reinstall windows

Infopackets Reader Harry V. writes: " Dear Dennis, My Windows 10 PC recently updated, but got stuck in an automatic repair boot loop. Now it won't boot into Windows. To fix this, I created Windows Install media on a USB thumb drive using another PC, ... then I booted off the thumb drive on the broken PC and reinstalled Windows. I am now trying to partition the C drive into two partitions (C and D), with C containing only the operating system and D drive containing my user data. When I use disk management (diskmgmt.msc) to shrink the C drive, it tells me there isn't enough free space to shrink the ... (view more)

Microsoft may be ending the need to have a physical disk to reinstall Windows 10. A 'Cloud Download' option could save time and hassle. At the moment, the main way to reinstall Windows is to use a recovery disk (or a copy of the relevant files kept ... on a hard drive or USB device.) That's got a few limitations, most notably that not everyone who gets a recovery disk with a new computer will be able to find it. Other problems are that recovery disks don't always have the drivers necessary to make sure Windows 10 works smoothly with a specific PC, and that the disks don't usually work well for ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Pat C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have been using Microsoft Outlook for a number of years as it is my go-to email client. Every so often I need to reinstall Windows for various reasons; when this happens I have to reinstall Outlook ... and create a new Outlook .PST file, which stores my Outlook data including emails and calendar. The problem is that I have 8 .PST files from each time I've had to reinstall Windows over the years, as Outlook simply - will not - allow you to continue using the same .PST file from where you last left off. From what I can tell, each time the .PST file ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Pat P. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently had to rollback Windows 7 because the system appeared to be corrupt. The rollback worked. However, now whenever I try to open MS Office it starts up with a message that it is configuring MS ... Office, then says 'MS Office requires validation'. I chose the option to activate on line (or by phone), but then all I get after that is a message that MS Office could not be activated because the product key is invalid. What do I do now? " My response: I did have this exact same problem a few months back with another user. The scenario was ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'Bob T.' writes: " Dear Dennis, I am trying to reinstall Windows on my computer but I can't seem to find my Windows DVD anywhere. In fact, I'm not even sure if my computer came with an install disc. Should I download Windows from ... a torrent website? Can I use a DVD or USB drive to reinstall Windows? What do you suggest? " My Response: You can download a copy of MS Windows 7, 8, or 10 for free from Microsoft and install it from DVD or USB, though the steps for installing from USB are a little more involved for Windows 7. At the time of writing this ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader 'rseal54' writes: " Dear Dennis, I have a 6 year old Gateway computer with Windows Vista operating system and Service Pack 2 installed. I have a question regarding reinstalling Windows; I want to save all my data and installed ... programs to an external hard drive, then do a clean reinstall of the operating system. Is it possible to reinstall Vista with all the latest updates [automatically applied during the reinstall without using Windows Update]? Also, how do I get back all the items that were saved on the external hard drive? " My Response: That's an ... (view more)

Infopackets Gazette Reader Dan L. writes: " Dear Dennis, My PC came pre-loaded with Windows ME and now I'm thinking of upgrading to Windows XP. Do I have to uninstall ME, or can I simple run an upgrade option to install Windows XP? I've downloaded a ... few of your eBooks and videos onto this machine, and I'd hate to lose them. On another note: I've see Windows XP advertised on the Internet for $50. Is this legitimate? If so, can you recommend a reputable source? " My response: Upgrading from ME to XP can be done by inserting the Windows XP disc into your machine (after Windows ME is loaded). If ... (view more)