Need To Wipe/Format Your Computer?

[landbeforetimelover]

So many people are complaining about viruses and spending dozens of hours trying to get rid of them.  They always claim not to have a Windows disk.  Well I'm going to offer GENUINE OEM disks of Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional Edition, and Windows XP Media Center Edition here along with instructions for install.  Let's get started.

WARNING!
Before you begin you must BACK UP YOUR DATA!  These are NOT upgrade disks.  These are for wiping your computer out clean and starting over.  You will lose ALL data that isn't backed up!

You must also have a Windows XP COA (Certificate Of Authenticity) attached to the side or back of your computer!  This is NOT a pirated version of Windows.  They're legit and will only work if you have a legal license to Windows!
_____________________________________

Download links are here:

Windows XP Home Edition:
http://lbtserver.2myip.net/UniversalUpload...ome_SP3_OEM.iso

Windows XP Professional Edition:
http://lbtserver.2myip.net/UniversalUpload...Pro_SP3_OEM.iso

Windows XP Media Center Edition:
http://lbtserver.2myip.net/UniversalUpload...ion_SP3_OEM.iso
_____________________________________

First thing you need to do is download a free ISO burner.  Here's a good one:

http://www.freeisoburner.com/

Burn the disks at the SLOWEST speed to avoid write errors.  Windows XP Home and Pro require 1 blank CD.  Windows XP Media Center requires 1 blank DVD.  XP Home and Pro can work on a DVD or CD, but you MUST have a DVD for Media Center Edition!

Simply go through the install process.  I can't go through all the details here, but if you want to see a tutorial on how to install Windows, you can find one on this website:

http://tweakhound.com/xp/installxp/installXP1.htm

Some steps such as the "press F8 to agree" won't show up because the tutorial is for installation of a RETAIL version of Windows while this is an OEM version.
____________________________________

One more thing you should know.  The Media Center Edition disk will automatically put in a non-legit key.  To legally activate the copy of Media Center Edition, simply change the key with the following program:

http://lbtserver.2myip.net/UniversalUpload...yUpdateTool.exe

After you change the key, go to the start menu, click on run, and type the following:

oobe/msoobe /a

This includes the space between "msoobe" and "/a".  Then follow the instructions to activate windows.  Do this AFTER you change the product key to the legal version or it won't activate properly!
____________________________________

Please note that you might need to install additional hardware drivers.  Check with the manufacturer of your computer (dell.com, hp.com, etc.) to get the needed drivers after install.
_____________

I'll try to get an OEM version of Vista up here, but it will illegally activate.  You can put in a legit key and have it work legally, but until it can't illegally activate anymore I can't post it up here.  I won't participate in pirating software.

[landbeforetimelover]

Well I've finally got an untouched Vista OEM disk.  Service Pack 2 is slipstreamed in.  With Service Pack 2, you have an unlimited number of connections and 32 bit can recognize 4gb of ram!  Here's a link to the disk:

http://lbtserver.2myip.net/UniversalUpload...ersions_SP2.iso

This disk includes Vista Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate.  The version which installs is determined by the product key you enter during installation.  Just like the XP disks I have posted in my last post, this copy of Vista is LEGIT.  You need to have a COA (Certificate Of Authenticity) attached to your computer or have a legit key that you can use to legally activate and use Windows.

Also one thing you should know is that when using OEM product keys on a non-original OEM disk you have to activate using the automated phone system.  It's a pain in the a$$, but they have to do it that way so they can verify 100% that your product key is legit.

[Petrie.]

I was actually lucky to get the dvd with my laptop to reinstall Windows if I ever needed to.  Actually Dell programs its laptops with a "wipe back to factory settings" if you fit F11 or something on startup.  It'll go right back to the way it was from the Dell factory...with all their crap programs too, but its an option.

[landbeforetimelover]

I was actually lucky to get the dvd with my laptop to reinstall Windows if I ever needed to. Actually Dell programs its laptops with a "wipe back to factory settings" if you fit F11 or something on startup. It'll go right back to the way it was from the Dell factory...with all their crap programs too, but its an option.

Recovery partitions are useful for those who don't know how to install Windows or wipe a computer, but they honestly suck more than people realize.  First off, it installs all the junk trial software and you've gotta spend about an hour (depending on the manufacturer of your computer) getting it all off.  Secondly, a recovery partition wastes your hard drive space.  On my newest dual core computer that I'm considering as a replacement for the LBT Server, the recovery partition took up 14gb!  What a waste!  But the worst thing about recovery partitions is the fact that they can get infected with viruses or other malicious software.  Then what do ya do?  Ya don't have a disk.  You're just screwed.  

Whenever I get a computer with a recovery partition, even if it works fine I wipe everything out and remove it.  There's no sense in keeping a recovery partition on your computer when you have disks so readily available.  Recovery partitions were created mainly for the companies so they can save money on disks.  The best thing about Toshiba is they have a recovery partition AND include a disk right out of the box.  

I have a lot of clients who have used their recovery partitions to try to recover their computers and end up wiping out everything they have on the computer and the recovery can't even complete because of some virus.  That's when they take it to me.  Luckily data recovery is much easier BEFORE the data gets re-written.  I can sometimes save much of their data and it doesn't cost them that much either.  Bottom line is if you have a recovery partition and ya know how to use a Windows disk, download one from my server and get rid of that useless partition.  This especially goes for those of you who have smaller hard drives.  There are some computers with only 120gb hard drives and have more than 20gb of that taken up by the filing system and their recovery partitions!

[Petrie.]

Hmmm...didn't consider that one...yeah it does take up considerable space.  I'll double check that I can still FIND the recovery disk before I do anything with that partition.

[Tyrannosaur]

i wish manufacturers would include the discs with all computers they sell. restore partitions are kinda pointless when it probably costs them less to make the discs themselves.

and i wish retail PCs wouldnt come with an armada of useless software that any sensible person uninstalls immediately upon turning the PC on.

consumers should have the choice of what software they wanna add to their computer, not be forced to endure almost useless stuff that is "free" from the manufactures