk, but when I put it in it says
> because my computer has SP2 which make the computer having the
> newer
> version of the Windows, so I can't re-install it unless I
> restart my
> computer and have my disk in there and "boot from the disk",
> but I
> don't know how to do that either so if anyone can help me
> that'll be
> great. Thanks
You boot from the CD by first going into the BIOS setup program
and changing the boot order so that the CD is first.
How to get into your BIOS depends, not on Windows, but on what
motherboard/BIOS you have. As a matter of fact, you have to
access the BIOS before Windows even starts to boot. One common
way is to press the Del key when you first power on, but that's
not necessarily right for your computer. Watch the screen
carefully when you first boot; there's often a message there
telling you what to do. If not, check your system documentation
or check with your vendor.
Also look here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm
Or just try the Del key. There's a good chance that's correct for
you.
Regarding the problem with installing an SP1 version over an SP2
version, it's completely irrelevant for a clean installation,
since doing a clean installation wipes out the existing version.
Do the clean installation correctly (see below) and you won't be
told about it.
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 here:
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 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, 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
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