Since we all know the main use of the internet is for pr0n, imagine all the power you could save if you turned the computer off and bought your smut from an adult shop instead...

You'll get banned if you keep that talk up!!

Been a while since I done this, but if you re-install Windows, do you lose everything else on your hard drive?

If you have Win98 you can reinstall over the last install and it will fix any bugs (or corrupted files). If you have Win XP then no. It wants to at the very least low level format before it reinstalls itself.

With XP there is a function that you can "repair" but it has never worked for me.

Best tip I can give aniken is to split the hard drive with Partition Magic or the like. I have an 80gig drive which is partitioned with a 20 gig second drive calling it BACKUP.

All my work files are saved into the second partition. If my computer has a melt down I just reinstall XP, Quickbooks and Office etc and everything is sweet.

I learnt the hard way after a virus crippled my computer and destroyed all the exe files on the drive so I couldn't start the computer. At the time I had the lastest antivirus and firewall installed and it still got in. I think my daughter may have clicked "OK" instead of "BLOCK"....who knows.

Maybe a little bit more info than you asked for but a second partition is the way to go.

Cheers

mcfarken PC's are a PITA !!!!!!!!

just building one for a mate, got 2 versions of XP Pro I been trying to load.. with 1 version, windows installs then just reboots continuously, no msgs no BSOD nothing..

with the other newer version of XP, it installs, then reboots, shows the XP loading screen then a brief BSOD flashes then it reboots into the safe mode startup menu.. every option gives the same results of XP loading screen + BSOD then reboot...

swapped vga cards, ram, cables, jumpers etc.. everything except mobo/cpu/HD, which are the only things I dont have a spare of here !! .. im thinkin it might be HD related

ok rant over hahaha

You'll get banned if you keep that talk up!!

Sorry mate, thought it might've been toeing the line... won't happen again...

mcfarken PC's are a PITA !!!!!!!!

just building one for a mate, got 2 versions of XP Pro I been trying to load.. with 1 version, windows installs then just reboots continuously, no msgs no BSOD nothing..

with the other newer version of XP, it installs, then reboots, shows the XP loading screen then a brief BSOD flashes then it reboots into the safe mode startup menu.. every option gives the same results of XP loading screen + BSOD then reboot...

swapped vga cards, ram, cables, jumpers etc.. everything except mobo/cpu/HD, which are the only things I dont have a spare of here !! .. im thinkin it might be HD related

ok rant over hahaha

You might have SATA drives setup in RAID1 in the BIOS. This will mean you need to press F6 when doing the XP install to load specific HDD controller drivers.

I would check the BIOS and make sure it is in normal IDA/SATA mode and not RAID.

You might have SATA drives setup in RAID1 in the BIOS. This will mean you need to press F6 when doing the XP install to load specific HDD controller drivers.

I would check the BIOS and make sure it is in normal IDA/SATA mode and not RAID.

hey bud nah ive fallen for that one before, its defo set to IDE/SATA..

I found an older IDE drive and it works flawlessly so have just taken the SATA back and swapped..

Farken PC's, wish there was more consistency in their farkups haha

If you have Win98 you can reinstall over the last install and it will fix any bugs (or corrupted files). If you have Win XP then no. It wants to at the very least low level format before it reinstalls itself.

With XP there is a function that you can "repair" but it has never worked for me.

Best tip I can give aniken is to split the hard drive with Partition Magic or the like. I have an 80gig drive which is partitioned with a 20 gig second drive calling it BACKUP.

All my work files are saved into the second partition. If my computer has a melt down I just reinstall XP, Quickbooks and Office etc and everything is sweet.

I learnt the hard way after a virus crippled my computer and destroyed all the exe files on the drive so I couldn't start the computer. At the time I had the lastest antivirus and firewall installed and it still got in. I think my daughter may have clicked "OK" instead of "BLOCK"....who knows.

Maybe a little bit more info than you asked for but a second partition is the way to go.

Cheers

I have XP SP2.

I've got several partitions, so no documents or anything important (like pron) is located on the same drive as Windows. I learnt that lesson also, after a hard drive died and I had no backups or anything. Just wasn't sure if everything else 'goes' even if its on another partition.

Edited 31/08/07 07:11 AM31/08/07 07:11 AM by aniken

It won't 'go' by reinstalling, but multiple partitions on one physical drive won't do fark all if it's dead hard drive time.

I have XP SP2.

I've got several partitions, so no documents or anything important (like pron) is located on the same drive as Windows. I learnt that lesson also, after a hard drive died and I had no backups or anything. Just wasn't sure if everything else 'goes' even if its on another partition.

Everything on the other partition will be fine aniken. If you do get a "dead hard drive", you can set that drive as a 2nd (slave) drive and boot from another new drive and copy your data files 1 at a time to your new drive.

Partiontioning is the the most convenient way to preserve files. Easier to tab to a partition than to be anal pedantic and hard copy data files.

Cheers

What are you on about ?

Are you trying to type with your screen turned off again?

Edited 01/09/07 05:17 AM01/09/07 05:17 AM by Dagabond