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Thirty years, for a start. We have been designing and building personal computers long before they were christened "PCs". IBM introduced their first PC in 1980. We had been building computers for five years by that time.
Over the last 30 years we have had the opportunity to examine nearly every computer ever invented, nearly all of which have had some glaring design flaws. Over the last two and a half decades many manufactures have whittled their design flaws down a bit, but now the big push, for nearly all computer manufactures, is to chop away on their cost to build. A little smaller power supply, a floppy disk drive from the lowest possible bidder, a modem that just makes the minimum specifications, all serve to lower many manufactures costs to build.
We wouldn't feel right if we used inferior components, or offered our clients anything but the very best. We spend a little more for the components that make up all of our computers, and it shows. Our computer systems run much longer and better than nearly all others.
Some computer builders stoop so low as to use used or known defective parts in their offerings. Every one of our computers are constructed from the best quality components available, from the world's best vendors.
We cut no corners!
Care and attention to detail during the assembly and loading of a new computer makes a big difference. Each and every machine built in our laboratory is handcrafted and personally tested and calibrated.
A word from J.R:
Should you elect to purchase your next computer from my company, We'll build you the best computer on earth…You have my word on it! You'll get a computer that I would be proud to have on my own desk.
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Starting Over with XP
So you want to clear off your hard drive and start all over.
The repeated installation and removal of computer programs, or some of the more virulent computer viruses, can create a condition where the only way to put your computer back in acceptable order is to completely clean and reload your hard drive.
This page is intended for those re-installing Windows XP. If you are installing Windows 95 or 98, click the following link:
For Windows 95/98 CLICK HERE
PLEASE NOTE:
Print and read this web page carefully and in its entirety (Especially the disclaimer at the end) before starting this procedure. Typos or errors in this procedure, or your skill levels, could turn your computer into, what we in the trade call:
A Rope-Less Boat Anchor!
This procedure assumes some computer knowledge of the user, and should be used as a series of guidelines, not absolute step-by-step instructions. If you have any doubts about your ability to perform ANY of the following procedures, DON'T START THIS PROCESS!
If you are interested in upgrading your operating system, I recommend Windows XP-Pro. The professional version of XP is a better OS than the home version. If you are considering upgrading to XP-Pro don't buy the upgrade! The upgrade requires that a previous version of Windows be already on the hard drive. Not the way to go. Purchase the OEM "Original Equipment Manufacture" version. It will say: For Distribution with a New PC Only on the package. Technically, Microsoft requires that a new hard drive or main board be sold with the OEM version, but many dealers ignore this restriction. Of course this could be your opportunity to move up to a bigger hard drive or faster main board.
Windows XP (Preferably the Professional version) is by far the best version of Windows yet. But only if you have enough computer!
Any computer less than 700MHz. and 256-Megabytes of memory, is unsuitable for XP. If, on the other hand, your computer's CPU is 700MHz or faster, and it has at least 256-Megs of RAM (512 or 1024 preferred.) Windows XP-Pro would be your best bet. Clear your hard drive with WDCLEAR, and then set the CMOS to boot from the CD-ROM drive, pop the new XP CD in your reader and restart your computer.
What You Will Need Before You Start:
Bootable floppy disk, with WDCLEAR. (See note 1)
Windows CD-ROM & Product Number. (See note 2)
Video, Sound & Modem drivers. (See note 3)
Installable copies of ALL your programs.
Internet setup and login information (See note 4)
If you only have one computer, and it's the one you are currently using to read this web page, before you start this process you must first use your working Internet connection to download, to floppies or other removable media, drivers and other applications you will need to complete the re-load. You can find drivers for many devices at DriverFiles.net and/or DriverGuide.com.
Of course, if you can, backup to floppies or other removable media, all the data you wish to keep from your old hard drive. Remember, you can't backup programs, only data! You will need to re-install your programs from their original CDs or floppies.
I recommend that you do a little more than just re-format your hard drive. WDCLEAR is a free tool that will work on many IDE & EIDE hard drives, and will restore the drive back to a factory-fresh condition. Make a Bootable Floppy Disk and place a copy of WDCLEAR.exe on it. (See NOTE 1 on the right.)
After you have all the tools, drivers and software at the ready and have backed up all your important data, do the following: Remember, once you start this process it is irreversible, you MUST complete it or you will not have a working computer.
After booting from the floppy, type WDCLEAR and press enter. REMEMBER This will destroy ALL data on your hard drive, and return it to a factory fresh condition.
1.
Set the CMOS so your computer will boot from the floppy disk first.
For more information on setting the CMOS see the lower right sidebar.
If your computer does not allow you to change the CMOS to boot from the CD-ROM,
it is too old for Windows XP. Stay with Windows 98SE.
See: THIS for more about loading
Windows 98.
2.
Insert the bootable floppy, with WDClear on it, into the floppy and boot the computer.
3.
Run WDClear which will clear and write zeros to your hard drive.
4.
If your computer has more than one hard drive or optical drive (CD or DVD), or your computer has a Zip drive, or a built-in memory stick reader, or anything else that shows-up in the My Computer window as a device, I highly recommend that you disable it/them before you attempt to reload the operating system. You can disable a device by simply unplugging the logic cable or USB cable from the device. See Under The Hood before you open your computer.
For best results you should only have one hard drive, one CD-ROM drive and one floppy drive connected during the XP installation. This will insure that the primary hard drive is identified as C by the operating system.
