Fdisk Dan Format

FDISK and FORMAT a 12GB Hard Drive Partition the hard drive into 4 equal partitions. Reinstall the Windows 98 Operating System. Using these instruction for other hard drives can be accomplished by changing the number of partitions and the % of the hard drive used. Disclaimer: We cannot be held responsible for any loss of data or damage to your hardware while using these instructions. If you feel you are not at a skill level to accomplish this task, please do not attempt it. FDISK is an extremely powerful tool that will do severe damage to your data. Make sure that you understand the questions that the program is asking you. Your actual program configuration can be a little different and have additional or fewer steps in it, so be careful to read each step carefully. Now before we start, make sure that you have backed up any important data and you have the necessary disks to reinstall the desired programs. The first thing that you are going to need is a Startup Disk: 1] Insert a blank formatted diskette into the floppy drive. Insert the Win98 CD into your cd rom drive. 2] Double click on "My Computer" located on the desktop. 3] Double click on "Add Remove Programs". 4] Click on "Startup Disk" (Win98 Cd is required). 5] Click on "create". Once you have that disk created, ensure that it reads your CD-ROM. If it does not, then you are going to be in serious trouble once you try to recover your operating system. Lets see if it works ok? Boot to a DOS (A:\>) prompt, insert a CD into your CD-ROM and type in DIR E: (or whatever your CD-ROM drive letter is, this example uses "E") ensuring there is a space between "DIR" and "E" <enter>. If it reads the CD, continue on. If not, retry creating a Startup Disk or download one here: www.bootdisk.com Once you have a functional Startup Disk, insert it into your floppy drive and your Windows 98 CD into your CD-ROM drive then, reboot using your Startup Disk. You will be asked to choose from 2 or 3 options. Select the option to boot without CD-ROM support for now. At the DOS (A:\) prompt, type in: FDISK <enter>. You will now see a long message that states: Your computer has a disk larger than 512 MB, do you wish to enable large disk support (or something to this affect). Large Disk Support means "FAT32". Answer "Y" to enable large disk support. You should now see the main "FDISK Options" menu and the "Enter choice:" prompt. Here it will state "Current fixed disk drive:1". This indicates the first disk it has found on the system. If you only have one hard drive, this will be your choice. If partition(s) exists, proceed to step "1a" below. 1. Select option "1" to create partition. 2. Select option "1" again to create primary DOS partition. 3. It will prompt you "Do you wish to use the maximum available size for a Primary DOS partition and make the partition active (Y/N)?" Answer "N" <enter>. Unless you want a single partition on your hard drive, then you would answer "Y".

It will show you the total space on the drive, and prompt you "Enter size in MBytes or percent of drive space (%):" You want this first partition to take up one quarter of the drive space, so type in "25%" (make sure to include the percent sign) <enter>. It should tell you "Partition created; drive letters changed or added" (or something like that). 4. It should now send you back to the main "FDISK Options" menu, if not, then just press the <esc> key until you're back there. 1a. Select "Delete Partition on logical Dos Drive." (option 3) <enter>. 1b. Select "Delete Primary Dos Partition." (option 1) <enter>. 1c. Hit <enter> to delete the partition. 1d. If there is a volume label listed, type it in exactly as it appears <enter>. If not, just hit <enter>. 1e. Answer yes to the last question and hit <enter>. 1f. Hit <esc> key and proceed to step 1 above to create partition. Now let's fill up that extended partition you've just created by making three logical partitions to fill it. 1. Again, choose option 1 "Create DOS partition or logical DOS drive" and <enter>. 2. This time, when it asks you what type of partition to create, choose option 3 "Create Logical DOS drive(s) in the Extended DOS Partition" and <enter>. 3. It will prompt you to "Enter logical drive size in MBytes or percent of disk space" once again. Type in "33%" with the percent sign <enter>. 4. It will create the first logical partition, and immediately prompt you to "Enter logical drive size..." again. 5. Again, type in "33%", with the percent sign, <enter>. 6. It will create the second logical partition, and prompt you once again to "Enter logical drive size..." This time, look above the prompt, to where it says "Maximum space available for logical drives is (whatever number)14532 MBytes". Type in the number of MBytes shown, without a percent sign, <enter>. 7. It will create the third logical partition, and tell you that "All available space in the Extended DOS partition is assigned to logical drives" what this means is you have filled up the entire hard drive space. Good job! 8. Press the <esc> key to continue. Press the <esc> key again to exit FDISK. You should now be back at the DOS (A:\>) prompt. Press Ctrl>Alt>Delete to restart your computer. Let it boot again from your Startup Disk. Choose the option without CD-ROM support. When it returns to your DOS (A:\>) prompt, type in: FORMAT C: (ensure there is a space between FORMAT and C:) <enter> This will now format your drive "C". When that finishes, type in: FORMAT D:, then FORMAT E:, and lastly FORMAT F: to format the remaining partitions. You should now have a nice clean hard drive with four 4GB partitions. Now you can install your Operating System of choice. Reboot your system using the Startup Disk again. At the option screen, select the option to "Boot using CD-ROM support". When you get to the DOS (A:\) prompt, type "D:" <enter> The prompt should now say D:\, at this prompt type: SETUP <enter>. Scandisk will run and take you right into Windows setup. Follow the onscreen instructions. NOTE: If Windows prompts you for drivers for certain hardware, just select cancel for now until Windows is fully installed, then proceed to the next steps After the Windows installation. 1. Double click on "My Computer". 2. Double click on "Control Panel". 3. Double click on "Systems" (icon is located toward the bottom of the screen) 4. Click on the "Device Manager" tab on top. 5. Go to the category called "Other Devices" and double click on it.

