Ultra clean fresh WinXP install help

[I hate M$]

Hi everyone, i hope im not going over something thats been discussed too many times, thing is im new to all of this so i could use some advice.

Ive had this PC a year or so now, its a laptop if that matters. Anyways i was looking at the registry the other day and noticed the sheer ammount of crap thats listed there, old demos and things i installed and such.

I figure its about time i gave my computer a fresh clean / whatever install, there isnt an awfull lot i really care about keeping on the HD so i just ended up putting a few things on CD, nothing special but it saves me trying to scour the net to find them again.

The problem is i understand windows keeps a lot of crap around, im hoping to be able to delete everything off of the hardisk completely and do a fresh install of winxp, somone showed this http://dban.sourceforge.net/ and said its good for that, the thing is i really dont have a clue what i am doing.

So like could somone give me a guide to all the things id need to do in order to have my system up and running, safe and secure?

Ill need to know...

1). How to clear the hardrive off completely
2). How to install the OS properly
3). What id need to do after that, like patches ect
4). If SP2 is worth downloading again.
5). Basic tweaks and security fixes (like that damn messanger spam i allways get on new systems)
6). Any other crap =p

Sorry about this, i know its a lot to ask but i want to do it right.

 

[1badtech]

Your computer should have come with a restore CD. Maybe 2 CD's, 1 for Windows XP O/S and another 1 for the manufacturers software and driver. If it did, you'll have no problem re-installing Windows XP. You may even be able to call the manufacturer and get their tech support to help you.

If you are re-installing Windows XP, you don't need to clean up your hard drive. You will be prompted by the Windows XP installation to either repair or do a clean install. Do a clean install and delete the existing partition and create a new NTFS partition. When you create an NTFS partition, your hard drive will be formatted.

Assuming your bios is setup to boot from CD, just put the Windows XP install CD on the drive and start your computer.

When the install is done, you should install an anti-virus program and then do the windows update. It's up to you if you want to download SP2, I would.

Last thing you should do before using your computer is to perform a disk cleanup (delete temp files) and do a disk defrag.

Good Luck!

 

[Blitze105]

its a lil bit to ask but atleat u were specific.
here u go:
1. back up ur files that you want, personal documents and things like that.
2. im just going to tell u how to use the windows cd to format ok? boot ur computer with the windows cd in your cd rom, hit f8 over and over as it boots
3. ull be given a "boot menu" press cdrom and itll load the cd rom
4. now here is where i am not sure, should say if ud like to install windows hit enter, something near there, just follow the directions
5. after all of that it will install, pick ur settings for time and enter ur cdkey
6. ok u should be atleast on ur desktop now.. d/l sp2! then do windows update
7. download ONE of these: (that implies if u do NOT have an antivirus)
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download1968.html
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download886.html

use a firewall:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download388.html

use spybot, hijackthis, and adware personal:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=2471
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=3155
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download506.html

8. install what u want and have a good happy computer

PS
u said download "again" u saved your SP2 somewhere, the install not the actual updates... find the file and copy it to a disk that way u dont have to download it again

 

[I hate M$]

Thanks for that... theres one other thing i was thinking of doing, i dont wanna be a problem though.

My hardisk is a 60 Gb drive (well its 55.6gb.. im a little pissed off that manufacturers dont understand that 1024 mb = gb) anyway i wanted to know if it was possible / worth doing to make a small section of my hardisk for a UNIX os, i dont really know what ones are available and stuff however its just because i heard that for C programming the GCC in unix / linux or whatever is something i should toy around with.

Any thoughts on this / if its worth doing / how / why ect...

 

[1badtech]

Thanks for that... theres one other thing i was thinking of doing, i dont wanna be a problem though.

My hardisk is a 60 Gb drive (well its 55.6gb.. im a little pissed off that manufacturers dont understand that 1024 mb = gb) anyway i wanted to know if it was possible / worth doing to make a small section of my hardisk for a UNIX os, i dont really know what ones are available and stuff however its just because i heard that for C programming the GCC in unix / linux or whatever is something i should toy around with.

Any thoughts on this / if its worth doing / how / why ect...

During the Windows install, you will be asked how much space you want to allocate for NTFS (Windows). The default is the maximum but you should change it so you can leave another partition for Unix or a 2nd windows drive. I would say use 40GB now and decide what you want to do with the rest later.

 

[Blitze105]

very true, but my suggestion is not yet... no offense intended here at all but u might want to learn c++ or C before u do that stuff.
read lil bout it, get a compiler for microsoft, then learn bout the registry and progamming then u can definitly use windows.
i suggest learning about windows first for a good reason.. (i dislike microsoft but...) they are a BIG organization
future jobs may just be in microsoft so u might want to learn bout it a little

oh and you aren't a pain, we're here to help. long as we can read what you are saying and following rules no one will be to angry with you, if they are its their problem not yours

 

[I hate M$]

I've been learning C for quite some time as it is anyways, i own my good ol copy of K&R, i've allways seen C++ as just a subset lol sorry =p, i figure if i eventually do bother with C++ ill have to relearn the syntax and look on it as "oh look, these are some nice extra features... (cout instead of printf for example) rather then if i learned C++ first id go back cursing C for its crap scanf and getchar(functions".

Im much more interested in learning the older lower level languages (like C, and maybe some ASM) rather then the higher end "hype" languages like VB (which frankly sucks imo as you can learn a while about VB and still have no idea what base 8 math is).

The only problem i forsee is the CRLF being screwed up when you cross from UNIX or MAC into WINDOWS, its number 10 in Unix, number 13 in Mac but numbers 10 AND 13 in windows (anyone know a single good reason for this?).

Im just curious still wether or not its a good idea or not.