Is reinstall really a clean install ? (Vista Home Premium SP1)

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I have a Gateway that came loaded with Vista and I reinstalled Vista by inserting the CD and following the instructions. I wanted to wipe the slate clean and do it my way. After the install, all my files were gone as was any software I have installed (Spy Sweeper etc.). However, I noticed a folder I had created was still there. The folder only had shortcuts in it, but this makes me wonder how “clean” this type of clean install is. I used to FDISK before I reinstalled. Shouldn’t there be an equivalent in Vista? Or am I splitting hairs?

Thanks,

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Sherry,
I have Vista Ultimate but I assume that Home Premium is the same. Is the copy of Vista a MS one or one that came from Gateway? If it’s MS:

When you boot to the Vista DVD ( CD ) you should see two choices.
1. REPAIR VISTA.
2. INSTALL VISTA.

IF you opt for INSTALL, then it should lead you through the steps to install a new copy of the OS, which should be as close to “clean” install as possible without reformatting.

I’m not sure if there would or could be a leftover folder from the old installation. What was the folder name that you found and where was it in the file structure of the C drive?

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Bob,
I did the “install” option and the folder I created was on the C-drive. It was where I put all the shortcuts for stuff I wouldn’t install (like AOL) that came loaded on the PC. I put them there so I wouldn’t forget about them. After the “clean” install that folder is still there. Makes me feel like I should research how to do a FDISK with Vista. Since I have the Gateway CD, can I FDISK like before? And then when I boot with the CD will it then install Vista? I was leery of this because this is the first time I don’t have the actual Windows CD that I purchased.

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You would have to reformat the disk to get rid of absolutely everything from the previous installation.

StuartR

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How do you do that with Vista? I have been searching on the Internet but haven’t found step-by-step instructions.

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Do you still have a floppy disk drive on your machine? If so,

Place diskette in the computer.

Open My Computer, right-click the A: drive and click Format.

In the Format window, check Create an MS-DOS startup disk.

Click Start ……..

If not go to BOOTDISK

and check out the options there to make a boot CD, etc.

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Bob,
I don’t have a floppy disk drive so I will have to create a boot disk.

Thanks much.

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If you have a bootable Vista DVD then you don’t need to do either of these.

StuartR

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But I think she said she just had a Gateway CD? So it’s probably a recovery CD.

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How do you do that with Vista?

For instance, Format A Partition Using The Vista DVD and many, many other webpages…

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That is exactly the process I followed which resulted in the folder being left intact. Before XP I used to use a boot disk and FDISK and then FORMAT my C drive. I don’t believe that process left anything intact. I don’t know how to do that in Vista. Or, possibly you can’t do it anymore.

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You do NOT want to use FDisk on a partition formatted for Vista. I’m not sure you can even do it, but I do know you do NOT want to try. If you really want to do a full format of the partition and re-install (fresh) Vista on it, you MUST use a formatting program that is “Vista compatible” so that it formats it with the correct (i.e., latest) NTFS configuration. There are at least two known programs that can do this: 1) Acronis Disk Director 10.0.2160+ and 2) Paragon Partition Manager 9.0+. Whether they new Partition Magic from Symantec/Norton has been updated to be Vista compatible, perhaps someone else can confirm one way or the other. I have personally used Paragon Partition Manager on several occasions to do various partitioning tasks for both XP and Vista and it works great. The “Pro” version is the way to go, IMHO, as it has important features which the Standard version lacks. BigAl Doc can testify to that one.

Either of those programs will do what you are wanting to do and do it correctly and do it well.

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Is there by any chance another partition on your computer that may be hidden and that may have a name like Factory Image?

My HP desktop does, and that can be used to both freshly format your drive (partition) to Vista specification and to restore the computer to the same state as it was in when you received it.

On the other hand, are you sure it really was the folder you created and not a folder that was pre-loaded by the manufacturer and which has now been re-installed to the same specifications as it had on the original computer?

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There is a D drive called Recovery which I assumed was were it stored info on restore points. I should check with Gateway though and see if there is such a thing. On your second question, yes, I created the folder to get all the shortcuts to pre-loaded junk out of the way until I am ready to deal with it.

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If it is a separate drive (partition) called Recovery it is virtually certain to be what you want if you want to restore your computer to its original state. It may be what you got your CD from or it may be equivalent to it. Gateway are definitely the people to tell you how to use it, and they will probably have the answer online.

Don’t do anything to change the contents of that partition, which will probably be read-only anyway. As soon as you have the machine restored, install your firewall and anti-virus and start installing updates. You will have to do that sooner or later, and immediately is best.

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