I have a 6 year old Hewlett Packard Pentium 4 pc which I want to completely start again - is this possible ??
I have nothing that needs saving and want to start again completly wiping the hard drive and re-installing windows xp.
Thx

Jules, February 2010

ok all you need to .to put this back to factory settings.
go the site of the make of the pc.
select your system from the list.
add the serial numbers surplyed.
this will take you into the driver section.
its all listed.click the download.burn to a dvd disc.x2
will be required.number the discs .(REBOOT-1) etc
this will install the drivers and windows.for your machine. if your stuck email me.freee

harry fisher, March 2010

Did you have something along the lines of a 'Software Recover Disk' provided with your PC? If so this will enable you to re-load the operating system completely. You will usually have to boot off this CD-ROM, so insert the disk into your CD-ROM drive, and re-start the PC.

You SHOULD have some form of menu-driven instructions presented on the screen, with options to re-install your operating system, recover files etc. However I've never done this with a HP computer, only Dell and Fujitsu ones previously. I'd be surprised if HP didn't have a good recover disk, they are usually very good at this sort of thing.

I think you are already aware of this, however you will lose absolutely EVERYTHING you've had on your PC once you've performed this. So save any files you need, Web browser favourites, etc. Also you may need to ensure you have all the correct drivers for your various connected devices, such as printers, broadband modems etc. Windows SHOULD pick them up automatically, but it doesn't hurt to prepare!

Don't be daunted - it's worth doing this every now and again. You'll probably find your PC will run a lot smoother once completed.

Good luck!

Ross, February 2010