6. You will see devices with a "!" mark. Highlight those devices and remove them one by one. 7. After removing all those devices, Reboot your system. The network card drive is commonly known as "Ethernet adapter". The sound card is commonly detected as "multimedia device". Fax modem is commonly detected as "communication device". Install the appropriate drivers for each device. This tutorial was created by Roger Lemon and Vince Underwood In order to complete this task, you will need: 1) Category 5 (Cat 5) crossover cable (see fig#1). You can purchase these cables in different lengths. Be sure to buy the one that fits your needs. Fig#1 Note: A crossover cable is different from an Ethernet cable. If you're using a Hub, Switch or Router to connect the two computers, an Ethernet cable is the way to go.. 2) Fully functional Ethernet Adapters (Network Cards) installed on both computers systems. Be sure that both computers are logged in to Windows. Connect each end of the cat5 crossover cables in to the network cards of each computer. Bootup both computers and sign them both on to Windows. In order for both PC's to be able to communicate together, the Ethernet adapters will need to be configured with a static IP address and a common Subnet mask. As an example, assign one PC an IP address of 192.198.0.1 and assign the second PC an IP address of 192.198.0.2. Both machines should use the Subnet mask 255.255.255.0. Here's how to configure your Network Card: Go to Start>> Control Panel>> Network Connections>> Right click your Local Area Connection and select Properties. Scroll the list for the entry titled: Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Click the entry and select Properties. Under the General tab, tick the box titled: Use the following IP address. Enter the IP address and Subnet mask that you would like to use. Repeat the steps above for the second computer system. Be sure that both PC's have a common workgroup name of 15 characters or less. Here's how: Go to Start>> Control Panel>>System. Select the Computer Name tab. Click the Change button. Change the Workgroup name. Repeat these instructions on the second computer ensuring that both computers are named exactly the same. Reboot both computer systems. Next, open a command prompt on one of the computers by going to Start>>Run. Type in: command [Enter] or click OK. Type: ping 192.198.0.2 (if you are using the computer assigned with 192.198.0.01) press Enter. Five replies to your ping should be indicated. Note: If you receive a "timed out" message when attempting to ping your selected IP address. It is possible that the Internet Connection Firewall is interfering. Try right clicking on "My Network Places", then select Properties. Right click your Local Area Connection and select Properties once again. Click the Advanced tab. Uncheck the box titled: "Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet". Click OK. Now, try pinging the selected IP address again. Once you get the two computers to communicate successfully together, you can now enjoy the benefits of file sharing, printer sharing and Internet connection sharing. Nice work!

