Uninstall///reset windows

[SPKmes]

Ok...where to start...I bought a PC from a crowd a couple of years ago for my boy who is now 11....It is a reasonable PC and I don't need to upgrade it for him just yet as he can play all the games he wants to right now...The problem however is that it has started to slow down due to the amount of rubbish he has downloaded over the years...I have tried to get rid of most of it and we have got it back to a standard that is Ok but I told him I want to take it back to the original state (fresh install).....It has windows XP prof on it...I have a key for it but no installation disc.....but I have many XP home discs from PC's gone by and now have a spare key from a redundant PC for home...

So my question is..is there a way to restore the OS he has installed now without a disc....and/or is there a way to remove the pro version so I can install Home version instead.....I know I can load a secondary OS but then I still have all the junk still attached to the PRO version that I will need to get rid of....

[CRYPTIC]

just put the home in and it will wipe the drive.If he has anything he wants copy it first put it on a disk.
 You can also download service pack 3 and put it on a disk, just save you from doing the windows update and the 80 something files.It is safer this way you won't be as likely to get a virus. It will load service pack 3 in minutes compared to the hour it takes with update. just goggle service pack 3 install disk.

[SPKmes]

just put the home in and it will wipe the drive.If he has anything he wants copy it first put it on a disk.
 You can also download service pack 3 and put it on a disk, just save you from doing the windows update and the 80 something files.It is safer this way you won't be as likely to get a virus. It will load service pack 3 in minutes compared to the hour it takes with update. just goggle service pack 3 install disk.

I was hoping I could do that but it just comes up with a boot error and won't allow the Home disc to take charge...I will try this again and change all boots to CD...see if that works 

Thanks

[TilDeath]

First and fore most make sure the key you have will work with the copy of the OS you plan on installing.  Next enter the BIOS and have the system boot to the CD/DVD drive first.  When you restart the system it will say press ENTER or PRESS ANY KEY if you want to boot from the CD/DVD.  Once there make sure to remove the partition (this will show and you push D then L then something else I forget.  Then create a new partition and install your OS to on that partition.

WARNING:  make sure you get all the information from the DEVICE manager on whats installed and make note of the MB model number so you can get the Chipset drivers, Lan drive (if it has onboard Lan, Sound etc etc,

My $1.00 / $2.50 worth

TD

[SPKmes]

First and fore most make sure the key you have will work with the copy of the OS you plan on installing.  Next enter the BIOS and have the system boot to the CD/DVD drive first.  When you restart the system it will say press ENTER or PRESS ANY KEY if you want to boot from the CD/DVD.  Once there make sure to remove the partition (this will show and you push D then L then something else I forget.  Then create a new partition and install your OS to on that partition.

WARNING:  make sure you get all the information from the DEVICE manager on whats installed and make note of the MB model number so you can get the Chipset drivers, Lan drive (if it has onboard Lan, Sound etc etc,

My $1.00 / $2.50 worth

TD

Cool cheers tildeath.... Yes the windows disc is for the key I have....so all should be good.

[Bizman]

Instead of doing a reinstall you could give some known good freeware cleaner products a try. It may save you some hours trying to find all the necessary drivers and reinstalling all the necessary programs. OTOH the time spent can also lead to a reinstall anyways. Here's what I usually do to slow machines owned by my clients:

• check the amount of free disk space. Over 50% occupied space starts to show.
• get rid of unnecessary registry entries and temp files with Ccleaner and/or Regseeker
• run checkdisk a couple of times either from within Windows or rather from Recovery console of a Windows installation disk (any version will do)
• run defrag
• check the amount of RAM. Just a few years ago the common amount for XP was 512 Mb, which hardly is sufficient for Windows itself after updates and ServicePacks. 2 Gb is sweet, 1 doable. Add some virtual memory, if you add RAM
• in System Properties/Advanced/Performance: Settings/Visual effects first disable all eye candy, then add a few. I like having Smooth edges on fonts and Drop shadows for icons. Common tasks in folders is also useful.

And FYI: In case you can find an installation disk for XP Pro, there's two versions of it, retail and corporate whose serial numbers don't mix.