Q: Ok, i have Windows Xp Home Edition, and really everytime i play a game or run Firefox it Lags about 100K,000 on the Task Manager processes, What i would like to do is have this computer just like i bought it from the store, i want to completely format my computer, but i do not have a CD Installation. How can i do it? Any ideas would be great.
A: Depending on the manufacturer you do not need to image disk to restore your system back to factory condition. Well, you do need to Drivers and Utility disk, but you can even get by without that if you must. However, you also need to know that you can request both disks from the manufacturer, all you need to do is pay for shipping. Now, most prebuilt systems have a hidden partition which stores the image for restoring to factory condition. A keyboard combination is used to access this process. What your keyboard combination is depends on your manufacturer. What you can do is log onto your manufacturers website, and browse to the Support area. If you want to get to Drivers and Downloads for your particular system, click on the Drivers and Downloads link in the Support area, then enter either your make and model, or the Service Tag number. If you have a Dell you can locate your Service Tag in the All Programs Menu under Dell. In addition, the major manufacturers, and even a few smaller manufacturers, have User Forums where you can request assistance from other users of your computer brand. These folks who assist are all volunteers, do not get paid, nor are employees of your system builder. Be sure to check out your forums. There are also other forums on the web where you can receive really good technical assistance from more expert users. Many of these volunteers are experts in their technical fields, yet offer this out free of charge for the technical community. Be sure to take advantage of all the resources available to you. These forums are especially helpful after your warranty period has expired. I always tell people they should buy an extended warranty for their system because they will not throw it out in a single year, and the technical support is well worth the additional small price. You can always add onto your warranty period after the fact, though it does cost a bit more down the road. It is well worth the price, I cannot stress that enough. I am going to give you two links. These are both good technical forums, and you can read posts without joined to your hearts content. I have learned a lot just reading posts at my favorite forums. You can often find answers to issues without asking a question because many people come before you with similar questions and issues. In fact, visitors and members are encouraged to first do a search of the archived topics to see if they can solve their issue without putting up a repeat question. Here you go: Bleeping Computer: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com Freeware and Shareware: http://groups.msn.com/FreewareandShareware/welcome.msnw Now, Freeware and Shareware may sound like an odd name for a technical support forum. They started out as a test forum of all types of freeware and shareware available for download. Much of this stuff is junk, and often worse than junk can put malware on your system or simply cause all sorts of issues as though it were malware all on its own, and some is very difficult to get rid of once installed. This site quickly become well known as a place for technical support. What is unique about this one is that it has a chat facility where users can go to allow experts to remotely correct issues for the most inexperienced users. Of course, a trust relationship must be formed if you were to allow somebody to remotely fix your system. Remember to go to your manufacturers website and find the directions for restoring your system to factory condition. Also, it would behoove you to phone them up and request your disks. Be sure to ask for both the Restore disk, or hopefully your OS image disk, which is the better of the two because you can perform both a repair installation or a clean installation. The first allows repairs to be made without loss of data, the second installs a fresh installation of your OS without any junk on it. Request your drivers and utility disk too. Good luck and have a nice weekend. I hope you get your system back to factory defaults soon, and can play your games as you like.