Complete reinstall

[rosscollins88]

Hi folks,

I’m about to start a complete overhaul project on my laptop. Presently I am dual booting windows xp and ubuntu 8.10. I also have another NTFS partition that I use so files can be accessed from either OS. (I know it's slightly pointless having this separate partition as I can access files in the windows partition from ubuntu anyway).

Wanting to resize my partitions and being unhappy with some bugs in xp, I am going to completely wipe my hard drive and start from scratch. I am also upping my RAM from 512mb to 2gig.

So basically have a few questions and looking for peoples advices.

I have a Toshiba Satellite Pro (3 years old) and windows was wrapped up as part of an OEM package (My product key is on a sticker on base of laptop). For reference I am running Windows XP Professional SP3. I have no xp cd. I know there is a winnt.exe file that can be used for a reinstall but that will be no good to me as I want to completely wipe my hard drive first, right?

So basically I am looking for an .iso that will allow me to reinstall but everyone I google I am not sure if the file is exactly what I am looking for. http://www.tipandtrick.net/2008/download-unmodified-original-windows-xp-with-sp3-integrated-full-retail-and-vl-install-cd-iso-image-from-msdntechnet-plus-via-http-or-torrent/
I think this is exactly what I need, right?

So okay now I come to the question of backing up drivers. I found this program http://www.pcworld.com/article/122935/answer_line_emergency_boot_cds_for_pcs_without_flo ppy_drives.html
It says:
driverback.bat a programme designed to copy all my harware drivers for xp. To restore your drivers to a fresh XP installation, connect or insert the media containing your driverback backup. Select Start, Run, type sysdm.cpl, and press ENTER. Click the Hardware tab, then the Device Manager button.

Repeat the following steps for each item listed that displays a yellow question mark:

1. Right-click the item and select Update Driver.

2. In the resulting Hardware Update Wizard, select Install from a list or specific location (Advanced) and click Next.

3. Check Include this location in the search and point it to your driverback folder. Click Next.

4. If the installation pauses because it can't find a file, point it to your driverback folder.

I have ran the program already and it seems to have copied a lot of files. Whether they are the exact files I need, I am none the wiser. I think the only driver I am really worried about is my graphics card (ATI radeon x14000) as the hardware on my laptop is pretty standard (as is the graphics card). Anyway I will make a list of all the hardware on my computer so that if I cant get it to work I can google for the appropriate drivers. Does my back up plan sound reasonable?

So that’s my questions regarding xp. Now time for my linux questions!

Firstly what version do people recommend? Which is the least buggy and most stable? I have been very happy on 8.10, should I upgrade to 9.04? Also what is the best file system to use? I note that a new ext file system has been released. Is this stable? Is it faster for reading and writing?

Finally I use Evolution Mail. Is there a way I can back up and copy all my emails, contacts and calendar and paste them into the new Evolution?

Thanking in advance of all advice.

Kind regards

[bodyharvester]

graphics card (ATI radeon x14000) as the hardware on my laptop is pretty standard (as is the graphics card)

if your keen on gaming stick to 8.10, im assuming thats why you mention the graphics card there, but you could always get the latest drivers from the manufacturer, couldnt you?

9.04 doesnt do gaming too well

thats all the advice i can give, i run 9.04 UNR

good luck

[rosscollins88]

Cheers

Will pretty much be running my games through xp though. Although may eventually get round to running them through wine, and convert completely to ubuntu

[rosscollins88]

bump