Re-installing Windows XP on my 1520

do i have to have an additional copy of Windows XP to do a re-installation without all of the bloatware? I have a purple Dell Disk that Says "Operating System" can i use that disk for a clean install? If so how?

 

I'm fairly sure you can since that's what this disc is for, but I haven't used mine, so I don't know much about it, sorry. Try booting the laptop from the CD and see what happens. There are lots of threads on this forum about clean installs of XP, so look around if something unexpected happens. Best of luck!

 

i looked around a bit and didnt find any topics asking my question. And whats this i read about HDD Partions? Assuming i dont need to save anything on my laptop, do i have to worry about partions for a clean install?

 

the purple dell disk will do a clean installation. i did it with my 1520. stick it in and follow the instructions. make sure you have everything you want off the hard drive first!!!

you do not HAVE to partition your hard drive. people choose to mostly because you can install your OS, for instance, without losing all of your data if you have them on separate partitions. your OS treats the separate partitions as separate drives...

note that dell puts a bunch of partitions on your drive- there will be a media direct partition, a recovery partition, an operating system partition (your C: drive), and one other small partition. whether you want to keep or delete them is up to you. you might want to search the forums for some info on this stuff.

you will have to reinstall all of your drivers and programs once the operating system is installed...

i personally think the recovery partition is useless (probably 10 gb). i would delete it. the media direct partition, which is 2.5 or 3 gb, i think, is up to you. do you use media direct? if so- you will want to keep the partition.

 

do i do the Upgrade or New Installation? I'm guessing New Installation?

 

i would personally do a new installation to be sure it is a clean install.

you got this 1520 with xp? that is cool. when i got my 1520, they only offered vista! yuck.

make sure you delete (reformat is best) the installation that was there previously, if you don't, you can get some weird results...

you will get users with names like administrator.000 and such if you install over XP without
deleting the previous install. pain in the rear.

 

Vista > XP

 

haha. nice. you dig vista? i am interested in this reinstall... did dell send out XP cds with SATA drivers? or maybe they just disable ahci in the bios of their XP machines? let me know how it goes, blitz!

 

The sata drivers are on the cd and on their website. I have vista with ahci disabled though...Seems to run better with it off.

 

dell gets props from me for actually sending a clean OS cd.

 

i dont have a system restore disk, i have Applications, Drivers(x2), Windows OS, and Roxio

 

bump......

 

is there another question? dell computers come with a system restore partition on the hard drive, not a disk. this is what you would use to return your computer to 'factory condition.' most people (including myself) don't like the factory condition of a dell (because of the bloatware) anyway, so we eliminate that partition...

it looks like you have everything you should. are you having trouble? your computer may have came with a media direct cd as well, my 1520 did.

did you get XP reinstalled?

 

where do i find the system restore?

 

if you want to USE the system restore you press ctrl + F11 when the dell boot screen comes up, and select restore. it will restore your computer to its original factory settings.

if you want to FIND the system restore partition, you would have to use your XP cd or a program which will tell you what partitions are on your hard disk, such as partition magic. the restore partition is hidden, meaning that you won't be able to see it without using a program. you cannot, for instance, see it by clicking my computer...

try clicking start>>control panel>>administrative tools>>computer management then click storage, then click disk manager.

this might show all of the partitions on the hard drive... i'm not sure, take a look. i know vista's disk manager will show hidden partitions, but i'm not sure about XP's.

 

thank you so much!!