Guide:how to install windows in the right way to avoid reformating the pc every month

[aricemax123]

This guide is for people who reinstall windows all the time and suffer from getting virus and corrupt programs. To avoid that I will try to guide you so you don’t have to format your PC every month.

Now before you start this, make sure you have the latest drivers in hand for:
- Motherboard
- Graphic card
- Sound card
- Network card
- SATA hard drive

Step one: Install Windows XP

The best version of windows XP out is “Windows XP SP2 PRO Build 2600”.
It includes service pack 2 with the most important security fix updates.

Now Insert your windows CD into your PC and restart (make sure your CD/DVD player is “BOOTABLE”)
A blue screen will shows up with some information, now you have to choose one of three options. Repair the current windows; Install a new one and the last one is exiting the setup.
Now press enter to start:

1- Press F8 to agree with windows user agreement.

2- Now you will be able to select and format your hard drivepartition.
First select the partition and choose to format it,
you have to options now:Quick format or Full format. There is no big deal of what type of format you choose so I will go with the quick format but it’s up to you.

3- Windows setup will start copying files to your selected hard drive.

4- After format is complete the setup will reboot and will load all device drivers that your system need.

5- The next step after is to customize your region settings when the setup asks.


Step Two: Windows security

Before you start anything you must know that virus and all other kind of Trojan horse, worm hole and spy ware can find there way to your PC very fast and very easy and it doesn’t matter if you are behind a router or have windows firewall on. That’s why you should not be connected to internet before you install all the windows security programs.

1- Firewall and antivirus: the choice of what antivirus and what firewall program is up to the user himself. That’s because it’s not easy to say what is the best to use but I recommend you to use Nod32 antivirus and Norton firewall.

2- Windows XP has already a built in firewall and you may want to turn it of to avoid conflict because you have already installed a firewall application.

3- Ad ware and spy ware protections: Once again its up to you to choose what program you want to install since there are so many good anti spy ware applications, my recommendation is “Ad-Aware SE Professional”

4- When you are done with installing all the security programs that was mentioned above, connect to internet now and upgrade your security software’s and scan your pc after that.


Setup three: Backing UP the Windows

There are many windows Backup programs, what personally I use and I think is the best is "Norton Ghost 9".

Symantec’s Norton Ghost 9.0
Get Norton Ghost and Install it, also remember to burn it to CD because in same time it’s a Recovery disk, meaning that you need it when restoring your windows.

1- Backing up
before backing up your Windows install all Programs and Updates you need so it can be backed up with the windows and restore with it. I Recommend you to Disable "windows Restore Point" its waste of space (in my opinion) if you’re going To Use Norton Ghost, you won’t need two backup programs anyway.

•Run Norton Ghost and Select "Backup Drives" from the side Menu.

•Select the drive and click next.

•Browse a directory where you want to save, you can’t safe on same Partition in other words u must have more then 1 partition or u can burn the backup data into a DVD or CD.

•Select the Compression Method (Standard, medium and High), higher you choose more time will take but size will be smaller.

•Press next and backup will start.
Update the backup File Using "Incremental" Method from the Backup job menu. this option will monitor the drive for changes and update the backup image with it, it will take much less time because it only back ups the changes.

2- Restoring
•Open Restore Drive from side menu.
•Browse the backed up file.

•Select the Drive which you want to restore the backup on it.

•Press next on last page to start the Restore progress, remember that, Restoration will not be done on windows, the system will reboot and you should have the Recovery Disk (Norton Ghost 9 CD) to boot with it.
In case that you’re windows doesn’t boot up you can use the Norton ghost CD to boot to recovery page, from there you can restore the backup.

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Next time your windows crash all you need is to recover your windows backup that works fine with all the drivers and security updates that is needed.

/regards

 

[k3yz3r0]

Good tips, but i'm suggest to use the 'spybot search & destroy' it's a anti-spyware very useful, try to test kaspersky instead nod32...

 

[cateye]

Full format will be better if you have not formatted the hard drive with Windows before.

If you are behind a router (a NAT router), you will not get malware from connecting to the internet. You may get it the normal ways of infected files, infected emails, and Internet Explorer holes though. Do install an Antivirus. I recommend Nod32, or AVG Free to save money/piracy. I do not recommend Windows firewalls as they hook into Winsock and generally cause trouble. Get a hardware firewall or NAT router for protection. The built-in Windows firewall is very limited, so avoid it.

Ad-Aware is good, but it costs money. Spybot is free and somewhat more able for most things. Windows Defender may be better, I have not tried it.

Using Ghost is a good idea, but I usually find that what I install gets outdated when I go to reinstall. For example, there'll be an update to Spybot, and Windows does poorly when uninstalling and reinstalling stuff often. Do not use Deep Freeze, it is unreliable.

If you are doing piracy, I recommend Windows 2003 R2 SP1 Enterprise. It is faster than XP, though it requires you to turn on things like the Windows Audio service, hardware acceleration, etc.

 

[Sleektoo]

Here is an option instead of formatting and re-installing. One of the cleanest ways of restoring your original windows registry settings and files is to do a "repair install".

Put in the original XP disc and choose Install. Accept the Eula. Do not pick Repair here. Continue as if you were going to install new. Pick the next Repair option.

You will have to re enter your serial number and wait 20 or so minutes while it copies back files and writes to the registry. This method has brought back many a system that did not boot.

 

[kongo]

Some addons to above:
First: My grandfather always said "Dont try to repair whats not broken" . The same goes to software. Sometimes latest drivers are not the best choice (especially if you have older hardware).
Second: Keep your registry clean. Optimize it from time to time.(WinXP Manager is a good pick. Trust me, it can do wonders to your stability and booting time.)
Third: Keep your running services to a minimum. This way you will increase your security and stability.(and ofcourse it will speed up your booting time)
Fourth: Do not use iexplorer.(Firefox or Opera are great alternatives for now).

These are some tips that will help you.(got the same OS without reinstalling for 3,5 years now).

 

[priesh]

Here is an option instead of formatting and re-installing. One of the cleanest ways of restoring your original windows registry settings and files is to do a "repair install".

Put in the original XP disc and choose Install. Accept the Eula. Do not pick Repair here. Continue as if you were going to install new. Pick the next Repair option.

You will have to re enter your serial number and wait 20 or so minutes while it copies back files and writes to the registry. This method has brought back many a system that did not boot.

Yeah i find this to be a good option too, but also think a full reinstall should be done every so often to get rid of any bloat collected over a year or so. If you keep your system in good shape, use a decent antivirus like nod32, and use a good firewall like zonealarm, you should not need to reinstall every month at all. Using firefox with adblock is also a great help with internet bloat.

Priesh

 

[imported_wizard]

indeed win 2003 is faster than xp,
and try to use best firewall ever:
sygate personal firewall pro

 

[priesh]

sygate personal firewall looks quite good - might give it a try if i have any problems with my current zonealarm setup.

Priesh

 

[aricemax123]

i have a question. is there any kind of software that can fully control a router?

i want to have control of my home network but my router suffer from advanced options.

 

[priesh]

i have a question. is there any kind of software that can fully control a router?

i want to have control of my home network but my router suffer from advanced options.

What do you mean 'fully control'? Does the router manager not work, or are you saying it is too complex? What do you need to do with the settings?

Priesh

 

[aricemax123]

What do you mean 'fully control'? Does the router manager not work, or are you saying it is too complex? What do you need to do with the settings?

Priesh

simply i want to manage my router from softare and not from my own router.

and no, i dont have any problems with my router but i prefer to use software tools