What is Safe Mode?: Safe Mode is a feature that came with Windows 98, ME, 2000 and XP Operating Systems. Typically, Safe Mode is used as a diagnostic tool. When the computer is booted to Safe Mode, only the bare minimum of resources are loaded. This is helpful in determining the cause of many problems. <>Booting to Safe Mode: Windows XP: 1. Start Windows XP 2. Once you hear the first beep during the startup process, begin tapping the F8 key on your keyboard repeatedly until you receive an onscreen menu. 3. Select option #1. This should be Safe Mode Alternately, if you are having troubles getting to Safe Mode using the above method, you can use the Microsoft Configuration Utility. Here's how: 1. Login as Administrator 2. Go to Start>> Run. Type in: msconfig [Enter] or click OK 3. Once in the Configuration Utility, select the BOOT.INI tab 4. Click the empty box next to the entry: /SAFEBOOT (a checkmark will now appear. 5. Click OK 6. Exit the Configuration Utility and restart your computer. Your computer will now boot into Safe Mode each time that it is restarted. To reverse the process, simply follow the above instructions and uncheck the /SAFEBOOT entry. Windows 98/ME: 1. Start Windows 98/ME 2. Once you hear the first beep during the startup process, begin tapping the F8 key on your keyboard repeatedly until you receive an onscreen menu. 3. Select option #1. This should be Safe Mode Alternately, if you are having troubles getting to Safe Mode using the above method, you can use the Microsoft Configuration Utility. Here's how: 1. Go to Start>> Run. Type in: msconfig [Enter] or click OK 2. Once in the Configuration Utility and while in the "General" settings area, click the "Advanced" button. 3. Once in the Advanced Troubleshooting Settings window, place a checkmark in the 'Enable Startup Menu' box. 4. Click OK and then OK again once the Configuration Utility reappears. 5. Exit the Configuration Utility and restart your computer. 6. When your Operating System restarts, you will now see a Startup Menu appear. Select Safe Mode from the menu and press Enter on your keyboard. Windows 2000: 1. Start Windows 2000 2. Once you see a black and white Starting Windows bar at the lower portion of your screen, begin tapping the F8 key repeatedly until the Advanced Options menu appears. 3. Using the arrow keys on your keyboard, select the Safe Mode option and press Enter.

[Windows XP] Below, are a few performance tips that will help keep your Windows XP system running smooth and error free. <>Free Up Disk Space By using the Disk Cleanup Tool you will increase the performance of your computer by removing unnecessary clutter on your hard drive. This system tool compiles a listing of all files that can be safely deleted from your system and gives you the option of deleting them or not. Here's how to use the Disk Cleanup Tool: Go to Start>> All Programs>> Accessories>> System Tools>> Disk Cleanup. In the event that you have several drives available, you will be prompted to choose a specific drive to be cleaned. Typically, the C:\ drive. Disk Cleanup will now calculate the amount of space you will be able to free up. Windows will now compile a listing of files that can be safely deleted. Once you have reviewed this list, you can place a checkmark next to the item that you wish to delete. Unchecking the item will leave these files on your system. Once you have selected the files you wish to delete, click OK. You will be prompted to confirm your selections. Click Yes. Windows will now clear all of the selected files from your system, leaving it cleaner and performing much better. <>Speed Up Access to Data When files are fragmented, the speed in which reading and writing of data on your hard drive can be effected. By using the Disk Defragmenter, the fragmented files and folders will be consolidated and placed neatly on your hard drive. Once the files are called upon, Windows will be able to access them much more quickly and efficiently. It is recommended that you run the Disk Defragmenter tool once a month to keep your system running at peak performance. Here's how to use the Defragmenter tool: Go to Start>> All Programs>> Accessories>> System Tools>> Disk Defragmenter. Click the drives that you would like to defragment from the Disk Defragmenter dialog box, then click the Analyze button. Once the disk is analyzed, a dialog box will appear and will prompt whether you should defragment the analyzed drives. Note: The analyzing process is to give you an idea of how long it will take to defragment the selected drives. If you would like to skip the Analyzing process, just click the Defragment button instead. After the Analyzing process completes, click the Defragment button. Windows will now start defragmenting your selected drives. Once this process completes, it will display the results. You will be able to display a detailed report about the defragmented drive or partition by clicking "View Report". To close the View Report dialog box, click Close. Close the Disk Defragmenter utility by clicking the Close button on the title bar of the window. <>Detect and Repair Disk Errors

The Error Checking utility checks the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk. Over time, it is possible that your hard disk can develop bad sectors which can lead to files being misplaced. By using this utility, Windows can find these misplaced files and place them where they can be found when needed. In addition, the Error Checking utility will repair hard disk errors whenever possible. It is recommended by Windows that you run this utility weekly if you use your computer on a daily basis. Here's how to run the Error Checking utility: Important: Be sure that all files and folders are closed prior to using this utility. Go to Start>> My Computer. Right click the hard disk that you would like to check. Click Properties from the resulting menu. Click the Tools tab. Click the "Check Now" button. Select the "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors" check box, then click Start. In the event that Windows finds bad sectors, choose to fix them. Note: Only make the selection to Automatically fix file system errors if you think that your disk contains bad sectors. That's it! If you use the above information at the recommended intervals, you will keep your system running at its peak performance and enjoy faster, error free computing for a very long time.

