HOW TO: Re-install Windows XP
If you’re anything like me, there’s a good chance that your XP system is slow as hell and things
don’t work properly anymore. Sure, it used to be nice and fast when the computer was new and XP was fresh, but you just had to keep installing and uninstalling all that software, didn’t you?
Now your Start menu is four columns wide, it takes ages to boot the computer, and apparently there are these tiny conflicts between all the stuff running - or trying to run - on your machine so things don’t always work as they should. No amount of time spent in Add/Remove Programs (thanks developers for creating uninstallers that don’t work) will help you. Defragging? That stopped having a noticeable effect six months ago.
So the only solution you have is to reinstall Windows. Yes, the dreaded moment when all your applications are gone and you’re not productive anymore. It will take weeks, if not months, to get everything installed and configured properly. If you’re anything like me you’ve been there before. You might think you’re up and running after a day or so of going through checklists and loading software, but it’s only a matter of hours before you reach for an infrequently used tool that’s not there. Then you search for the application and install it, potentially taking hours, only to run into the same problem with another piece of software later.
There is no easy solution to the problem, but there’s a way for you to reinstall Windows without losing productivity. All you need is a decent backup software such as Acronis TrueImage and some virtualization software such as VMWare Workstation. Microsoft’s Virtual PC might work too, I haven’t checked. CodeFromThe70s.org