Format a PC with Windows XP

1. Make sure you have all the necessary CDs that came with the computer like drivers, softwares etc to restore your system. DO NOT format your hard drive if you do not have these discs.

2. Back Up your personal files and any critical files. All files will be lost once your hard drive is formatted. Move all your important data off the system that you would want to restore back after format. Also keep a print of hardware inventory you have installed for later reference (Control Panel, System, Hardware, Device Manager, Action, Print)

3. Put your Windows XP installation CD into your CD-Rom drive and restart your system.

4. Rapidly press F2 to get to the boot priority screen.

5. Use the arrow keys to move to the Boot tab.

6. Set first boot device to the CD-Rom drive with the Windows XP CD in it.

7. Save and Exit.

8. When prompted, quickly press any key to boot from the CD and wait while it loads.

9. Press ENTER to set up Windows and continue installing.

10. Press D to delete the main partition and confirm delete.

11. Select Yes to set up Windows XP on new partition.

12. Press ENTER to format the partition.

13. Wait while it formats the hard drive This might take about 30 minutes or more.

14. The rest of the installation process should start automatically, be easy to follow, and self-explanatory.

Additional Notes:
If you are formatting your system for the first time or if you are a newbie keep printouts of 'how to format' handy in case you get stuck or need any guidance.
If possible have another system connected to net to check for any issues you might face during formatting.

Post format issues
Your system might not work perfectly even after your windows has been installed and working. Chances are that drivers might have not be installed correctly. From Control Panel, go to System, then Hardware and click on the Device Manager. You might see some devices with yellow question marks/exclamation marks. These are the hardwares not recognized by your OS. Install the appropriate drivers for them from the CDs that we talked about in step 1.
If by any chance, you could not find any driver disk, get the driver from internet(on the other machine) searching for brand and model. Your hardware components print may come handy at this point.

Format a PC with Windows XP

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