How to Reinstall Windows XP on Dell Dimension 8200

A Windows XP desktop shot.

Sometimes Microsoft operating systems don't work right, no matter how many patches and updates you download. When this happens and your computer runs slower and slower, the only thing you can do to correct the problem is to reinstall the operating system. If you have a Dell Dimension 8200 reinstalling Windows XP is not difficult but it does take some time and patience.

Instructions

1. Back up your My Documents, Documents and Settings, and any information you've saved to folders on your C drive or desktop to CD.

2. Find the instructions from your Internet service provider for how to set up your network settings so you have it close by.

3. Collect all your software CDs such as your antivirus software, firewall, and any anti-spyware programs.

4. Collect all the installers for the latest drivers for your computer's graphics card and any other hardware.

5. Any software that you downloaded and that you don't have on CD needs to be downloaded to a CD so you can reinstall it afterward.

6. Put the Windows XP CD in your computer and then reboot your computer.

7. Follow the prompts on your screen to complete your reinstallation.

8. Reconfigure your Internet connection. You can do this by going to Start then My Network Places and selecting Create a New Connection. Then take the instructions from your Internet service provider and follow them.

9. Reinstall and update your antivirus, firewall, and any anti-spyware programs you use.

10. Check and see which of your drivers need to be updated. You can do this by going to the Start menu and right clicking on My Computer then selecting Properties, Hardware, and Device Manager. The drivers with a yellow question mark or a red exclamation point are the ones you need to update. A yellow question mark means that Windows is using a driver that is generic rather than the specific driver, and a red exclamation point means the driver isn't working at all.

11. Visit the vendors for any drivers you didn't already download the updates for. Once you have all the driver updates then install each one, rebooting Windows XP when it instructs you to do so.

12. Go to the Microsoft Windows Update website and click on Start and Windows Update. After that follow the prompts. You will be downloading many megabytes of information, so it might be a good idea to have something to do while your computer is doing this.

13. Install all your Windows updates.

14. Reinstall the rest of your software.

15. Replace all your data folders such as My Documents, Documents and Settings and any other folders that had saved information in them that are critical to your work with your computer.

Tips & Warnings

• Sometimes to save you and the company who manufactured your computer money, they will not provide a Windows XP CD. If this is the case then they have saved a copy of your Windows XP CD on your computer. You can find it by going to the Start menu, then My Computer and then the C drive and finally the folder that is titled i386. The file you are looking for is called winnt32.exe. Make sure you have backed up everything and saved a copy of this file to a CD first in the event you need it again in the future, before you run the re-installation of Windows XP. If you use Microsoft Office be sure and download and install any updates for those programs as well.

• Double check and make sure you have backed up all the information you need before doing a reinstallation of Windows XP because if you don't and you run the reinstallation, the information is gone forever since reinstalling your operating system wipes out whatever is on the hard drive.

Resources

• Windows Update
• Microsoft Office Updates
• How to Reinstall Windows XP Without the CD