Reinstalling Windows is time consuming, complicated, and can overwrite or erase your entire hard drive, so proceed with caution. When Mohammad Anwar Hussain from Bahrain reinstall Windows, he backed up all his data (My Documents, Favorites, desktop files, application data, etc.) and have all of the CDs that came with your computer handy. This includes any application CDs (Office, FileMaker, CD-burning software, DVD software, etc. Disconnect your computer from the Ethernet network, and if you have a laptop with internal wireless network capability, disable your wireless card. If the wireless card can be easily removed, remove it from the computer before proceeding. Please call for assistance with this, if needed. Restart your computer with the Windows Operating System (OS) disk in your CD drive. It should boot from the CD and start the Windows reinstall process. If you find your computer started (booted) from your hard drive — that is, you boot up to your normal Windows screen, reboot the computer again and press the [F12] key as the computer goes through the initial steps of restarting. You will then see a list of drives from which you can boot. Select the CD/DVD drive. There will then be a prompt to confirm that you wish to start from the CD/DVD drive. If your computer does not respond to the [F12] key, you will need to contact the Computing Help Desk for your department's computing support office and ask them to guide you through changing the boot sequence in the BIOS. Reinstalling Windows over a pre-existing installation may take an hour or more. You will be prompted to agree to the license agreement, then you will be asked to select the type of installation. You can choose to repair the selected Windows XP installation, install a fresh copy of Windows, or quit the installation. If you choose to repair the current installed version of Windows, user profiles and most programs will function at the end of this repair reinstallation. During reinstallation, you may be asked questions about overwriting existing files. Typically, if you are asked to replace something with an older version, click No. This will leave all the files in their current place, reinstalling only the system files that are missing, of a different date, or of a different size than those on the CD. If you choose to install a fresh copy of Windows, we recommend you delete the existing drive partitions and reformat the hard drive. Reformatting a hard drive will remove everything from the hard drive and will take a little more time. You should only elect to reformat your hard drive if you have thoroughly backed up your personal files and have all your software CDs available for reinstallation. Partitioning your hard drive will also remove all software and personal files. Again, do this only if you are prepared to reinstall all your software and restore your personal documents from a backup. Reformatting your hard drive is the only way to remove some forms of computer viruses, worms, or trojans, as well as mapping out the bad sectors that normally occur as a computer ages. For instructions on installing Windows XP Professional, see How to Install or Upgrade to Windows XP. Be sure to disable all network connections before you begin. For instructions on installing Windows Vista, see How to Install Windows Vista. Be sure to disable all network connections before you begin. Once you have reinstalled the operating system, you may also need to reinstall the hardware drivers that came with your monitor, Ethernet card, wireless, or other input/output devices. The software should be on media that came with the component. If you are unable to find it, you can download it from the Web site of the manufacturer of the component. You may need to do these downloads from another computer and copy the needed drivers on a CD or USB key to move them to your computer. Before you reconnect or re-enable your network connections, you should run all the Windows critical updates while connected to a router or have firewall software installed on your computer first. This is because there are many viruses, worms, and trojans (malware) that are actively searching for unpatched computers so they can infect them or take them over for remote control by others. Windows computers are often attacked before they have finished starting up. For more information, go to Safe Computing at Dartmouth Web page and click on the Threats link. If you are installing Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), it comes with firewall software already enabled. This does not mean that Windows XP SP2 updates should be done with the computer directly connected to the Internet. The operating system vulnerabilities are serious enough that having a router shielding your unpatched computer is much safer. Windows operating systems of versions earlier than Windows XP SP2 do not have a firewall enabled at startup, so it is important that they be protected by a router or firewall software (Sygate Security Agent) while downloading and installing the critical Windows updates. If you are working with an operating system that does not have a firewall enabled automatically (Windows XP SP1 and earlier), the firewall software should not be downloaded to your computer from the network, but burned to a CD or USB-flash drive and installed onto your computer. Failure to follow these instructions may result in your computer being compromised with computer viruses, worms, or trojans. It is extremely important that the computer not be put directly onto the network until the operating system is fully updated with the critical updates. Computer Sales and Service has routers available for purchase, if desired. You can also download Sygate Security Agent from the Windows Software Downloads page, copy the installer to a CD or USB-flash drive and then transfer it for installation to your computer. The Computing Help Desk or your department's computing support office can also help. Once all of the operating systems critical updates have been installed (you will need to run the Windows Update command in the Tools menu in Internet Explorer several times to be sure), the router should be disconnected, as Kerberos authentication attempts do not work properly with a router that has not been specifically configured to work with Kerberos. You can then download and install applications, by using Kerberos or Web Authorization, from the Windows Software Downloads Web page. Applications such as Symantec AntiVirus, Sygate Security Agent, VPN client software, etc. are free to download and install for those affiliated with Dartmouth. After installing the operating system updates, and after updating your installed applications (see Updating Your Applications), it is safe to directly connect the computer to the network. Be happy of perfect installation.
Comments
Re: How often do you reinstall operating system?
