Reformatting my Computer

I’ve been wanting to reformat my computer for a while now. Can anyone help me?
If anyone can, please give me a detailed procedure of reformatting. Also, I’d like to have a good system that won’t have any conflicts. Here are my computer’s specs:
512 RAM
40 GB of Hard Drive
128 Video Card nVidia MX 4000 AGP 8x
Pentium 4 1.59 GHz
Answer #1
ok here goes:
1. make sure any files you have that you want to keep are safe on another hard drive somewhere. double and triple check because you’ll be kicking yourself if you lose anything
2. choose which operating system you want. look in the appz section to find the one you want. download it, burn it onto cd at a low speed, e.g. 4x to make sure it burns properly.
3. restart the computer, and boot from the cd. if it doesnt come up by itself, you’ll have to go into the setup on your computer when it first turns on (normally by pressing F2) and change it so that it boots from the CD drive.
4. assuming you are installing windows xp, it will load the files it needs, then give you the choice to format your hard drive, at which point you press yes. choose full format instead of quick.
5. continue the installation until it is done
i think thats it. any problems lemme know!
Answer #2
Try this:
http://www.petri.co.il/install_windows_xp_pro.htm

Answer #3
Try this…….
http://awesome-tech.blogspot.com/2007/11/windows-xp-setup-simulator-learn-how-to.html
http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Windows-XP-Setup-Simulator-Download-15586.html
Answer #4
when you are happy with your reformat and reinstall of system and all drivers make an image with norton ghost or true image on DVD or other hard drive or partition if you have more than 1 then whenever you wish you can restore to that condition in about 5 mins flat without the hassel
Answer #5
Thanks guys! I’m just wondering what’s the best OS for my that fits my system specs?
Answer #6
Step 1: Make sure you have your Windows XP disk. I personally delete everything I don�t need, and uninstall all programs that I don�t use. I then make a list of all the programs I still have installed and download all the installers I will need. Also download Spybot Search and Destroy and Ad-Aware but do not install them. I then backup all my important data and all the installers onto a portable hard drive � if you don�t have one you can build one (see HERE http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic53474.html how to build your own external hard drive cheaply) or you can use DVD�s or CD�s. Make sure you have everything backed up and then disconnect the portable hard drive.
Step 2: Insert your windows disk into the Master CD drive (if you have more than one) and turn the computer off. Make sure you are disconnected from any networks. You will need to have your cd drive selected as your first boot device. If it not already selected, you will need to go into your bios and set the boot priority to cd/hdd, then with your Windows cd in your cd drive, save and exit bios.
Step 3: Turn on your computer. A screen will come up saying �Press any key to boot from disk�. Press any key (where�s the �Any� key gone?!). Now wait about 10seconds for the setup utility to be loaded. When asked if you want to set up or repair, hit Enter to set up Windows. Read the license agreement and hit F8 if you agree. If the setup program detects an existing installation of Windows and asks if you want to repair it, hit Esc to skip the repair. The setup program will ask you where to install Windows. Highlight the existing “C: Partition1” partition and hit D to delete it. Hit L to confirm. Next, hit Enter to install Windows on the “Unpartitioned Space”. Format the space as NTFS – You will get an option to choose full or quik format. My experience is that quick format is for disk that have previously formatted. If the disk has not been formatted, then you will have to use the standard format option. Usually you will get a popup message “This disk can not be quick formatted” or something along that line. Then continue the installation. Please note: During the installation process, your computer will reboot. You will then see a message to press any key to boot from cd. Do not press any key a second time, otherwise the installation will start from scatch again. Complete the next several screens on the setup process and make sure you do not leave the administrator password blank. After following these steps, setup should be complete.
Answer #7
Windows XP should work fine with your Specs. Vista is a nono.
Answer #8
look for a Windows XP SP2 bootable CD that has latest updates included (i have one great version from eth0)
1) make sure your BIOS is set to boot from CD/DVD (first priority)
2) boot the cd, let it install and have a cd-key ready on paper (nowhere to get it when your hd is empty )
3) install!
it’s really that simple
P.S: i suggest you use one drive since your HD is only 40gb, no point splitting
Answer #9
Thank you all for being so helpful!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO W-BB and it’s wonderful members!