Step by Step Guide to Clean XP Install

This is a great review. Perhaps you should make it universal, that would be better yeah?

Thanks once again!

 

I'm working on that. Problem is that every manufacturer is different, so its a bit hard to make it general.

I'm also updating this one.

 

okay so i finally did the clean install---had to wait for my disks--and i messed up with the partitions...at first i seperated them into 2 (forgetting about the whole 1300 MB media direct thing!)..and somehow my 100 GB ended up 39 GB in C and 0--YES ZERO--GB in the D....so i redid it again and put all the gig into the C drive, and now its 91.6...where the hell is the other 8.4? I'm pretty sure i deleted all the partitions and combined them into one....HELPPPP

 

could either be unpartition space or might still have the restore partition.

goto control panel-->administrative-->computer management-->disk management.

This should show your partitions. Do you see a spare partition?

 

(C - Partition - Basic - NTFS - Healthy (System) - 91.75 GB - Free 86.60 GB - 94% Free - Fault Tolerance: No - Overhead: 0%

nothing else....

 

then i'm going to guess it might be unpartition space.

You'll have to use your XP disk, and go back thru the process again.

 

isn't it hidden? does it seem like the system is using too much GB right now? i mean i just reinstalled the thing and its already using that many GB, or is that normal?

one more thing, should i save all the Dell drivers, or just run them?

thanks dear

 

also, the only way to fix the partitions is to reinstall windows AGAIN? this'll be my 4th time...lol...i swear that i grouped all the partition space into one and it was like 93,000 and change...i thought someone said they were hidden so i dont know how to get to it...

 

It might be hidden, but if it was it should have shown up in the disk management. That's why i think it might be unpartition space. It wouldn't show up. If you don't want to do the whole process over again, you could just use the XP disk and create a separate partition with the unpartition space. As long as you don't mess with the XP partition, you won't have to do the whole install over again. You could also use something like Partition Magic. When they say hidden, generally it just means it isn't showing up under "My Computer" but will show up when you are at the partition phase of XP disk or in disk management.

You could also just leave it there if you don't need the extra space. It won't hurt your system by being unpartition.

Around 6gb is normal for the XP base system. Once you start installing additional software, it will probably increase to 10 or 15gb depending on what you install. Programs like MS Office take up a ton of space.

As for the drivers, it is up to you. It is probably easier to just run them, but if you want to make a driver's disk for in the future, then you might want to save them so you can burn them to a disk.

SG

 

yeah my system says 98 GB (I guess its not quite 100 huh)...so its missing 6.3 GB...what would the seperate partition with unpartition space do exactly? Does this mean my system recovery never got deleted?

a question about the dell drivers...under the graphics one, i downloaded the NEDVIA one but theres another one Intel graph controller, do i leave that one alone?

 

I thought it was saying 91gb total? If it says 98gb, then everything is correct. The missing 2gb is standard on most harddrives because of caculations of MB into GB (i think that is why). I would try to explain it, but I really can't think of how to explain it all.

No, you only need to download the one for your system, so you'll just need Nvidia driver. The intel driver is for the integrated card (assuming you have the 9400/E1705)

 

NO....it does say 91 GB under the C drive, but when u reboot and press F2 under the hardware it says 98 GIG under the system resources thing

 

oh okay. Then it sounds like you have 7gb of unpartition space located on the HD. Like I said earlier, if you don't need it, then don't worry about it right now. It won't hurt your system, and you can add it to your current partition when you reformat in the future.

If you want it but don't want to reformat, I would make it into a spare partition so you can save your documents there. This way you won't have to backup everything in the future. To do this, you use the XP disk and go to the partition step. Create the partition using the unpartition space. Then press F3 to exit out of XP.

Third option, would be to use something like Partition Magic and you could either create a new partition or add it to your current Windows partition. You can buy a downloadable version of this for around 20 dollars. There is some other programs that will do this, but I don't know them off the top of my head.

 

Partitioned space: 93950 MB (90031 MB Free)
Unpartitioned space: 8 MB

"The unpartitioned space you selected is reserved for XP part. info. To create a new part., go back blah blah"...

so is there other gig from the harddrive other than the 91.75 GB on C Drive?

 

hmm, that is weird. Did you get that information from using the XP disk?

 

yes...i deleted both of that Fat partitions, do u think that has anything to do with it?


do i need to install these disks as well?

-Cyberlink PowerDVD
-Roxio Creator
-Dell Tools (Support, Multimedia, internet software)
-Dell Quickset (on website)

i installed the Sonic DigitalMedia v.7 LE and MyDVD 6.11 LE disk...

thanks!

