for pc repair guys?

Question

I wrote down the steps on reformating
1. Insert the xp cd)
2. Press any key to boot from cd)
3. Enter to continue)
4. F8 to agree)
5. D=to delete the old partition)
6. Enter to continue)
7. L=confirm delete)
8. C=create a new partition)
9. Format the partition using the NTFS file system)
10. Enter to continue)
11. Wait while setup formats the partition)
I thant that these steps that i have is right infact they are right from the site that i got them,http://www.windowsxphome.windowsreinstall.com/installxpcdoldhdd/indexfullpage.htm
and is the best instructing that i found.
So since i have those ready to go, is their anything els and do say does deleting the old partition get rid of everything from files, folder to viruses and also some of these answers that i read here say that deleting the partition will also remove the data but others say, "it don't, so what is the stright answer.
Infact what are some pc repair guys e'mail addressess??

Answer 1

What are you doing this for?



If you delete a partition, you WILL loose all the data.



If you simply want to reinstall windows, you don't need to delete the partition.



Too many people are screwing up their PCs by doing stuff like this that they don't understand.



Since you are asking the question, I would suggest that you don't fully understand what you are doing and therefore you should not do it at all.



BTW, you would need to set the first partition to active to enable the system to boot from it.

Answer 2

You can have my email address if you will give me your credit card details......lol :) (joke do not post your CC details here. I would not but others WILL milk you)



Seriously though you are about to tackle a job that although not too hard is a bit of a mission. If you like the challenge then keep going... worst that can happen is that you have to pay someone like me to do it when you have become frustrated.



If you delete the existing partition then create and format a new partition then all the data is effectivly gone. If you had a virus its not going to be an issue any more. Same goes for all your files documents, photos, emails....kiss em bye. Technically the data is still there on the phisical disk but don't worry about that...its another whole discussion...but its why the department of defence and other security concious people incinerate their old hard disks...you can recover stuff from old drives but not from a pool of molten metal.



Before you start collect some settings like your email account setup in Outlook, Windows Mail or whatever. You want.... User name

Password....if you don't know it use Snad Boys revelation or somthing like that to get it...

http://www.snadboy.com/RevelationV2.zip

POP & SMTP servers



What printers, scanners, cameras (indeed any hardware) do you have connected to your machine?

Do you have the CD's that came with them to re-install them?



What about your programs. They will all need to be reloaded...have you got the CD's ready to go?



Windows XP is pretty good making internal hardware work it has a pretty broad base set of drivers. However there are many cases where your graphics adaptor, network card or some other vital piece of hardware will not have drivers loaded to make it work by the Windows setup process. When / if this happens you have to download from the manufacturer a driver for Windows XP. As long as you can see whats going on clearly (800x600 and more than 16 colours) and have access to the internet you will probably be able to get on the web after a reload anddownload any drivers you need. I would advise using a program like Berlac Advisor to discover what your graphics adaptor and network cards are.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Then goto the manufacturers web site and download appropriate drivers. If your network adator and/or graphics adaptor are onboard (part of the matherboard) then you have to look at the motherboard make and model (also listed in Berlac) then go to the motherboard manufacturers website and download the drivers for your motherboard from there. Download and have those ready to go before you reload and you won't end up snookered.



Hope that helps set you thinking on the right track.

If the above makes no sense or just raises more questions than it answers about the reload then....sorry but you are in for a battle. Don't let that stop you though.....its how i started in computers...by breaking one. Even if you don't win this time you will learn things along the way.

Answer 3

Deleting a partition removes the information used by the Operating System to read that portion of the hard drive. The partition data includes things such as the size of that partition, how many 'clusters' (data units) it has, and the size of those clusters (in KiloBytes). Deleting the partition removes nothing from the hard drive except the ability for your computer to read the data on the hard drive.



Formatting the hard drive sets the 'data present' flags on each cluster to empty. The data remains in those clusters but when the computer accesses the hard drive it is told that the cluster is empty and so does not bother to read from it.



Neither deleting/re-creating a partition or formatting a hard drive is a guaranteed way of removing a virus. It will depend upon the complexity of the virus, but many are able to survive repeated formatting of the hard drive.



(Note, formatting a Mac is different and has different effects).



If you have a virus and want to be sure that it has been removed from the hard drive you will want to invest in a security wipe program. These fill every cluster with random values (1s and 0s) several times. This ensures that no code from the virus can remain as it is actually over-written several times.



To explain how this works in plain English - imagine you have a cassette tape (audio). It has a case with a cover inside it, and the tape has a label on it. When you delete the partition, its like removing the label from the cassette. The sound is still on the tape, and the details of what is listed on the tape are still on the cover - but if you look at the tape, you can't tell what it is. When you format, its like throwing away the cover - you lose the ability to see what songs are on the tape, but the songs are still there.



Secure wipe programs are like recording over the tape several times, first with static from an un-tuned radio, then with silence from a turned off microphone (switching back and forth between the two). Now there is nothing left at all.



It is possible to recover data from re-partitioned and formatted hard drives, and given the right hardware and software is actually very easy.



I'm not keen on giving out my e-mail address on yahoo answers. I would give out my Yahoo one, but its not working and after a fortnight Yahoo have yet to fix it. When it is working again people can contact me using that.

Answer 4

STOP.

DO NOT DO THIS.

The XP setup disk has generic drivers for many hardware devices but not nearly all. You NEED the system restore CDs that are provided by the mfr. This is especially important for laptops as they usually have custom video and network adapters. They also have custom power management circuits and many other custom display and keyboard/touchpad drivers.

When you format any system you lose the installed XP Service Pack 2 config and the updated drivers that have been built up since the time you first installed the system.

When you drop the partition or format it, the files are actually left behind but are overlaid with the next disk output operations. They cannot be accessed without special software. Yes, the viruses will be gone, so will all other installed programs. You'll need the original setup discs and product codes for all installed software to reload and activate it.

Answer 5

William V is right....go with what he is saying