Introduction: When your computer suddenly stops functioning and shows you a blue screen with an error message this usually sends panic to most users. In this tutorial I will attempt to explain why this has happened and what you can do to troubleshoot the error. <>The Kernel: When working in a Windows operating system, there is a core piece of software that is designed to control all of the hardware operation within the system called the "Kernel". When the Kernel finds a problem in the system it will shut down the operation of the hardware to a bare minimum and take a picture of the exact location that it found to be the problem. It then displays this error information on a pre-defined "Blue Screen". At this point, the system is not useable because the Kernel has shut operations down to avoid further damage. Blue Screen Errors also known as STOP errors can be caused from any of the following: Bad memory module Poorly written device drivers Corrupt Windows Registry Incompatible DLL File When faced with a blue screen, many attempt to copy and paste the information and become frustrated when they find that they are not able to do so. As I have stated above, the Kernel handles all of your hardware operation, so your mouse, keyboard, printer and so on, will not function. You will either need to write the information down on a piece of paper or take a picture of the screen with a digital camera. You will at least have the information to use for troubleshooting or show to a capable technician so that they can fix the problem. <>Troubleshooting The Error: In most cases, a simple reboot of the operating system will allow users to gain access to their operating system again. Until the error has been fixed, you will be faced with another blue screen once the Kernel happens upon the unrecoverable error. There are a few things that you can do to get help for this error: Type the error message in to the search engine of your choice to see if there is a fix available. Sign-in to a newsgroup or computer help forum and post the error message in there to see if you can get any feedback on the error. Take the computer to a repair shop. For those of you that are reading this tutorial and did not save the error message in any way. There is a way to find the information in your operating system. Here's how: <>Windows Debugging Tools for Windows Vista, XP, 2000 and NT: To gain access to the error message you will need to download a free Windows Debugging Tool that can access the memory dump where the information resides. The link below will take you to Microsoft's web site where you can download the tool for your version and architecture (32 bit, 64 bit): Note: Vista users, please read below before downloading the debugging tool. http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/default.mspx The debugging tool will automatically install to your system in the Program Files folder. To use this tool follow the instructions outlined in the Microsoft Knowledgebase Article below: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315263 If you are using Windows Vista, there is a much simpler method available to you: Go to Start Select Control Panel Select System and Maintenance Select Problem Reports and Solutions

From here, you will be able to see the error message that was displayed in your blue screen and view possible solutions that Microsoft has already identified regarding your particular error. <>CHKDSK Tool: Depending on the cause of the error, a tool that can be helpful in resolving these issues is the CHKDSK tool. CHKDSK has the ability to check your hard disk for errors and automatically fix them. We have written a tips for using CHKDSK which you can access by clicking the links below: Check your hard disk for errors (Vista) Detect and Repairing Disk Errors (XP) If we can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail or register at our Free Computer Help Forums.

So, you just bought a new PC, and now you just cant wait to connect this new rocket to the Internet and see how it really performs. I know this is what you really bought it for, but PLEASE WAIT!! Before you connect to the Internet for the first time, there are a series of steps I strongly recommend you follow to ensure your new computer remains safe and you have an enjoyable experience. My experience and testing in this area shows that an improperly protected PC, especially if it is running Windows XP (any version), can and probably will be attacked in under 10 minutes after being connected to the Internet. The first attacks usually occur while you are connected to Microsoft’s web site to get your first round of updates and patches. It usually happens in the background, and you are not even aware of it until it is too late. Please don’t let this happen to you. You can avoid all the problems if you will first follow the steps I have outlined for you below. Then go ahead and have fun on the Internet. You really don’t want to begin your new computer experience by having to re-install Windows, so we well take the necessary steps to update, configure and patch your new PC. No matter how new it is, it will surely need the latest patches, and it will also need to be properly configured. That said, let’s get to it. Make a CD-ROM to start loading your new computer that contains all the files you will need to use. (This step assumes you already have a computer and your new one will be replacing it. If this is not the case, and this is your only computer, you can skip this step). Burn a CD from your old computer that contains any and all security program installs, files, drivers for peripherals, and any updated drivers you might need. If you are not sure how new the drivers are, first go to the appropriate web site and get the latest updates first. Be sure to include drivers for video devices, game controllers, cameras, scanners, printers etc. Remove applications. After your new computer is running and you have gone through the initial setup process, Windows identifies the devices connected and asks you to register or activate the devices and register your copy of the Windows operating system. Wait on that and do it later. Instead you now want to remove any promotional and trial software included with your new machine that you will not be using. This includes items like AOL or Earthlink if you won’t need them. This is easiest done from the control panel under add & remove programs. Just scroll down the list and uninstall anything you won’t be using. Install a firewall. Yes, I said install. If you have Windows XP, it comes with a built in firewall that your computer urges you to turn on. I much prefer you install a very good third party firewall such as Zone Alarm from Zonelab. If you made your CD properly in step one, you already have it ready to go. Install it and turn it on. Install antivirus software. Now you will install the antivirus software from your CD that you burned in step one. We will update the antivirus program later. Just get it installed for now. You might want to start a list at this point of everything installed that will need registration &/or updating later on when you connect to the Internet. Install anti-spyware program(s). This should also be ready to go from the CD you burned in step 1. Install printers and other peripheral devices. By installing your printer(s) now, you will be ready to print any important update or registration information after you connect to the Internet and begin registering and updating everything. By also connecting any other peripheral devices now, when you go to Windows Update, or Microsoft Update, Windows will see the devices and suggest any Microsoft tested updates if they are available for these devices. Set administrator password. Now is a good time to set a strong password for the administrator account. You might also think about renaming the account to disguise its real purpose and privileges. For more information on this, I recommend you read the tutorial on Hardening Windows elsewhere on the 5 Star Support site. If you intend to harden your operating system, now is the best possible time.

