what is os and how do i reload it ?

Question

my laptop (xp-home edition 2005) is running slow, someone told me to reload os or reformat my harddrive. how do i do it ?. i am only a beginner with a pc so keep it simple please

Answer 1

First...the OS..is your Operating System. Which is XP-Home...When you reformat your HD...You do a complete restore...There's a restore partition on your HD..no matter the version of Xp you have. Usually one can get to that partiton by pressing one of the F then numbers 1-12...Not sure which yours is. If you have the booklet that came with your laptop..I recomend you read it... Information should be under a heading like Restoring your computer. Remember...to reformat..you need to do a complete restore...which case you will loose all saved information...If you have picture or files you dont want to loose..back them up by writing them to cd or disk.

Answer 2

An OS is an Operating System, which in your case, is Windows XP. It is likely someone is asking you to re-install your Operating System. To do this, place your XP disc into your laptop and re-install it. You can do this and clear everything on your computer or choose to keep selected files. This should clear a lot of your cache and unwanted files that are lurking around your system.

Hope this was of some help to you =)

Answer 3

reformat your hard drive1st then put the windows xp in the cd drive and start your computer up, then follow the instructions on how to reload the os (operating system).

Answer 4

A sparkling reinstall will eliminate virus, secret agent ware, etc. yet!!!!! ALL archives will be ERASED!!!!!!! Do a backup of your records on cd. also, you need to pick a cd code(comes with the OS) and/or a product/activation code. you do not ought to purchase yet another version of homestead windows, once you've the reinstall cd, which will do what you pick. I STRONGLY recommend professional help.

Answer 5

ok as a begginer i am going to take you through this in stages (and i recommend you print this out before you start the installation
1)make sure you have your windows xp disk,all driver disks(graphics,chipset,audio),and back up any data you need to keep
2)once you have done all the things in 1) you should insert your xp disc(this might also be called a "recovery disc"which came with your laptop),and insert it in your dvd drive
3)you will then be given a screen with 3 options,1 saying install windows xp, you need to click that one,there are other options such as hardware checks but as your laptop came with xp we will skip them
4)after clicking "install xp"you will be asked for your 25 key license numbers(you will find that on your laptop),you must enter that and press next
5)after that stage you must follow all on-screen prompts,dont rush anything as there is no time limit,windows xp instalation is the easiest of all the windows operating systems to install
6)window will now go through the process of instalation(around 40 minutes),so in this time you should get all your driver discs ready and make a cuppa
7)windows will restart a few times while installing,you will see a message sometimes "press any key to boot from cd",do not press anything ,just ignore it and let windows continue to load
8)once windows xp has finished loading you will be given a screen congratulating you on picking windows xp>click next
9)you will then be asked if you want to register>press "not right now",as you can do this later on>press next
10)you will now be asked for user names>enter your name>press finish
11)congratulations you have finished installing xp,you will then be presented with a desktop with the "bliss"theme and normally a bubble asking you to see the xp tour ,just click it and when the tour window appears,press cancel
12)now you must install all your drivers ,starting with your chipset drivers,then graphic drivers and then your audio drivers
13)you should then install anti-virus software and anti-spyware software,2 good free ones are avast avalible from http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html#3,and for spyware protection try spy-bot avalible from http://www.safer-networking.org/,these should give you enough protection for basic internet surfing
14)by this time you install your modem drivers and this will get you online,but before you do this do these in this order
1.set your screensaver(control panel>display>screensaver)
2.set your home page(right click >internet options>where the homepage area is type in ..www.yahoo.co.uk
3.on display properties go to desktop>customise desktop>and tick my computer,my documents,internet explorer and press ok then apply
15)once you are online you will start to receive microsoft updates,which will include service pack 2 (a major update which can take a long time to download,so be warned)
16)finally you must activate your windows,you can do this by phone(recomended),or do it on line,if you decide to do it by phone, have a pen and paper handy to write down the numbers you will be given by the microsoft representative
17)upon activation ,your done!,you can now tinker around installing any other software such as works and nero,and power dvd
i hope this has helped you,and if you need any assistance during the instalation process do not hesitate ,contact me for any advice you need
good luck

Answer 6

first thing you should do is run defrag, virus checker,spyware checker, and clean up your disk. Then if that does not speed it up, you have to have a reinstall disk to reinstall all of your basic programs etc. that were installed when new. What I use too sometimes to help me is PC Pitstop and it diagnoses alot of problems. www.pcpitstop.com

Answer 7

I'm sorry but its not a simple thing to do.

Either take it to a friend who is good with computers or to a shop and pay for it to be done.

If you are in the nottinghamshire area I'll do it for you...

Answer 8

hi there,

for the beginner it's not so easy...but u can try to do...

Pls use RECOVERY CD that supply to U together with laptop.

10Q