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Question: how to wipe a computer clean and start over?

about every 3-6 months i like to wipe my computer clean and reinstall windows, however afterwards there is a lot of programs to put back on and settings to apply. is there a way to make a mirror image of the hard drive right after everything is set up the way i like so i can spend less time installing programs and what not. PLEASE DO NOT BRING UP SYSTEM RESTORE, ITS A JOKE.

ANSWER:

Answer by theghost1@rocketmail.com
Buy an external hard drive, backup what you want to save to it. When you’re ready, just transfer over.

Answer by cyber_toltec_cat
Here is a way called slipstreaming.

What is Slipstreaming? : It is a way of integrating service packs and other fixes back into the core OS, so that enterprise customers could always maintain an install set of the latest version of Windows, ready to be installed at any time on new machines. It was developed for NT, but became more refined for 2000 and XP and is basically a useful way to update your 2000 & XP CD’s to include the latest updates/patches and service packs.

Check these guides to get an idea (for XP SP1 and SP2): http://slipstream.windowsreinstall.com/slipstreamxpsp1.htm AND http://slipstream.windowsreinstall.com/slipstreamxpsp2.htm

Or try this search query for much more on the subject: http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu9pq_ENJIWMB1bdXNyoA?p=Slipstreaming+XP+step+by+step&y=Search&fr=sfp&ei=UTF-8

Hope this helps

Happy reading

QD 1956

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