I cannot uninstall or reinstall teh Virus software as 'windows installer' is also now apparently not installed! So i figured the best thing to do is reinstall Vista and reformat the hard drive. I have teh product key on the sticker on the back of the laptop, but as it came pre-installed with vista, I do not have a installation cd or dvd. Here is a video tutorial on how to install Windows Vista from a USB flash drive! How to Install Windows Vista in Virtualbox/VMware: https://www.youtube.com/w.
To reformat and reinstall is the computer equivalent of erasing the chalkboard and starting over with a completely blank slate.
Changing your OS to Windows Vista. Check your specs. In order to run Windows Vista you must have at least an 800 MHz processor (1 GHz is recommended), 512 MB RAM (1 GB is recommended), 15 GB of hard disk space (20 GB is recommended), and a DirectX 9 graphics card. Step 1, Click on the Start menu and select “All Programs. ”Step 2, Click on “Accessories” and select “System Tools. ”Step 3, Click on “System Restore. ” The System Restore window will display on-screen. Reinstall Inte rnet Explorer in Windows. Windows 8.1 and Windows 8. Turn off the Internet Explorer features. To do this, follow the steps in the 'Turn off Internet Explorer' section in Install or uninstall Internet Explorer. Restart your computer after you turn off Internet Explorer. Then, Internet Explorer will be removed from your computer. Select the Search option and type reinstall in the Search text field (do not press Enter). Select the Settings option. On the left side of the screen, select Remove everything and reinstall Windows. On the 'Reset your PC' screen, click Next.
To a computer, that means erasing the Hard Disk Drive [HDD]
An HDD, or Hard Disk Drive, is data storage made up of magnetic spinning disks. '>hard disk and starting over with nothing.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
That phrase “erasing the hard disk” is something exceptionally important – and worth understanding.
This article applies mostly to Windows 10, though Windows 8 is similar. I have an older article covering Windows XP and Vista, which can also be used to extrapolate what needs to be done for Windows 7. In all cases, the concepts are very similar.
Reformat and reinstall
Reformatting a machine and reinstalling everything to start over is actually a five-step process for most people.
I can’t stress the importance of step #1: backing up. We’re about to erase everything on your hard disk. Unless you know for certain there’s nothing there that you want, an image backup
An image backup is a complete copy of a hard disk or other media being backed up. The copy is complete in that it can be restored to a completely empty hard drive – as in a replacement hard drive after a failure – and the result is a hard drive that contains everything that the original did. '>image backup is the right way to be prepared when you remember some weeks from now that you forgot to save a specific file.
(Click on the term for full definition.) Formatting isn’t always formatting
The term “formatting” actually goes back to days when hard disks had to be physically prepared before any data could be written on them. Formatting set up the underlying magnetic information so the disk could be used. The term also referred to the next step: setting up the initial data that would organize the files and folders to be added later.
Coincidentally, just that last step – setting up the initial data on the disk – has the side effect of making anything that might have previously been on the disk inaccessible. As a result, “reformatting” has come to mean exactly that: erasing the disk by setting up those initial data structures.
For the purposes of reinstalling Windows from scratch, all we really care about is that the disk be erased before we start. There are two approaches.
The “trick”, if you want to call it that, is that it’s not always obvious what to do in Windows Setup.
So I’ll show you.
Reformat
Step one is to boot from your installation media.
Exactly how you do that1 will vary dramatically based on your specific computer. If your computer has the UEFI [Unified Extensible Firmware Interface]
UEFI is an acronym for Unified Extensible Firmware I
![]() The UEFI, like the BIOS it is designed to replace, is software built into PCs, and performs functions such as:
One of the more notable, and occasionally frustrating, features of UEFI is “secure boot”. Secure boot allows the boot process to be “locked down” according to the PC manufacturer’s specifications, preventing unauthorized operating systems or boot sources from loading. Like the BIOS, the UEFI is typically stored in re-programmable ROM, allowing it to be updated using special reprogramming software. Unlike the BIOS, additional portions of the UEFI may be stored on reserved areas of a computer’s hard disk. (Click on the term for full definition.)'>UEFIBIOS [Basic Input/Output System]BIOS is an acronym for How To Reinstall Windows Vista From Recovery PartitionBasic Input/Output System. A BIOS is PC software that:
The BIOS is typically stored in re-programmable ROM, allowing it to be updated using special reprogramming or “flashing” software (this is unrelated to so-called “flash memory” as used in USB memory sticks and other devices). (Click on the term for full definition.)'>BIOS, which includes things like “Secure Boot
Secure Boot allows a computer's boot process to be “locked down” according to a PC manufacturer’s specifications, preventing unauthorized operating systems or boot sources from loading. '>secure boot”, this article applies. If your computer is older and has a traditional BIOS, check out this article.
See also: UEFI. (Click on the term for full definition.)
Once you boot, you’ll be asked to choose your language and keyboard; then click Next.
Click on Install Now to begin the actual setup process.
If you have a product key, you can enter it at this time, or click on I don’t have a product key to do so later. Click on Next.
This particular set-up disk applies to Windows 10 Home and Pro both. Make your selection here, and click Next.
Naturally, you’ll need to accept the product license. Click the “I accept the license terms” checkbox, and click on Next.
Now choose the type of installation to perform. Click on Custom.
Windows Setup asks where you want to put your new installation. This is where the reformatting magic happens. In order to “reformat” the disk, you will delete the existing partition
A partition is a division of the area on a physical hard disk (or disk-like device) into one or more logical disks. '>partition(s) on the disk and let Windows Setup create new ones.
(Click on the term for full definition.) ![]()
The dialog box
A dialog box is a window that appears on top of a main application or other window (or occasionally no window at all) requesting user input. '>dialog box lists all existing partitions on the hard disk. In this example, you can see that there are two: System Reserved, and a primary partition.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
There are two approaches you can take.
To delete a partition, simply click on the partition in the list and click on Delete. The partition should either become “unallocated space”, or be merged with any adjacent unallocated space.
Once you’re done deleting partitions, click on the unallocated space item into which you want Windows installed. (Typically the largest, if there’s more than one.)
Ironically, you do not need to format the space into a partition, even though the option is there. Windows Setup will take care of the rest. Click Next.
At this point, Windows Setup proceeds to install Windows normally.
Podcast audio
Download (right-click, Save-As) (Duration: 6:49 — 3.2MB)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS
Comments are closed.
|
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |