basic Windows installation question

[npish]

just curious about others' methods for performing clean installs of Windows on their ThinkPads; my T60p came preloaded with XP, but I qualified for the free Vista Business upgrade; so when I do a clean install-- which I like to do from time to time to clean out the "gunk"-- I usually boot from the Vista install disc, choose "custom install", delete the main partition, recreate it, then format it.

are there other preferred methods for performing such an installation? I'm also curious, deleting & formatting the partition doesn't actually fully delete the data on the HDD, correct? if this is the case, what's a better method for completely clearing out the partition for a new OS installation?

thanks for any insight.

[Marin85]

are there other preferred methods for performing such an installation? I'm also curious, deleting & formatting the partition doesn't actually fully delete the data on the HDD, correct? if this is the case, what's a better method for completely clearing out the partition for a new OS installation?

As for a clean install of Vista, using the Vista DVD is the most straight-forward one, everything else (like installing an OS from a USB flash memory etc) just promises problems Also, it is correct that after performing the the format procedure offered by Vista install program all previous data won´t be physically deleted from the HD. However, this doesn´t make it less good than any other deleting and formatting, in other words, what Vista setup program does is pretty good enough to install probably any NTFS-based OS on that.
As for deleting data from the HD, your main concern could be if you have some very sensitive data like of matter of National Security In this case performing the above formatting procedure won´t be enough, even installing Vista on the top of that won´t be enough (though some of the date will be over-overwritten). Let me put it that way: if you don´t use any special piece of software to erase your sensitive data in a non-OS typical way, CIA or any other organisation with similar resources will be able to restore most of those data since they will be still present on your HD in some particular physical way.

Cheers

Marin

EDIT: And to guarantee that really and that means really nobody will be ever able to read those sensitive data you will actually need something more than software, you will need special piece of hardware for that purpose (provided you´d like to keep your HD, otherwise you could of course physically destroy it...).

[npish]

thanks for the response, Marin; here's a related question: is it in anyway harmful to perform the Vista DVD install as described repeatedly over time? I pose this question because I like to "freshen" up my machine every six months or so, and after my most recent install, I noticed some erratic behavior with my HDD-- almost like it would get stuck for a few minutes, with the access light blinking in regular intervals, and the screen locking up-- and I began to worry that perhaps doing regular reinstalls in this manner could be potentially destructive in some way (?)

btw. I've come to the conclusion that my drive has a bad sector, and I've ordered a replacement from Lenovo.

[basketb]

An alternative is to get a hold of the Lenovo Vista Business restore CDs/DVDs for your system and use those (can be gotten from Lenovo for a fee or possibly cheaper on ebay or in the marketplace here). That way your computer will be as if it had left the factory with Vista installed (many people wouldn't call this a clean installation, however, I do).

[Marin85]

thanks for the response, Marin; here's a related question: is it in anyway harmful to perform the Vista DVD install as described repeatedly over time? I pose this question because I like to "freshen" up my machine every six months or so, and after my most recent install, I noticed some erratic behavior with my HDD-- almost like it would get stuck for a few minutes, with the access light blinking in regular intervals, and the screen locking up-- and I began to worry that perhaps doing regular reinstalls in this manner could be potentially destructive in some way (?)

It would be potentially destructive only if there is something "destructible" in your HD like the bad sectors you referred to, otherwise not. The only problem you may run into due to the multiple installs is of a licesing matter. I believe on your third reinstall of Vista (within a year) you will have to call M$ for activation and tell them your story (or just some nice story to convince them to do for you what you want them to do ). AFAIK, per default you cannot perform more than 2 installs of Vista (with the same key) within a year unless you have a volume license which would allow you to install and reinstall as many times as you want (using one and the same key).