How do I restart my computer (Windows) from scratch?

Answer 1

You mean dump everything and reinstall all the programs? This is called reformatting the hard drive and it's not a procedure that's meant for someone without an adventurous spirit AND a good computer background. Take it to someone who knows what they are doing!

Answer 2

there are a few ways to re-install windows and start from scratch as you explain
however you will loose any programs and drivers you have installed so you should back up everything before you do this
if you have a product recovery disk this is the best way to re-install windows xp as the disk is specificly designed for your p.c and loads most of the appropriate software
however if you dont have one of these disks you will have to buy a windows xp disk and these coost around £60 but at least you will have a genuine copy and all the perks that come with this
which ever method you use ,you need to insert the disk in the dvd drive and restart the p.c,when the p.c restarts press delete to enter set up and when in there go into advanced bios options and set the boot order to cd rom as the first boot device,then hdd 2nd and floppy drive 3rd,then save and exit set up
when the p.c starts up again you will see a message"press any key to boot from cd"do this and follow the prompts as they appear
the installation is quite easy,its set up for even novices to understand,just take your time and you will be ok
once windows has loaded,its just a case of installing your security software,and drivers(you should have the cds ready for this stage prior to installation of windows
finally you need to activate your copy of windows,you can do this either online(recommended) or by telephone to microsoft( a nuicance)
any problems mate let me know
good luck

Answer 3

If you want to restart (or re-install) windows from scratch, you would require at least the installer of windows. To re-install windows several cases may be possible.

1. Installer is from CD-ROM or any other removable media
2. Installer is from secondary hard disk that will not be used by windows.
3. Installer is from the hard disk itself with windows in it.

Applicable only to 2 and 3:
If you're using windows, first you must create a bootable floppy diskette or any other bootable media. If you fall on case 3, then also copy deltree.exe (can be found from windows 95/98/Me installer in it's cabinets). Be sure to extract it and also save it to the diskette.

Now insert the bootable media you created.

1. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If the installer comes from a CD-ROM, then you won't have much problem at all because you just insert it and then instruct setup to reinstall windows for you. No bootable media needed!

2. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After restarting the PC and rebooting with the removable media. this should appear on screen:

C:\>

if not, then that means either you primary hard disk is not partitioned properly or the boot sector is infected with a virus. To repartition your hard disk, run fdisk. Then delete the partion from the primary drive and then repartition it again (create a new primary partition on the primary hard disk)

then type cd to change the directory of your installer followed by the directory (8.3 dos filename), let's say wininst

c:\>cd wininst

then run setup.exe if windows 98 below or winnt if windows XP.

3. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See 2 for problems when booting.

Note: you must have deltree.exe for this to work.

first list all of the directories in your hard disk using the dir command with this syntax:

c:\> dir /ad /p

and also the hidden ones.

c:\> dir /ad /p /ah

then list all the directories except the directory where your installer is located. Then, use deltree to remove them one by one. Like this:

c:\> deltree windows
c:\> deltree progra~1
c:\> deltree docume~1
c:\> deltree recycled

When you're done, change the directory to your installer and run the appropriate setup program (setup.exe win98 below, winnt winXP)

NOTE: I will not be held responsible for any damage caused by this because this process requires knowledge in manipulating the file system and if you are just a beginner, I would advice you consult an expert.

Answer 4

Do you want to restore it to factory settings, delete everything, or just turn off and turn back on again?

Answer 5

you will need the CD depending on which computer it is. you should get an expert to do this