Reinstalling XP Pro on Partitioned Drive

My system needs a clean install of Windows XP Pro. Currently, I have all my programs on a C partition and my data on an R partition. To get rid of viruses I want to install Windows on a fresh C drive. Questions: 1 - do I have to reformat my C drive before I do the install or will Windows just do it automatically? (If I have to format the C drive before the install how do I do that?) 2 - when I do the install will windows recognize that there are two partitions already set up so my R drive data is available?

I'm not great at this stuff so any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks...Michelle

 

You can do this as a part of the installation process. When windows asks you which partition you wish to install windows on, you have the option to delete existing partitions, createing a new partition in unused space, and formatting unformatted partitions. You would want to delete your c: partition, create a new one in the now free space, then format it (I'd suggest NTFS). Then you can select your new partition as the destination for the remainder of the install process.

 

Michelle,

Here's some good information on performing a 'clean' install of WinXP... MichealStevensTech.com. If you have any questions (or problems), don't hesitate to post back. Good luck.

B