Please read all instructions ahead of time, you may even wish to print them if you are new to this.
Doing a Clean Install of Windows XP can be troublesome at times.. loss of data, or just plain hard if you don't know what to do!
This tutorial will allow you to perform a clean installation of XP, without data loss, and do it for free*
*(exluding the cost of Windows XP
)
Tips to follow before you even think of doing the inevitable
format.
Make a list of:
1) all the programs you had installed, that you will want to install again.
2) all the files you wish to keep (perhaps arrange them in a single folder)
3) make a note of ALL harware deviced you had drivers for.
Doing these 3 things will save you time and effort during and after the format/installation.