Reinstalling XP on a Dell

[RJPH]

I have a Dell Inspiron running Vista - I want to reformat the HDD to ring-fence any bad blocks, and install XP instead

I know that reformatting the disc will wipe all my data - I am happy with this and have backed all the data up twice. The copy of XP that I have is Windows XP Professional inc SP3 as supplied with a Dell PC

Questions:
(1) will this version of XP as supplied with a Dell PC install on my Dell PC perfectly

(2) will rebooting the PC with XP in the CD drive proceed to reformat the HDD before installing XP

(3) if not, then how can I reformat the HDD manually before installing Dell XP

Grateful, as always

R

 

[vacunita]

(1) will this version of XP as supplied with a Dell PC install on my Dell PC perfectly

There's no reason why it shouldn't.

I would however advise you to look for and download as many of the drivers for your hardware as you can. Unlike Vista, XP is not as good at installing drivers right of the bat, so you may need to have them handy to install once the OS is up and running to get all your hardware to function properly.

Also, formatting will not detect and mark bad blocks, you would need to run the chkdsk utility for that. Note that installation may hang or fail if it tries to copy files onto a bad block.

If you are sure there are bad blocks on the drive, it may be time to think abut replacing the drive rather than formatting it and reinstalling. As more bad blocks may continue to appear over time.

(2) will rebooting the PC with XP in the CD drive proceed to reformat the HDD before installing XP

Not unless you tell it to.

It will run XP's Installation if the system is set to boot from the CD first and not the HD first, but will ask you whether you want to keep the current file system or not. You can specify which partition to format, and you can also specify if you wan to delete existing partitions and recreate them.

(3) if not, then how can I reformat the HDD manually before installing Dell XP

Again, it will ask you. Also note that if the hard drive is a SATA type hard drive, you may need to supply drivers for it, so the XP setup can find it and use it. Or set the bios entry for the drive to Legacy mode or even IDE mode so the drive can be found and used.



----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
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Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[goombawaho]

Sounds like you might be in over your head. Wade into the water carefully.

Agree that it would be a great time to buy a new hard drive if there are any doubts. Use the manufacturer's diagnostic utility to get a definite answer on the drive's health.

 

[xit]

With the prices of hard drives now, upgrade to a larger new drive & keep the old for storage. There are some price specials out there that are crazy.

xit

 

[goombawaho]

That's crazy talk there Zit. IF YOU HAVEN'T confirmed the drive to be okay you'd be crazy to use it as storage for your data!! Are you feeling me?

Use the HDD diagnostic test FIRST before you do anything. Do not pass go, etc. before doing this.

Links to tests/utilities:

http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287

 

[xit]

Sure, of course, check the drive out first, but I would still go the new route even if it checked out good & there is also backup for any drive, old or new, I can dig it.

xit

 

[goombawaho]

Sorry (Xit not Zit). I probably would replace too if older than about three years. I replace my hard drives after three years whether they need it or not. Makes me feel secure.

False sense of security, likely.