TBster2001
Junior Member
Hey folks. I need your help. I'm not too great with computers, and I don't think it helps that computers hate me.
I recently bought a used Dell inspiron 8100 that came with XP. When I received the system, the previous owner's settings/documents/etc. were still there, so I decided to start fresh and reinstall XP using the original disk that came with the laptop.
I followed the instructions in the book, but the laptop didn't totally follow the instructions. What I ended up with is 2 versions of XP; the old one that came with the laptop, and a new one that I had just installed. When I boot up the system, one of the screens ask me to choose with one to run. Is this supposed to happen?
I looked up how to uninstall Windows XP using the computer's Help and Support, and it said to go to add/remove programs, and remove it there. However, when I followed those instructions, I didn't see "windows xp" as a program to uninstall.
In addition, the new version that I installed gets hung a lot. CAD won't work, so I have to manually shut it down.
My question is: can someone please tell me how to completely reformat the hard drive, and install (only 1 copy of) Windows XP?
Also, the hard drive is partitioned into 5 different drives:
c=Local Disk
d=SWAP
e=Local Disk
f=IMAGE
g=MM-B
I can't tell whether XP automatically does this partitioning. If it's not automatic, is it possible to "un-partition" the drives?
I know that these may sound like dumb questions, but I can seem to find the answers in neither the stupid manual nor on the computer Help and Support.
I would really appreciate it if you folks could help out this semi-computer-illiterate person. If you need any other information to help me, please let me know.
Thanks,
-TB 😱
I recently bought a used Dell inspiron 8100 that came with XP. When I received the system, the previous owner's settings/documents/etc. were still there, so I decided to start fresh and reinstall XP using the original disk that came with the laptop.
I followed the instructions in the book, but the laptop didn't totally follow the instructions. What I ended up with is 2 versions of XP; the old one that came with the laptop, and a new one that I had just installed. When I boot up the system, one of the screens ask me to choose with one to run. Is this supposed to happen?
I looked up how to uninstall Windows XP using the computer's Help and Support, and it said to go to add/remove programs, and remove it there. However, when I followed those instructions, I didn't see "windows xp" as a program to uninstall.
In addition, the new version that I installed gets hung a lot. CAD won't work, so I have to manually shut it down.
My question is: can someone please tell me how to completely reformat the hard drive, and install (only 1 copy of) Windows XP?
Also, the hard drive is partitioned into 5 different drives:
c=Local Disk
d=SWAP
e=Local Disk
f=IMAGE
g=MM-B
I can't tell whether XP automatically does this partitioning. If it's not automatic, is it possible to "un-partition" the drives?
I know that these may sound like dumb questions, but I can seem to find the answers in neither the stupid manual nor on the computer Help and Support.
I would really appreciate it if you folks could help out this semi-computer-illiterate person. If you need any other information to help me, please let me know.
Thanks,
-TB 😱
