Clean Reinstall Windows 7 Dell XPS 8100 Desktop Computer?

I have an old dell xps 8100 desktop bought back in 2010. Back then it was very fast and i haven't used it in a while. It does not have an ssd and only 4gb of ram. I do have an extra ssd as well but did not put it there.


I want to do a clean reinstall of windows 7 on this desktop and make it like if its a new computer. I have done this a few years ago but the issue is i did it incorrectly because it still has old files because when i click on local disk it shows 416gb free of 465gb free. So basically i did clean reinstall but i didn't wipe everything out.


Can someone tell me how i can do this? Also i do not have the old windows 7 cd or anything like that. I do have the product key sticker, service tag and express service code. I also bought a usb wifi adapter tp link recently because i cannot connect this to the modem for wired internet because this desktop is in the 1st floor whereas the modem is in the 2nd floor. So is there any steps on how i can do this? How long would the process be and if you do it correctly, it should be pretty fast? Right now its lagging a lot when clicking on things.

 

I posted this in another forum the sevenforums and someone tells me i need to download from the dell site and need to have a usb flash drive up to 16gb because i need to download certain things to it. Can someone confirm if this is true or not? I did a clean reinstall back in 2014 incorrectly years ago because it shows 413gb free of 465gb or somethingn like that when windows takes about 25gb only.


Back then im positive that i downloaded some drivers to a usb stick and it was less than 4gb only. Then did the clean reinstall but of course didnt delete everything. So now things are changed where you need at least 16gb stored on a usb stick if you want to clean reinstall windows 7? Its windows 7 home premium 64 bit.


This is the thread posted in the other forum. Am i allowed to post it here or not? If not, please delete it. But the other poster who was helping me gave me directions. But then he said he never did clean reinstall with a dell before so it might be different?



https://www.sevenforums.com/install...an-restore-windows-7-my-xps-8100-desktop.html



Do i follow all of his instructions in the thread there?

What is confusing is why do i need 16gb flash drive space because back in 2014, i only needed less than 4gb so i wanted to know if things are different now?

Thanks.

 

His post #14 tells you what you need to do but its not a true clean install because it'll includes bloatware and other software from Dell that you dont need which takes up some disk space thats why it'll requires about 16gb of free space on your flash drive. In order to do a real clean install of Windows 7 you would need to get the ISO copy and then use rufus to create a bootable USB which you only need of 4GB free space on your flash drive, remember when creating a bootable USB flash drive of any software from a ISO will also compress the files to make it fit on the drive.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/nbr-windows-7-clean-installation-guide.781213/

After you install Windows 7 you need to go dell's site and look up your PC and then download and install the drivers that you need.

 

Hi there. Yes i dont want any bloatware at all. Now it make sense its 4gb of data of free space.


So i need to follow those steps and install the drivers which should be under 4gb right? Then afterwards do a reinstall and at the end of it, plug the usb in to put in the drivers? Or that is for the installation?

 

Create the bootable USB first and then after its created then you can put your drivers and other stuff on it as long you have the space on your flash drive, it wont affect the installation of Windows. After installing Windows 7 you would need install the drivers. I suggest you download and backup your drivers before hand so you wont run into drivers issues after installation.