Reformatting

[Narc]

Ok, **** it, I'm doing it. Advice please. I have an external HD to back up to, and the xp installation disc, everything else I'm just gonna have to find again once I'm up and running.

Now, I have no idea what I'm doing really, so step by step guide please someone...

[the block]

copy all your important files/vids/notes/gay porn etc... to your external hard drive

chances are you may need to search for a few drivers so get the model number of your computer and google it and find all the relevant drivers and download them and save them to your external hard drive

if the xp disc you have is a boot disc then just stick it in your drive and start your computer up and follow the steps from there

if the computer doesnt read the disc when you start it up then you need to change your boot options by pressing F2 (i think) when it starts up - it tells you on the screen something like F* for boot options. all you want to do there is change the way it boots up by selecting the cd drive as 1st and hard disk as 2nd

[Narc]

Cheers, doesn';t sound too bad, apart from now I can't find my xp disc, seems I must have thrown it out.

[CheeseOnToast]

Download it or vista, thats what I did

Just back everything up, wipe it and start fresh, its really a pleasant experience, your PC will be like a flying machine afterwards lol

If you want you can just wait til I come up and I'll do it

[webcore]

This is why I gave up on PC's.

I don't do anything with mine now, despite the fact my job depends on my PC. When this dies, I'm going to stack beans in Asda.

It's without a doubt the worst peice of technology on the planet. Theres no standard to a PC, since theres about a million and one variations of hardware to build a PC, hard disks corrupt, software and hardware conflicts, drivers are required for nearly everything.

Theres always a new port or some shit coming out every 6 months. The whole industry is a disgrace. Technology might evolve quickly but theres no need to re-invent the wheel. They should focus on making a standard and more stable components and software.

It's got to the point now where I don't even install software. :023:

[CheeseOnToast]

hehe I know what you mean mate!

[the block]

vista sucks, don't do it, you'll regret it with all the permissions etc... everytime you want to do something

[Narc]

Fear not, I am well aware of the shitness of Vista. Also now found my xp disc, and all the driver discs that came with the pc when I bought it.

Cheers for the offer Phil, we'll see if I get the confidence and spare time to tackle it myself...

[webcore]

Yeah I thought the Vista thing was the typical "slag off Microsoft" fad, but it was really bad. Nothing worked and the comp reset.

I smashed that PC up a bit then shipped it back off to Ebuyer for a refund...

[CheeseOnToast]

I got vista on my home PC now, getting used to it but can't be bothered

I'm going to roll back to XP I think in a couple of weeks when I can be arsed to format AGAIN.

[the block]

the only thing stopping me from going back to xp is that my vista installation dvd has all my drivers and everything else included and i cant be bothered to find and download them myself