Step 1:  Backup all of the things you care about on the computer.  Everything in your “My Documents” folder, your address book, email messages, documents, MS Word documents that contain all of your passowrds, game saves, game registration numbers, etc.  If you have multiple users using this computer, make certain they back up all of their files.  DO NOT COME CRYING TO ME IF YOU FAIL TO SAVE EVERYTHING OFF OF YOUR HARD DRIVE THAT IS PRECIOUS TO YOU!!! YE HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

Step 2: After verifying that ALL BACKUPS were successfully saved to a DVD or to an external hard drive, delete everything in your My Documents folder.

Step 3:  Download SP2 and SP3 from Microsoft.  (If you KNOW your copy of XP comes with SP2, you only need to DL SP3. If it comes with SP3 on the install disk, you need not install either of these.)

Service Pack 2 from Microsoft

SP3 from MS

Step 4: Download AVG antivirus and CCleaner from www.Download.com.  Save SP2, SP3, AVG, and Ccleaner to an external HD or burn them to a DVD.

Step 4.5:  Unhook all wires from your PC tower, take the thing outside, and with a can of canned air held upright (NEVER EVER UPSIDE DOWN WHILE YOU ARE SPRAYING INSIDE THE TOWER), blow that thing out.  Do it away from the house.  Pay close attention to the front air openings and the CPU heatsink.  Do not use an air compressor.  The rubber/plastic air lines generate static electricity!

Step 5:  Close the case up, and hookup all wires.  If you used an external HD to backup all of your documents, leave it unplugged. Put the Windows XP disk in the drive.  Restart the computer. The goal here is to boot FROM THE DISK, and not from your hard drive. Don't have a Windows XP disk?  Did you lose it?  Do you need to make your own XP restore disks?  Follow your manufacturer's instructions for making backup media.

Step 6:  You want to do a total drive format, NOT the “Quick Format”.  Go through all the steps in the installation.  Create an ADMINISTRATOR ACCOUNT, and an individual, personal account for every person who will be using the computer.  

Step 7:  Finish the installation.  Before restaring, UNPLUG your ethernet cable. (Why unplug?  No sense in fighting XP's built-in update downloader....)

Step 8:  All these should be done while logged in as ADMINISTRATOR...

- Install any drivers for your computer's motherboard.
- Turn OFF Windows AUTOMATIC UPDATES.
- Uninstall all bloatware.
- DEFRAG (Optional but does not hurt)
- Restart Windows
- Install SP2
- DEFRAG (Optional but does not hurt)
- Restart Windows
- Install SP3
- DEFRAG (Optional but does not hurt)
- Restart Windows.
-   * (See end of this post...)
- Install CCleaner
- Run CCleaner, and all of the applications under it (Cleaner, registry scrubber, or whatever it is called...)
- Install AVG (Or go spend $40 for McAfee Antivirus). Prior to finishing the installation, plug your network cable back in.  Allow AVG to do all updates.

[/list]

Step 9: Open Internet Explorer. Goto TOOLS →  Windows Update.  Install all windows updates.  After ALL Windows updates are installed, turn AUTO UPDATES back on.

Step 10:  Here's a list of a few great programs you should have on your computer:

[li]FIREFOX
Opera Web Browser (Use this or Firefox.  Never EVER use Explorer on the internet.)
FOXIT PDF reader http://download.cnet.com/Foxit-Reader/3000-2079_4-10313206.html?tag=mncol
Active ISO burner. (Burn ISO images of CDs or DVDs after downloading)

Step 11: Under USER ACCOUNTS in Control Panel, disable Administrator privileges for all users, including yourself.

Step 12:  Insert your backup DVD or connect your external HD containing your MY DOCUMENTS folder.  DO NOT OPEN OR EXPLORE EITHER.  Run AVG and do a full scan of your backed up media.

Step 13:  Do all 101 steps in this link:  GREAT PCStats article

It is things like, “Turn off file indexing, empty the prefetch folder, etc”.  These things will make your computer faster.

Step 14: Follow ARFCOM member DAVE_Markowitz's "10 steps to secure Windows" article.  Great stuff here!  http://blogostuff.blogspot.com/2004/12/10-steps-for-securing-your-ms-windows.html




* At this point in the reinstallation would be a good time to make an IMAGE of your hard drive. THAT way, WHEN XP gets bogged down again, you can easily restore it back to how it is EXACTLY AT THIS POINT IN TIME.

Did I miss anything?  Post here and I'll edit the 1st post.

Maybe we could thumbtack this?

You forgot to account for Users.  They need to backup *everything they care about*.  My Documents is where everything they care about *should be*, not where everything they care about *will be*.
They may need to backup application keys, itunes keys?, game serial numbers, installers for downloaded software (better to redownload, but that's not always possible), etc etc etc etc etc.
Good luck!

