Help reformatting a DELL

[rtMOOSE]

hi there, i have a Dell Dimension XPS Gen4, about 5 months old, running a p4 3.2 ht, geforce 6800GT, w 2056mb RAM.

at this point i have managed to scramble the file system so bad that i think a reformat is the easiest way to clean it up. My game fps has dropped considerably as well.

My question is this.

Is it possible to just reformat a dell using any old windows CD? Or do u need one specifically made for dell?

another thing, i know dell does something to their mobo's to prevent OC'ing of the cpu, is that a hardware change or software, and can i undo that thru a format?

anyhelp would be much appreciated.

ty

[CARLiTO_]

First off, I owned a dell in the past. Inspiron 8100 and formatted and re-installed numerous times with a winxp/win2k cd. Worked fine. You just have to change the boot sequence so that it boots from cd first.

I don't know too much about overclocking laptops but it's something I wouldn't venture into because of the lack of cooling.

[rtMOOSE]

not a laptop, its a pc

[Absolute]

No, you can use any copy of Windows to reformat your Dell, and install any Windows on it.

[wisc]

[tmpz]

Go download drivers from dell, burn to cd or ext. hd. Format with winxp cd, reinstall drivers. done!

[bmaz]

hi there, i have a Dell Dimension XPS Gen4, about 5 months old, running a p4 3.2 ht, geforce 6800GT, w 2056mb RAM.

at this point i have managed to scramble the file system so bad that i think a reformat is the easiest way to clean it up. My game fps has dropped considerably as well.

My question is this.

Is it possible to just reformat a dell using any old windows CD? Or do u need one specifically made for dell?

another thing, i know dell does something to their mobo's to prevent OC'ing of the cpu, is that a hardware change or software, and can i undo that thru a format?

anyhelp would be much appreciated.

ty

Maybe you shouldn't be messing around your Computer given your limited experience.
Overclocking is a hardware thing, and your BIOS allows you to control certain aspects of your Hardware.
Dell doesn't have any options in their BIOS to tweak settings for OC-ing, unless you are able to get a modified BIOS.
I wouldn't suggest you get a modified BIOS either seeing you could kill your motherboard if its done improperly.