Q: So I have a desktop I built myself with around 400gb of memory space, and over the years a lot of crap have been building up. I wanted to backup certain programs and files I want to keep, then wipe everything clean by reinstalling windows. I used the windows CD that came with the computer, and seemingly reinstalled everything. But now, when i turn on my computer, it gives me two Windows XP Home edition options, one leading to the newly installed system, the other to my old system with everything from before. I'm very confused right now, what did I do wrong? And what do i have to do to get rid of the old operating system? how do i delete the previous installation and repartition?
A: Everyone else is right, you need to delete the old partition entirely. However, I suggest a tool: download and burn a Gparted live cd from Sourceforge and run that first. It uses a graphical environment that shows you your drive(s). It easily allows you to reformat and alter partitions. I prefer it over the native Windows tool. Also, to burn the cd, I suggest using the Alcohol 120 trial version. Both tool sources listed below. Good job on making your own rig.