More Fresh Install questions on Inspiron E1505

So, I have appreciated all of the advice in these forums abouit a fresh install of XP and feel like I have a pretty good handle on things but just want to clarify a couple of points before my computer arrives so that I know if I should do the fresh install.

1) Let's say I want to keep the four partitions. I will not touch the Media Direct or Diagnostic partitions but will obviously be reformatting the XP partition and the restore partition. How do I reformat the restore partition to use for backup of documents? Does it just "act" like a mini HD that can be formatted like I would any disk?

2) If I have the Norton Internet Security with a 15 month subscription will the fresh install be a problem? Can I just re install the software from the Norton website or do I have to ask Dell or Norton to send a copy?


Well, I think that covers all of my sticking points nd I thank you all for the forum advice so far and in advance for the answers to these questions,

Sed8ing

 

Just select the 4th restore partition in the

Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Storage -> Disc Management

and format it. I installed some games on mine.

You can reformat the whole drive with the Media Direct CD that you should get with the laptop.

Use Media Direct CD to formate the whole drive, then install Windows. I think that will eliminate the orphaned partition.

 

1.) when you are at the partition stage of formatting, delete the partition 3 (restore partition). This will become unpartition space. Then create a new partition from it. Once you log in to XP, you should see it under "My Computer". I haven't had any trouble with it, but some users have said that they had to format it once they got back into XP. To do this, you go to my computer, right click on the spare partition and select format. Yes, it acts as a mini drive.

2.) Dell *should* send you a Norton disc so you can install the software. If not, you'll need to call them since you paid for it and need the key.