Member Avatar for loserkid

hi im new here and i had a question:
i have so many viruses and junk on my computer that i just want to start fresh with none of my former files on there. i had win xp home and then i installed win xp pro and that worked but now i have two seperate os and all my files are still in the other one. i pretty much deleted everything i could from my win xp home but i still have things that i cannot delete because it won't let me and i dont like having two operating systems for no reason. is there a way that i can delete everything (including the two os i currently now have) and just install win xp pro and have nothing from my os on my computer.

thanks in advance

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Masta_Cracka
)BIG"B"Affleck commented: Here you go some techi points to cheer you up......BIG"B"Affleck +29

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A concise, practical plan for starting truly “fresh” (for and anyone reading this later):

Back up any personal files to external media and verify possession of a valid Windows XP Pro install CD and product key plus drivers (network/chipset video/sound). If the machine was heavily infected, back up only personal documents and scan those backups on a known-clean machine before restoring. Consider whether a full disk wipe is needed for privacy or to remove deeply-rooted malware.

The cleanest method is a full reinstall that removes all partitions and creates a single new one before installing XP Pro. Boot from the XP CD, remove every existing partition, create one partition and format it as NTFS (a full format checks for bad sectors). That process erases both OS copies and user files. For stronger assurance that files cannot be recovered, run a secure-disk wipe (third-party tools exist) before reinstalling.

If some files or the old OS refuse to delete because of permissions or locks, boot from the Windows CD into Recovery Console or use a WinPE/Linux live CD to remove stubborn folders and to repair the boot loader (commands such as fixmbr / fixboot on XP-era systems). After Windows is installed, install chipset and network drivers first so updates and antivirus software can be applied immediately; keep the system fully patched and activate with a valid product key.

Good points already raised here by (partition removal) and (use a limited-privilege daily account). To reduce future reinstall needs, keep personal data on a separate data partition, run a non-administrative daily account, use up-to-date antivirus and a firewall, and keep recovery media and drivers handy.

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Member Avatar for )BIG"B"Affleck

Ok when you reinstalled you didnt delete the old partitions. Select them hit D the L and do that to each one till it says get all of them till one is left
Example: 18993 unpartition space

Here you go loserkid a tutorial written entirely by my boy :AciDriveHB
NOTE: when you open this text file in note pad||||click the FORMAT tab at the top and make sure you select WORD WRAP

This isn't something I wrote, just wanted to say that up front. I was just talking to someone the other day that needed instructions on how to install Windows XP. Of course AO is the first place I came to in my search, and actually only found installation instructions for many versions of *nix. So I got to thinking that maybe we need instructions here for other operating systems also.

This is for those of you who are not going to make the switch and are happy with Windows XP.

http://www.tweak3d.net/articles/xp-install/

This is the link I found while searching the web for instructions. There actually were not all that many out there that I really found very helpful. Dan "Tweak Monkey" Kennedy from Tweak3d.net though seemed to follow the typical format procedure that I follow. So I thought instead of writing (ha yeah right, I only type anymore) my entire procedure down, I would just share this link with you and make a few comments on top of what Dan was saying.

Here's what I thought I should add:

+ On page 4 (Choosing Your Partition): I would not use the FAT file system if you are doing a clean install. I use NTFS all the time and have not really run into any compatibility problems with it.

Though if you are upgrading your computer from Windows 98SE or below, or simply do not want to loose information on the drive, I would use the option of not to modify the current file system. Choosing any other option will format the drive.

But if you are installing Windows XP due to a virus, I would suggest that you backup your information before hand (on a CD which you can scan for viruses later and not have to worry about) and delete the current partition, then create a new partition and install Windows XP from there. The reason I say to delete the partition is because that way you can be 99.9% sure that you have taken care of any virus that you might have on your computer.

+ On Page 5 (More Options): I would also like to add that you should really set something for your Administrator password. This account does not typically show up on the front login screen if you use the new XP look and also have 1 or more other accounts created besides the administrator account. But leaving this password blank is a security hazard, due to the fact that all you have to do at the XP login screen is hit CTRL+ALT+DEL twice to get the old user name and password login box. Then all someone would have to do would be type in "Administrator" (without the quotes of course) and could log into your computer and have full access.

Of course the "person" would have to have direct access to your computer (unless remote desktop is setup), but parents should know that kids these days are picking up more and more on all the little tricks of getting around security these days. So it's just a thought.

+ On page 6 (Welcome to Windows): Yes you can skip the Windows Activation, but (as Windows will remind you) you only have 14 days to activate Windows. If you do not activate Windows in that time period, you will not be able to log in after 14 days. Whenever you try logging into your computer Windows will force you right into the activation process. This is just a tip for anyone who might be "sharing" Windows CDs or registration keys.

+ On page 7 (Windows Update): This is kind of an area where you might want to do research even before formatting your computer (unless you will have access to a computer while yours is being formatted). The reason I say this is because I would do some research on updates for Windows that you are not sure about or don't know.

There has been great debate on the Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) update, as with some others. So you might want to take your time and read through what information you can find online. Google is always a good search engine for doing research, but if you want you can always "trust" Microsoft's website on "useful" information on their products.

But I would also agree with doing driver updates. This usually are updates that the company gives Microsoft to put on the update site for easy-of-use to the user. That way all your hardware drivers can be up-to-date; making your computer perform at its top performance.

+ After updating Windows (which should be the first thing done after the installation process is over) I would strongly recommend installing your anti virus software and updating that. That way you won't (hopefully) get any viruses if you are recovering from an infection. Plus you always want to have anti virus software on your computer before you really try installing anything, JUST INCASE it might be infected.



I hope I have helped some people out there with this tutorial post! This is my first tutorial post so if there is anyone who thinks I should add/change/delete anything, please let me know!
Member Avatar for Masta_Cracka

hi im new here and i had a question:
i have so many viruses and junk on my computer that i just want to start fresh with none of my former files on there.

Just a tip bro, run your primary account with limited privileges. That way, next time a virus/trojan comes your way it won't have enough "power" to install/execute itself.


Trust me, it will save you a lot of headaches in the future.

~Masta

commented: BIG"B"Affleck +29
Member Avatar for loserkid

thanks for all the advice guys...my computer seems to be cool now. much appreciated.
-Ryan

Member Avatar for Masta_Cracka

Good deal, glad it worked out well for ya...

~Masta

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