How to reinstall your computer

Sometimes the only way to get your computer up and running again is to reinstall it.

Reinstalling the computer involves the hard disk being wiped, and a completely fresh version of Windows being installed. It is very important to back up your computer (if it works enough to do this!) before reinstalling, as everything on the computer will be deleted. See backing up your computer (backup.doc). If you can not back up your system because it won’t boot up, there are other ways of doing this, but these tend to be much more involved or cost lots of money. If you want information on how to do this, email support@aidis.org, and we’ll give you some alternative suggestions.

You will not be able to back up any programs you have installed, either, so make sure you keep the disks for all of your programs. You will also have to recreate your internet connection, so make sure you keep details for this too, including your email address and password.

The reinstall will follow three main routes, depending on what your computer manufacturer has provided you with.

You will either have:

• a recovery CD specific to the computer manufacturer, sometimes with driver and software CDs;
• a Windows CD and some driver and software CDs;
• a hidden partition (section) of your hard disk with your recovery information on. This partition can also be supported by a boot CD or floppy disk.

To reinstall the computer, firstly check to see if you have any instructions which tell you how to do this. If you do have any, follow these.

The instructions below are based on how you reinstall a computer with a recovery CD and driver CDs. This method is very similar to that needed if you have a Windows CD and driver CDs. The process isn’t quite so automated if that is the case, but it is simple enough to pick the right settings. If you have a hidden partition, you usually have to either boot from a CD (as in steps 1-5 below), or press a key when you turn the computer on (for example C if you have an E-machine computer)

Reinstalling your computer from a Recovery CD

1. Insert the recovery or Windows CD.
2. Restart the computer.
3. The computer needs to boot from the CD. If it has done this, the message "press any key to boot from CD" should appear on the screen. Now press any key. If this message hasn’t appeared, and the computer looks like it usually does and is trying to boot into Windows, you need to change some of the BIOS settings. The BIOS is part of the computer which controls the motherboard and the order in which the computer boots up.
4. To get to the BIOS, restart the computer. You will very briefly see a screen which says something similar to "Press F1 (or F2 or F12) to enter the BIOS".
5. Once you’ve managed to change the computer to boot from the CD, return to item three above.
6. After you’ve booted from the CD, the screen will change to one entitled something like Windows Setup or Manufacturer Recovery (where Manufacturer is the name of your computer manufacturer).
7. Allow this process to complete (up to 30mins), and the computer will re-boot itself. During this re-boot, do not press any key to boot from CD - let the computer boot into your newly-installed version of Windows.
8. Complete the Windows setup if asked to - usually by clicking on next or skipping, putting in the name of the user you want to have in the user screen.
9. If you are asked for your Windows product key, this will be somewhere on your computer case (desktop) or on the bottom of your computer (laptop). It looks something like this:

The XXXXXs will be replaced with your individual key.

10. Once the setup is complete, the computer will start up and go to the desktop. You next need to reinstall all of the system software and utilities, such as anti-virus, and reinstall the drivers to give sound and get the modem working. If any of the programs ask you to restart the computer, do this and carry on to the next step.
11. Insert a driver or software CD.
12. A window should pop up with options to install the programs or drivers. Follow the instructions through to install the program of driver.
13. To reinstall the printer, unplug the printer cable from the computer, and insert the printer driver CD. Follow the instructions, including reconnecting the cable when told.

Your computer should now be up and running, and work properly again. Now you can to put all of your backed-up information onto the computer!

To do this, insert your backup CD or DVD, and copy all the files back to their original locations.

To put your emails back into Outlook Express, follow the instructions below:

• copy the email folder from your CD to the desktop;
• open Outlook Express;
• click File - Import - Messages;
• select Microsoft Outlook Express 5 or 6, then click Next;
• select Import Mail from an OE6 (or OE5) Store Directory, then click OK;
• browse to the email folder and click Next.

If you can’t import the emails, and get an error message:

• open the emails folder on the desktop and type Ctrl+A to select all the files;
• on the folder toolbar, click File, then Properties;
• in the box that opens, make sure Read Only has no check mark in it, (there may be a greyed-out tick in it - just click the box);
• click OK, and you should now be able to open Outlook Express and import your messages.