How do I re-install Windows on my Dell?

Question

I would like to know how to erase my hard drive and the steps to reinstall win 95 then win 98, as I have corrupted files which I can not repair. Do I need to reformat my drive with win 98 ? or does it do this on its own ? I have a 4 GB hard drive.

Answer

This question was answered on June 13, 1999. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

Your profile says that you have a Dell computer, so you should have recieved a "recovery" CD when you purchased your system. Based on your question, it sounds like you have the Windows 98 upgrade disk. If so, run the recovery disk from Dell, then run the "setup" on the Window 98 CD. If you want to format your drive manually, you can reboot to DOS mode and type "format c:/s". Manual installations require you to have your CD-ROM driver installation disk available to re-activate your CD-rom drive for the installation of the OS. If you do not understand the above statements, DO NOT attempt this re-format and re-install on your own.

Author

Posted by Ken of Data Doctors on June 13, 1999