Ultimate XP Recovery Disks
Note. This is written for people who have experience with this sort of thing, so some details will be left out.
Requirements
The Ten Steps
1. Confirm that you can boot from CD. Most PC's shouldn't have a problem with this, but its best to check. Do this by entering the BIOS and changing Fist Boot Device to CDROM. Older PC's that don't support this will require boot disks.
2. Back up your data. All your files will be wiped clean during this project, sorry but that's the nature of the beast. So make sure your personal files, mp3's, images, videos, etc., are back up to another hard drive or some sort of removable media.
3. Collect the essentials. Make sure you have all the tools for the project ( See Requirements above). Also, to ease later steps, it would be good to have all your device drivers ready, so check your hardware and download all the latest drivers from the manufacturers website, and burn on a CD-R or CD-RW.
4. Format your drive. This is the point of no return. This is where you erase all the files on the drive, if you backed up your data u should have nothing to worry about. SAFETY TIP: If you backed up your data to another hard drive, disconnect it from your computer to ensure you don't accidentally erase it.
5. Install Windows XP. Much easier than previous windows incarnations, but it will still probably be the longest step, so pay attention.
6. Run Windows Update. Simple enough, go and get the latest bug and security fixes. Make sure you set up your internet connection first, may require NIC card drivers to be installed if you use broadband.
7. Install Drivers. Having the latest drivers is extremely important to a well-functioning machine. But be careful of what you install, some Vendor discs tend to contain tons of extra that you neither need or want (Creative Labs for example). So when installing from vendor driver pack, choose the minimum installation possible, so that you install only drivers. Also, make sure you have the latest drivers for your motherboard chipset, usually Intel or VIA but can also be ALi, SiS, nVidia or AMD. Having the latest chipset driver is more important than most people think.
8. Tweak XP. This is where you tweak the OS for maximum performance (display properties, internet security settings, etc.). For a more comprehensive, one step approach, check out programs such as TweakXP, that can provide easy access to all the XP tweaking options in one application.
9. Install your applications. Install the programs that you use most often. If you use a program rarely, there is not much point of have it on the restore disk(s). Also, run the programs once or twice to ensure that they installed successfully.
10. Create Restore Discs. This is the step that you will create the restore disc that will allow you to effortlessly refresh your system whenever you want. First install Drive Image 2002, choose default installation unless you plan to backup to a zip/jazz drive or a SCSI CD Burner. When asked to create rescue disks, make sure u have 2 floppies, these will help you re-image your drive if you can't boot to into windows.
When the wizard selection menu comes up, check the bos next to "Initial Backup Wizard" to continue with the default imaging process. Unless you want to modify the compression setting or tweak the amount of space that the images use on each CD, its best to stick with the defaults. Compression is automatically set to High, which takes up less space but takes longer to compress when creating the image. It doesn't make any sense to use no compression as it takes just a few extra minutes to create the initial images, and compressed images write back to the hard drive much, much faster than uncompressed images.
At the next screen, put a check mark next to your primary drive and insert a black CD into the burner. Then, click Next, pick your burner from the list, and click Finish. Make sure sure all your programs are closed, then press the Yes button to restart your machine and begin the process. Your drive will now be compressed and written to disc. Follow the onscreen instructions to exit the program. Don't forget to label your discs consecutively when your done. That's it, you've made a complete image of a pristine system. Now whenever you want a clean start you can use one of the following methods to restore your system to its original state. Remember that these processes will wipe out all your personal files, so be sure to repeat step 2 and back up your data.
Restoring From Windows (Easiest and Best)
If you can still boot into Windows then the process is easy. Just open up Drive Image within Windows ans cancel past the welcome screen. Insert Disc 1 of your backup discs into the CD drive and click the Restore Image option. Click "select image file" and point to the .pqi file on disc 1. Drive Image will ask you to insert disc 2, then disc 1 again - just follow the directions. Once that's done, click Finish, and insert discs as requested by Drive Image.
Restoring From CD
If you can't boot into Windows, and don't want to use floppies, then you can boot directly off the Drive Image CD itself. The CD will drop you onto the command line. When you see the A:\> on your screen type: D:\english\execute\pqdi.exe (where D is your CD drive) then press the Enter key. After the interface comes up, click the icon for Restore image, then point to disc 1, which you should place in your CD drive now. Then just follow the instructions. Note. It is possible to make the restore discs bootable.
Restoring From Floppy Disk
Restoring from floppies is the same as CD except you don't need to enter DOS. Pop in the first of the 2 floppies made when you installed Drive Image and reboot (make sure you set system to boot from floppy). Drive Image will ask you for the second floppy, and start up its GUI automatically.