Create new user account(s). Now you need to create the user accounts for yourself and any other users who will be operating the computer for general use. You will only be using the administrator account from now on to install or update programs. Be sure to password protect each account you create. Establish a restore point. In Windows XP, you can manually establish a system restore point that will take you back to this point should something catastrophic occur. To start this system utility, click Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools | System restore and follow the steps in the System Restore Wizard. Install a router. This will probably sound like an unnecessary step to many users, especially if they are only using one computer. This is not the case. I am not trying to get you to spend more money for a toy. Even if you only have one computer, installing a router, especially one with a built in firewall, between your computer and your high speed modem. It provides an extra security layer between your computer and the Internet, and does not slow things down at all. It is even more beneficial if you are keeping your old computer as you will now be able to both network the two machines easily, and connect both to the Internet easily. You will need information from your IP as to the type of connection you will be using in order to properly configure the router. A good router with firewall can be had for as little as $80.00 if you are willing to shop a bit. The extra layer of security it provides is well worth several times that expenditure. Connect to the Internet. Now you are ready to connect to the Internet and begin registering and updating everything. This is easily done from the list you made in step 4. I recommend you update all security programs first, followed by Windows, and then any other software programs. Remember to also get the latest versions of Adobe Reader (http://www.adobe.com/), Flash Player, and Shockwave (www.macromedia.com). Turn off unnecessary services. I recommend a few for sure. Go to www.grc.com and get the ‘Three Musketeers’ to turn off Windows Messenger, DCOM, and Plug & Play. You might also want to disable scripting in Windows Media Player (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/wmpscriptingfix.html). That should take care of setting up your new computer. If, for some reason, you decided not to harden your system from the Hardening Windows tutorial, I beg you to reconsider and do it, even if it means you will need to get some help. Trust me, you won’t be sorry. It is well worth the time and effort. Enjoy your new computer! Until next time here on 5 Star Support.