ETA: to explain, I say "Good Luck!" because computers are totally unforgiving, they will do what you tell them to do, and that will happily include blowing away 100 thousand years of precious photos, or anything else you happen to have.  They will do *exactly* what you tell them to do, if you're off by one care they won't say "hey, you probably didn't mean to delete granny's precious photos", they'll say "OK!" and wipe them.  Do not reinstall unless you are 100% *SURE* you know you've got everything backed up, and don't whine when you wipe something you shouldn't have wiped.

Changes you suggested have been incorporated.

Skip deleting My Documents, you format later. Skip SP2, it's unnecessary. Skip the duster step, it belongs somewhere else. Don't turn off Automatic Updates, you already unplugged the Internet for now, and most people need them. Defrag, defrag, defrag? No, no, no. If you had to defrag, you could do it at the end, but you really don't. And if your XP installation CD doesn't include SP3, you can make one.
 

I always suggest to people not to use My Documents. Way too easy to lose stuff if you have to reinstall because you can't get into Windows or they don't know any better to mount the drive and back it up before reinstalling.

I've always used an account with administrator privileges and have never had an issue with malware.  I've hardly ever used an anti virus program too and never get viruses.  How do you get viruses anyways?  I've been to shady sites and have downloaded shady programs but have never been infected.  

also, I've always kept everything in my documents and just backed up the whole file so all of my music/playlists work when I reinstall windows.  Sure I could put it elsewhere, but why bother?  Thats what my documents is for

It is a best practice to keep user accounts non-admin. In Windows and the *INX world.

I had an attempt by the AntiVirus 2009 malware to install, I was on TBOnline, an AP news feed. It was using a 3rd party cookie to install itself. I hit the power button and kept it from installing, I have several users a month that manage to get it.

Another thing is they can get it from these search bars, and other crap that they install.

You eliminate a lot of these issues if the user is a power user or less.

+1
Running non-admin is just smart.  If you browse the web at all you'll be attacked eventually, and running non-admin adds an extra layer of safety.

If the hard drive is fine, then a quick format is fine, as all you want to do is relay the file system overhead.



Edit: when do we talk about which services are safe to turn off if on a home network?!

+1

Or a user can relocate my documents to another drive in "properties"

Generally pretty good, but a few comments:

1. You do not need to install SP2 then SP3.  SP3 is cumulative.
2. Defragging the disk when you suggest isn't going to accomplish much.  You won't see much disk fragmentation until you've used the PC for a little while.
3. With today's large hard drives, it's a good idea to partition the PC's hard disk during the installation process.  That way you can setup a system partition and a data partition, which makes future wipes and restores easier.

I wrote this awhile ago but it's still relevant...

10 Steps for Securing Your MS Windows PC.

tag for home

What happens with a reinstall if you do this? For example, if I change My Documents from Documents & Settings\blah\blah\blah to C:\Documents will it be spared during a reinstall as the OS reclaims the original location or would it look at the same properties and say "Oooh I need to reinstall over that."? I've never thought of actually updating the location, I just manually use the new directories.

You'll need to repoint "my documents" to the remote location after the re-install.

So the re-install won't touch it? That's awesome! Thx for the tip.

#1: A full format never hurt anyone.



#2: In my post at the end, I listed to do as many of the 101 tweaks from this areticle as possible.  

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1494  Step 7.

After installing XP, and then uninstalling all the BS bloatware, you have big gaps in your hard drive.  When you start to install things, it puts them into those gaps.  Defragging early while you are building the core of your OS doesn't hurt anything.

Yes, I DO understand that folks place too much emphasis on defragging.  Ppl thing a good defrag will speed up your system 200%.  Not so.  However, while you have your OS "in the raw", why not build a good foundation?

#1: WRONG. At least according to Microsoft.  Read all about it HERE  1st sentence under "More Information"...

#2:  I covered this already.  I may be naieve, but I think in an OS's installation "infancy", defragging is a good thing.

#3: I swear I read somewhere that partitioning a NTFS formatted HD does not improve performance.  I do not remember where this article was.  I believe their point was that if you partition a BIG hard drive that is formatted with NTFS, you gain no speed or performance boost.  Someone else can chime in on this.  Yes, an extra partition or two is a good thing.

Great blog topic.  I added it as step 14.

Tagged to read later when I find my/borrow an XP disk...

I did pull all my stuff onto a 1TB HD I bought today. I can't complete the nuke until I get a disk.

1. As others have stated, way too much defragging there.
2. Unplug the network cable? Why? I have YET to see a machine get infected by a virus or spyware by just sitting on a network somewhere doing nothing.
3. I have never practiced running non-admin accounts on my home systems, and again have yet to get infected with a virus or spyware. I do stay away from shady websites with the occasional visit for something, but still don't get infected.
4. And the quick format is fine unless there are bad sectors on the harddrive and you want to find them.
5. I never recommend a registry scrubber. It can delete a key that renders your machine useless.
6. IE is fine for those people that practice safe surfting and have AV software just as users of FireFox should.

-d

A lot of personal preferences and experiences are in this thread.

