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Reinstalled XP but files and software still cluttering up hard drive- what now?

  • 24-04-2011 07:40PM
    #1
    Chatterboxmoira
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33 ✭


    Hi all
    I have a 6 year old HP Pavillion DV4225EA laptop running XP sp2 on one partition. The computer is running very slowly so I decided to reinstall XP and wipe the harddrive.
    Unfortunately all files, software etc are still there. I had to reinstall drivers and broadband software, but everything else seems to be there- free space 8Gb of a 40Gb.
    Why is this? How do I get rid of everything? I have googled the problem, tried deleting the partition as adviced (it won't let me- just overwrites the xp installation). Can I install onto a new partition (set-up wouldn't let me do this- do I need a second partition already set up) then delete old one? Will this delete old files and software?
    I reinstall windows 98 on a different computer years ago and it was like getting a new computer- Brilliant. Why can't I do this with XP?
    If I can't wipe the hard drive how do I know which program files etc to delete? I am reasonably confident with the computer but am unsure how to delete or change the registry.
    Thanking you in advance


Comments

  • #2
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 94,366 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Reinstall means you inherit settings and drivers.

    A clean install would be better BUT you must have the install media and all the drivers. You would also need to backup all your files you need to keep. If you don't have a bootable CD then some manufactuers have a restore partition , or worse a one run only image creator program


    Something like spacemonger or treesize will show you what files are in use

    If the cd you have isn't service pack 3 and the HDD is sata you won't even see the hdd unless you have a seperate driver disk for it and press F6 right at the start of setup

    IIRC if yo uboot from an XP CD there is an option to delete the existing partition (say goodbye to your data) so it will then create a new one

    if you have the F11 option to restore partition then it will be a clean install - again say goodbye to data


  • #3
    Chatterboxmoira
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 33 ✭Chatterboxmoira


    Thank you so much. I did a clean install and rreinstall drivers, software etc. I had already backed up everything on an extrenal drive and husband doesn't use 90% of programmes I do, so as this is now his computer, it was actually really quick to put back what was wanted.


    This computer is now flying!!!!:D


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