Restoring/reinstalling (?) a computer?

Question

i have a computer that is pretty virus-ridden and really can't be saved. i've managed to back up everything before it stopped accepting usb drives and writable discs, which is good. i have a bunch of discs that dell sent me a while ago in order to do this. i have... (1) dell dimension resource cd, with device drivers, diagnostics and utilities, and computer documentations (2) reinstallation cd - windows xp professional service pack 2 (3) installation disc for roxio easy cd creator (4) disc for reinstalling dell tools system software - antivirus, support, multimedia, internet software. // now, which should i use first, and what exactly do i do? i know i should probably just call dell, but i hate phone support. i'd rather do it on my own.

or, alternately, where on the web can i find instructions to do this?

Answer 1

Disconnect the computer from the internet by unplugging the ethernet cable.

First, Install the reinstallation CD first. Insert the CD and reboot the computer. Somewhere there is an option to reformat the hard drive. Do that. It will erase everything off the hard drive.
Second, Install the resource disk.
Third, Install the dell tools disk.
Fourth, Install the roxio disk.

Reinsert the internet cable. goto http://www.windowsupdate.com and update your computer.

Answer 2

Christopher is 100% correct...Now, to FINISH the story: Once you have updated through microsoft (DONT GO SURFIN UNTIL YOU DO THIS), you should take the time to uninstall all the junk that Dell puts as trial software on new computers like AOL, games, Norton, and so on. Yes, I said uninstall Norton! Its a memory and cpu hog, and there are viruses that actually target it.

Once everything is uninstalled, download and install in the following order:

1/ Avast free antivirus from http://www.avast.com

2/ Super Anti Spyware from http://www.superantispyware.com

3/ Comodo free firewall from http://www.comodogroup.com

4/ Winpatrol from http://www.winpatrol.com

Make sure you COMPLETELY install and update each before moving to the next. Then go back to Windows Update and choose Try Microsoft Update, and click on the "custom" button. Look over everything and decide what you may or may not want to update. Anything marked critical...DO IT!!!

This will take you quite some time, but you will have a new software setup when done.