Can you list the procedure for preparing for a clean install of the operating system on an existing PC please.

Felicity-Anne Quinn, Sydney, NSW

Everyone, at some time or other, will be faced with the task of the dreaded “Format and Reinstall” If you're one of those people who have a “Brand Name” computer you’ll most likely have a “Recovery CD” or a hidden partition on your hard drive containing your system’s installation files, and your task will be relatively simple and painless. Those who have previously used ‘Imaging’ software to create a backup copy of their system when it was in good working order will also have a quite simple task in front of them.

But for the rest of us, who are simply faced with wiping everything clean, the task can be a daunting one. Preparation is the key to success of course, and this guide is aimed at identifying what you’ll need to do before you start.

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GENERAL

Why not prepare yourself a CD beforehand that contains the items you’ll need when you reinstall? Having everything you need on the one CD will help make installing them a less onerous task. Collect the necessaries together, put them into a sensible directory structure that will make them easy to find later, and write the lot to CD.

This is more a "how to make life easier down the track" than a "what to do now" suggestion: Create a Downloads folder within My Documents. When you download and install anything from the Web, put it in there (you can put a shortcut to the folder on your desktop). Within the Downloads folder create a Reinstall Essentials sub-folder. Every fortnight or month, go through the contents of the Downloads folder and drag anything you can't live without into the Reinstall Essentials sub-folder. – Rose Vines

And take a tip! If any of the bits ‘n’ pieces that you collect together are in ‘zipped’ archive files, extract them before you write them to CD. You’ll only be putting an unnecessary obstacle in front of you if you don’t, particularly if those archives are of a format such as ‘.ACE’, .RAR or any other of the archive formats which Windows doesn’t directly handle!

I find that sorting out the various files into a directory structure on the hard drive first is worth the effort.

Most items should be downloaded from the internet, to ensure you have the latest versions. But those with dial-up connections may prefer to collect them from elsewhere. If you’ve kept the cover CDs from your PC User magazines you’ll find yourself with a head start. Use HelpStation’s Site Search to find out which CD contains the files you’re looking for. Make sure you check “Cover CD” for the Section you wish to search. When you’ve identified which CD contains the files you want browse the CD to locate them using ‘My Computer’ and copy the relevant folders and files to your hard drive.

It may sound easier to simply install the various bits ‘n’ pieces from the cover CDs themselves later on but consider this:

• There’s less ‘disk-swapping’ involved if you collect the stuff together first
• You’ll get more practice at locating, copying and organizing files if you follow my suggestion and
• You might get into the habit of collecting together the ‘important bits’ as you obtain them, instead of leaving it all for another ‘big job’ next time you need to re-install

If you also purchase other more specialized magazines in the pursuit of your computing interests (such as a genealogy magazine?), you might find relevant material on the cover CDs for those to add to the list discussed in this article.

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DRIVERS

Although device drivers can be downloaded from the internet after you install Windows on your system, it’s best to download and collect them together before you start. Downloading and using updated drivers is always the best option. After all, those drivers on the disk which accompanied your component or peripheral were probably out of date by the time the component hit the Shop shelves!

Motherboard

Visit the manufacturer’s website for your motherboard and download the most recent drivers for chipset and any on-board facilities that you plan to use. Make sure you download the versions for your particular version of Windows.

Also download any ‘extras’ that are on offer, such as Hardware monitoring Utilities, BIOS updates and such, and while you’re at it you may as well collect the most recent version of the manual for your motherboard.

Graphics Card

Rather than downloading drivers from the manufacturer’s website for your graphics card, it’s perfectly adequate (and often better) to download the ‘reference’ drivers from the graphics processor manufacturer’s website. Most graphics cards differ very little from the ‘reference’ design for the card in any case.

Ensure you get the version for your Windows version, and it’s a good idea to browse the ‘archived drivers’ section and collect a couple of older versions as well. If your display card is an older model, you may find that an older version of the driver works best with it.

Soundcard

If you’re using ‘onboard’ sound, these will have been collected with the motherboard drivers. If you are using an add-in soundcard, however, make sure you have the latest drivers for it. Most sound cards in use are versions of ‘Creative SoundBlaster’ cards still, and it’s important to note that two categories of driver are provided by Creative. Make sure you get the ‘Full’ version of the driver pack and not the ‘Update’ version, because the latter isn’t actually a full driver installation set.

