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Thread ID: 26782	2002-11-05 07:20:00	FAQ # 1a - How do I reinstall Windows WITHOUT reformatting my hard drive	Lohsing (219)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
96160	2002-11-05 07:20:00	This isn't really my guide, but seeing as some of us don't want to lose ALL our information, I thought I would share this little gem with you all . . . Saved me MANY a time . . . and the original can be found here ( . tekguide . net/doyouknow/d2001,10,15 . shtml" target="_blank">www . tekguide . net) . Hope it helps! Lo . The Windows Reinstallation Guide October 15, 2001 By Albert Kwok Files missing, can't open program, Windows error, Windows crashing, slow boot up time, or Windows not booting up at all . . . Bad things always happen to our Windows after we installed some hot new programs, games or drivers . You have no choice but to reinstall the Windows . Some people will suggest using Norton Ghost to make a disk or partition image and do a full system roll back but what if you have got some new files after you did your last backup? Are you going to overwrite them? No way! So what we can do is install a flash new Windows in the drive where your old, dead Windows located . We will show you how step by step, and if you have already did the things we listed below, just skip to the next step . Steps breakdown: 1 . Prepare for reinstallation A . Make a Windows 98 Boot Disk In "Control Panel" double click "Add/Remove Programs", tab to "Create a Windows Boot Disk" and follow the steps . B . Backup your Email archive (If you use Outlook Express) Look for the actually storage location of your Emails . Open Outlook Express, select "Tools" and choose "Options" . Tab to "Maintenance" and click on "Store Folder" . This is the store location of your emails . Copy the contents of that folder to c:\MyEmails (you have to create the folder first) . C . Gather all drivers of your hardwares . D . Scan your c:\ drive once to ensure your hard drive is error free . E . Backup others program as well . Such as ICQ Database, and Netscape's bookmark . 2 . Reinstallation A . Insert the Windows 98 boot disk B . Restart/Power on the computer C . Select "Boot with CD-ROM Support" from the Win98 boot up menu D . After booting up, you should be in the a:\ E . Rename your Windows and Program Files directory (we don't delete any files right now so we can get the files we need from these directories after the new Windows is installed, and by the way it is very slow to delete files under DOS) Type this in DOS: c:\ rename windows oldw (this will rename windows to oldw) rename progra~1 oldp (this will rename program files to oldp) dir/w (Type this to check if you have renamed them correctly) F . Copy the Win98 installation files from the Windows 98 CD-ROM to your hard drive . So you don't have to use the Install CD whenever you need to install any Windows component . First we create a directory call Win98 under c:\ Type this in DOS: mkdir c:\Win98 Copy Win98 installation files from your CD to your hard drive . Type this in DOS: copy d:\Win98 c:\Win98 (d:\ is your CD-ROM drive, change it to your CD-ROM's drive as necessary) G . Go to the directory where you have just copy the setup files to by typing c:\Win98 . H . Start Windows setup Type: setup /is (the windows installation process will begin) I . When it ask you where to install Windows enter c:\windows (Do not install to c:\oldw) J . Follow along the installation process . . . K . After the installation, reboot your computer once and start restoring the drivers . 3 . System Restore Install all necessary drivers, e . g . , Video Card, Sound Card, Network Card, Modem, etc . 4 . Files restore A . Restore Desktop Copy anything under c:\owin\desktop to c:\windows\desktop B . Restore My Favorites Copy anything under c:\owin\Favorites to c:\windows\Favorites C . Restore your emails (If you use Outlook Express) Open up Outlook Express, select "Tools" > "Options", tab to "Maintenance" and click on the "Store Folder" button . Press the "Change" button and point to c:\MyEmail . D . Restore Address Book (If you use Outlook Express) Open Outlook Express and go to "File" > "Import" > "Address Book" and then point to your old address book in the owin directory here: c:\owin\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book\ click on the . wab file and click OK . 5 . Install all of your programs .	Lohsing (219)
96161	2002-11-05 08:16:00	consider doing guides for WinME, XP etc.	Chao is back (634)
96162	2002-11-05 08:22:00	This is applicable to ME... I've done it before. With regard to XP, choosing the "Full Install" and choosing advanced options will let you specify an install of a fresh copy over the c:\windows folder, deleting all info located in c:\windows. Lo.	Lohsing (219)
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