What is the best way to reinstall Windows XP?

[Skud]

Hi Guys!!!

I have just made a bootable CD of win xp slip-streamed with SP2. All I want to know what's the best way to reinstall win xp other than a clean install. I have a 40 GB drive and the partitions are like this:

C => OS and programs
D & E => Games
F => My Documents and downloaded files from internet.

I want to save the My Documents folder. That's a priority.

Please tell me about repair reinstall.

Thanx in advance.

 

[klinux]

repair reinstallation as far as i know , essentially checks to see if any important system files are corrupted and replaces them . it replaces them without prompting so be careful .
its always advisable to reinstall all the m/b and peripheral devices from their original cd's after repair installation . most programs should work fine

regarding ur my documents . zip the whole folder and keep a copy on each partition , just in case the worst happens . in case the zip file is small , upload it to ur yahoo acct briefcase too . i have saved so many important files that way .

 

[ice]

Since they are on a diff partiotion, u could just format ur C:\ and get on with reinstalling windows, always gives better perf

 

[saROMan]

well rename the my docs folder.....if ur installing on F: else....format c: and install...ur f: files will not b deleted......

 

[iinfi]

just select "clean install" option while running the winXP setup .... while proceeding with the setup @ one point it will ask u if u wanna install a separate copy of the OS or repair the existing one .... Just select the "repair" option and you will not lose any data
regards
arvind.

 

[technoteen]

i think clean insatlation is the best way for installing windows
but before moving further make sure you have drivers for your hardware and all the installations of programs you use
but if want to save your files, follow these steps
1. create a new administrator user and login in it
2. copy the folders of the your orignal users from c:\documents and settings to any other drive
3. then pop in your win xp cd and restart and boot from cd
4. on botting select new installation and accept the EULA
5. the setup will detect your old installation but ignore it and continue with new installation
6. when asked for selecting partition for installation, select c:, format it and conntinue with installation
7. copy the desktop, favorites and my documents folders from the backup location to the freshly installed system
8. if you had installed programs and games in your d, e drives delete their folders (as they wont work after clean installation) and reinstall them again.

 

[rakee]

hey guyz my sys-win98se and winxp...worked fine ...win98se--no prob...when booting into winxp it gives an error..registry file missing or currupt in windows/system32/somefilename
what i did....went inside win98se...opened d drive(my winxp drive)...opened folder repair...copied the file with same name in error...pasted it into winxp/system32...
now xp booted good...but everything looks like it is the first time the os is installed...i find no drivers..no installed programs...800x640 resolution....boooo......boo\
i loved my xp with all those visual works i have done...my precious..help me..help

 

[rakee]

my precious xp...i did took a backup of that earlier file....boo help me pleeeaaaseeeeeee...i want my precious back

 

[rakee]

comeon guyz..someone help me...boo

 

[theraven]

DUDE relax ..
anyways if ur file is gone ... ur settings are gone ...
u have a backup of the file that was there when u "Freshly installed" xp ...
umless u have a workin backup u cant do anything
and if u do have a workin back up then just use it ... shouldnt be a problem

 

[[deXter]]

@ rakee, if you meant visual styles, then they should be unaffected. I dont think any files would have been deleted. All you need to do is just change/configure the settings..

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@Skud, a clean-install is the best way to install XP.

1) Boot the system using the XP CD. (dont install from within windows)
2) Select C: drive and choose format using NTFS (quick).
3) and proceed with the installation.

And you said that your My Documents resides on your F: drive, so you shouldnt face any problem.



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