Which partition should i reinstall windows xp on

By Jeff Grundy. Nevertheless, if you want to back up applications, save the setup or installation files only, and do not try to copy the entire installed application. While you do not have to delete all the partitions on the hard drive to reinstall Windows XP, it may be prudent in some situations.

If you are reinstalling XP because of a corrupt installation due to viruses or malware, deleting all partitions and reformatting them with the Windows XP setup utility may help you prevent further infections. To delete other partitions, select them during the installation process, and remove them just as you did with the primary Windows system partition. Deleting a partition erases all data on it. Consequently, if you have important data on the partition, it is imperative that you back it up or copy it to an external device or another partition.

It will serve us for personal data. It will also be the second partition on our first hard disk. Move the selection highlight with arrow keys down to unpartitioned space.

Press C again to create a new partition. Once again, we will be presented with the choice of the size. You can also see that 8MB will not be accounted for no matter what. This is because the first sector of the hard disk cannot be used to create partitions on it.

It is reserved for the boot information which tells the system which partition to use to boot from. This is the most important sector on a hard disk. We will use all of the available free space for our second partition. Theoretically, if you have a very large hard disk, you could create several logical partitions. Or leave some space free for a Linux installation. Enter the desired size in thousands of MB and press Enter. You can, if you wish, save your data using a Live CD before using one of these two possibilities.

Here is the state of our computer virtual machine in fact before reinstalling. Once completed loading files, you will get to this menu. In this tutorial, this is the first option that interests us. Then accept the user agreement by pressing the "F8" key. The wizard should detect your old Windows installation. If this is not the case is that it is damaged too.

Then select the partition containing Windows XP usually the C partition. Note : Unlike Windows Vista, 7, XP, the letter of the partition is not automatically renamed to C. Therefore you must select the first partition to install Windows to not end up with a Windows partition D or others.

Warning is at this stage it is necessary to choose "Keep current file system intact no changes ". By choosing this option, the installation wizard does not format the partition, and therefore the data will not be erased. Program files remain on the hard drive but they will no longer start because the registry keys and other system files have been deleted. As we have chosen not to change the file system, Windows is already installed on the hard disk.

We will tell the wizard to install Windows XP to another folder. To do this, press the "ESC" key. The wizard now copy the installation files to the hard disk. Then restart the computer to install Windows XP. During installation, the installer will ask you some information : - The country in which you are - The keyboard language - A computer name - Define a password for the Administrator account optional This will download the latest system updates from Microsoft.

These are very important, as the patch system vulnerabilities and stability issues. Install your drivers. Chances are you will need to install your drivers again now that the computer has been formatted.

Depending on the devices you have attached to your computer, this could include your video card, your modem or network card, your sound, and more. Method 3. Install from the recovery partition. Many computer manufacturers ship their computers with a partition on the hard drive that contains the Windows installation files.

In order to access it, you will need to boot into the recovery partition. The most common key to enter the partition is F This will appear underneath the manufacturer log right after starting the computer.

Install from within Windows. You will need to use a file called winnt This file is a Windows installer that can be run from inside Windows XP. To find it, open the Start menu and click Search. Select "all Files and Folders" from the left frame.

Enter "winnt Running winnt From this point, follow Step 3 in the above section. You will still need to enter a valid product key. Your data will be deleted as it would through a regular install.

Yes, Windows XP works great in However, Firefox, the only web browser that still supports it, will drop the support in After that, you will still be able to use the internet normally for a while, but eventually websites won't load properly on the outdated browser.

Non-internet based programs Word, Excel, PowerPoint, games, etc. Yes No. Not Helpful 1 Helpful 1. ClixTech Australia. Yes it does. After the format, the computer will start copying files. After that, the computer will reboot. After rebooting it is perfectly safe to remove the CD.

If the computer says that a file could not be found, you will need to put the CD back in. Not Helpful 2 Helpful 0. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Make sure you have easy access to your Product key. Put all your device drivers on a thumb-drive so that you can install them all at once when you are finished with the Windows installation. Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published.

You Might Also Like How to. How to. Co-authors: Updated: April 8, Categories: XP Instructions. Italiano: Reinstallare Windows XP. Nederlands: Windows XP opnieuw installeren. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read , times.