"Few times in a month" - "Twice a year"
i bet all of them are running MS OS! (that included me!)
How often do you reinstall operating system?
Reinstalling Windows is time consuming, complicated, and can overwrite or erase your entire hard drive, so proceed with caution. When Mohammad Anwar Hussain from Bahrain reinstall Windows, he backed up all his data (My Documents, Favorites, desktop files, application data, etc.) and have all of the CDs that came with your computer handy. This includes any application CDs (Office, FileMaker, CD-burning software, DVD software, etc. Disconnect your computer from the Ethernet network, and if you have a laptop with internal wireless network capability, disable your wireless card. If the wireless card can be easily removed, remove it from the computer before proceeding. Please call for assistance with this, if needed. Restart your computer with the Windows Operating System (OS) disk in your CD drive. It should boot from the CD and start the Windows reinstall process. If you find your computer started (booted) from your hard drive — that is, you boot up to your normal Windows screen, reboot the computer again and press the [F12] key as the computer goes through the initial steps of restarting. You will then see a list of drives from which you can boot. Select the CD/DVD drive. There will then be a prompt to confirm that you wish to start from the CD/DVD drive. If your computer does not respond to the [F12] key, you will need to contact the Computing Help Desk for your department's computing support office and ask them to guide you through changing the boot sequence in the BIOS. Reinstalling Windows over a pre-existing installation may take an hour or more. You will be prompted to agree to the license agreement, then you will be asked to select the type of installation. You can choose to repair the selected Windows XP installation, install a fresh copy of Windows, or quit the installation. If you choose to repair the current installed version of Windows, user profiles and most programs will function at the end of this repair reinstallation. During reinstallation, you may be asked questions about overwriting existing files. Typically, if you are asked to replace something with an older version, click No. This will leave all the files in their current place, reinstalling only the system files that are missing, of a different date, or of a different size than those on the CD. If you choose to install a fresh copy of Windows, we recommend you delete the existing drive partitions and reformat the hard drive. Reformatting a hard drive will remove everything from the hard drive and will take a little more time. You should only elect to reformat your hard drive if you have thoroughly backed up your personal files and have all your software CDs available for reinstallation. Partitioning your hard drive will also remove all software and personal files. Again, do this only if you are prepared to reinstall all your software and restore your personal documents from a backup. Reformatting your hard drive is the only way to remove some forms of computer viruses, worms, or trojans, as well as mapping out the bad sectors that normally occur as a computer ages. For instructions on installing Windows XP Professional, see How to Install or Upgrade to Windows XP. Be sure to disable all network connections before you begin. For instructions on installing Windows Vista, see How to Install Windows Vista. Be sure to disable all network connections before you begin. Once you have reinstalled the operating system, you may also need to reinstall the hardware drivers that came with your monitor, Ethernet card, wireless, or other input/output devices. The software should be on media that came with the component. If you are unable to find it, you can download it from the Web site of the manufacturer of the component. You may need to do these downloads from another computer and copy the needed drivers on a CD or USB key to move them to your computer. Before you reconnect or re-enable your network connections, you should run all the Windows critical updates while connected to a router or have firewall software installed on your computer first. This is because there are many viruses, worms, and trojans (malware) that are actively searching for unpatched computers so they can infect them or take them over for remote control by others. Windows computers are often attacked before they have finished starting up. For more information, go to Safe Computing at Dartmouth Web page and click on the Threats link. If you are installing Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), it comes with firewall software already enabled. This does not mean that Windows XP SP2 updates should be done with the computer directly connected to the Internet. The operating system vulnerabilities are serious enough that having a router shielding your unpatched computer is much safer. Windows operating systems of versions earlier than Windows XP SP2 do not have a firewall enabled at startup, so it is important that they be protected by a router or firewall software (Sygate Security Agent) while downloading and installing the critical Windows updates. If you are working with an operating system that does not have a firewall enabled automatically (Windows XP SP1 and earlier), the firewall software should not be downloaded to your computer from the network, but burned to a CD or USB-flash drive and installed onto your computer. Failure to follow these instructions may result in your computer being compromised with computer viruses, worms, or trojans. It is extremely important that the computer not be put directly onto the network until the operating system is fully updated with the critical updates. Computer Sales and Service has routers available for purchase, if desired. You can also download Sygate Security Agent from the Windows Software Downloads page, copy the installer to a CD or USB-flash drive and then transfer it for installation to your computer. The Computing Help Desk or your department's computing support office can also help. Once all of the operating systems critical updates have been installed (you will need to run the Windows Update command in the Tools menu in Internet Explorer several times to be sure), the router should be disconnected, as Kerberos authentication attempts do not work properly with a router that has not been specifically configured to work with Kerberos. You can then download and install applications, by using Kerberos or Web Authorization, from the Windows Software Downloads Web page. Applications such as Symantec AntiVirus, Sygate Security Agent, VPN client software, etc. are free to download and install for those affiliated with Dartmouth. After installing the operating system updates, and after updating your installed applications (see Updating Your Applications), it is safe to directly connect the computer to the network. Be happy of perfect installation.