Laptop Tips Below are a list of tips that will help increase the life of your laptop and hopefully save you some money too! Make sure that you always use a surge protector. An electrical surge may not affect your laptop the fist time it happens, but over time it will destroy it! Don't get into a habit of leaving your laptop on the floor. Things that are left on the floor are free game for pets, small children and big feet. Never leave your laptop in a cold environment. Once it gets cold, then you bring it into a warm environment, it will build up condensation on the circuitry and cause the laptop to short itself out. Never keep your paperwork between the screen and keypad. Paper is very sharp and will eventually cut into your screen. Avoid placing your laptop on soft surfaces. This will block the air vents and overheat your system. Be sure to purchase a good quality carrying case for your laptop's protection. Dropping and bumping a laptop is common. If it is in a quality case, it usually is not a problem. Also, make sure that the case has plenty of additional storage compartments to avoid scratching your laptop. Never drink liquids when working with your laptop. If you must, then make sure that the cup or glass has a wide bottom that will not be easily overturned. Be very careful, spilling liquid into your laptop will mean almost certain replacement. That's a costly cup of coffee! Never work on your own laptop unless you are a qualified professional. Laptops are much different from desktop computers. They have very small parts that are stuffed into tight areas. Laptop travel tips Make sure that you are familiar with your laptop before you depart on a trip. Ensure that you are able to connect to the Internet and that you have all of the necessary software to conduct your work. Carry your laptop in a bag designed for laptop computers. If you accidentally drop your laptop while it is in a good carrying case, you have a good chance that it will not be damaged. In hotel rooms, many of the devices (alarm clock, hair drier, television etc.) contain magnets that can damage your data. Do not store floppies or zip disks near these devices for extended periods. Use extra caution when drinking anything near your laptop computer. Avoid using small base glasses that can easily tip over. Spilling liquid into a laptop can ruin it. Never check your laptop computer as luggage on an airline, bus, etc. Always carry-on your laptop computer to avoid damage and theft. Keep your laptop in hand at all times when in public areas. Be extra careful in busy locations like airports, where many laptop computers are stolen. The x-ray machines at the airports will not damage your computer or your media. However, many people have had their computers stolen as it comes out of the conveyer belt. Be sure not to leave your computer unattended. On long trans-Pacific flights, ask to be seated at an emergency exit. Not only do you get more leg room, there is, believe it or not, a hot 110 Volt/AC outlet right in front of each exit door in the outside wall of Boeing 747s where you can plug in your notebook's A/C adapter and work/play the hours away without worrying about batteries.

If you use a PC card modem, (1) always carry one as a spare even if your laptop has an internal modem, and (2) either use one with an X-jack connector or bring an extra dongle. I have heard from people who have unplugged their modems and left the dongle connected to the phone cord, either at home or in a hotel. It's near-impossible to find a dongle in a computer shop while you are on the road. Take your purchase receipt along if you're traveling to a foreign country. This way you can avoid paying import tax if a customs agent challenges you. Make sure you know the power type and the plug type requirements for the country you are traveling to. You will need to get the necessary adapters if you are going to be using your computer while plugged into a power source (other than battery power). Charge all your batteries before you leave on a trip. You never know when they'll get the next charge. Below we have listed 2 links that will help you locate Cybercafe locations worldwide. Cybercafe Search Engine : Comprehensive listing of Cybercafes worldwide. 1. System Requirements: Check to insure that your system meets the minimum requirements for Windows XP: Windows XP Home Edition System Requirements Windows XP Professional Edition System Requirements 2. Compatibility: Check to insure that your hardware and software are compatible with the XP Operating System: If you have not yet purchased the XP operating system, it may be a good idea to run the Windows XP Upgrade Advisor to check your software and hardware compatibility. It is a free download and could save you a lot of money in the event your software and hardware are not compatible. This is the same utility that comes bundled with the Windows XP Operating System CD and runs before it is installed. Note: If you are on a dialup connection, this will not be a good idea as this utility is a large download. Windows XP Upgrade Advisor You will also find lots of hardware and software compatibility information along with driver updates at: Windows Hardware and Driver Central. If you do not have your hardware specification, you can download the Belarc Advisor. This is a small utility available for free download right here at 5 Star Support. The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, including Microsoft Hotfixes, and displays the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server. Author: Belarc License: Freeware Version: 6.1f Size: 605KB Requires: All Windows Browsers: Requires IE 3 or Netscape 3, and higher versions. Also runs on Opera, Mozilla, and Firebird. 3. Booting Options: The Windows XP installation CD is bootable. If you are not able to configure your computer to boot from the CD-ROM, then it is possible that your system is not compatible. 4. Start the Installation: Insert your Windows XP Installation CD. If Windows automatically detects the Installation CD, you will soon be prompted with a "Press any key to boot from CD" message. You will have 5 seconds to hit any key. If you've delayed too long, your computer will continue to start from the hard disk.