Other components

Download the latest driver available for your component and Windows version from the website of the component manufacturer. If you can’t find a website to source the drivers for any of your other component drivers from, try searching for suitable drivers from driver archives such as DriverGuide www.driverguide.com

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OPERATING SYSTEM UPDATES

Much of the later work of downloading “Windows Updates” can be eliminated with a bit of careful collection and preparation. If you’ve a recent copy of Windows XP it will most likely already have Service Pack 1 included with the installation, but if you haven’t, you can obtain a free Security Update CD from Microsoft, which includes all Security updates for the various versions of Windows which were issued prior to October, 2003. The CD also includes Internet Explorer 6 with Service Pack 1, Windows Media Player 9, and DirectX 9.

You can obtain the CD by visiting Microsoft’s website and ordering it.

Windows XP Service Pack 2 should be released soon, and when it becomes available I’d suggest that everyone download and save it to CD, rather than installing it directly from the Windows Update website.

Having as many updates as possible stored on CD will reduce dramatically the amount of time you’ll later need to spend updating your Windows installation.

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SOFTWARE

I’d advise you to avoid using the ‘Bundled Software’ that comes on component and peripherals installation Disks where possible. There are usually better programs available elsewhere. In particular, avoid using the bundled software included with older components and peripherals, as it will be most likely outdated programs, and if you’ve updated to Windows XP they may be program versions which don’t work particularly well with the newer OS.

Start off by collecting the various ‘Utility’ programs that you frequently use. My personal list includes:

• Acrobat Reader
• AdAware
• Spybot Search & Destroy
• CloneCD
• Belarc Advisor …..and so on

Include the ones you consider to be ‘must haves’ and that you’ve downloaded from the internet or install from Cover CDs. Collecting them together in one place makes things easier for you.

Next, locate and collect together the installation CDs for the commercial software and games that you wish to load back onto your system.

And finally, when you’ve got all this collected, sorted and assembled Stop! Think! And have a good look through your programs list, your Add/Remove programs entries, and your hard drives to see if there’s anything you rely on that you’ve forgotten to include.

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DO YOU NEED A STARTUP DISKETTE?

When you have all the files you’ll need assembled, whatever way you decide to do so, it’s time to make yourself a new Windows Start-up diskette if you are a Windows 98 or Windows Me user. Windows 2000 and Windows XP users should not need to use a Startup diskette, as the Installation CD is capable of removing old partitions on your hard drive, and creating fresh ones for a clean installation.

“Got one already!” do I hear you say?

Well make another one as well! Floppy diskettes are fragile things at best, and I don’t know how many times I’ve heard of people getting to format and install time and finding that their precious ‘Startup Diskette’ is no longer readable, or generates errors when it’s used to boot the system from. Make sure you have a fresh, new diskette and open up Control Pane, Add/Remove Programs to create a new one.

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WHAT ABOUT YOUR DATA?

Of course, make sure you’ve got all your data files backed up as well. You’ll need to back up your data files, whatever they may be – documents, music, videos and images and so on. You’ll also need to back up your Internet favourites, email, word templates, Savegames, and any other data you wish to retain. Your Internet Explorer ‘Favourites’ can be backed up simply by using the ‘Import and Export’ function to be found on the ‘Files’ menu. Backing up mail and setting for Outlook Express users has been addressed in “How do I know what Outlook files to back up?” and for Microsoft Outlook users in “Why Did Outlook start archiving by itself?” To find assistance with backing up the various templates and so on you may use with Microsoft Office, you should use the Search function at Microsoft Office Online

To find assistance with backing up data for other Software Applications programs, search the ‘Support’ or ‘FAQ’ sections of the relevant product websites.

Make sure you also have a record of any passwords you need for internet sites and such as well, because if you’ve previously enabled “Remember this Password” your automatic logins will be lost after the format and re-install!

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Resource List

Some Motherboard Manufacturers

ABit
Albatron
AOpen
Asus
ECS
Epox
Gigabyte
MSI
NForce chipset drivers
Shuttle
Soltek
VIA Hyperion chipset drivers

Graphics Drivers

nVidia Cards
ATi Cards

Sound Card Drivers

SoundBlaster
Hercules Muse

Other Components

Driver Guide

Software Websites

Acrobat Reader
AdAware
AVG AntiVirus
Belarc Advisor
MBM5
SiSoft Sandra
Spybot
ZoneAlarm

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Cheers, and good luck with it all,
Terry O’Shanassy

Terry O'Shanassy