How do you go about a clean install?

Hi,
I'm considering a format and clean install after a long time of not doing so. I have my WindowsXP disk and a disk with my drivers ready to go. I have all important documents and settings saved as well.

I was wondering how some of you go about a clean install. I'm thinking of setting up separate partitions and so on. Any advice is appeciated.

System:
HP 3.06 GHZ Pentium
1 GM DDR2 RAM
200 GB Seagate SATA HD

Partition and backup programs I have:
Acronis True Image 7
Seagate DiscWizard
Paragon Hard Disk Manager 8 Special Edition

 

If necessary Ill redo my customized Windows cd then I just do the format. I keep drivers and downloads on CDs and my personal files are on an external drive.

I do have a secondary partition but only for keeping backup images of the Windows partition.

 

1. The very first thing I did : turn OFF my internet connection.

2. Then I zeroed my first harddisk, which is my system partition [C:] without data, to make sure that any infection is gone.
That is the advantage of having your data on a second harddisk, you can do whatever you want with your system partition without losing any data, including emails.

3. Then I installed WinXPproSP2 with the original CD + ATI/NVIDIA/CREATIVE-drivers + WPA + WGA.
Then I took a backup of my system partition with ShadowProtect (SP).
In the future I can use that image to re-install my computer from scratch without doing it manually, which takes at least one hour to do this.
SP restores such an image in less than 1 minut and my computer is re-installed.

4. If you have softwares with nasty activations, install them first, activate them and take another image and your activation problems are solved forever.


5. Then reinstall the rest of your softwares.
If you have to go on-line to upgrade or activate them, keep the internet connection as short as possible.
Configure (settings) all your softwares as much as possible.
Take another image and keep all these images apart from your daily backup images and use them ONLY for restoration.

When you want to restore your system without infections, you can use these images, because they are clean.
I consider my daily backup images as possible infected, because they have been on-line TOO LONG and security softwares fail too much, while recovery hardly fails, if you have a reliable Image Backup software.

You will save alot of time and misery in the future, if you have these clean images.

The last thing you do is your Windows Update.

P.S.: You don't have to install your computer at once.
With your image backup software, you save and remove your actual setup and start with your new installation.
If it isn't finished take a backup of your new installation and restore your actual system.
Later on, when you have the time, restore your new installation and continue.

 

i think this is one of the priority when doing clean install.

After clean install....the next step to do is windows update before you install all your personal software (AV, Image software, etc.).


0.02cents

 

I always do an install and full update of XP and Office first, then do an image before I do anything else. That way I can always get back to that point if I don't like my software setup for one reason or another, and it saves me a couple hours' work...

 

After Windows Update, the volume of my backup files is doubled and I'm also questioning if I really need Windows Update or not.
If I replace my system partition with a new system partition during each reboot, why do I need Windows Update ?
Maybe I will use Windows Update for my on-line snapshot, but certainly not for my off-line snapshot. A fully patched WinXPproSP2 is also slower.

I don't use scanners anymore, too time-consuming and no cleaning guarantee (missing signatures, heuristic failures, false positives, incomplete removal, ...)

 

oh i see.

my system is different from you, so windows update is one of my priority...

- clean install
- turn OFF windows system restore and UAC
- update all driver and install PC utilities
- turn ON UAC, windows firewall and defender (before going online)
- update windows (after download is finish I turn OFF internet connection immidiately)
- Restart
- turn OFF UAC, windows firewall and defender
- install Anti virus
- install other software.
- defrag
- Run antivirus full scan
- install imaging software (Rollback)

thats it.

 

LOL. That is alot, I simply reboot and my system partition is replaced with a clean one and my reboot from desktop to desktop takes only 1m52s.

 

of course after that FIRST image i create from Rollback, it take me 12mins to restore clean image incase i'll do another clean install.

i think the threadstarter too have no save image yet, so he/she will start from scratch also.

 

That's why I'm telling him/her my method. I don't have to re-install my computer manually ever again, unless I buy a new computer with a new operating system.
I use the same images to create and re-create clean FDISR-archives + my freeze storage, which is also an archive.
I can replace my freeze storage with a total new contents and when I reboot, I have that total new contents.

 

Nice SetUp.

I research malware in depth and recently got back into the swing of things again, and it shows. But as luck would have it and my extended absence from researching over the past few weeks, i got bit by a mass file infector virus by leaving a critical defense gate down while examining some movements and even though my AV was able to restore usage of the system, it had scrambled code enough in some .exe programs that i had to overwrite them with fresh copies and just today done a reinstall myself. It's been a long time anyway since starting from square ONE for me.

My own technique goes on the order of something to this affect. FIRST i use Paragon's Hard Drive Manager (CD) to "delete" the partition OR whole drive.
I jockey with these methods and not always in the same order sometimes but either way, NEXT i use Darik's Boot & Nuke (CD) to scrape the platter (so-to-speak), THEN i use Active Kill Disk to "wipe" the metal disc of impurities (several choices of passes), The ZERO technique is a good one but i go a step further occasionally and select RANDOMS on top of ZEROES or vice versa.
THEN after i'm reasonably convinced the disk/partition is sufficiently cleaned i again turn to Paragon's CD to FORMAT (with it, not XP cd) the drive/part with NTFS, and partition sometimes while i'm at it.
In my experience the more PASSES i place on the drive WIPE the faster the XP Pro install disk progresses.

That's about it. My own basic routine is simple but appears very efficient.

With that i've finally rid myself of the after affects of getting bit (virus) and the extra time spent MOVING & REPAIRING a ton of programs & files has knocked some sense in my head this time i hope.

 

Hello,

Pen + paper - write down what you want to do.

I would go about like this:

- Decide how I want to arrange my data and partition accordingly.
- Complete clean install - delete the partition table and make new partitions.
- Install Windows XP.
- Image the Windows partition.
- Install Drivers.
- Image the Windows partition.
- Install firewall + firefox.
- Windows updates (except WGA).
- Image the Windows partition.
- Install other programs as needed, visual tweaks etc.
- Make sure everything works as needed.
- Image the Windows partition.

Happy happy joy joy...

As a rule, no need for heavy anti-x software.
Replace most if not all default MS apps with good alternatives, mostly open-source.

Mrk