remaster

[glock]

Hi there, i need to remaster my HD.

My computer crashed at the start up, so re-installed XP Pro, it crashed again, so i installed again. Do i need to remaster my HD, and if i do, how do i do it?

Thanks

[NHH]

Hi Glock..

XP crashing on you could have many causes and can usually be fixed without reinstalling Windows. There's lots of free tools and advice out on the internet that can usually help you.
It would all depend on what happens when XP crashes, what color screen it goes to or what message is shown etc.
But I'll carry on with the rest of your query.

When you say 'remaster', I'm assuming you're after wiping the HDD.
Obviously, when you wipe your HDD you will lose everything you have saved... e.g. downloaded files, device drivers, documents, emails etc. so be sure you want to do it and that you have backups of any important device drivers, e.g. NIC / modem drivers.

If you're sure that the crashing problems can't be fixed (usually there will be a fix) then you can boot your PC from the Windows XP CD instead of the HDD.

• When booting your PC whilst the XP CD in the drive, You should get to the blue Windows setup screen with white text...
  
• Follow the prompts to the 4th screen which states "The following list shows the existing partitions and unpartitioned space on this computer".
  
• Select the main partition ( C: ) shown in the white box & Press 'D' to delete it.
  
• Then you will be shown a warning about deleting the partition. Press 'Enter' to confirm the deletion.
  
• The next screen requires you to press 'L' to finally delete the partition.
  
• Then you are taken back to the partition table screen... follow the promnpts to create a new partition and carry on with rest of the installation.
  

When the Windows installation is complete, you have a clear C: driver whith a new Windows install.

Vin

[glock]

Vin said:

When you say 'remaster', I'm assuming you're after wiping the HDD.

yeah, clear the cashe and that. I think there is a old virus in the cashe. Ive reinstalled and repaired XP and it seems to have helped, although im not saying its fixed. I have noticed that the computer is a lot slower than usual. Ive done a virus scan and a spyware check and its all clear. although when i done a spyware check, i am finding on average i have 9 pieces. miners or somthing. I delete them but the speeds are still slow. My comp speed is 1700Mhz but it feels like 500Mhz. Could this be because there is an old virus in the cashe? I know when you reinstall XP, the cashe from the old reinstalation is still on the HD. Is there anyway to completly wipe the entire HD?

thanks ;D

[NHH]

If you're concerned about a possible virus problem and you think your virus scanner has missed something, Click on the Housecall Online Virus Scanner image on the right of Nethomehelp's front page.
This is one of the most effective scanner's I've ever used, hence it being on my site and will find any virus, worm or malware if any are present.

If you're after wiping your HDD, then start up your PC whilst the Windows XP CD is in your CD drive and follow the instructions I gave in my last post.

[glock]

Vin said:

If you're concerned about a possible virus problem and you think your virus scanner has missed something, Click on the Housecall Online Virus Scanner image on the right of Nethomehelp's front page.
This is one of the most effective scanner's I've ever used, hence it being on my site and will find any virus, worm or malware if any are present.

If you're after wiping your HDD, then start up your PC whilst the Windows XP CD is in your CD drive and follow the instructions I gave in my last post.

I was told to go to command promt and type in format /s

What does that do? I was told it wipes the HDD but im not sure. Ive already put the XP disk in and followed the instructions, but it keeps crashing. You know just before you get the screen that says "Windows XP Professional" how you have a white bar. Well that white bar goes to the end and thats it. I never seen the XP sign atall, so i restart and the same thing happens. When i put the XP disk in the drive, after the 40 mins of waiting, i see the desktop but when i switch back on the computer in the morning i have the same problem.

[NHH]

When I say 'boot the computer from the XP CD' I mean that the computer ignores what's on the HDD when you switch it on and loads the setup program on the Windows CD.

If you're getting the white loading bar then it's still booting from the HDD, not the CD drive.

If the Windows CD is in the drive when you initially switch the computer on then it should boot from the CD drive.
If not, then the computer isn't configured to do so. To change the bootup configuration you need to look for the appropriate setting in the BIOS. You will be shown some text on the screen when you first switch on the computer telling you what key to press to enter the BIOS (sometimes called CMOS).

The format command will wipe the HDD, but how are you going to reinstall Windows if you can't boot from the Windows CD afterwards?

As I said, once you boot from the Windows CD, you'll be OK to follow the instructions.