razz2

I have another 3 important questions: (1) If I do want to wipe out everything on "C" drive. What would you recommend to accomplish this task (a built in utility, a utility I could download from online, a utility I could purchase in a store, or some other means)? (2) Is it a problem to conduct this clean install if I currently only get 3 minutes before the blue screen appears? (3) IMPORTANT: Is there any way that an install can get buggered (by me not doing it correctly) to the extent that its no longer possible to install XP? I greatly appreciate your time. Thank you.

[quote name='GrofLuigi' date='Sep 19 2008, 01:48 PM' post='797767' One more thing - disconnect the E: drive during initial install so it would not mess up drive letters. After installation has completed, shut down and reconnect it. GL How would you disconnect E: drive?

I should add that I have another disk installed ("E" drive), so I have copied all my important personal files, documents and programs from "C" drive to "E" drive. This way I get to keep all my stuff :-)

I think you're right. I just do not seem to be able to fix whatever the darn problem is and it's best to do a clean install. This is not going to be easy for me because I don't know how so I'll have to find step-by-step instructions somewhere. One more thing, I have the XP Upgrade CD (because I upgraded from ME). Is it best to totally wipeout my "C" drive, buy a new XP CD and install that. My current CD only includes SP 1 so I would need hundreds of updates (SP2, SP3)?

I am able to get into Safe Mode via msconfig, not the normal F* way. After about 3-4 minutes it goes to blue screen again. About twice as fast as if I run in normal mode. I found this which I think will help: http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

I don't know if you can help regarding the following problem but, if you Can, I really need your help. Because my PC used to operate with ME and was updated to XP Home, my filing System was FAT 32. Due to the fact that NTFS is a better system, I decided To convert from FAT 32 to NTFS using the XP built-in converter. All went Well except for one major problem...after startup and after approx. 3 to 5 Minutes, a blue screen appears that reads: "a problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer BAD_POOL_HEADER" then the message goes on telling you lots more regarding Uninstalling any recent programs etc. (there has been no real recent Programs and naturally this error is caused by something to do with the Conversion). I tried rebooting many times and the same problem keeps happening. After Approx 5-7 minutes it reverts to the same blue screen message in ALL Circumstances..I.e.. If I log on as normal or if I don't log on and don't do anything. NOTE 1: someone suggested the following but it did not help "Switch off Microsoft's indexing service. You can do this by clicking the start button, select "Run", then type "msconfig", then select the "Services" TAB, Scroll down to the Indexing Service and Switch it off. Reboot your computer, and good luck - maybe it will work" NOTE 2: for some reason I am not able to get into Safe Mode now. Any suggestion on how to do that other than the usual way? If you can help solve this problem it would be very, very much appreciated. Needless to say, I am able to write to you because I am using my wife's Computer. Thank you for your time!

Thank you so much guys!

My OS is XP Home which was installed on the same PC that used to have ME; therefore, my filing system is still FAT 32. I would like to convert my FAT 32 system to NTFS. From what I have read I understand that this is possible and no data will be lost. I tried entering the following command: "C:\>convert C/FS:NTFS", but a message appears that states the command "is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file". I have two questions: (1) I was hoping there is a utility that I can download that would make conversion a lot easier, is there? (2) Am I correct in thinking that NTFS is a much better filing system than FAT 32 and therefore making converting worthwhile? Thank you so much for your time, I really appreciate it.

Thank you very much. I have been using CCleaner for some time now and you're right, it is a great tool.

Assuming you have plenty space on "C" drive, is deleting temp files enough to make sure there is enough room in temp folder for SP3 download ? How do you check how much space you have in temp folder? Your reply is greatly appreciated!

I downloaded SP 3 on my pC and all went well. I am currently in the process of downloading SP 3 on my wife's PC. I have closed all running programs including AV and Firewall software. Approx 60% completed (according to the progress bar), it appears as though the download is frozen because the progress bar has not moved for approx. 1 hour. Is that normal or has something gone wrong and, if so, what do you recommend? Thank you very much for your help!