After XP has been loaded, shutdown your computer and reattach one of the other devices and reboot. After the computer has fully booted and detected the new device, do a normal shutdown and attach the next new device and restart. Repeat until all devices have been detected and installed.
5.
After WDCLEAR has completed, shutdown the computer, remove the floppy disk, power-up the machine and reset the CMOS to boot from the CD first and hard drive second. Insert your Windows XP CD and reboot your computer.
Follow the on-screen instructions to install XP.
6.
The basic installation of Windows should now be done. Remove the CD-ROM and do a normal shutdown then, restart your computer. During the memory test, get into the CMOS setup and change the boot sequence to boot from the C: drive first.
7.
Windows XP will likely detect many of your peripherals such as video, sound, modem, etc, and install basic drivers for them. Some may not be detected, or if you are installing another version of Windows, you may need to install the drivers for your particular devices. I suggest you check and/or install the drivers in the following order. 1. Video. 2. Sound. 3. Modem. 4. All others.
Even if Windows XP installs basic drivers, you may want to reinstall them from the latest versions you previously downloaded.
8.
Once all the drivers are installed and tested, you are now ready to setup your Internet account and reinstall all your programs and data.
9.
After your Internet connection has been reestablished, surf to www.microsoft.com and click on Windows Update, and go through the update process.
10.
Before you setup your email account install a good Anti-Virus Protuct. I recomend Trend Micro's Internet Security.
11.
We recommend, as with drivers, that before you reinstall any of your old programs you check with the manufacture of each to see if they have an upgraded version available.
12.
To make your new install even better, and to minimize the chances of virus and other attacks, we recommend you perform the following steps:
Open the Control Panel Click Switch to Classic View, and click on the Administrative Tools icon. Click the Services icon. Then Stop and Disable the following services:
Indexing: Double-Click on the Indexing service. If it's running, click the Stop button, then click the small down arrow to the right of Startup Type: and select Disabled then click the Apply button. (Repeat for the following services.)
Messenger Service
SSDP Discovery
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Then shutdown and restart the computer.
Surf to Steve Gibson's site and download & install Socket Lock.
Download and install Microsoft's Service Pack 2 for Windows XP.
If you have only a Dial-Up Internet connection, I recommend that you find a friend with a high-speed connection, and have them download the service pack and burn it to a CD for you. Service Pack 2 is a huge file, and will require hours to download over a dial-up connection.
Download and install the free Ad-AwareSE program. Run this utility at least once a week.
To insure you get the FREE version, click the Ad-Aware Personal link on the left of their page, then click the C/Net Download icon on the right.
Congratulations! If all went well, you should now have a stable and well running computer. With the above patches, fixes and utilities, and if you keep your Anti-Virus product updated, and you can refrain from installing Browser Helpers and other nasty little Add-Ons, your computer should remain in good shape for years to come.
You Are On Your Own!
Due to my workload and limited time, I cannot help you with this reloading process. If you need help, I would recommend you find a competent and honest computer technician, (Not an easy task) See: Watch Out
Please read the disclaimer at the bottom of this page before proceeding.
Print this page so you can follow it during the re-load process.
Use the above procedure(s)
at your own risk!
J.R. has been building and repairing computers for over 30 years, and has personally used the above procedure(s) on thousands of computers. Each computer is different and the competence of the user can vary. J.R. Whipple, in no way warrants the above procedure(s), nor can he be held responsible for any problems, loss of data, loss of business, or any other damages caused by the application of the above procedure(s). If you are not comfortable with ANY of the above procedures, DON'T DO THEM.
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To learn all about computer viruses, or check you computer for viruses,
click the above icon.
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NOTES
Note 1:
Make a bootable floppy by double clicking your My Computer icon,
then double click the Control Panel icon, double click the
Add/Remove Programs icon, and select the Startup Disk tab
and follow the instructions.
CAUTION:
Don't make a boot floppy on any computer that is suspected of having a BOOT SECTOR VIRUS. Doing so will propagate the virus to your new load.
WDCLEAR
Western Digital no longer offers WDCLEAR from their web site, but you can download a ZIPed copy Here
Note 2:
The Windows Product Key number is unique for each CD-ROM.
This 25 character string, composed of letters and numbers, can be found on the
front cover of the Windows manual or on the Certificate of Authenticity.
Windows cannot be installed without the proper Product Key!
Note 3:
If you are installing Windows 95 OR your computer does not support booting from
its CD-ROM, you will need to have and install the CD-ROM drivers on your newly
formatted hard drive.
Note 4:
If you have a ZIP drive, writable CD-ROM drive, or other non-standard
devices inside or connected to your
computer, you will need to have the current drivers for these devices.
Note 5:
You will need to know your Internet login name, password, and dial-in
number, as well as the names of your ISP's mail & news servers.
You may need to contact your ISP for this information.
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CMOS Settings
Setting your computer to boot from the floppy disk first.
The following procedure will work on most computers. Your computer may vary
and you may need to consult your owner's manual.
1.
From a power-on restart, press the delete key (Del) during the memory
test several times. (This should present the CMOS setting screen.)
2.
With the arrow-keys, select the BIOS FEATURES SETUP and press Enter.
3.
Select Boot Sequence. With the Page Up & Page Down
keys, select A,C (If your page keys don't work, try pressing the enter key.)
4.
Check the bottom of the page for instruction on how to Save and exit the CMOS setup.
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