Reinstalling Windows HELP!

[T_Yamamoto]

can some one tell me in ENGLISH how to do this?
my computer is awfully sluggish so i thought why not
(microsoft help site gave me some long ass answer)
Windows XP Media Edition

 

[Steltek]

I'm presuming you are restoring the Dell E520 referenced in your signature? If so, download the owner manual from the following webpage:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dimE520/en/index.htm

Pages 53-57 in the manual detail the various ways to restore your computer in a simple manner. Do understand before you start that using either Dell PC Restore or the operating system CD will totally wipe the computer and restore it to the factory image. As a result, make sure you back up any files that you want to keep because there will be no undoing it to get something back.

Once the restore operation is completed however you do it, you'll need to connect the machine to the Internet and use Windows Update to install all the service packs and updates needed to secure your computer and bring it up to date. Once that is done, you may even want to use a tool like Clonezilla to create a backup image to simplify restoring your computer in the future.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Yes sir, the machine I am trying to wipe is that Dell,
I have never made a restore points but Im guessing I can do the Dell PC Restore or putting the CD into the disk drive?
Does the Dell PC Restore erase all of the bloatware as well?
Or is the "put the CD into disk into the diskdrive and follow directions" a better way?
I will back most of my files onto a USB and some of my programs.
Do you know if there is a way to back programs up that I want to keep? (Microsoft Office, Starcraft, etc)

 

[Steltek]

If you go the Dell PC Restore route, it will wipe the machine (including any current bloatware) and restore the machine back to the exact state it was when you took it out of the box. This will include bloatware that may have been installed on it by Dell at that time. However, Dell is better than most in this respect - they (unlike HP, for instance) usually don't go crazy with bloatware, and all you normally have to do is to uninstall the software you don't want from add/remove programs. If this option is available, I suggest going with it as it is the simplest to complete.

If your machine came with a Dell Windows XP restore disc, this will reinstall Windows XP itself but without any of the other software that came with your machine. It also may render the Dell PC Restore process unusable. I'd suggest that before you go this route you download all the most recent drivers from the Dell website for your E520 and burn them to a CD so you can access them if needed (i.e. nothing is more irritating than imaging your machine, then finding you can't access the Internet because you don't have the Ethernet driver for your motherboard). You may also want to download and save the various service pack installers from the Microsoft website as well (you can get downloadable versions for network installs; other than being large downloads, they'll work just fine on single machines). Since you are re-imaging, now is also a good time to bring the BIOS up to date if you haven't updated it before (though, if you aren't having any problems, you may not want to mess with it either...).

As far as your software goes, it isn't possible to back up individual installed programs - you'll have to re-install them from the original CDs then apply (if any) subsequent patches needed to ensure they work right. If they came in the form of electronic downloads, you'll want to make sure you save the installers and the product keys. You may be able to back up things like saved games - you'll probably want to google each particular program to see what specifically you need to save and where to find it.

I recommend getting a decent external USB drive. Once you have the OS installed and reconfigured just like you like it (including installing any software that you always install on your machines), image it with Clonezilla or some other software of your choice to create a quick restore image. This will speed up future restorations of your OS by several orders of magnitude over what you have to do this time.

All in all, it is a lot of work. However, you'll usually be shocked at how much better your machine runs after the restore.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Well i have a couple USBs and my phone which has a 16gb sd card that i backed some stuff on.

I saved the programs files by going into program files and compressing them.

Ill be trying the dell restore route as soon as i back all my wanted files

and i have BOTH the reinstallation cd and the resource cd that has all drivers

 

[T_Yamamoto]

clean installed but cant connect to wifi because i dont have my driver for the wireless network

 

[FishAk]

(i.e. nothing is more irritating than imaging your machine, then finding you can't access the Internet because you don't have the Ethernet driver for your motherboard).

When you finish, do yourself a favor and create an image of the OS like Steltek suggested at the end of his first post. In the future when you need to re-install again you can simply restore the image. You will restore all programs, activations, settings, and updates to the exact condition they were in when you took the snapshot. It will only take about 15 to 20 minutes. I like Macrium Reflect- which is free for home use.

Periodically creating new images will keep the image set closer to up-to-date. But don't delete older snapshots unless you know for certain that the more current ones are free from defect- such as malware, or something not working any more. I recently had to revert back two image sets because I had made some changes to Indexing, and it didn't work any more. By keeping a log of the changes between images, it's relatively easy to make those changes again.

 

[Steltek]

clean installed but cant connect to wifi because i dont have my driver for the wireless network

You should be able to download a driver for the card from the manufacturer's website. Copy it to a CD or flash drive, and use that to install it on the E520. Once you have network connectivity, you should then be able to run Windows Update and get everything else brought back up to date before proceeding with restoring your applications.

I'd suggest adding this WIFI driver to your collection of drivers downloaded from the Dell E520 support website so you'll always have an emergency copy if it is needed in the future. Just burn them all to a CD, then put them away with your Dell XP OS restore CD so you can find them if you need them in a pinch.