Reinstalling XP OS

[willow74]

I have a silly polish base unit which is going to need to have its XP operating system reinstalled. (tried changing reg settings but no joy). 

I am a bit thick on OS refreshes.  Anything to consider before i do it?  Do i say 'new install' or shall i say 'update' on existing.

Really i think i should not touch it and leave it to a pro but how wrong can i go ?

[Fitzburger]

You need to back up any files you want to, meaning copy them onto a disk or e-mail them to yourself, then format the drive and install XP on a blank system.

It would be best if you let the XP disk do a low level format of the drive. Everything else is automatic except for entering the CD key and the regional settings which effect the keyboard and and the clock.

[stevie21]

If you either backup any pictures and music etc. that you want to keep (or don't mind losing them) then you can't go wrong at all with reinstalling the operating system if you're happy to format your hard drive and wipe ALL data from it (new install).

If the worst comes to the worst then someone else can redo this and erase any errors that you're created. Even at that, you should be able to do it yourself, it's really simple.

If, on the other hand, you want to update your existing installation you'll be left with any crap that's already on your PC (such as spyware and other random rubbish clogging up your PC). If you aren't able to backup any non-system files but need to reinstall the operating system do this.