formating and doing a clean vista install

Hello everyone. Recently I have been having many problems with my computer. I have several corrupt files and whenever I ckdsk, it doesn't satart-up when i restart my computer. I also have a great deal of junk files that I would like to get rid of.

I have several questions.
How do I format my computer so its set for a clean vista install with the backup disk?

Can I re-install my steam games that I have purchased without paying for them again?

 

Just insert you vista dvd.goto bios and select boot from cd or select dvd drive as first boot device. Then the setup starts, just overwrite the c: as it always backsup all files if any needed in folder called Windows.old I guess. If you dont need backup then just format ur pc and reinstall the OS and I hope you can install the drivers by yourself.

 

wait if i do the first method do i have to install drivers?????

 

Yes.



.

 

ok i have 2 disks: Asus g50 driver and utility ver 1
and

Recovery DVD Asustek Computer inc: windows vista recovery media for windows vista products.

does the first one have the drivers on them?

 

Just goto your laptop manufaturer website and download all required drivers and save it in other drive. Format it and reinstall the drivers. Some laptops doesnot install wifi by itself so its good to download all the drivers but if ur wifi is detected automatically then no need to download. Hope that helps.

 

Yes, it does, but you're better off downloading the latest drivers from Asus' website.

 

i have no idea what drivers to download thats the problem

 

Put the DVD in, take a look at what drivers are in there, search for them, and then download them!

 

uuhhmmm
if you know what laptop model you have

you should be able to just go to the asus site and find your model--it should list the drivers for vista. But don't worry, there won't be that many drivers that your recovery dvd won't have on it and auto install during the vista setup. You can install Vista and then check under "Device Manager" to make sure everything has a driver, if not, it will have a big exclamation mark next to it.

Then if you see any drivers more than a year old, check to see if there is a newer version at asus.

 

Ok, yea I have Asus g50vt a1 recovery disks so
I'm going to put that in and go from there.
Also, can I use the chkdsk without rebooting from the recovery disk? Becuase when I chkdsk and restart like it says nothing happens.


EDIT: so i booted up the recovery disk. and it gives me 3 options. the first option which i wanna use is called "Recover Windows to first partition only"
it will wipe my drive my C drive and put the windows vista there. Now that was the the 1st recovery disk out of the 2 the asus laptop came with. These 2 disks were in one pack with each other and had a cardboard behind them so they wouldnt snap.

now im assuming thiose are the main recovery disks

but i also have another disk called "driver & utility Ver 1.0"
Im assuming this is Asus's drivers disk am i right?

after i do this can my computer still function? Im reading the directions in the manual and it says after using 1 of the three recovery options to go to asus.com for updated drivers and utilities, Im assuming that means it will download most or all the drivers when i recover it right?

 

pls anybody i would like to fix my computer and i really dont feal like messing a 1700 dollar machine up.

 

yes, go for it.

The recovery dvd option for c only should work fine. You could also restore to to "factory", which would set up the entire hdd as it came from the factory.The disks are pretty model specific, so it will have the correct drivers for your laptop. Their may be a few updated drivers, but as said, check the web page or run "Windows Update" to see if it finds any newer drivers.

If you have any data/documents/files on it that you need to save, try downloading a Linux Live Disk like "Ubuntu". It's under 700mbs, you burn it to a CD/DVD and you just boot from it and run Ubuntu from the disk. You can explore your C drive and see if you can locate your files. If you do, you can copy them to a flash drive. It doesn't always work, but 9 out of 10 times it does.

 

thank you but when i put the first disk in there are only three options no factory options

-"Recover Windows to first partition"
-"Recover Windows to entire HD"
-"Recover Windows to entire HD with 2 partition"

i saved all my junk onto the C: partition (like an idiot, probably why i have so many corrupt files) so wouldn't using the first setting set it to factory stuff except without bloatware?

 

it sounds like the first will install to C:
the second will format the hdd and make it 1 partition, then install.
the last sounds like it will format, make and install on C and create D, or something close to that.

Is there a recovery partition on your laptop? Can you just restore your system at boot by selecting F12 or something like that?

 

that is exactly which each one does, it says it in manual

there is also another option for recovering where i press f9 during bootup
its called "Windows vista siftware recovery using hard disk partition"

whats the difference between the 2 recovery processes?

 

Recovery process looks for any missing dll or system files that is creating problems to boot or run ur computer properly. Just do the steps I told you do at my first post. Easy and simple!