how to reformat computer with vista oem?

[core2duofreak]

Hi I am trying to reformat a build I made a few years ago. I inserted the Vista Home Premium 64 disc into the tray, turned off the computer, turned it back on and it just loaded into the welcome/login screen of vista. Is there something I need to press on the keyboard when I turn on the machine for it to reformat? thanks

[renowilliams]

You need to go into the bios and set boot priority to boot from dvd-rom first,then reboot you should then get a message to "press any key to boot from dvd".

[core2duofreak]

Originally Posted by renowilliams You need to go into the bios and set boot priority to boot from dvd-rom first,then reboot you should then get a message to "press any key to boot from dvd".

yup i did that in bios. There wasn't a dvd option but CD. I set it to that, restarted it, and it said to press and key to boot, but when i did that, it went to the black windows error screen and started windows as normal. I do however am able to install windows from the dvd now. But is it the same as a clean install from booting it when windows starts up or while in the OS?

[Nuclear Krusader]

While in the OS it's an upgrade install. When you boot from the DVD it's a clean install.

What do you mean by windows error screen?

[core2duofreak]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader While in the OS it's an upgrade install. When you boot from the DVD it's a clean install. What do you mean by windows error screen?

Its that black screen when theres an error in windows and it goes into recovery mode when it restarts. It give you options such as:
Start windows in safe mode
Start windows normally
and etc..

[Nuclear Krusader]

Then you are NOT booting from the optical drive. Try unplugging your hard drive and then attempt to boot from the optical, just to see if the optical drive's working andor your DVD isn't faulty.

[core2duofreak]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader Then you are NOT booting from the optical drive. Try unplugging your hard drive and then attempt to boot from the optical, just to see if the optical drive's working andor your DVD isn't faulty.

when you say unplug, do you mean open up the case and unplug the power connector to the hard drive? is that safe?

[David M]

Either the power cable or the SATA cable is safe. The SATA cable to me always seems a little easier. Either way the BIOS will not recognize the drives existence.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Originally Posted by core2duofreak when you say unplug, do you mean open up the case and unplug the power connector to the hard drive? is that safe?

Yes. Of course you have to shut the computer down, unplug the cable, then power back up (reverse the procedure to plug it back in). Don't you ever touch anything inside when the system's running!

[SARGE]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader Yes. Of course you have to shut the computer down, unplug the cable, then power back up (reverse the procedure to plug it back in). Don't you ever touch anything inside when the system's running!

Or use a voltmeter to read 2 pins on mobo for chassis fans.

[strollin]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader ... Don't you ever touch anything inside when the system's running!

Just out of curiosity, why not?

[Nuclear Krusader]

You can fry something. You can also get a shock (ever read about that Chinese guy who's sweat-wet leg touched an inner component of his PC [because he ran the system with the covers off] and received a fatal shock?).

In common practice, if you know what you're touching and have a steady hand, sure, you can go ahead. I've touched HDDs and the PSU, but I keep my hands well away from cards, chips, or anything else that can get fried with an ESD, and from fans, heatsinks or anything that can damage me. In the case of beginners, it's best to advise that they don't touch anything until they have the knowledge; have them think that the inside of the case is full of molten lead and they'll be fine, and so will their PC.

[strollin]

You shouldn't be able to get a shock from touching anything in your PC unless something is defective. One of the beautiful things about the design of the PC is that ALL lethal voltages are contained within the metal cover of the power supply. If you don't open the power supply, you can't get shocked. 12VDC and 5VDC is not enough to shock you. (No, I never heard about the Chinese guy getting a fatal shock but he would have needed to have the cover off the PS to receive one.)

The danger of frying something via ESD is there regardless of whether the system is running or not.

IMO, the most dangerous thing about a running system is that some of the components can get pretty hot and could cause a burn if touched.

Touching things isn't particularly bad but beginners should be told not to plug/unplug things while the system is running since that often results in things getting shorted and fried.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Maximum PC | PC Proves Fatal

[Nuclear Krusader]

Famous last words

[strollin]

"While details are scarce, .. ." pretty much says it all, electrocution by brushing one's leg against a component in the PC is simply not possible with a modern PC.

One possibility could be if the person had an older case/power supply. The early cases with front panel power switches, routed the AC from the back of the case to the switch on the front panel then back to the power supply. This was dangerous as it routed lethal AC voltages back and forth in the case. Modern case/power supply design keeps the AC inside the power supply case.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Well, we could lose ourselves in the technicalities ad infinitum. From my own practice I've learnt to be careful. Once I was working in a machine, I reached out inside the case and it rebooted; why? I know not and I honestly don't care. Neither did my then mentor: his first question was, "what were your hands doing inside the system whilst it was running?". I didn't have an answer as I didn't have a valid reason. Starting there I began to be careful about where I put my hands.

The next determinant was info I read in a computer book "The Absolute Beginner's Guide to Multimedia". That's where that expression "think that the inside of your computer is full of molten lava and you'll be fine" comes. Sound advice.

