Reformatting help please

[Benzowner]

Well, I have tried everything to get rid of this pop up type bug on my works PC and have decided to refomat the hard drive. Here lies the problem. I only have original XP disc, and no floppy so how do I reformat? Obviously when XP is reinstalled I will need to get all the downloads including service pack 2, or is it possible to put onto a CD from my PC before reformatting. I have backed all other data. Any advice welcome

 

[GRAV888]

Not sure how to help you with your problem, but I do have a floppy drive with a USB conector that I could lend you if needed.
I got it when I had to do my old system.

Have you got messenger turned off in the control panel btw?

 

[masqueraid]

Reformatting will be done by the XP CD
You need to go to the "Setup" part of your computer BIOS
Depends on make but when it starts there'll be a message on the screen saying something like "Hit XXX Key to setup"

Once there you look for "Boot order" and put the CD drive first.

Is this a branded machine? If so you could go the to the manufacturer's website first and get all the driver software you need.

Did it come with any other disks than the XP CD?

Finally I always get a bit anxious with "repair my works PC", I'm assuming you own and are solely responsible for it and it isn't networked to a domain.

 

[Benzowner]

I have a floppy drive, just no disk

 

[GRAV888]

I have a floppy drive, just no disk

Oh, sorry.
Mis-read your post.
You can do it from the CD.
Restart computer and then press F8 whilst it is starting.

Masquerade beat me to it

 

[Benzowner]

Thanks guys, I shall crack on with it now. And to put Masqueraid's mind at ease, yes its my business and if all fails, I guess I will have to buy a new PC Thanks for the concern though

 

[pammy]

yes its my business ...........

So you get to make your own tea too then

 

[masqueraid]

And to put Masqueraid's mind at ease, yes its my business and if all fails, I guess I will have to buy a new PC Thanks for the concern though

No problem, as you can probably guess I once talked one person through this and the following day they posted that their IT dept were less than pleased that all their security settings had been bypassed!

One other issue is that there are now some nasties that can survive XP's basic format. Doesn't sound like the SmitFraud variant you have will do this but sometimes it's worth first formatting the drive with the drive manufacturer's own utility - then installing XP.

Don't think there's any chance of you needing a new PC.

 

[GRAV888]

Don't think there's any chance of you needing a new PC.

Not unless you kick it hard and break it

 

[Sp!ke]

I wouldnt reformat... chances are you'll get more viruses on the PC before you get a chance to do all the windows updates and antivirus updates. If you do go this route, at least make sure you have local copies of XP SP2 somewhere and the latest antivirus DAT files so that you are at least this up to date before you connect to the internet. My record on a freshly built PC was 14 seconds after connecting to the internet, it had a virus.. just by connecting.

Rebuilding the PC is a real last resort, all those updates, all those drivers, all that software and user configs. I never format my PC's I just fix them. My main home PC has never been formatted. It started life in 1995, has gone through 11 motherboard/CPU upgrades, and has been upgraded from 95 to 98 to 2000 to XP and now Vista. Never once has it been rebuilt from scratch.

If you rebuild it means the virus/problem has beaten you.

 

[masqueraid]

I wouldnt reformat...

In which case have you tried this

 

[Benzowner]

That little program did the trick, the little buggers gone

 

[pammy]

That little program did the trick, the little buggers gone

nice one!!!:bannana:

 

[masqueraid]

My main home PC has never been formatted. It started life in 1995, has gone through 11 motherboard/CPU upgrades, and has been upgraded from 95 to 98 to 2000 to XP and now Vista. Never once has it been rebuilt from scratch.

How did you manage to squeeze Vista onto a 1995 HDD ??

Sounds like a paradox to me ....

 

[recycled]

What was the name of this bug.
REformatting is a last resort anyway and you do not need a floppy for it.
just make sure it has come off your registry and not mutated into something else.

 

[Sp!ke]

How did you manage to squeeze Vista onto a 1995 HDD ??

Sounds like a paradox to me ....

I've gone through over 11 complete hardware changes including HDD's without ever doing a rebuild of the OS. HDD's are easy, just ghost from one disk to another. Changing from one mobo to another, especially from IDE to SATA was another matter.

I'm a dab hand at using Microsofts sysprep utility now

Anyway Geoff, glad to see that fixed it without the pain of a rebuild.

 

[scotth_uk]

I am amazed by the people suggesting that you steer clear of a rebuild.

No windows box under my control that is used for desktop purposes goes any longer than 6 months before it is rebuild from scratch (either complete manual install or a restoration of a 'clean' ghost image).

If you rebuild it means the virus/problem has beaten you.

I have no problem being beaten by a virus or system issue. Reinstalls of the OS are down to a fine art at my place, often quicker than researching the problem and finding the issue.

Obviously, where servers are involved it's a complete different ballgame.

 

[Sp!ke]

A rebuild from a clean ghost image is fine and dandy as it includes all your applications and settings etc.

However rebuilding windows from scratch on my main PC including all the applications and updates and patches is probably over 100 hours work. I know what I'd rather be doing.

As for needing a rebuild every 6 months, thats just plain wrong.... would you suggest the same with all servers too? Servers are far easier to build than a PC as they generally serve only one or two purposes and have little to reinstall.

Sure, do some regular maintenance... turn off system restore once in a while, delete temp files, clean registry and a defrag. Also, keep internet history down to 5 days, IE cache at 5mb or lower, keep patched and dont keep installing software at whim and everything will be hunky dory for years on end.

 

[pdwhiteside]

However rebuilding windows from scratch on my main PC including all the applications and updates and patches is probably over 100 hours work. I know what I'd rather be doing.

Over 100 hours!!! What have you got on your PC that takes so long? I rebuild my operating system from scratch every 6 months or so. I can install Windows with all the updates and patches along with Microsoft Office, Photoshop and many more applications is an evening!

 

[fuzzer]

I am amazed by the people suggesting that you steer clear of a rebuild.

No windows box under my control that is used for desktop purposes goes any longer than 6 months before it is rebuild from scratch (either complete manual install or a restoration of a 'clean' ghost image).



I have no problem being beaten by a virus or system issue. Reinstalls of the OS are down to a fine art at my place, often quicker than researching the problem and finding the issue.

Obviously, where servers are involved it's a complete different ballgame.

I quite agree , ive got my rebuild of a desktop down to 30 minutes including sysprep and ghost over the network. Updates often take in the region of 20 mins to complete.

Fully working system in 50 mins.