guide to clearing out laptop and reinstalling xp

Its been just over a year since I got my first computer (laptop with XP Home) and its been a pretty steep learning curve but I have been greatly supported by this site (thanks everyone). I've tried out alot of stuff and, now I've got some semblance of an idea of what I'm going to use it for, my computer is cluttered with all sorts of stuff don't need or will never use again in places I'm never going to find. I've been advised to wipe my computer and reinstall XP. Can anyone recommend an idiot's (that's me) guide to doing this; preferably some simple and clearly written step by step instruction that will hold my hand throughout the process, or does anyone have any other ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

Mark - I moved this from the general discussions section to here since it is a pure XP topic and you'll get better discussion here.

A complete new start is certainly the quickest way to clean the PC up but also a fairly drastic way since everything goes away.

- Will your laptop boot from the CD?
- Is it a normal XP install CD (the Microsoft thing) or something made up by the folks who do your laptop?
- Is there anything on the hard drive you want to save?

 

http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/

 

Wiping and reinstalling XP

Hey Newt, thanks for getting back to me. XP Home came preinstalled on my laptop. I registered my copy of XP Home with Microsoft shortly after booting my laptop up for the first time. How do I get a copy of the OS to reinstall? There's nothing on the hard drive which I wish to keep as I've made CD copies of any presentations etc I might want to use again. Having a much clearer idea of what I actually use my laptop for, I just want to make a fresh start and begin again. There seems to be all kinds of junk scattered around my hard drive and the thought of wading through this manually makes me want to cry. Look forward, as ever, to any good advice. Thanks in advance.

 

You should have gotten a CD with the PC. Ideal would be one with a real copy of XP on it. More likely is some sort of "repair" thing from the vendor that will simply wipe out the contents and do a fresh install the way they want it set up.

But with laptops, it can be nice to have all the proper drivers on the CD and the settings correct for the PC so ....

If you didn't get a CD, you are entitled and need to contact the folks who sold you the laptop.