re-installing XP is there an easy way?

[soprano]

last time I did this I had to save all data to an external hard drive but then had to re-install all programmes, find and apply patches and get all the settings back to what I remember, took ******* ages surely theres an easier way?
if anyone knows it will be people here

edit- installing win xp Pro this time as pc is xp home

 

[Frozennova]

Unfortunately there is no easy way, just make sure you've got a backup of everything and plenty of time to get everything back to the way you like it

 

[SiriusB]

Get it how you like it, with all settings and apps installed then take a disc image and save to a different HDD. Something like Acronis or Norton Ghost are very good.

Next time you need to fix your system, restore the disc image and voila, shiny OS ready to go.

 

[PatZ1989]

without imaging like sirius mentioned there is no easy way with XP

 

[soprano]

so if I get Norton Ghost it will take an image and put it back onto the fresh install? does that include all application progs and games?

if so seems well worth the $40

 

[theheyes]

CloneZilla will do it for free if you don't mind the basic interface. And yes, taking an image will make an EXACT snapshot of the state of the system.

 

[Guest2]

Acronis True image to clone from drive to drive. Works great. I keep a clone of my OS drive all the time on an old 160GB drive.

If you are getting new motherboard then its a complete reinstall, or if you want to clean it properly, the registry etc

Takes no time at all once youve done it a few times. Wipe > install XP SP3, chipset, network, sound, display drivers > windows update > other random programs.

I can scrub and prep a work dell pc in under 2 hours if the format is fast enough < my claim to fame!!

 

[lcg]

Acronis True image to clone from drive to drive. Works great. I keep a clone of my OS drive all the time on an old 160GB drive.

That's what I do. It's very quick and useful.

 

[Guest2]

That's what I do. It's very quick and useful.

I really need to remember to update the clone when everything is working good though. Last time i went back to use the clone and it was about 2 months out of date. oops.

Luckily Windows 7 autorecovery thing worked from a few days before

 

[soprano]

this sounds great guys, so just let me get it clear in my head please..

take the image with acronis/ghost etc and save to an external HD
install win XP pro which will reformat the whole system
then............ I put the image back on which will have all the chipset/mobo/gfx drivers prog's apps etc etc saving me installing all the drivers and progs from scratch?

is that all correct?

 

[rickyt]

I use Paragon products at work , does the same thing as Ghost etc .I would build a new PC , install drivers , Service Packs , updates and all the programs I would need , then install Paragon Drive Copy .Install a second new HDD [as slave] and run the software . Disk Copy made a perfect copy of the Primary drive to the Secondary drive .I would fit the slave in to another PC with identical componants .This saved a lot of time , the ICT room has 32 pc's and the Science lab has 20 PC's . If you leave this slave inside your PC , if your wiped out by a virus etc , you just make the slave into a master and your back on line in minutes . One thing I've never done and allways wanted to try was to clone to a DVD and make it bootable .

 

[SiriusB]

this sounds great guys, so just let me get it clear in my head please..

take the image with acronis/ghost etc and save to an external HD
install win XP pro which will reformat the whole system
then............ I put the image back on which will have all the chipset/mobo/gfx drivers prog's apps etc etc saving me installing all the drivers and progs from scratch?

is that all correct?

Nearly!

Usually you will use a boot disc or some kind which will load your saved HDD image. So you don't install XP fresh then use the image, you generally load up the aforementioned disc and restore. The process will nuke the disc etc as it goes.

 

[CaptainCrash]

this sounds great guys, so just let me get it clear in my head please..

take the image with acronis/ghost etc and save to an external HD
install win XP pro which will reformat the whole system
then............ I put the image back on which will have all the chipset/mobo/gfx drivers prog's apps etc etc saving me installing all the drivers and progs from scratch?

is that all correct?

It's not very clear why you're reinstalling - if you just want to transfer your existing healthy setup to a new HDD then yes, cloning it as suggested above will do the trick.

If however you want to do a clean format/install because your OS is tired and slow from accumulated junk, damaged by data corruption, riddled with malware infestations or otherwise borked beyond easy repair, then there's no point in cloning it because it will end up exactly the same as before.

In any case, if you're upgrading from XP Home to Pro as suggested in your edited first post, cloning isn't really applicable to your situation, and I'm afraid doing it the long way is your only real option...

 

[Fatboyuk2]

we use a server 4 it at work

 

[SiriusB]

In any case, if you're upgrading from XP Home to Pro as suggested in your edited first post, cloning isn't really applicable to your situation, and I'm afraid doing it the long way is your only real option...

It's already too late to do it now definitely, as by the fact he needs to do a format would suggest all is not well. However, cloning is something that should be done as soon as you have rebuilt your system and its as shiny and sparkly as you want it!

we use a server 4 it work

Flibbadib dob bleep to you too

 

[soprano]

It's not very clear why you're reinstalling - if you just want to transfer your existing healthy setup to a new HDD then yes, cloning it as suggested above will do the trick.

If however you want to do a clean format/install because your OS is tired and slow from accumulated junk, damaged by data corruption, riddled with malware infestations or otherwise borked beyond easy repair, then there's no point in cloning it because it will end up exactly the same as before.

In any case, if you're upgrading from XP Home to Pro as suggested in your edited first post, cloning isn't really applicable to your situation, and I'm afraid doing it the long way is your only real option...

only added one entry into my diary today, it simply says... Bugger!

 

[SiriusB]

Come now, Darling.

 

[soprano]

alert alert, someone just mentioned something about chipset drivers for the MOBO as well
following an onscreen prompt to reinstall is one thing but whats this chipset driver thinghy anyone?