How to Reinstall Windows XP

Here is how to reinstall Windows XP if you have the recovery disks provided to you when purchasing your computer. This will speed up your computer drastically and remove any viruses that may be infecting your computer.

Steps

1. If you have a Windows XP CD (a Dell "Operating System" CD will work fine) place it in the CD drive.
2. Restart your computer.
3. When it says "Boot from CD..." press Enter.
4. Wait for the CD to load, then follow the on-screen instructions.
5. When a list of partitions is displayed, choose the largest one and press D (NOTE: This WILL delete EVERYTHING on your hard drive).
6. Follow the instructions to delete.
7. Press "F" to format the clean hard drive. (May also be "L" depending on your revision of Windows XP). A quick format will be sufficient unless you have spyware, malware, and/or viruses.
8. Select "NTFS file system and delete old files".
9. Wait about an hour for the drive to format (times may vary depending on the size of the drive and if you chose quick format or not).
10. When the drive finishes formatting, follow the on-screen instructions to install Windows (it displays the keyboard keys and actions on the bottom of the screen).
11. When it finishes installing, it will start up normally with a clean hard drive.
12. Note that my instructions are vague and could be different depending on the type of computer that you have.
13. Additional Note: You are able to do a re-install of Windows Operating System without formatting the hard drive. If this is the case, a backup won't be necessary unless you absolutely see fit to do so.

Tips

• Make sure you read all of the on-screen instructions for every step!!!

Warnings

• All information will be lost, so backup anything you want to save on CD's!

Image Credits: GastonCaba