I didn't want to do it either but I was forced to by getting a larger drive. It couldn't have been easier, practically idiot proof (familiar territory for me
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When you get the computer, make your restore cd from the start menu. That contains a lean version of XP and the necessary drivers to operate your computer. It does not contain CDRW or DVD burner software or a media player. You should make arrangments for that SW before reformatting. If you pop the 10 bucks for disks, you'll have what you need or you can take the opportunity to upgrade to better stuff from commercial sources.
To reformat, just pop the cd you made in the optical drive and follow instructions. I chose to make one partition and chose to do a long format which took about an hour. If you are reformatting your old drive and choose to keep the Dell partitions, someone else will have to cover that as I got rid of everything.
After the format the installation of XP begins and you have to stay with it as you will be asked preference questions at certain points, these are not hard questions just time zone questions etc.
After the final boot and set up you will be finished with the ionstallation and I would suggest updating all your drivers at that point. Go to Dell, plug in your service tah or model and all the current drivers will pop up and you can DL and install them. Some say it's a good idea to DL them prior to formatting and burn them to a cd, whatever floats your boat.
It really is easy and it really does make for a much more stable computer so if you can get your head right, do it.
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