[gemorc]

I have an old Dell laptop that has seen much better days. Now, the hard drive is so full of junk and out of date software, I am thinking about formatting the disc and starting over. I am hoping to be able to use this machine as a simple word processor. Is this possible? What start up disks will I need. I have Windows XP and Microsoft Office that I can put on later. Please advise.

[Tom Hannon]

Stay away from Vista. Why not just clear out all the programs and files and start over with the OS you have. If the laptop is to be only a word processor it should be fine.

[pauld315]

You could try contacting Dell if you don't have the original CD's that came with the system. For a nominal fee they may be able to send them to you. These CD's will restore your system to its original state when purchased. Then, you just need to install Office.

The problem you oftern run into just trying to install an OS is that the drivers needed may not be available depending on how old the CD is. Oftentimes, manufacturers of laptops have customzed drivers to be used with their systems.

[zcaveman]

Originally Posted by Tom Hannon

Stay away from Vista. Why not just clear out all the programs and files and start over with the OS you have. If the laptop is to be only a word processor it should be fine.

I agree. Go to Add/Delete and get rid of all of the old programs and use Windows Explorer and get rid of all of the old folders/files.

[Yoda]

Originally Posted by gemorc

I have an old Dell laptop that has seen much better days. Now, the hard drive is so full of junk and out of date software, I am thinking about formatting the disc and starting over. I am hoping to be able to use this machine as a simple word processor. Is this possible? What start up disks will I need. I have Windows XP and Microsoft Office that I can put on later. Please advise.

You will need the disks that came with the computer. Or, you may be able to find software on Craigs list.

Good luck

[jblum8156]

Don't format if you don't have the disk. I agree with Hannon above. Delete programs and files.

[RVRoadie]

If you want to breathe new life into your old Laptop, ditch windows and go with a free version of Linux. My son did that a few months ago and has been happy with the results. Plenty of free software for what you want to use the laptop for. If you are interested, pm me and I will have him send you some instructions.

[Russ_Boston]

If you have the XP full disk you can just completely Fdisk the entire drive and start fresh. You'll need to change your boot up to make sure it looks in the disk drive for the CD instead of trying to boot from the hard disk. From there things usually go smooth if you have an internet connection (hard wire not wi-fi) already to go. Generally all the drivers that are needed can, and will be, download with ease.

I've done this numerous times on my desktop with XP. Not sure if laptop would be different.

You could also ditch the XP and go with a Linux version as mentioned above.

[cybermuda]

CCleaner is a free download that will analyse your hard drive and clean up a lot of junk, as well as tidy up your registry

Download this from the internet and run it once you have uninstalled any programs you no longer need

Be careful not to run any other "free" programs from the net, many of which tend to be scams (they all find hundreds of errors but you have to pay to fix them)

I have used CCleaner on several computers for the past three years and have had no problems with it