As to #2 I have seen systems get hit just sitting on a network doing nothing, ever heard of a honeypot? It is not just for hackers
#3 again, it is best practice and part of the reason unix/linux boxes are low targets for script kiddies.
#4 I prefer the full format, but the quick is ok in most cases
#5 +87 never use a registry scrubber, learn what you can and can not delete and do it yourself.
#6 IE if fully patched is pretty much as safe as FF, I hate on IE7, pretty much liking IE8, and use IE6 on xp machines.


Again, different experiences create different recommendations.

But since I have been following best practices of installing most all critical and security patches from MS, and keeping a good AV up to date, I have had 0 problems. I also turn off 3rd party cookies, and still scan every couple of weeks with Malwarebytes.

how can you say its not smart when you have to be stupid to get a virus in the first place?  Why would I want more than one account on my computer?  I'm not gonna log out just to install a program.  Thats a waste of time and not smart

I disagree.. until there is a revolutionary new way to do things, principle of least privilege works the best.









 

1. I will add "(Optional)" after the defrags.  It always has served me well.
2. Disconnecting the network cable prevents MS Update from connecting.  While you are installing SP2 or 3 from a file, IMO it is not a good idea to have Windows trying to DL it in the background.
3. Viruses:  it is not IF, it is WHEN.  Your machine, your call on the admin accounts.
4. Once again, my personal preference interfering with a list.  It takes longer, but doesn't hurt anything, and detects bad sectors on a hard drive.
5. I have never had a problem with a registry scrubber.  I estimate I have installed CCleaner on 50 machines; NONE of which have "Rendered a machine useless".  Has ANYONE ever used a reputable registry scanner and had it F––k up a computer?  (I have F––ked up registries on my own by trying to edit the registry on my own, but that doesnt count...)
6. Viruses are writen to exploit IE.  If you use IE, you might as well paint a target on your back at knob creek.  Sure, you can "Surf Safe". But what happens when you click on that innocent looking link sent from your Mom's infected computer?

That's why God created RunAs. It's the sudo of Windows.

Heck, you and obama have something in common.

Guys/Gals,

Remember, this is just advice given by various people that have different levels of experience, and in some very diverse areas.

Because we might disagree on a particular step, doesn't mean that one is right or the other is wrong.

Read over the advice offered, google some of the recommendations and make an educated decision on how to proceed.

I have been doing computers for 30 years give or take, had my first online date in 1981, and have forgotten more than I remember.

I learn something new every day if I am lucky and I have a boatload of certs all ready.

I will tease some here and there, because in the world of Windows, there is no one way to do something.

1.throw windows machine into trash


2.get in car drive to local apple store


3.buy mac


4.????


5.profit!

 

Fixed it.

Re #1: I stand corrected. HOWEVER, many if not most recent XP install discs already have SP2 slipstreamed in.  Check first and skip the SP2 d/l and install if appropriate.  AAMOF, very recent XP install discs will have SP3 slipstreamed in.

Re #2: I disagree but don't let me stop you if you think it's worthwhile.  I don't.  

Re #3: I wasn't suggesting partitioning a large drive to improve performance.  Rather, it simplified backup and restore, especially if you need to wipe the system partition in the future.  For example, if you create a C: (system) and a D: (data) partition, and keep all your data on D:, you should not need to restore your data from a backup if you need to reinstall Windows.  (It's still prudent to make frequent backups of your data, especially immediately before wiping the system partition.  But as long as your reinstall goes properly this saves you a post-installation step.)

#3:  This is where my knowledge limts meet distrust in OS reinstall disks.  I have been burned in the past by saving things to a partition on the main HD, and trying to do a reinstall.  I clicked "Restore to factory settings", and it wiped ALL partitions, as well as all my backups.  I realize this was a "NEGLIGENT DISCHARGE", and not an "AD", but I have shyed away from ever keeping backups on my one and only hard drive, no matter the partition.  


I didn't want this to become a "Shoot holes in Mugzilla's XP reinstallation idea".  I wanted it to be a place wherre folks could find my mistakes and ADD to the process.  One gaping hole I see is: After all this work, why not create an image, so you never ever have to go through this again?  Can anyone recommend a free HD imager?

I have used the one that is included in the Bart PE disk, I have not tried Clonezilla, I have a copy of Ghost 10 and use it the most.


Typically, I make a ghost image of any computer I work on, when it is done, so the client can restore back to that point in time if anything happens.

Should give one a shot. I used to think the same way. Now I work for them.



 

A:  Make me a sandwich.
B:  No.
A:  RunAs Make me a sandwich.
B:  Okay.


No, it doesn't work as well.

One thing I would add is rather than reformat the hard drive, just replace it with a new HD and continue as suggested.  Then if you forgot to back something up, you can always connect the original as a slave to recover.

With as cheap as HDs have gotten, it is cheap insurance to make certain Great Grand Ma was not deleted.  Once you are certain everything has been recovered, you can reformat for extra storage, destroy, etc.

I was part of a project for a school to deploy 40 Macbooks and an Xserve into their Windows environment... took 3 months to get things working like it should. Total pain in the ass. While they looked all shiny and cool, their use in an networked environment left a lot to be desired.

-d