And before you start with the formatting and reinstallation process, make sure you have all your software installation disks, driver disk/recovery disk (that should have come with your computer) and make sure you have saved any emails with software registration keys to a safe location (any location other than the hard drive you're about to format). You can use a flash drive to save your registration emails if you like - or you can put them on the CD/DVD with the other files you've backed up. But, whatever you do, save them somewhere OFF your hard drive and note where you've saved them.

And one more thing. Do not install Norton again. Install something less pervasive and less resource-intensive. Install AVAST anti-virus or AVG and a good free firewall like Kerio (free version for home/personal use). Add www.avast.com and http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Kerio-Download.cfm to your Favorites. That way you'll be able to find them fast after you've reinstalled Windows. The first thing you're going to have to install is an anti-virus program - so install AVAST (free for home and personal use) before you install any other programs. It is far less resource-intensive that Norton and gets along much better with other programs than Norton. It's a lot more user-friendly and doesn't put its fingers into everything on your computer, like Norton. Plus you won't be held hostage every year and have to pay their ransom each year just to keep your computer protected. In other words, you'll save a lot of money too. Your computer and your wallet will thank you!

Since you're going to lose your favorites if you don't save them, back them up too. If you want to do it the easy way, download a copy of Email Backup Guardian (the trial version is free for 15 days and it will backup your Favorites, your email messages, account settings, etc.. And, the trial version will function just fine - you don't need to buy it unless you want to use it longer than 15 days...which we hope you will!) And make sure you save the backup file that Guardian creates to another location other than your hard drive. You can put it on the CD/DVD with your other backups if you want. Just remember you're going to have to move it back to your hard drive (after you get done reinstalling Windows) before you can use the "RESTORE" feature to restore your email and Favorites.

Oh and one more thing too. If you have a lot of passwords/usernames for sites you need to log into, we strongly suggest you download Roboform and set it up. Once you have it set up, make sure you use its backup feature to backup your Roboform to another location (other than you hard drive).

Are you getting the idea that proper preparation is the key to a successful reinstall of Windows? It is and you're going to be glad you took the time to be as thorough as you can before proceeding. 

And now that you've done everything above and verified your backup data and made sure it's all safely stored on CD or DVD you can now boldly go where many fear to go. You can begin the process of wiping out your hard drive and reinstalling Windows XP.

But wait! Remember the information below assumes you have a Windows XP CD! We cover what you need to do if you don't have a Windows XP CD later :-)

While you're in Windows, insert your Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD drive. Let the CD auto play. And choose "To set up Windows now press ENTER". On the next screen choose "To continue installing a fresh copy of Windows...press "ESC". This is what you want to do. So press the ESC key and choose C:\Windows "Microsoft Windows XP Home" (or "Microsoft Windows XP Professional if you have the PRO version).

A fresh installation will wipe out ALL of your data. That means EVERYTHING including Norton (yeah!) and Microsoft Office, Outlook, etc. Once started, the setup program will run on auto-pilot for the most part. But you'll have to stick around because you will be required to enter the 25 digit Windows key (it will be on a sticker on the back of your computer - most likely). After Setup is nearly complete you'll need to give your computer a name, choose your time zone, etc.  You  can install additional features and change any of your choices anytime after Windows XP is completely installed.

Once the Windows XP installation is finished you will need to install your drivers first (from the driver disk provided by your computer manufacturer). To see a graphical tutorial on reinstalling Windows XP using the Windows XP CD, see this page.

Now, what happens if you don't have a Windows XP CD? Then you probably have a so-called recovery disk. This makes things easier for you, because the recovery disk will restore you computer to the same condition it was in the day you turned it on for the first time. That's good and bad. It's good because it's easy. All you have to do if follow the instructions that came with it. It's bad because it's probably going to put all the junk back on your computer that was on it when you bought your computer. This is not the way to setup Windows if you want the best performance and the purest installation. But it is the simplest way. If you have both a recovery disk and a Windows XP CD, we'd advise you to go with the CD installation as described above.

After you're done with reinstallation of Windows XP (or using the recovery disk) you should find that once you've reinstalled all your programs (and we're warning you again, take that Norton Internet Security Disk you bought and throw it away or give it to someone you don't like - because it will slow your computer down at best and conflict with lots of software programs and cause you great aggravation at worst. And who needs that? Not us. Not you.

Let us know if things work out for you. We'd really like to know. And most of all, we hope this helps you and others who have incurable computer problems :). Sometimes the easiest thing to do seems like the hardest thing to do at first.