Q: Ok, so basically I have my mom's old laptop. It moves slow and occasionally shuts off. I booted it up, pressed F11 and ran a FULL SYSTEM RESTORE. I then reset up the Windows XP (it was like I just bought the computer). Will this fix the problem or does this leave data on the HD that I need to completely wipe to get off. Essentially are the two the same? If I need to do the wipe, how should I do this?
A: You are looking to do a Full Destructive System Restore. This will remove all data and information, and after reinstalling windows, it will be like it was out of the box. I've done this in the past after it had so many "barnacles" on it, works like a charm.