Reinstall Windows

Part Three

Those who have followed our reinstall Windows series will be pleased to know that by the end of this final Workshop, you'll have a fully functioning PC a gain This Workshop only applies to Windows 95/98 users, as Windows Me users won't be given the luxury of choosing which element they would like to include. However, Me users can still add and remove elements by going to the control panel and double clicking Add and Remove programs and then clicking on the Windows setup tab.The dialogue box that appears will be almost identical to the one described in step 4 of this workshop.

Step 1

Reboot your PC with the Windows Startup disk we made in Part one (Windows 98 users choose 'start computer with CD-Rom support'). When your machine has stopped responding, at the A:\> prompt type ?:\ (? being the letter assigned to your CD-ROM type. Setup and press Enter. First you will asked if Windows setup can perform some checks on your system. You don't have any choice. So press Y then enter. Your Hard Drive will be checked by Scandisk for errors. when finished push the X Key.

Step 2

After the process has finished. Windows will go about the task of setting Itself up on your machine. First you'll be presented with a welcome screen - click on continue. On the following screen you will be asked to Select the folder where you want to install Windows 98'. On-screen will be two options - click on C:\WINDOWS so that a black dot appears next to it, then click on Next. It is possible to install to a different folder but for convention we'll stick to the usual procedure for now.

Step 3

Next,Windows will prepare the folder for the installation. At this stage you II be offend a lot of options regarding the type of install you like to perform. Usually, if you aren't sure which option Is best, choose Typical Install (or Compact if you're a bit short of hard disk space). However we're going to check the Custom option and click on Next. Try and remember the significance of Compact and 'Typical installations because software that occupies a lot of hard disk space will often give you these options and you'll probably come across It again.

Step 4

The Custom install option allows you to decide which Windows components are to be installed on your PC. Don't panic - the process is safe because all the components essential to Windows' smooth functioning are automatically installed and all you're choosing is the extra goodies and frills. Even if you realise later that you haven't installed a component you need, you can add it in by double-clicking on the Add Remove Programs option in your Control Panel, clicking on the Windows Setup tab, and going through the same process described here. First of all, notice that when you double-click on a check box, another dialogue box full of check boxes opens up. These are all the components available under a particular heading. For example, Accessories will include options to install Calculator, Imaging, Paint, Screensavers and so on. By putting a tick in the overall category, you enable all of the components - by double-clicking you can install individual components of the category.

Step 5

Once you have made all of your choices click next The following screen will then ask you for your name and the name of the computer. These pieces of information don't matter too much unless the machine Is on a network. Nevertheless fill them in as best you can and then click Next.

Step 6

At this stage you'll be asked to specify the keyboard layout and the region in which you're living. Next to the Keyboard Layout option it should say British. If it doesn't,' highlight the option and click Change. A dialogue box with a list of every keyboard layout in the world will appear. Find British/United Kingdom in the list, Failure to do this will result in you not being able to find the © sign or speech marks because different nations assign the characters on their keyboards to different keys. Again, this can be rectified later but you may as well save yourself the trouble. Make sure the region setting is on English (British). If it isn't, highlight the settings then click on change, find British in the list and click on OK

Step 7

Next you'll be prompted to make a Windows startup disk. This is always worth doing because You never know when you might need it. So find yourself a blank floppy disk put it in the drive and click OK. Windows will now write all the files needed to start your computer onto the floppy disk. After Windows has finished it will let you know that it is ready to start copying files and begin the real business of setting up Windows. When all the files have been copied over, Windows will prompt you to remove the floppy disk from the disk drive (regardless of whether there is one in there or not) then restart the machine. There is a possibility you won't be given this option - if so, make yourself a startup disk after Windows has finished setting up.

Step 8

After your machine has rebooted, you will be asked to type the name of your Business (make one up if you have to) and your name. After you've done this, click next. On the next screen you'll be prompted to read the licence agreement. Do so,Then check the 'I accept' option, then click next. You've reached the final hurdle - now all that remains is to type the serial number that came with your Windows CD-ROM. it may be on the CD-ROM case itself or on the Windows User manual that came with the CD-ROM.

Step 9

The Next option you'll have to tackle is the Establish location screen. Find 'Greenwich Time' in the list. This step makes sure that your clock is correct (although you might have to tweak it a little bit) and it allows Windows to automatically implement the 1hr time difference incurred by the transition from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean and vice versa. Once you're happy with the setting, click next. You're not asked to make any more decisions - Windows will now detect all the hardware in your computer and restart several times until it's start Windows for the first time.

The End