Starting afresh

[Pulse]

To put it simply my PC is absolutely full of crap; redundant programs, background processes and most likely spy ware which Ad-aware can't even uncover.

As dramatic as it sounds I want to completely wipe my computer clean and start afresh. I will of course back-up and store my music, programs and other valuable goods across a series of DVDs so they should be safe.

Any suggestions about the best way to do this? I've only had to format once before after I got a rather nasty trojan, being the noob I was, so I'm not very experienced in sorting my hard drive.

Ta!

 

[staticprimer]

I'm a bit confused as to what you are asking. Are you asking how to reformat, or are you asking what is the best way to back up your data?

 

[Pulse]

I'll reiterate;

Are DVDs the best way to store data I want to keep?

and

How do I reformat properly?



They may seem like newbie questions, but as you can imagine I really don't want anything to go tits up

 

[Barney Fife]

External HDD by way of USB 2.0 or 1394 port is the best most fastest way to backup files.
If you do have two HDD back up data into the slave drive and when you install fresh copy of OS you can retrieve data.

If you do move data into slave drive make sure you don't format or delete slave partition when installing Windows.
You can always tell drive letter or size when installing Windows so careful not to format the wrong drive.
Good Luck.

 

[MRG]

If you do move data into slave drive make sure you don't format or delete slave partition when installing Windows.

I did this on accident. I so royally screwed myself. Lost a 250GB SATA drive full of games, files, digital pics, & more. Thats what I get for doing it @ 3:00 in the morning..

What Barney said is a very good idea. It all depends on exactly how much data you want to save. If we are talking a few GB's, then burning a few DVD's is a good, fast way to backup. After that, there are several ways that you can format your drive. Do you have a spare HDD? If so, like Barney said, set it to slave and then once you are booted up,

1) Double click on My Computer
2) Right Click on the drive you want to format and click on Format. Allow it to do it's thing and then go from there. Either copy data to it or make it the master drive and unplug the old drive. Proceed to install Windows on it and then once you are done doing that and updating all your drivers, reconnect your old drive (Make sure the PC is off before plugging in or unplugging any drives, unless both drives are SATA drives & Hotswap compatable) and go through and transfer all the data you want to save. After which you can then format that drive & use it for storage or whatever.

Now if you don't have a spare drive and you have already saved all the data you wanted, to either CD's or DVD's:
1)Simply install your Windows CD and boot from it. (You might have to change the settings in your CMOS so that the PC will read the CD/DVD drive before any other drives)
2)It'll give you the option to install a fresh version of Windows, as well as deleting the partition. Do so, and then creat a partition. Once done, you'll be asked which format you want done, either the Quick or the Not-so-quick. Pick either, and then wait. After formatting is finished, Windows will proceed to be installed.

You mention that you might have viruses or Trojans. If you do, there is a very high chance that they will be transfered to the CD/DVD that you burned to or even the other HDD that you transfer the data to. I strongly advise you run your favorite SPy-ware/Adpware/Anti-Virus program first to make sure you are clean. Otherwise, you'll just transfer them back to your PC with the clean install and you'll be back to square one.

Tell us which version of Windows you will be reinstalling. I'm not sure your level of tech know-how, so I don't wanna insult you by posting simple step-by-step instructions. If need be, i'll gladly type out a step-by-step how-to guide on doing everything if you need.

Some basic Backup info:
http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=122099

Lust us know.

-MRG

 

[Pulse]

I'll only be transferring around 20-30gb of data so I'll just spread it across a few DVDs that I can get cheaply, as I don't have a spare drive available at this time.

I'm running Windows XP, SP2. I don't have any critical trojans or viruses as far as I'm aware, only the odd case of spyware that Spybot or Ad-aware won't nuke, so I think the risk of carrying a virus to the DVDs is relatively low.

Appreciate your help guys, especially MRG; that thread has certainly confirmed my plan of burning to DVDs. Any other tips would be beneficial, I'll keep you all posted on how I get on.