HI EVERYONE IAM NEW HERE AND WHAT A BONUS THIS SITE IS SOOOOO MUCH HELP FROM U ALL HERE,OK IAM HAVE BOUGHT A NEW PC A FEW MONTHS AGO AND CAUSE I DOWNLOAD A LOTA FILES/VIDEOS ECT I NEED TO FULLY FORMAT MY PC NOW MY MATE NORMALY COMES AND SORTS IT BUT HES MISSES Won't LET HIM DOWN TO MINE SO IAM LIMITED ON WHAT I KNOW ABOUT FORMATING,I CAN REMEMBER HIM PUTTING IN MY XP DISC THEN GOING TO A BLACK SCREEN AND REMOVING THE PARTITION THE PUTTING IT BACK AGAIN BUT AT WHAT POINT DO I TYPE IN "format c:" and how do I get to that screen as I've just formatted my PC but it iant right I have over a gig of ram and 1 meg broadband and my PC keeps hanging and not working the way it should be as you know with that spec it should be quick but it isn't... and help would be VERY appreciated
Regards
Keith (UK)

First of you want to make sure that all the DATA that you want to keep is backed up, off the hard drive.
Make sure you have ALL your apps and XP discs to hand.


Once all this is done you are ready to reinstall XP.
This is very simple:
Here's some instructions that should help:
*Look for message "booting from CD" usually located at the bottom of the screen. If you have a factory splash screen, press ESC to unload it.
*Press any Key when you see the prompt to 'Press Any Key"
*Setup will start copying files, if you need to install any third-party or RAID drivers press F6 at this time. The copying of files can take awhile.(leave this one)
*Next you will get the option to repair or enter setup, choose to enter setup. Press ENTER.
*Press F8 if you agree to the license.
*Setup will scan for previous Windows installations
*You want to delete all existing partitions, recreate the ones you want and then install a fresh copy of XP.

Leave to cook for 30-40 minutes

This will completely wipe your drive (Format) and reinstall ONE copy of XP.

The reinstall route I always use is:
Install XP
FULLY patch it with Windows Update
Install Anti Virus, update and scan (AVG is good and free)
Install Anti spyware, update and scan (A couple of good removal tools are Spybot and Adaware)
Defrag.

Then install any other Apps you need, like Office, etc.

Hope this helps

Hi,
If you wish to use your XP Install CD to format, then reinstall XP; there here is a link with Step-by-Step instructions:

Use the XP Install CD to Format, if you wish, and install XP; Step-by-Step:
http://www.theeldergeek.com/formatti...sing_xp_cd.htm

If you want to use the steps above, then print out all the steps before you start with the XP CD.
I do wish you the best, and good luck.

Did you PC come with a Recovery CD? Such CDs will restore your system to its factory settings. That's the best way to do it since you wouldn't have to worrky about drivers, preloaded software, etc.