Re-installing Windows

[Grandpappy]

I'm going to format my hard-drive and re-install Windows, following instructions downloaded from Microsoft and I would like to know if there is a preferable procedure for getting my computer 'back to normal'?
I'm using a Dell Dimension 5150 with Windows XP Home Edition with SP3 with 2.5Gb of Ram & Pentium dual core running at 2.8Ghz. with a 150Gb. hard drive.
I've actually BOUGHT Office 2007 so I don't want to 'cock things up' again by installing things I didn't need and getting 'all sorts' of error messages.
I've been using AVG as security and Firefox & Thunderbird and have discs of Software purchased over the years.
Should I leave my internet connections (once I've reconnected them) or should I 'unplug' everything like printer,external drive,modem/router,etc.? Should I be creating restore points at every stage of each installation or install the basic minimum? and see how things run?
Any help/instructions etc. will be followed to the letter and I am NOT in a hurry to install - I just want to get it right,so many thanks to anyone who replies

Cheers

[MarkRae]

Firstly, this may not be important to you, but Windows XP is no longer covered by Microsoft's mainstream support:
http://support.micros...+Home&Filter=FilterNO

So, assuming that you don't care about that:

1) Download the latest AVG and copy it somewhere which isn't your machine's boot drive, e.g. a second hard disk, USB stick, whatever.

2) Make sure you have all your data backed up. This doesn't (necessarily) just mean your Office documents - it also means things like configuration files, your browser favourites etc. Almost all modern software persists user configuration data in the Windows registry but most applications have a facility to save this data to disk so that you don't have to set everything up again if you need to re-install.

3) Disconnect from the Internet. This may be as simple as unplugging the network cable out of the back of the machine or, if no-one else shares your Internet connection, switching off your cable modem and/or router.

4) Still disconnected from the Internet, reinstall Windows AND NOTHING ELSE! Ignore the nagging that it can't find an Internet connection for Windows Update, activation etc. Don't bother necessarily about configuring Windows at this stage...

5) Still disconnected from the Internet, install AVG from the USB stick (or wherever you saved it) and let it do its thing. Ignore the nagging that it can't find an Internet connection to update its database etc.

6) Still disconnected from the Internet, get AVG to do an entire disk scan. Assuming your Windows CD is genuine (!), there's be obviously no malware for AVG to find, but it will nag you until it's done its its initial scan.

<more to follow>

[MarkRae]

<continued>

7) NOW connect back to the Internet. Windows Update will almost certainly start running automatically but, if it doesn't, run it manually. You may need to do this several times before you have all of the latest critical updates, as some of them require reboots before others can be installed, especially on XP!

8) Once Windows has updated itself, go into AVG and update that. Again, you may need to do this more than once.

9) Configure Windows to your liking - desktop colours, screen resolution, wallpaper etc.

10) Now create a restore point - this is your "base system". If you have backup software e.g. Acronis, now would be the time to install it and take a complete system backup.

11) Install FireFox and Thunderbird, restoring any saved settings etc.

12) Install the parts of Office 2007 which you need - you don't have to install everything if e.g. you only use Word and Excel.

13) Run Windows Update again. It will (almost) certainly have picked up the fact that the machine now has Office on it. This may take a while, as there are several service packs and patches by now.

14) Install any Office add-ons as required, e.g. the "Print to PDF" add-on, etc...

15) Install any other software as required.

[Vagrant]

Depending on its age, your Dell might have a recovery partition, accessed by pressing F11 or (maybe Ctrl F1, can't remember) during the boot) - if it does, it'll make the initial load of Windows and all the Dell specific drivers a lot easier.

[Grandpappy]

Thanks for that MarkRae-
Does that mean I should be buying another computer with Windows7 or something? Or will there still be SOME support out there?
Cheers

[VHG]

>Or will there still be SOME support out there?

Millions of people are still running XP so Microsoft are not going to abandon it.

If there is a major problem with XP they will still fix it (i got some XP updates just today on this machine I am typing on right now).

[MarkRae]

> Millions of people are still running XP so Microsoft are not going to abandon it.

That simply is not true! End of mainstream support means exactly that - end of mainstream support. Microsoft will continue to supply security upgrades until total support eventually ends, but any operating system support is available only to people who have purchased an extended support agreement - which is incredibly expensive.

Loads of people are still using Windows 2000, Windows 98, even Windows 95 - Microsoft has TOTALLY ABANDONED any support for those, and XP is already heading down that inexorable path. This is the way of things. If you actually knew anything about how Microsoft functions, you'd know that...

[rojash]

"If you actually knew anything about how Microsoft functions, you'd know that... "
Oh, I think it's a fair bet that anyone working for IBM during the MS/IBM collaboration period will have a pretty good idea of how MS functions.

[Grandpappy]

I've been reading about what support Microsoft will give it's XP operating system and I think a change of operating system is called for. That said I've ordered Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit Edition Upgrade within the last hour.
This changes my question somewhat; do the suggestions made earlier still apply or is there a totally separate procedure now