I'm formatting my PC for the first time...

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...embarrassing, I know.

I've never done it before (never saw the need to), but my computer's been feeling pretty sluggish lately and it's been YEARS since I've gotten it; so I figured it's about time.

I've read a few How-To's at various websites so I have a pretty good idea of what to do. I also know I should back everything up (duh?) and I have all the installation CD's for all the various hardware (printer, video card, etc.).

What else am I missing? Any last minute tips? :confused:
 
Ive been meaning to format mine also seeing as I will be finishing uni soon and its so full of junk! so il do it then but it would be my first time so any tips would be great!

Robin
 
If the PC came with XP then the license key is probably on a COA sticker on the main PC box.

Just make sure that everything you need is backed up to CD/DVD or external hard drive before you reinstall Windows. I've reformatted and reinstalled Windows enough times to realise that it's easy to forget important things that aren't automatically in your "My Documents" folder - like game saves that are in the game installation folders (I lost hundreds of hours of Morrowind gameplay by forgetting to back up the save files), web browser bookmarks (some people have hundreds of bookmarks that they want to keep), etc.

You may also have Bittorrent downloads and P2P downloads that are in folders outside your "My Documents". Make sure to back them up too.

edit: As long as you have your network card drivers on CD (Windows will automatically install most common Ethernet network adapters, but there are exceptions), then you can at least get on to the web and find all the hardware drivers you need. If you have the drivers discs for all your PC hardware, then you're ok.
 
Make sure you have drivers for your nic or access to another computer and an USB memory stick !... Most important advice beyond the obvious like "make sure all your pr0n is backed up" etc. etc....
 
aside from the actual process itself; double check everything. small things like my favourites/bookmarks are things i always forget. another thing is to have your video card drivers ready to install first. i like to pre-download everything i'll know needs to be installed; but if you don't have your video card drivers installed first than everything graphical such as scrolling or bringing up windows will just be poo.
 
You could also create two partitions in your hard drive, a smaller one (15GB is more than enough) for WinXP and the other to all the rest. Then when you have to format it again you don't need to back everything up again because you'll just format the XP partition. You can just backup the windows register so you don't have to install all the programs again.
 
It's been said before, but make sure you backup your web Favourites, your email, and any files on your desktop. I lost an important file once because it was on my desktop, not with all my other files.

Getting your email out of Outlook is pretty easy. And your Outlook contacts too!
 

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