Once you have pressed any key, files will begin to load from the installation CD. You will soon be asked what type of installation you wish to perform: New Installation Repair an existing installation Since this tutorial teaches a clean installation, choose "New Installation". You will then be prompted to agree to the End User License Agreement (EULA). You cannot continue without accepting. Press F8 to continue. Feel free to read the EULA if you want, but make sure you take breaks every hour or so. The next screen will show the available partitions where you can install XP. Here you have the ability to create/delete partitions or just allocate the available space to one partition. If you choose to create multiple partition for whatever purpose, be sure to create them with sufficient size. I recommend partitions between 4-10 GB of size depending on what your plans are. If you plan to install a second Operating System, then an 8 to 10 GB partition would be best, but if your plans are merely to use a partition for backup purposes, then 4 to 6 GB may work fine. Once your have chosen the partition you wish to install XP on, you will now need to format it to a file system. The choices are: Fat32: A new version of the file allocation table (FAT) available in Windows 95 OSR 2 and Windows 98. FAT32 increases the number of bits used to address clusters and also reduces the size of each cluster. The result is that it can support larger disks (up to 2 terabytes) and better storage efficiency (less slack space). NTFS: Short for New Technology File System, one of the file system for the Windows NT operating system (Windows NT also supports the FAT file system). NTFS has features to improve reliability, such as transaction logs to help recover from disk failures. To control access to files, you can set permissions for directories and/or individual files. NTFS files are not accessible from other operating such as DOS. The most common file system for a single operating system installation is NTFS. You will need to make a choice of the different formatting options. I recommend that you perform a FULL format of whichever file system that you've chosen. Once the format is complete, the installation will continue. You will now see all of the files loading to your hard drive from the installation CD. Once the files are loaded, Windows will automatically reboot your system. When you are given the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, do not hit any key. Just let your system continue loading to your hard drive. You will be prompted from time to time to enter in specific setup information such as: Region and Language Name and Organization Product License Key Date and Time User Name and Password Note: Be sure to write down and save your user name and password. Create a Password Reset Disk just in case you forget your password. Eventually, Windows will reboot your system again. It will take you directly to the Windows Activation screen. You will be given the option to activate now or within a 30 day period. I recommend you take the time to activate your copy now. If you don't, you will be bothered by onscreen reminders. Caution: Be sure to activate a firewall application or install SP2 from a disk prior to connecting to the Internet. Connecting a fresh XP installation that does not have any updates will be attacked by Spyware and Worms. Congratulations! Your Windows XP Installation is complete! Enjoy.

Clean files: First off you need to delete all your trash, temp files, and files you no longer need. While in an ideal situation these temp files are deleted when the applications close but they aren’t. With poorly written programs, computer crashes, hanging programs and improper shutdowns always leave unneeded temporary files on your hard drive. These files pile up and start eating up hard disk space and start impairing computer performance. If your computer is moving at a snail pace then deleting the accumulated temp files may help to speed it up. You can fix some shutdown and download problems by cleaning up your temp files. Do the following: Start > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup Select the drive you want to clean. When it has finished, select the items that you no longer want. Recommend: Clean 'Downloaded Program Files', 'Temporary Internet Files', 'Recycle Bin' and 'Temporary Files'. Remove unwanted startup items: You might notice one day unrecognized items in your task tray. If you have unwanted items starting with windows it can and will slow down the boot process and they will take up memory. Do the following: Start Menu > Programs > Startup. You will find programs in this folder, just delete the ones you do not want to start with windows. Then move on to the following: Start Menu > Run > Type in: msconfig.exe [Enter] Click the Startup tab and uncheck any items you don’t want to startup. Recommend: If you are not sure what it is leave it and do a Google search on it. Remove unwanted applications: You will have programs that you installed that will install other programs that you might not know about. Remove unwanted applications as they can overtime slow your system down. You cannot uninstall an application by just deleting files. Do the following to remove them: Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs. Here you can remove all programs that you do not need or want anymore. Select the application and click the remove button. This will uninstall the selected application. Recommend: If you’re not sure then leave it and do a Google search on it. Clean and Defrag your registry: With time your registry becomes fragmented and bloated with obsolete and invalid data that causes errors slowdowns and freezing of your system. Windows will try to load things that do not exist any more because of invalid registry entries so it then slows down your system leads to errors. Use Advanced Registry Optimizer. Select all 3 of the programs options and run them. Be sure to make a backup, just in case of a problem. Scan for adware and spyware: In general, you do not want anything that relates to these topics on your computer. Adware is basically ads that can be found in programs or on websites. This adware selectively installs tracking software which is called spyware. This software runs behind the scenes and sends information to home. It is constantly using your memory, hard drive space and even your internet connection! Spyware has been known to stop browsers from working and even rendering a computer useless. Application: Spybot Directions: Update this program, immunize, and run it. When it has completed, remove everything it has detected. Application: Ad-Aware Directions: Update this program and run it. When it has completed, remove everything it has detected. Scan for viruses: For those who do not know by now viruses can render your files useless on your computer and can corrupting your complete system. I do not think I need to go too deep about this. Use your anti-virus to check your system regularly. Recommend: That you use one of the online scanner to check your system every other month. No one anti-virus program will find all viruses but some do a better job then others. Defrag your hard drive or hard drives as the case maybe: Your computer writes to the first available area on your hard drive. Then over time your files start to be rearranged on your hard disk or fragmented as most will say. When your hard drive is

