Reformat and reinstall OS

[cyberstasz]

Hi,

First post here and like most others, in need of some information. I'm currently in the process of building a Super PC and almost finished. The remaining components are just a few days away and hopefully everything goes smooth and I'll be a graduate.

The reason for this build was that my current PC became infected with a virus this past summer and its operation since then just hasn't been right. It locks up on the Dell BIOS screen (should I do something specifically about this?) probably 3 out of 4 times and there are software issues peppered about. I would like to restore this PC by reformatting and reinstalling the OS once the Super PC is complete. Any links, advice or help to find some thorough information on this process would be appreciated.

Michael

[RickyTick]

Give this a try.
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kcs/document?c=us&l=en&s=gen&docid=DSN_181316&isLegacy=true

[ARchamps]

Usually DELL provides recovery CDs that you can use to format it. Check if you have these or give DELL a call and see if they can send it to you. I find that DELL likes to add in lots of uneeded software which bogs your system down over time. I've done this with a DELL desktop and laptop that I have previously owned.

Good luck!

[cyberstasz]

Thanks for the input. My current OS is Vista, which came installed on the computer. Is it possible to wipe this OS away and install XP? I purhcased a copy of XP years ago and would like to use that as it is a more stable platform. I have the CD rom, registration key, booklet and all.

Mike

[RickyTick]

I know a lot of people have opinions about Vista, but once SP1 came out, Vista became a very stable and secure OS. I can't imagine stepping backwards to XP. Plus I'm not totally sure you'll be able to load that XP registration key if it's already been used on another computer.