Member Avatar for sharara

i have indows XP.

the drive in my laptop is fragmented in 4 parts.

i want to reformat the windows as my computer is working slower and also the screen has gone out black. no wall paper works there.

i have saved all my data in other drives ...not in C drive.

i have a windows cd. now i want to reinstall windows and i want my all data intact!

please help any one!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by benmar

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reported an XP laptop split into four partitions, wanting to reinstall Windows on C: while keeping other partitions intact; correctly flagged the data‑loss risk, and described a full re‑create approach that would remove partitions. The safest path is to treat the C: partition as a single target for reinstall while taking steps to guarantee the other partitions are untouched and recoverable if anything goes wrong.

Essential pre‑work (do these before starting setup):

  • Verify personal files really live off C: — look for Documents and Settings (XP), Desktop items, email PSTs (*.pst), browser profiles, and any program data stored under C:\Program Files or C:\ProgramData. Copy those files to an external drive or create a partition image of C: (disk‑imaging tools preserve a restorable snapshot).
  • Record the Windows product key/COA and save installers or driver files (especially LAN/wireless and chipset) onto USB so networking works immediately after install.
  • Check for an OEM recovery partition (often small and labeled by manufacturer); do not delete it unless its purpose is understood.

Practical notes for the reinstall itself:

  • Target only the existing system partition for formatting — do not delete or recreate the other partitions. Deleting partitions removes their data and the OEM recovery image if present.
  • If the installer cannot see the disk, BIOS SATA mode (AHCI vs Legacy/IDE) or missing mass‑storage drivers can be the cause; have the manufacturer’s storage driver available or switch to a compatibility mode temporarily.
  • Choose Quick vs Full format based on disk health (Full scans for bad sectors but takes much longer).

After the fresh Windows install:

  • Install chipset and network drivers first, then restore files from the external backup or image. Run a filesystem check (chkdsk) on other partitions if there are read errors.
  • If the black desktop/wallpaper problem persists after a clean install, suspect hardware or video‑driver issues rather than Windows corruption.

Imaging C: before any change is the single best insurance against accidental loss.

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Member Avatar for caperjack

you cant format a harddrive and have all your data intact,a format erases the hdd of all data .

having said that i think i now understant what you meant .you have you drive partition into 4 parts,windows on c:\ and data on othere 3 correct,if so then just boot to your windows cd and you will get option to format c:/ and install windows to it ,all 4 partition will show in the list to chose from ,make sure you chose correct one ,they will belisted by size so wright dow the drive letters and size to make sure you are formatting correct one

Member Avatar for benmar

Steps in REINSTALLING WINDOWS XP

1 restart your computer and go to setup usually by pressing the F2 or delete key.

2 Once you get into setup look for the boot menu and
make sure you set it to boot from cd first followed by your hard drive.

3 Put the Windows xp disk into your cd.

4 Now save your settings and exit setup.

5 While your computer is booting you will see a message that says "press any key to boot from cd" press any key.

6 When the welcome to setup screen appears press enter and then press F8 to accept the Microsoft licence agreement.

7 You will be prompted to repair an insallation press the escape key.

8 Now select the partition that you want to reformat and
press the D key to delete it you will be asked to confirm that you want to delete the partition.

9 Now press C to create a brand new partition you will
be asked what size you want the partition to be in mega bytes.
If you just press enter then the partition will be the maximum size that you can have.
This is perfectly ok if you don`t want to create multiple partitions.

10 You will now be asked to format the partition select the ntfs file sytem and do a full format.

11 Once the format is complete setup will continue.

Your computer will restart during the remaining setup again you will
be asked to press any key to boot from cd DO NOT PRESS ANYTHING. and setup will continue.
Once the setup is complete and you are back in Windows remove the Windows cd from your cd drive.

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