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reinstalling windows xp
- Thread starter ndnsoulja
- Start date
Good morning ndnsoulja,
Looking over your problem, I can suggest 4 courses of action.
1. Being as most computers these days come with partitioned Hard Drives, you would be able to move all of your vital files (ie files you wish to keep) to a partition which does not contain the Windows XP install. Then, after doing so, you may proceed to reformat the drive which contains the Windows XP install, and then reinstall Windows. You must remember though, that by doing things this way, you would have to reinstall all programs that you had previously installed, so my advice would be to make sure that you have the instal CD's of all your desired programs handy. After you reformat and reinstall Windows, your other partition will still contain any data that you had on it, unless you inadvertently delete that partition when installing Windows (to avoid that from happening, just carefully read the instructions during the install).
2. The second method is very similar to the first, but instead of transferring files to a different partition on the same Hard Drive, you would transfer all of your files to another partition on another hard drive. This way, after you have copied and backed-up everything you wanted to keep, you would be able to just unplug that second HD (Hard Drive) from your computer and reformat/reinstall Windows on your primary HD. After the reinstallation is complete and activated with your new key, just plug the HD back in and you will be good to go.
3. I would use this third method only if you did not have a second HD or a second partition, and if you only had to back up a few gigs worth of data. This process involves the same steps as the first two, but instead of backing up your files onto another HD or another partition, you just back up your files onto a CD or DVD. This way, you will have another hard copy of your information incase anything happens.
4. This method is meant for use for people with illegitimate copies of Windows XP who are looking to authenticate their copies with a legitimate product key. Taken directly from Microsoft's --Genuine Microsoft Software FAQ--, if you have purchased an electronic license from Microsoft, and wish to update your product key, simply download their --Windows Product Key Update Tool--, and follow the on screen instructions.
In any of these cases, I, as I am sure many others would also agree, would suggest that when performing a serious or potentially dangerous (ie losing files) procedure such as this, you always make some type of back-up of your important files. This is for your own benefit, as there is always the possibility of something going wrong, and none of us would want to see you lose anything important.
Raven
Looking over your problem, I can suggest 4 courses of action.
1. Being as most computers these days come with partitioned Hard Drives, you would be able to move all of your vital files (ie files you wish to keep) to a partition which does not contain the Windows XP install. Then, after doing so, you may proceed to reformat the drive which contains the Windows XP install, and then reinstall Windows. You must remember though, that by doing things this way, you would have to reinstall all programs that you had previously installed, so my advice would be to make sure that you have the instal CD's of all your desired programs handy. After you reformat and reinstall Windows, your other partition will still contain any data that you had on it, unless you inadvertently delete that partition when installing Windows (to avoid that from happening, just carefully read the instructions during the install).
2. The second method is very similar to the first, but instead of transferring files to a different partition on the same Hard Drive, you would transfer all of your files to another partition on another hard drive. This way, after you have copied and backed-up everything you wanted to keep, you would be able to just unplug that second HD (Hard Drive) from your computer and reformat/reinstall Windows on your primary HD. After the reinstallation is complete and activated with your new key, just plug the HD back in and you will be good to go.
3. I would use this third method only if you did not have a second HD or a second partition, and if you only had to back up a few gigs worth of data. This process involves the same steps as the first two, but instead of backing up your files onto another HD or another partition, you just back up your files onto a CD or DVD. This way, you will have another hard copy of your information incase anything happens.
4. This method is meant for use for people with illegitimate copies of Windows XP who are looking to authenticate their copies with a legitimate product key. Taken directly from Microsoft's --Genuine Microsoft Software FAQ--, if you have purchased an electronic license from Microsoft, and wish to update your product key, simply download their --Windows Product Key Update Tool--, and follow the on screen instructions.
In any of these cases, I, as I am sure many others would also agree, would suggest that when performing a serious or potentially dangerous (ie losing files) procedure such as this, you always make some type of back-up of your important files. This is for your own benefit, as there is always the possibility of something going wrong, and none of us would want to see you lose anything important.
Raven
There is always a risk involved when doing anything. I remember reading somewhere that Windows XP locked a user out because they didnt have the proper Product Key installed. If it so happens that you type in the wrong Product key, there is a chance that the same thing might happen to you. Going back to that FAQ that I linked to earlier, I quote:ndnsoulja said:
It looks to me that by updating the product key, there is a chance of things going wrong. As I always suggest to everyone who attempts to work with things like this, is to always make a backup. Even if you do not meddle with anything serious, you can never trust just one form of storage. What if your HD fails on you? You'd be kicking yourself if you didnt have a backup of some of your important files.
I have never actually performed this procedure myself, so I cannot tell you with 100% certainty that things will go smoothly, but if there is any doubt in your mind, I would send MS and email just to confirm things.
Also, if you are still looking at alternative ways of changing your product key, you might want to take a look at --This link--.
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