fragmented and you try to load a program it may have to get 1 file from the inside of the hard drive, 1 file from the middle, then maybe 1 from the outside. This will cause a slower running system. When defrag your hard drive it tries to put the files back in order by organizing them in similar groups. That way the hard drive is hunting all over looking for them and that speeds up your system. Do the following: Start Menu > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter/Check Now. Select the drive you want to defrag. When it is done you can close the window or select another drive to defrag. Recommend you defrag at least once a month Clean your computer case: Dust is a problem that affects everyone no matter where you live and even more if you live in a area where the dust is bad. If you have not cleaned the inside of your computer case in 6 months or longer than you need to get right on it. Dust build up is the number 1 computer killer/ problem causer in my humble opinion. Buy yourself a can of compressed air. Buy a 1 inch paintbrush for brushing off things. Recommend: Start by unplugging your system from it’s power source. Then start from the top and brush all the dust off that you can with the paintbrush and work your way down to the bottom of the case. Brush all the dust into a pile and use a piece of paper as a dust pan and remove the dust. Then take the can of compressed air and blow out your cd drive and floppy drive then start from the top again and blow the system down to the bottom of the case. Stop every 10 seconds or so and take a damp cloth and wipe the dust up on the bottom of the case Keep it up until you have all the dust cleaned up. Use a Q-tip or pencil to block the fan blades so they do not turn while you blow them off. This article applies to Windows XP/2000 <>Introduction: Over time, your hard drive could develop errors for a variety of reasons. The most common reasons are: Improper Shutdowns Power Outages Power Surges Age of Drive In this article I will explain a method that can repair a damaged hard drive. It is also possible to be able to tell if the hard drive is nearing its end by using this method. Warning: Depending on the extent of the damage to your hard drive, this test can cause the hard drive to actually fail. So, prior to running this test, be sure to backup all data. <>Start Repair Method: Insert your Windows XP/2000 installation CD and restart your computer to launch the CD. If you receive a prompt asking what boot method you would like to use. Select the option that allows you to boot from the installation CD. The next prompt will ask what you would like to do? Select the letter "R" to enter the Windows Recovery Console. When asked what partition you would like to boot to, select the partition that has your Windows operating system installed on it. You may be asked for an administrator password at this point. If you use one, then enter it now. If not, simply press enter to continue. A command prompt should now appear. Type in the following command and then press enter on your keyboard: chkdsk /p

Your system will begin testing for errors on your drive. If you receive a message that states; "One or more errors detected on the volume", then it is possible to use CHKDSK to repair these errors. If no errors were found, CHKDSK will not be able to repair your drive. If one or more errors were found, type in the following command at the command prompt and then press enter on your keyboard: chkdsk /r Once you press enter, the CHKDSK utility will begin checking every sector on your hard drive for errors and automatically repair them. This test could take some time depending on the size of your hard drive. Once your system stops scanning and returns you to the command prompt, type the following command again, then press enter: chkdsk /p If after the scan completes and it has found no errors, this means that you have successfully repaired your drive. If errors are again reported, this means that the CHKDSK utility was unable to repair these errors and it could also indicate that the drive is on its last leg. Exit the Recovery Console and remove your Windows XP/2000 installation CD. Be sure to (if you haven't already) backup all data on your drive. [Top]

Do you have an windows operating system on your computer now? such as 98, 2000, xp? If you have Win98/98SE, here are steps: Turn off the computer. Insert the Boot Floppy Disk into the Floppy Drive (A Drive), then turn on the computer. Wait until it comes up to the A:> prompt. We must do do an "FDISK", which will delete and re-create a DOS partition for the Full Version. At the A:\ prompt Type: FDISK and press ENTER. Press ENTER to select Large Disk Support. Select Option 3, Delete partition or Logical DOS drive. (whatever option # this is) Select Extended Partion, then Delete Extended partition. Select delete Primary DOS Partition. Press ESC. Select Create Primary DOS Partition. Choose Yes to use maximum size.(100%) Press ENTER when prompted for a Volume Label. When Back at the FDISK Menu, select Set Active Partition. Press ESC on the keyboard. Now, if you wish to format the harddrive, then: Re-boot and, At the A:> prompt, type in FORMAT C: /S It will look like A:>FORMAT C: /S (The /S will copy system files to the harddrive). Press Enter. When it finishes formatting, then go to the next steps. If you have another operating system, other than Win98/98SE, please post back for help. Thank you.