Formatting xp

Hi, in furture i may need to format my pc, XP Home. How do I go about it? Different than Win 98?

 

search google on 'clean install xp' and u'll get details. it's also written in the readme file on the xp cd.

basics:

boot to xp installer CD, hit F8 'i agree', delete current partitions - careful if u've got a restore partiton here, create new ones and install

should have started off w/ 'check w/ the maker of u'r pc' as the restore mode is not the same on all machines. eg - u got a dell? read their docs on how to do this first.

 

thanks skeet, it not dell,compac etc. Do those tips clean my hard drive then install windows xp? I have oem windows xp home cd.

 

yeah, the key part to me is deletion and creation of new partition(s).

if u'r looking to zero a drive, the drive maker probably has a utility to do this. u'd do the zero process first. then boot and install xp w/ the xp cd.

 

thanks skeet

 

Skeet, I deceided to do it yesterday and it was quite easy. Thanks alot for your help.
rgds

 

welcome ... it's a really good idea to do this occasionally. i do it about every 4 mos or so. but i've been doing that routinely since win 3.1

that and a good backup routine w/ multiple copies/types will save u many aspirin/time