Summary: There are different ways to reinstall Windows. Which is appropriate depends on the problem you're attempting to solve.
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There are definitely scenarios where a reinstallation of Windows is required. Be it simple "software rot" (the degradation of your system as you add, and remove, programs over time), or something more malicious like a virus or an accumulation of spyware.
The first question isn't really "how?", it's "how much?"
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The first decision to make, really, is how much of a reinstallation you want to perform. Do you want to reinstall only Windows? Or perhaps the rest of the system as well?
It sounds like a lot of work ... and it is. But in my experience a completely clean reinstallation of Windows and all applications is the only real way to ensure that the machine is truly and absolutely clean.
It's a long process that begins with backing up all your data, and the installing Windows from scratch, including a reformat of the hard disk, and then reinstalling all of your applications and restoring your data.
Did I mention it's a lot of work?
It's very close to what happens when you get a new machine. In fact, quite often, I'll time it so that it happens when I get a new machine. The new machine gets built out with all my applications and my data gets moved, and then I reformat and reinstall Windows on the old machine, but then use it for some other purpose.
So what if you don't want to go through all that hassle? Then you want what's commonly called a "repair install". When you boot from the Windows Installation CD, it's one of the options along the way. It will reinstall Windows while preserving your applications and data.
The "problem", if you want to call it that, with a repair installation, is that it does not fix nearly as many problems as a complete reinstall. If the problem is with an application, a repair install of only Windows may not fix the application's issues.
Rather than reinvent the wheel here, I'll point you at a couple of very good resources out on the 'net.
- There's a very good article with more step by step information that covers Windows installation CDs, Vendor's "restore" CDs, Windows 98 and Me, and Windows 2000 and XP out at the PC World Computing Center of about.com: How to reinstall Windows Without Losing Your Data.
- This excellent article by Microsoft MVP Michael Stevens, How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install also covers many of the issues, and the steps, in even more detail.
Related:
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Ask Leo! - How do I set up my computer - simply?
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Ask Leo! - How should I set up my computer?
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Ask Leo! - I don't have an installation CD for Windows XP - what if I need one?
Article C2499 - December 22, 2005
I have a partitioned drive. Windows 98 is on C and Windows 2000 is on D. I used an old version of Partition Magic (on C) to partition. I can not even boot up on 98 anymore (for a long time), and Partition Magic will not start even by clicking the exe. program under 98 on C. If I do an image copy of D on another drive, reformat main drive to D and then copy image back to it, will it work as if partition was never there, or will things have been left on C that I must have for D to work by itself? I want to do a repair install on D for Windows 2000, but want to get rid of partition and reformat first and have no logical C drive since I have been using D for years anyway. D, now, must be using drivers from C for original equipment like sound card (?), or did the installation of 2000 on D move all of those drivers over on installation? Advise, please. Thanks for all your help and site. I am 72 on fixed income or would buy you a latte.
When you install an OS, drivers are not "moved", unless perhaps you install "on top of" the old version, on the same drive. Sounds like you did not do that, so whatever was installed was new at the time of installation.
Really, the best advice I have for you is to back up everything, and then reformat and reinstall everything from scratch the way you want it.
-Leo
i installed extra memory on my pc running ME after doing this I have beeunable to start my pc it starts to boot then eventually comes up with no fixed drives found and then freezes with this message how do i reinstall windows on this machine
Posted by: john ball at October 11, 2008 8:02 PMmichael horowitz wrote:
" Programs such as Ghost, True Image, Drive Image and many others make "image" backups of an entire hard disk. Doing this every month or two provides a recent synch point (so to speak) that you can fall back to when your computer starts acting up. Restoring an "image" backup is much faster and easier than re-installing Windows and your applications.
The down side is that the software costs money, and it takes time, effort and a lot of storage space for the backups. "
I don't mean to insult the Poster but we do have an option for almost everything in Linux. Just if you are willing to experiment & give it a little time. Of course, you are saving money, right!
See below-
http://ping.windowsdream.com/
A linux flavor of copying partitions on the fly. Its free Pal.
Ravi.
Posted by: Ravi Agrawal at December 23, 2008 11:17 PMwhat if once i reinstall windows and it shows the lsass error? what should i do then?
Posted by: Patrick Villaroya at January 16, 2009 11:17 PMI have a Windows Xp Pro and I started up my PC this morning and it started up normally but then it said file is missing or corrupted. It says that I need to repair it. I dont have the CD anymore to repair it. Also there are alot of data that I dont want to loose. please help me
Posted by: Ravneel Prasad at August 13, 2009 1:49 PM