Help the newbie!

StupidLikeAFox

I *think* this is in the right section so here goes

I have a computer which is about 5 years old and im giving it to my sister. Havent used it in quite a while as we now have a new computer. So i want to wipe everything off the old computer yeah? How do i go about doing this? Im pretty sure theres a quick way of doing it, just leaving the bare essentials like MS Word or whatever, but deleting all the files. Ya get the picture!

Anyone care to help the not-so-whiz kid?

Keyzer

I think the best thing for you to do would be to format the bad boy and then reload it. Other than that you can either do return to factory settings if you still have the disk from the manufacturer or go thru the machine and delete the files individually.

Ginger

Depends on what version your OS is

(Should work for Windows 95/98/98SE)

Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel
Click Add/Remove Programs

Uninistall the programs you dont need from there.

Then open the My Document folder on C and delete all the files there that you dont need any more

Empty the recycle bin..

Its a sloppy way of doing it and it would be easier to install the thing from scratch but thats a whole different ball game :P

Be careful when uninstalling shared files. For safetys sake, when it asks you do you want to uninstall a SHARED component, leave it there.

StupidLikeAFox

Keyzer wrote:

I think the best thing for you to do would be to format the bad boy and then reload it.

Dont mean to sound like an idiot but how would i go about that?

Also, im pretty sure the Win98 disc is gone, but would i be able to install the WinXP from the newer computer onto it? As in completely wipe the computer and start fresh with windows XP instead?

aidan_walsh

Yes. Boot from the CD, follow the wizard, et voila. It really is as simple as that, unless you want to be concerned with the glaring licensing problems.

Keyzer

ColHol wrote:

Dont mean to sound like an idiot but how would i go about that?

Also, im pretty sure the Win98 disc is gone, but would i be able to install the WinXP from the newer computer onto it? As in completely wipe the computer and start fresh with windows XP instead?

Start - Run - type in CMD and hit enter
From the command prompt type in format c: and follow the instructions...

Depends on the specs on the machine as to whether it can run on WINXP...

http://www.computerhope.com/index.htm is a good site for noobs...

Ginger

Amm Keyzer.. what happens when you type cmd into a Win98 machine??? It says program not recognised.

Also you cannot format the system/boot drive from internally within windows.

You will also need to activate your windows XP system and that will through a wobbly so after 30 days you will not be able to use it.

You can pick up a copy of Win 98 SE dead cheap on eBay

Or if you dont want to go through all the hassle of getting all the drivers again.. see my post

Keyzer

Ginger wrote:

Amm Keyzer.. what happens when you type cmd into a Win98 machine??? It says program not recognised.

Also you cannot format the system/boot drive from internally within windows.

You will also need to activate your windows XP system and that will through a wobbly so after 30 days you will not be able to use it.

You can pick up a copy of Win 98 SE dead cheap on eBay

Or if you dont want to go through all the hassle of getting all the drivers again.. see my post

Mate, its not a competition on who can fix the guys problem, he asked me a question and I answered.
I haven't used WIN98 for about 6 years so forgive me for not knowing the intricacies of each and every operating system.

OP - your probably better off taking his advice and just deleting everything off the machine manually, reloading etc. might cause you more hassle if you get shafted driver wise.

Ginger

No worries it wasnt meant to come across that way..

It just saves a question when you type commands like that for different OS's especially with a newbie tag on it.

Unfortunately years of technical support and development on windows machines have engrained into my head