You start fiddling with things and see nothing happening, soon you get confident, then cocky, then regretful. You touch the north bridge heatsink and nothing happens, then you start wondering if you can hot plug a hard drive. What need, really?

[SARGE]

Originally Posted by strollin Just out of curiosity, why not?

checkmate.

Talking About Luck

[strollin]

The point I'm trying to make is that telling someone "Don't you ever touch anything inside when the system's running!" is extreme overkill. It's kind of like telling someone "Don't ever leave your house!". They are both statements that will protect a person to a certain extent but they are both too broad in scope to be practical.

Not only that but when someone tells me not to do something, I want to know the why's and why nots!

[quartet-man]

Originally Posted by Nuclear Krusader Once I was working in a machine,

That must have been a BIG case.

You start fiddling with things and see nothing happening, soon you get confident, then cocky, then regretful. You touch the north bridge heatsink and nothing happens, then you start wondering if you can hot plug a hard drive. What need, really?

I remember the instructor telling in Driver's Ed that beginners were normally not the ones who had accidents because they were careful. It was more often the ones who had driven for while who started getting cocky and arrogant and taking chances.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Originally Posted by strollin The point I'm trying to make is that telling someone "Don't you ever touch anything inside when the system's running!" is extreme overkill. It's kind of like telling someone "Don't ever leave your house!". They are both statements that will protect a person to a certain extent but they are both too broad in scope to be practical. Not only that but when someone tells me not to do something, I want to know the why's and why nots!

The emphasis with which the statement is said should denote it's a warning and not a prohibition. Sorry, but saying, "oh, and please, dear, be extra careful not to touch anything inside the machine because you could be tempted to unplug the data cable from the hard drive whilst Windows is busy writing to the swap file and then the machine would not boot and then most likely than not you will have to nuke and pave provided the hard drive hasn't been fried by a voltage surge in the range of 13.479734 V" is just not something that I'm going to be doing.

Case in point, once G told me in a thread not to tell the average user to turn off Windows updates. NO explanations; he merely said, "I understand where you're coming from but don't recommend that to the average user". Fine and done and done.

Maybe you served in the army or maybe you didn't. I did my service and my father raised me up military style, and from him and them I learnt that not always is an explanation of the whys and why nots of a command/suggestion going to be provided; yet one has to comply nonetheless. Sorry, but I cannot be typing in every single thread an explanation of every reason behind every piece of advice. Sometimes I just say, "avoid SSDs for now" and I am not going to type 30 lines with the reasons why in every single thread. I wonder, do you have to know the whys of every little single thing that happens in your running OS? If you do, then you're a software engineer and you'll never do a nuke and pave because you know exactly which registry keys to edit to solve any problem.

In the end, these forums are essentially guides and suggestions, nobody's holding anybody's hand and everyone does with his system as he sees fit. If you've got the know how, just ignore the warning.

My use of the exclamation marks might seem overkill and imposing, but I do it with the best of intentions to avoid someone potential grief. I'm not sorry that I am a man, who gets on with the business of trying to be helpful instead of wasting time saying things through the flowers to spare someone's feelings.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Originally Posted by quartet-man That must have been a BIG case.

It was huuuuge! Mini-tower, go figure.

Originally Posted by quartet-man I remember the instructor telling in Driver's Ed that beginners were normally not the ones who had accidents because they were careful. It was more often the ones who had driven for while who started getting cocky and arrogant and taking chances.

Don't they say that pride comes before the fall?

[SARGE]

Originally Posted by strollin The point I'm trying to make is that telling someone "Don't you ever touch anything inside when the system's running!" is extreme overkill. It's kind of like telling someone "Don't ever leave your house!". They are both statements that will protect a person to a certain extent but they are both too broad in scope to be practical. Not only that but when someone tells me not to do something, I want to know the why's and why nots!

Just trying to help. Most of us, and I'm all inclusive here, by the time we've reached our learned state, have done some dumb things and learned some hard lessons. We went diving off into something wanting to see how it worked, etc., or thinking we could fix something w/o having enough facts, and it went south, costing money and pride; prolly more than once. But an inquisitive mind will lead us to do that. We then share that experience by telling others basically to "not be like I was". If you knew someone who called you up, their car engine running and asking questions about under the hood stuff, you'd prolly be conservative and advise not to touch anything, all the while imagining their hand in a fanbelt or grabbing a 60k spark plug wire. Same with not letting a 2-year old play outside by themself. Call it overkill if you wish.

What Nuke prolly meant was that if someone hasn't toyed inside a case b4, best to begin with the system off and learn the parts. I've poked around inside of them alot but my reference above just proves my point. An oops that almost was.

I too want to know the "why's", as does every good technician. We learn by asking and having a few oops along the way. Ain't a good tech out there who ain't had a bunch of oops, but he never made the same one twice.

[glc]

Wow - this thread sure got off track!

Any feedback from the original poster?

[SARGE]

These things tend to take on a life of their own. I hope we didn't spook him. I'll check.