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| Thread ID: 71870 | 2006-08-20 05:57:00 | clearing hard drive | prollematic (11022) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 479628 | 2006-08-20 05:57:00 | I need to clear my hard drive. I got my notebook off of ebay and it didnt come with a windows start-up disk. I have a windows xp start-up disk but the notebook has windows xp media center. Will the xp disk work for media center? if not, what should i do? | prollematic (11022) | ||
| 479629 | 2006-08-20 06:10:00 | What do you actually want to clear off the hard drive? The previous owner's data & programs? What do you want to do from the recovery disk? If you want to reimage the machine (wipe the HDD and reinstall the OS like new), some notebooks have recovery images on the hard disk itself, if you look at the manufacturers site you may discover how to reimage it without using any CDs. |
silvero (11011) | ||
| 479630 | 2006-08-20 23:49:00 | Well, Ive used up alot of the notebooks memory and I want to clear my hard drive to free up some more memory. | prollematic (11022) | ||
| 479631 | 2006-08-21 01:17:00 | You'll need to be more specific, do you want to completely wipe your hard disk drive and start with it empty? Wipe it and reinstall Windows? Just delete some files to create space? If you just want to make some room, try running TreeSize (www.snapfiles.com), this program will tell you how big your various folders are, so you can see what is taking up all the space. |
silvero (11011) | ||
| 479632 | 2006-08-21 02:52:00 | Yes, I want to wipe it and reinstall windows. | prollematic (11022) | ||
| 479633 | 2006-08-21 03:18:00 | OK then you have a couple of options. But before doing anything make sure you have backed up anything you want to keep from the machine. One option is to use a manufacturer drive image to reimage your hard drive, this is the easiest and best solution, but it depends on the availability of a drive image. Some laptops have this image on the hard drive, and it may be possible to obtain an image from the manufacturer - start with the manufacturer's website and look for recovery options. Another option is to reinstall from scratch using a full copy of Windows. There are a couple of hassles with this, the first is many hardware drivers for notebook components don't come with Windows so you'll need to download them from the manufacturers website before you begin. Also, unless you are going to use a different licensed copy of Windows you'll need a copy of Media Center and the product key from your current install in order to reinstall and reactivate. |
silvero (11011) | ||
| 479634 | 2006-08-21 03:57:00 | Another option is to reinstall from scratch using a full copy of WindowsHe's already got a full Windows disk, and seems to know all the implications. I think what he wants to know is if the Windows Media Centre previous install will be safely wiped and the new XP installed ok. I'd guess yes quite confidently. Pretty sure it won't reinstall Media Centre though - just plain XP. |
Greg (193) | ||
| 479635 | 2006-08-21 04:06:00 | The previous install is only wiped if the partition is wiped, otherwise it will create another install on the same partition - it won't remove the old one. You can wipe everything during the install by deleting and re-creating the system partition. | silvero (11011) | ||
| 479636 | 2006-08-23 22:01:00 | So, since I dont have a windows xp media center disk i can reformat my hard drive? | prollematic (11022) | ||
| 479637 | 2006-08-24 01:09:00 | Yes, but as previously mentioned, unless you use a manufacturer's image to reinstall the OS, you'll need all the hardware drivers and an install disk . If the install disk is XP Pro, you'll of course be installing XP Pro not Media Center and you'll need a valid license for it . If you are up for all that the go ahead and wipe your hard drive . All you need to do is boot from your Windows disk, and during the first part of the setup, when it asks you which partition to install Windows to, delete any partitions that are there, and then make a new one . After the new partition has been created, install Windows to it - nothing will remain from before . Have you had a look re the manufacturer image? If you aren't sure what I am talking about post the make/model number and I'll check for you . |
silvero (11011) | ||
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