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I have a 'TINY' badged laptop around 5 or 6 years old running Win XP, its so slow & clogged with junk accumulated over the years that I'd like to 're-format' it all and start again with a clean hard disc . . before I go ahead just a couple of questions . . .
Once the re-format is complete how do I find & load in all the correct 'drivers' for the video card / sound card etc etc ??
Or should I entrust it to my local PC shop ?
I have a 'TINY' badged laptop around 5 or 6 years old running Win XP, its so slow & clogged with junk accumulated over the years that I'd like to 're-format' it all and start again with a clean hard disc . . before I go ahead just a couple of questions . . .
Once the re-format is complete how do I find & load in all the correct 'drivers' for the video card / sound card etc etc ??
Or should I entrust it to my local PC shop ?
Its easy to be honest, always keep a disc or USB flash drive ready with drives on already
As chances are windows wont have the basic drivers ready for every bit of hardware.
You will probably need the following:
- Video Card drivers (graphics card/gpu/vga)
- Ethernet drivers
- Wireless card drivers
- Chipset drivers if using a Via/S3 chipset.
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Even 5-6 years ago manufacturers set up a HDD with a recovery section that could launch a factory reinstall. May appear with label D:recovery. Often associated with a recovery CD... might do the job for you and would format and prepare the C: drive. (If you can find the original CDs/Media....
Once XP is back it looks like Windows update is still supported
I completely erased the hard drive on my old laptop to clear a virus ( overkill I suppose but it was getting slow and tired anyway ).
I contacted Dell who sent me a set of discs to re-install software ( including operating system XP ).
Some things did not work such as wifi, sound, DVD. I was able to download the missing drivers from the Dell website and the laptop now runs better than ever!
The computer then spends the next few days downloading dozens of updates
Maybe the makers of yours can help you in this way.
Jed
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In the same boat as Vic with my HP Pavilion dv5031EA; which is the only computer I have. So also very interested in any advice/input, and thank you all in advance.
saluti,
eddied
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Why re-format? Install windows again as a fresh install. XP will search for the relevant drivers. If specific drivers are need then do a search on the internet. Wish you luck
Even 5-6 years ago manufacturers set up a HDD with a recovery section that could launch a factory reinstall. May appear with label D:recovery. Often associated with a recovery CD... might do the job for you and would format and prepare the C: drive. (If you can find the original CDs/Media....
Once XP is back it looks like Windows update is still supported
Looking at the windows update link it says that the update can be used so long as you have SP3 installed. If you use the recovery partition I suspect you will not have SP3 so will require that disc or download (rather big) as well.
Good luck it is something I have been putting off with my old XP desktop.
I always go for the re-format and new installation of windows. It removes all those programmes you no longer want, gaining disk space as well as memory. I am not sure re-installing windows over the top of existing will achieve this.
The job is much easier if you still have the original re-installation (drivers and XP) disks. You will not be able to update your XP to the latest release without a validated copy of the software. Is the windows XP certificate of authenticity sticker still on the laptop ? Google "backing up drivers before re-install" for free software that backs up your drivers before formatting.
Good luck
Philip
I would go along with many of the responses you received so far. Probably better to go with a full format and start with a clean hard disc. That was what I did.
You might have to search for one or two drivers but finding them shouldn't be a problem.
The most surprising thing I found was that, whilst there was a gain in speed - start up time, and response time etc - it was still not as fast as I wanted and hoped for. Disappointing in fact because based on articles I had read it would be much faster.
In the end I went for a new one - in fact went for a netbook.
As an experiment I loaded the old laptop with Linux and it really is quite fast. Because I use my desktop mostly and my netbook while away and iphone also, I don't use the five year old Linux Laptop very much but it is a very viable alternative.
Thanks friends for your info . . I unfortunantly don't have a 'recovery' partition on the laptop, I am a touch worried that once I've re-formatted it I won't be able to see what drivers it needs ?
[although I suppose the best way is for me to see what hardware is installed & make a note of the drivers needed . . should have thought of that before
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Austria
In the same boat as Vic with my HP Pavilion dv5031EA; which is the only computer I have. So also very interested in any advice/input, and thank you all in advance.
