7th August 2002
I can't tell you how many times, when I was first learning about my computer, I would start a Windows installation and realize that I was missing something or didn't know a piece of information. I would frantically call friends or search through written documentation, looking for the needed information. Here are some things to remember before you reinstall Windows that may save you time down the road: Always make sure you have your Windows CD, CD Key and Hardware drivers handy before formatting, because you don't want to have to try to track down drivers or CD keys halfway through an installation - ESPECIALLY if you only have one computer. Also remember to back up your files. You don't need to back up the programs, as you will be reinstalling them, but you will want to save your documents and Internet Explorer Favorites. If you are a gamer, don't forget to back up your game profiles, either. If you have another partitions on your hard drive (i.e.: D:\ that is NOT your CD-ROM), then use it. Back up your files to another partition, like the D:\ drive, and then only format your C:\ drive. Unlikely as it sounds, you may need to know some DOS commands; just remember to change directories you use the "cd" command. To change from C:\windows to C:\windows\system then you could type "cd system" (sans quotes). Also, to access another drive (like your floppy) you need to type A:, and the colon HAS to be there. After you install Windows, don't forget to first load up your Virus Scanner and update the definitions. It also wouldn't be a bad idea to run Windows Update to stay up to date.