Well reformating the PC was fun. Here is as good a place as any to document it, should I have the misfortune to have to go through it again. You never know, I may save someone from similar heartache, should they stumble upon this post sometime in the future.
Here's what you need to do (preferrably in this order!)
Export all your email accounts.
Export all your browser favourites.
(Optional) Export all your emails.
(Optional) Export all you web account settings.
Obtain the driver for your video card and any other bits of hardware that use non-standard drivers.
If you have a burner, the following maintenance will save you a lot of heartache in the future:
When you download new programs, save the install files to a separate directory called "Downloads" or something similar. Before a fresh install, back up this directory to disc.
If you have good clone software like "Norton Ghost", now's the time to put it to use. If you don't yet own "Norton Ghost" and you have the cash, it is a worthwhile investment, and I would recommend it for backups and crash recovery. Clone your drive (yes, I know it's going to take at least 8CDs, but you'll be thankful you did.)
Now for the format / install:
If you're unable to format your C drive, like I was, forget running a boot floppy. Boot floppies will not recognise your C drive if it is NTFS. (applies to NT, 2000 and XP). I found the easiest way around this was to install an OS that runs under FAT or FAT32. 98SE is perfect for this.
Next, run the boot floppy and format your C drive. Then run the 2000 disc and format. Depending on whether your drive will boot the 2000 OS, you may be able to skip the floppy boot.
Run the install, boot and load the driver for your video card. If you have the install files for your anti-virus or firewall software, install it before trying to connect to the internet.
Once connected, go straight to the updates site and download all the patches needed to get your system back up to date.
Viola! One functioning system. If you have "Ghost", install it. Anything that you forgot will be on the Ghost discs, which you can browse and extract.
One final thing, if you have Ghost, get the system to bare-bones functioning, so it is a nice lean, clean system with all the software and drivers required and then clone it. That way you can always go back to a system that is ready to go very quickly.