 

No, i don't think it is because of the FAT partition. I really don't have an explanation for it. Normally there is a few GBs missing because of the nature of harddrives, but i've never seen 8gb disappear.

Cyberlink PowerDVD is your dvd decoder so if you want to play dvd's you'll need it.

The rest are just user preference. Dell Quickset allows you to easily configure your power management options plus it has the little popup screens when you change brightness/volume. Some of the FN keys will only work with Quickset for that matter, but none of the important ones.

Dell Tools -- I never had any use for it

Rixio-- that is also user preference. I personally like Nero better than I do Roxio or Sonic.

Did you install Sonic from a disk or Dell's website? If you got it from the website, then you only got the updates -- not the actual program. You might want to install Roxio if that is the case.

 

i have the Sonic disc....so Roxio and Sonic are both similiar? Dell sent me both...

for whatever reason my Soundblaster card (Audigy 2 Z5) isn't detected when i put it through the expresscard slot...I know this is unrelated but the computer doens't read it, i dont quite hear a clicking noise when i put it in, as it's very loose...i've tried several times to put it in but it just wont read or fit...i went to the manual for both the card and notebook...

 

have you installed the drivers for Audigy 2 Z5? I notice with mine that when i take it out or put it in, i have to restart my media software (like Winamp, WMP, Cyberlink, etc)

Yeah, I think they are pretty much the same thing. They are both burning programs, so you might just need to test each out to see what you like the best.

 

whenever you put a card in the slot, the computer is supposed to recognize the new hardware....the card is just semi-loose and doesn't get recognized....this has to do with those drivers? where do i get those?

also, it comes with Creative MediaSource software, did u bother with that? i'm most likely going to be using iTunes, but i didn't buy speakers yet (5.1's or something)..so im wondering if ill ever need it...

 

You should be able to get them from Creative's Website. No, I didn't install the MediaSource. I just have the drivers for it. I personally like Winamp since I don't have an iPod, but i've used it with iTunes also, and it works fine.

 

but wait...your soundcard is loose when placed in the slot too? it doesn't quick CLICK?

 

Mine is fiarly solid in there. I can wiggle it, but it does click. What system did you get?

 

e1705, but i bought the soundcard from them...okay, so i went to another forum here and says there are two different sizes...greattttt

 

on the Audigy? I didn't know that.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=1255027#post1255027

someone there says there have been complaints about diff. sizes...why would dell send me the wrong size? i mean it slides in the slot but doesn't click it...i dont think its rocket science, theres def something wrong....

i installed all the drivers from dell except the four (display devices, diagnostic util., removable storage, and app.)

now i need to get anti-spy and anti-virus software...these forums have recommended nod32 and spybot s&d (my friend says both of these are crap and that i MUST buy the software at a store...) BLAH to that right lol...

 

I don't know why they would send a different size. You might call dell and try to get a replacement.

That's right on the dell drivers.

LOL, you don't have to pay for the software. I like free AVG, but paid for Pc-cillin for a firewall.

 

I liked the google tool bar...im gonna go get that...hey my backspace button is squeaky...is yours?

thanks for everything homegirl, the computer definitely runs smoother, although doing this has taken up my entire weekend...and now i gotta call dell for the MediaDirect disc, cuz only the repair utility driver is on the site; other than that, good stuff!!!

 

not really, but if they are still using the same keyboard as the 9300, then the keyboard is really cheap (just be prepared for that). Dell is pretty nice about replacing it.

You might check that the Dell Application Disk. It might be on there. I'm not 100% sure

 

AVG u still gotta pay for...what would u recommend? i was recommended Webroot Spysweeper for spyware....

i want free stuf tho

 

there is a free version of AVG. http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

Spybot Search and Destroy is probably one of the best spyware/spybots programs.

 

muah...you're the best...thanks for making my new notebook a new notebook lol

 

lol, your welcome.

 

I keep a flashdrive with my essentials for new computers:

1) ClamWin - OpenSource antivirus
2) Spybot Seek and Destroy - Anti-spyware
3) Adaware SE - Anti-spyware
4) Firefox - Browser
5) Thunderbird - Email
6) OpenOffice - Open Source Office Suite
7) Gimp - Open Source photo manipulation (like Photoshop)

 

I just reformatted my Inspiron 2200 and tried to reinstall the drivers I saved to CD before reformatting. I was able to reinstall the network drivers because there was an icon that said "setup" in the folder. How do I get the rest of the devices to detect their drivers? (audio's the most obvious one)

 

Most when you download them will come with a setup program. Otherwise you are going to have to install them in the drivers section of system32 folder. Then you will have to go to advanced on the drive thing and assign them manually.