re loading vista

[mark1111]

I have an old computer that may be infected, ran slow...It has been sitting in a corner for a while and I was thinking of giving it to my nieces/nephews. Can (or should I) reformat disc c and then use the old xp discs to reload getting it to be like it was new?

Any tips you guys might recommend? I have a new computer so this one isn't all that important.

Thanks, Mark

 

[mark1111]

Oops, my last computer had vista, the one I want to reload is xp, I have the discs.

 

[trinket]

Yes, you can do this with XP. This is a great guide from Lifehacker on how to reformat the drive and install XP, including a list of what you should have ready/know beforehand.

And although you're reformatting the hard drive as part of that process, if you want to be extra thorough or just for sheer kicks, you can run something like Darik's Boot and Nuke which can run self-booting and nuke the drive completely before you start so there's no trace of data or virii. Obviously, make sure you don't have any data files that you want/need left behind (make sure you'll have all the appropriate drivers for your hardware, or can get them, if your XP installation doesn't natively support them), or there's no second or recovery partitions or other stuff that's needed. Other than that, have fun!

 

[sonny10305]

Is it not possible to fix most of those problems by using Recovery Manager or doing a system restore ?
Of course everything you want to save will need to be backed up but is that that not a cure all?
I would love to understand al of this a bit more I also have an old computer I haver put away in a closet collecting dust that needs to be repaired. Even thou there is plenty of C space a message keeps popping up saying the computer is low on memory and runs very slow. It is not a virus problem but perhaps something went bad on the Vista operating system.

 

[trinket]

My opinion is that you're taking a bit of a gamble using system restore with the idea that it will remove virii and malware. It's possible and some people have reported success (scans after the restore run clean), but it's not 100% - and how do you know the virus wasn't there at an earlier restore point, and it's claimed that viruses can survive a system restore. Obviously things like a boot-sector or BIOS virus (admittedly much more rare to pick up) can survive. My theory is the "Aliens" one, if you want to sleep well at night about your re-done system: "I say we nuke the site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure."

Will it be a hassle nuking the drive and completely re-installing? Yes. Will you have to download the Service Packs and other Windows updates (assuming what you're installing from isn't slipstreamed from the manufacturer with Service Packs) as soon as you get online with XP since it's vulnerable from a security perspective from that moment? Yes. Is this advice a bit of overkill? Yes, probably. But you've guaranteed yourself a fresh start.

Sonny, your particular problems you describe might not be virus-related so it may be possible for you to roll back. That low memory warning might be the size of your paging/swap file or available disk space - check those things out first.

 

[sonny10305]

Sonny, your particular problems you describe might not be virus-related so it may be possible for you to roll back. That low memory warning might be the size of your paging/swap file or available disk space - check those things out first.

Very kind of you to respond much appreciated
Disk space is good more than half available,
Please tell me more about paging/swap file I heard that before but not sure what it means or how to do it, also what are the reprocusions of doing that
Since this problem came out oif the blue someone at HP suggested a problem has come up with the operating system. They also said adding additonal memory would not help the problem

 

[mark1111]

Trinket, thank you so much! Sonny, good luck with your system. I will post again if there are major problems.

This is why I like JUB so much, the people.

 

[looseliam]

Trinket, thank you so much! Sonny, good luck with your system. I will post again if there are major problems.

This is why I like JUB so much, the people.

The porn's not that bad, either

 

[T-Rexx]

Oops, my last computer had vista, the one I want to reload is xp, I have the discs.

Make sure also that you have the drivers for all of the hardware for the computer, mark. Video, network, audio, etc.

XP does not include drivers on the installation disk the way Vista and 7 do. It can be a hassle, sometimes, to track down everything you need when you do a reformat and reinstallation with XP.

 

[mark1111]

Thanks T rexx, I still have my new computer to download drivers and such if I forget something. The xp one has been sitting around for a while now and I want to do something with it like give it to my sisters kids.