Win XP reinstall on Dell PC

[dderolph]

Trying to resolve problems on a Dell Dimension 8300. Found 47 virus infected files; Ad-aware found 403 items, then Spybot found 192 items. Ran Disk Cleanup, and emptied the Temp folder. Also downloaded HijackThis and removed some more stuff. Finally, reinstalled Win XP; did not wipe the drive clean, just reinstalled that OS. Still have one problem, which is that one or two Explorer windows open every time the computer is started. These windows stay open until closed by the user.

HijackThis shows this item: 04-HKLM\..\Run: [Winsock2 driver] Exlorer.exe

I believe that is probably what is causing the Explorer window open during startup. Removal via HijackThis is not effective. The item just reappears in subsequent scans.

I have the Win XP and drivers CDs that came with this computer. In reinstalled Win XP, but does not clear clutter out of the Registry. I'm inclined to format the hard drive and do a fresh install but I've never done with Win XP. I have gone through that procedure several times with Win 98SE. With 98SE, I would create a Startup disk to use for formatting and/or running fdisk, then install the OS and drivers.

Would appreciate some guidance on how to do this with this computer and the Win XP and driver CDs that came with the computer.

 

[johnjkr1]

You should format the computer. With XP it is simple, boot to the CD, choose enter to install, then don't choose to repair, continue with a new installaiton....destory the old partitions, recreate them then format...from there its the same as usual, service pack, chipset drivers, etc.

 

[dderolph]

Thanks, the process is underway right now.

 

[dderolph]

Successfully installed Win XP. Now, I'm installing drivers that came on a CD with the computer. For the video driver, the information provided states that "This drive must be installed by a user with Windows Administrator privileges. This computer had three users set up before I formatted that hard drive and installed Win XP. I am not a regular user. I set up the three users, but I don't know about setting up Windows Administrator privileges for a certain user. How do I do that?

 

[johnjkr1]

If you just installed xp, and did not create any users, you only have two accounts, the administrator and another one that is practically administrator. User accounts can be edited from "user accounts" in the control panel.

 

[dderolph]

Well, I discovered that all three users I set up have administrative privileges. I did not do that intentionally and I still don't understand much about this but, anyway, it looks like software can be installed under any of the three users I set up since they all have administrative privileges.

I intend to learn more about this aspect of Win XP.

Thanks for you feedback in previous posts.