HOW TO DO A REALLY CLEAN INSTALL OF A WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM

First, you will need some information to determine the proper drivers for your motherboard, video card, sound card, and modem. If you don't take the time to plan ahead and collect all of this information now it will involve a lot more work later, and you will need to enter the inner-sanctum of your computer to get the required information in order to repair it. Or you will have to take your computer to the shop and pay big $ to get it fixed. But be assured that if it goes to the shop and a boot sector virus caused it to crash they will sell you a new hard drive, because they can't be bothered.

Unfortunately, if you are reinstalling the OS because your computer is not operational you will have to open it up and get of the information you will need about your motherboard, video card, sound card and modem by researching the FCC #'s of all of the components to get the correct drivers. This is very time consuming. And if the FCC Tag isn't there you will be up the creek, no boat and no paddle.

However, if your computer is up and running you can determine which motherboard, video card, sound card, and modem your computer is equipped with by running Everest Home Edition available from

http://www.lavalys.com/products/overview.php?pid=1&lang=en

which will give you a great deal of information about your computer's hardware.

If your motherboard uses VIA routing chips, download the VIA 4 in 1 drivers.

If your motherboard uses SIS Chipset you will need to determine the Chip # in order to download the correct drivers.

SIS Drivers are a world unto themselves. The Dos drivers need to be installed first from the > Prompt. Then you install Windows and install the correct SIS Drivers for your version of Windows. A lot different than VIA Drivers. Sometimes, depending on the chipset, you can just install the Windows drivers.

On the right screen of Everest you will be able to find links (in blue) to the correct sites for all of the chipset drivers as well as for the other hardware drivers. Just click on the links to get the drivers that you need.

Save the drivers to a floppy disk or a CD, label it, and put it aside.

Next, use Everest to determine who made your hard drive. Then, download the hard drive manufacturer's Diagnostic Software, and create a bootable floppy using it. Label and put aside.

Next, use Everest to determine the make of your video card and download the drivers for it from the manufacturer's website. Save to disk, label and put aside.

Repeat the procedure to determine which Modem you have, download the drivers from the manufacturer's website, save to disk, label and put aside.

Finally, determine which Sound Card your computer is equipped with , and get the appropriate drivers from the manufacturer's website. Save, Label, Put aside.

Once you have all of these you are ready to start.

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First, with both your computer and printer turned off, disconnect your printer until after Windows and all the video, audio and modem drivers are installed. Sometimes if you install Windows with the printer connected you end up with an LTP1 problem.

Then, make a Startup Boot Floppy. (Start>Settings>Control Panel>ADD/REMOVE and select the Third Tab.) Label this disk as you will need it once the hard drive is cleaned and formatted.

Then, using the hard drive Diagnostic Floppy which you have previously saved, return your hard drive to "Factory Condition." Insert the floppy and turn the computer on. Then simply follow the menu.

Some hard drive Diagnostic Programs don't fdisk and format for you. They just write 1 & 0 over the entire disk, which means you will have to fdisk and format using the Startup Boot Floppy before you can install the OS. If the Diagnostic Software has the restore to Factory Condition option but it doesn't work then the drive needs to be replaced as there is a problem with the drive.

After your hard drive has been returned to "Factory Condition" (or fdisked and formatted), if your video, sound and modem are "integrated" (built onto the motherboard), you will need to go into BIOS setup and disable the sound and the modem. On most newer computers the BIOS is accessed by holding the DELETE key as you boot. But computers differ widely in the way the BIOS is accessed. To be sure you should check your computer's documentation.

I have found that leaving modem and sound active during Windows install can cause conflicts. If your computer uses plug in sound and modem cards, remove them until after Windows is installed and the VIA 4 in 1 Drivers are installed.

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Next, Load Windows .

Shutdown

Restart, and put in and run the 4 in 1 Drivers previously saved to Floppy or CD.

Once that is done, shutdown again.

Next, turn your computer on and install the video drivers which you previously saved to floppy or CD.

Once they are installed, Shutdown again.

Turn the computer on and set your Video Resolution and Color
.
Shutdown again.

Now, if your Sound and Modem are "integrated" (built onto the motherboard), go to the BIOS Setup and activate your sound again. If your computer uses plug in sound and modem cards, reinstall the sound card.

Restart and install the correct drivers for the Sound.

Once that is done, reboot.

Go to the BIOS Setup and reactivate the modem, or reinstall the modem if it is a separate plug-in type modem.

Reboot and install the correct drivers for the modem.

Reboot again.

Shut down.

Then, re- connect the Printer. Reboot, and when Windows recognizes the printer, install its drivers from the printer's install CD.

Now you should have all of the basics installed. Once all of this is done you can start installing your other software programs.

Once all of the above steps are complete, run scandisk and defrag before you continue with the next steps.

The next steps are very time consuming but well worth it in the end.

You are now ready to install the Critical Windows Updates. Go to the Windows Update Site and select only one at a time. Do not select several at once. Download and install the Service Packs first.

After each one is installed, Shutdown, Restart, scandisk and defrag. This is time consuming, but the more compact all of the basic Windows files are the faster they can load.

Also, it is a good idea to get in the habit of doing it any time you download and install anything, even if you are installing something from disk.

Now that all of the above steps have been succesfully completed, you can proceed to Installing any other software you desire. The first to do would be any Office software, and then get the updates from M$ for it.

Remember to run scandisk and defrag after each one.