Reinstalling Windows on homebuilt PC

[BigAndy05]

I don't really know where this should go, so mods feel free to move it as needed.

I have a homemade PC, with AMD 64 3500+, and a gigabyte mobo, GA-K8NSC-939. It hasn't been used much but has some crap on it that I won't need, as I didn't initially install windows and everything, but I did build the PC. I think the guy that installed the software might still have the cd that came with the mobo. I was wondering if there is anyway I could go ahead and reinstall without it, or if I can get the software off the computer the way it is now, or if I just have to wait. I also have 2 HD's in raid mode.

Thanks alot!!!

-Andy

[GaryRouth]

Hi BigAndyO5

If you'd like to start completely fresh, & have the original XP license for it (should be on a sticker somewhere on the case), you should be fine if you want to wipe the drive & do a clean install (assuming you have an XP installation disk - one with SP2 already on it would be a big help). You can download most any drivers you might need from the manufacturer's websites for the various components (the motherboard drivers would be at the Gigabyte site, for example).

If there are programs installed on the system that you do not have the disks for, and would like to keep - you might be better off just leaving things as they are, using the usual tools to remove anything unwanted [Add-Remove Programs in Control Panel, using a Registry Cleaner, Disk Cleanup, delete leftover miscellaneous documents and files, Defragment, etc ... and doing thorough scans for malware, of course].

Windows XP reinstallations can be trickier than Win9x reinstallations, but if you'd like to read up on the details, we have a thread in Tips & Tricks that goes into some detail & provides links to even more detailed articles on the net. http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=151522 You'll want to pay particular attention to the cautions - especially since you've a RAID array involved.

. . . Gary

[BigAndy05]

Thanks alot Gary!

The cd I know I am missing is the cd that came with the motherboard, so I don't have to worry about it or should I get it back first. And would I need to re-raid the HD's if I reinstall windows?

Thanks alot again!

-Andy

[GaryRouth]

I believe if you are doing a repair installation, the RAID configuration can be left as is.

For a clean installation, you'd setup the array fresh, wiping all the data from the drives, setting up the array, then performing the clean install on the new array. During the clean install, you'd press F6 to provide your RAID drivers from a floppy diskette, when prompted by XP Setup. If your XP installation CD is recent enough to already have appropriate drivers handy, you won't need this step.

If you'd like to read up more on setting up Windows XP on RAID disks, there's a good guide over at the DUX Computer Digest site http://www.duxcw.com/digest/Howto/mb.../raid-cont.htm

I think you'd be OK making your own drivers disk for the motherboard, etc. (if you have a CD-burner handy), another benefit would be that the latest drivers might have a few extra bug fixes and optimizations. You'll want to get as exact model information as you can for your hardware when searching for the drivers, so this might involve opening up the case and looking at the parts (if you haven't any documentation that identifies things otherwise).

Best of luck
. . . Gary