I want to format my laptop and reinstall xp

This process will just take a couple minutes. Windows will attempt to check your network connectivity. If you are planning on setting this up later, you can skip this screen. Enter the names of your users. In this step, you can create separate logins for each of the users of your computer.

You must enter at least one name. You can enter up to five users on this screen, but more can be entered through the Control Panel after installing. After entering the names, click Finish to finalize the installation. Windows will work for a few moments and then you will be greeted with your new desktop. Run Windows Update. This will download the latest system updates from Microsoft. These are very important, as the patch system vulnerabilities and stability issues.

Install your drivers. Chances are you will need to install your drivers again now that the computer has been formatted. Depending on the devices you have attached to your computer, this could include your video card, your modem or network card, your sound, and more.

Method 3. Install from the recovery partition. Many computer manufacturers ship their computers with a partition on the hard drive that contains the Windows installation files. In order to access it, you will need to boot into the recovery partition.

The most common key to enter the partition is F This will appear underneath the manufacturer log right after starting the computer. Install from within Windows.

You will need to use a file called winnt This file is a Windows installer that can be run from inside Windows XP. To find it, open the Start menu and click Search. Select "all Files and Folders" from the left frame. Enter "winnt Running winnt From this point, follow Step 3 in the above section. You will still need to enter a valid product key. Your data will be deleted as it would through a regular install. Yes, Windows XP works great in However, Firefox, the only web browser that still supports it, will drop the support in After that, you will still be able to use the internet normally for a while, but eventually websites won't load properly on the outdated browser.

Non-internet based programs Word, Excel, PowerPoint, games, etc. Yes No. Not Helpful 1 Helpful 1. ClixTech Australia. Yes it does. After the format, the computer will start copying files. After that, the computer will reboot. After rebooting it is perfectly safe to remove the CD. If the computer says that a file could not be found, you will need to put the CD back in. Not Helpful 2 Helpful 0.

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Make sure you have easy access to your Product key. Put all your device drivers on a thumb-drive so that you can install them all at once when you are finished with the Windows installation. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. You Might Also Like How to. How to. Co-authors: Updated: April 8, Categories: XP Instructions.

Italiano: Reinstallare Windows XP. Nederlands: Windows XP opnieuw installeren. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read , times. Is this article up to date? Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. About This Article. Featured Articles How to. Trending Articles How to. New Pages How to. Thanks Pete I will give it a go. As i now have the old desk top up and running i can at least keep an eye on this thread if i need help at all.

Help PeteC Pete I tried to get into the Fdisk menu on starting up my lap top but i cant find it I first pressed ctr alt and s to get into the system config but could'nt find anything in there, except the order of drive boot up this is Google search for boot disk downloads and you'll find tons of places that offer boot disk downloads for free.

Get a 9X one 98 is best for you and make sure the fdisk app is on there as well as CD support that will actually support your CD. Newt ,. Newt This might sound a bit daft but why would I need a 98 boot disk when im running XP. I downloaded the XP boot disk already and that doesnt work. I have a 98boot from my husbands computer which went belly up recently and i have already reformatted and it works like a dream now.

Now i have turned to my lap top to sort out its problems and i run XP. I keep looking for menues that look similar to 98win?????? I am looking for the menu that lets me start computer with CD Rom suport or floppy support I know what to do from there. But i cant find this menu. Christer ,. Hi Christer, I mixed in the "formating" of virgin disks with this thread. I'm going away for a few weeks so my repsonses are going to be slow, if I get a chance to respond at all.

Hi All i want to do is wipe off any information on my computer and reinstall XP. To do this i need to get into the menu that does this but i dont know how to get into it, or if its the list in my previous post which option do i chose.

I need to wipe the comp clean as i have two sets of XP due to a reinstall i tried to do right over the top of one that as already on.

So wiping all off and making a clean start is what i want to do. Any help appreciated thanx. Hi stitch! If it auto starts, then just exit. Choose clean installation and follow the instructions.

Follow the instructions. HTH, Christer. I simply put in about where and how to get fdisk since you had said you were looking for it and not finding it with XP. This will initiate the setup. Press the "I agree" key. At the bottom of the screen, you'll see a key e. Press the "Don't Repair" key. You'll see this listed at the bottom of the screen. The "Don't Repair" key is usually Esc.

Delete your current XP installation. Select the NTFS hard drive option using the arrow keys, then press the "Delete" key usually D that's listed at the bottom of the screen. This will indicate to Windows that you want to delete the selected installation. Press L when prompted. Doing so erases the hard drive and returns you to the installation menu. This will select your computer's hard drive as the installation point.

Format your computer's hard drive. Doing so will set up the hard drive for a Windows installation. This process will take several minutes to an hour depending on your hard drive's size. You can select the Quick option here as well, though your hard drive might be improperly formatted if you do so.

Wait for your computer to restart. After the computer finishes formatting, it will restart into the user options setup window. Make sure that you don't press any keys until you arrive at the user options setup window. Part 3. Click Next. It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. You can also click Customize Enter your name, then click Next. Your name goes in the "Name" text field. You can also add a business name in the "Organization" section.

Enter your product key, then click Next. Type the character key that you retrieved earlier into the "Product Key" boxes. Add a password, then click Next. Type your preferred password into the "Administrator password" and "Confirm password" text fields at the bottom of the window. You can also change your computer's name in the text field at the top of the window. Set a date and time zone, then click Next. Click the "Date" drop-down box, select the current date, and then repeat with the "Time" and "Time Zone" boxes.

Check the "Typical Settings" box, then click Next. This will cause Windows XP to install using default settings. Check the "No" box. It's at the top of the window. If your computer is part of a workgroup, you'll instead check the "Yes" box and enter your workgroup's address in the text box. This will complete the installation setup process, at which point Windows XP will resume installing. You may have to wait for 30 minutes or so before the installation finishes.

It might be on a sticker on the bottom of your laptop if that's what you're using. Yes No. Not Helpful 13 Helpful Unless you keep a backup copy of your i folder, you can't.

Ubuntu allows you to dual-boot your computer, which keeps both XP and Ubuntu. Not Helpful 4 Helpful 9. I found an old XP computer. I want to factory reset it.