The 8 MB unallocated space is not worth worrying about right now.Elder Geek shows a fairly comprehensive installation to Clean Install XP.

I am not sure Windows will let you format the C Drive from within Windows, but the installation when you do a Clean Install formats the partition as it installs. During the beginning of the installation you should choose the drive that already includes XP and choose Clean Install or whatever the terminology is for XP. Frankly I do not remember the exact terminology.

Here is a step by step instruction pagefor the clean install.

Something strange here.

In post #1 there is Partition1 on the C drive of 38154MB (so assumedly a 40GB drive) but in the screenshot above it is only a 4GB drive.

Linda,

Have you looked to see if that 8Gb partition is the Dell Recovery Partition? On boot Press & Hold Ctrl and repetedly tap F11 see if it boots into the Dell Recovery Environment. This will put your machine back to the condition as it came from the factory if you continue. :cheers:

Is that 8 GB or 8 MB? In your original post you state it is 8 MB. If it is 8 GB it may be the recovery Partition as RG suggests. This can make a difference. I would follow the procedure RG suggests as he also has Dell PC’s.

I’m out.

If I can’t rely on the information given, I can’t help.

That’s probably because RG believed the 8 MB was a typo and you meant 8 GB. If it truly is 8 MB then it is not large enough to hold a recovery partition and you are better off doing the reinstalled from scratch with a CD/DVD, assuming you have one and a valid key. You may have to do a little searching to find the service pack updates but check in a few threads here and you will find links to most of what you need. By the way what version is your XP disk (baseline SP1, SP1a, SP2, etc)

That’s really great news for you and it will definitely give you a pristine OS when finished.

May I make a suggestion. After you add all updates, all apps, all customizations and data, etc. When you are totally done and running the way it should be, start creating Images. First make an Image of the finished product. This will be the baseline gold standard. Then create a new Image whenever you make changes to the PC, i.e. new apps, updates, etc. This will allow you to get back to where you are in less than 10 minutes!!!

Find an Imaging app that will work for you, many are discussed in the Security and Backup forum, create a bootable CD with whatever app you decide to use, store your Images off the PC (I use an ext USB HD for my Images, they are getting very reasonable. My 1 TB Ext USB Seagate will hold dozens of Image files). This is such low cost insurance and will save you hours of time the next time you have a problem!