So I own FSC Amilo M3438G notebook. I've owned it for a few months now and have been quite satisfied. However, there have been some problems. Sometimes Hald-Life 2 crashes, often Windows can't be shut off so you have to push the on/off button for a five seconds or to switch the notebook off, stuff like that. In addition, I have gone through several drivers (Foreceware) and such and maybe I installed some programs in too much of a haste. All in all, I would like to reinstall Windows and start out fresh.

The only problem is that I've never done that. I'm sort of a rookie in these things (for example, I've never messed with BIOS or stuff like that). Of course I know that the first thing to do is copy my files and some programs into a disc of into my USB-drive. But then comes the tricky part:

Is it true that all I have to do is put the FSC recovery-dvd inside the notebook and boot. Is this really all or is it more complicated?

In order to just get a new windows installation: Yes.
(remember to press "F12", I think that was it, to set it to actually boot from the CD that time. You might also need to get some drivers from internet after you have the new windows installation running, don't know whether you can find all them on the CDs you have, haven't bothered to look)

John, don't worry, the BIOS is locked, so no-one can mess with the technical jiggery pokery even if we wanted to.

You're going along the right lines. Back up ALL of your own personal data (MP3s, documents, etc.) to an external hard-drive or DVDr or similar.

The Fujitsu recovery CD is good for re-installing windows. It's a really clean install. (ie. no Norton/AOL/Yahoo shit, etc.)

Download all the latest drivers from the Fujitsu support website first, though. For example, the chipset drivers, graphics drivers, audio drivers etc.
HOWEVER, go for the 78.10 GeForce driver, though, as the latest version on the Fuji' site is buggy.

Also download a good Anti-Virus program, such as Avast (which is free), so you can be ready to install it after you've re-installed Windows. http://www.avast.com/eng/down_home.html

Ok, with that said, once you've re-installed Windows XP from the recovery disk, then you can install the drivers in this order:-

* BIOS
* Chipset
* Graphic (Video)
* KB888111 (HD Audio hotfix)
* Audio (Sound)
* Modem (WAN)
* Touchpad
* LAN
* Wireless LAN
* RAID

I skipped out the Modem (WAN), touchpad, Lan, Wireless Lan, and Raid drivers because I don't need them (I have an external USB modem, for example, and the Touchpad also works well without the added drivers, so I can't see the need for installing that, etc., etc.)

Then install your Anti-Virus software before you go online.

Once you connect to the internet, the first thing you should do is update your Anti-Virus.
Then you must update Windows. If you're using Internet Explorer you should go to the menu "Tools" then select "Windows Update", and follow the on-screen options from there onwards.

After that, it's pretty much set up and ready to rock.

Good luck.

Thank you for the answers. However, I'm a bit confused because of RuptuReD's comments. I have understood that when you use the recovery disc it re-installs Windows and basically returns the notebook to factory settings. Doesn't this mean that it will have the same settings as when I first opened the laptop. So why does RuptuReD talk about drivers that may or may not be on the discs that came with this notebook. Does using the recovery disc mean that you'll lose all the Intel, Bios, Realtek (and so on) drivers?

Kieran, actually I only have downloaded two updates from the FSC download page: Forceware and InstantOn 3-1. I was told that the Bios updates, Intel updates... are not that necessary.

So what do I do? Kieran, I'd appreciate it if you or somebody would tell me that do I really need those drivers (Bios, Intel, Realtek) when re-installing Windows? Because if I do, then it would be best to just download the updated drivers and not use anything that came with this notebook.

Yes, well, you're right, the "Recovery disc" might not be the best name for the Win XP Home CD that comes with the machine.

I myself installed the new windows to D: partition, so I have the original Windows installation still on the machine as well... so I haven't looked at the driver issues so much yet (I really did the second installation just to test different ForceWares).

But, after I got to the new Windows installation first time, there were NO drivers installed for Ethernet, Wireless and sound at least... Windows just told that "New hardware has been found" and would have liked to search drivers for them, but I canceled those prompts (as I said, I just made the new install to test FW and didn't bother to search for the drivers).

I don't know whether Windows would have found the needed drivers from the CD if I would have allowed to search for them.

I'm pretty sure I just made you even more confused, though... perhaps someone could provide a little more details still?

I'll post more tomorrow John, tis 2:15am here at the mo! Had trouble logging on to this site several times earlier. =/

Well guys, I think I know now how the whole process goes. Kinda like this:

1) Save all important files (I already burned them in a cd as well as saved them in my USB-flash drive).
2) Put recovery-cd/dvd inside
3) Shut off Windows
4) Start up Windows
5) Push any button to boot from the disc
6) Run the process
7) When completed and in Windows, put 'Drivers&Utilities' disc inside and install the drivers you want
8) Install virus protection (I use Norton Internet Security, by the way) and all the programs and such
9) Copy the backed-up files to Windows

In fact, I tried to do this last night, but without success. I booted from the disc and then it started load something (as acording to plan). But then it happened: blue screen filled with text saying that an error has occured. Something about 'stage_3_initializer_failed'. I had no other choice than to shut off the notebook. I tried the same a couple of times but the results were the same. Maybe I need to take this notebook back to the store I bought it from and have them take a look at it. Surely the warranty will apply.

The main reason why I wanted to re-install Windows is because there is a problem almosta every time I try to shut Windows off. A window appears and then disappeares very quickly in XP's desktop right after I click 'shut Windows off'. And then nothing happens. Almost always I have to resort in pushing the on/off button about five seconds to shut off the notebook. This is kinda annoying.

1) Back up all important personal data.
2) Download latest drivers from Fujitsu Support (except for the graphics, where v78.10 is the most stable). The drivers on the Fujitsu driver disc will be mostly out of date, so you wont need to use them. The ones on the Fujitsu support site are more recent.
3) Download latest anti-virus software (I use Avast from Avast.com).
4) Put Fujitsu recovery disc in tray.
5) Reboot, press F12, and select boot from CD.
6) Windows install will initialise. Then, select to format the hard-disk in NTFS.
7) Continue installing windows.
8) Once the basic Windows has been installed, you will then need to install the pre-downloaded Fujitsu drivers in this order:-

a) Bios (you only need to do this this time only, until a new version is released)
b) Chipset
c) Graphic (Video)
d) KB888111 (HD Audio hotfix)
e) Audio (Sound)
f) Modem (WAN)
g) Touchpad
h) LAN
i) Wireless LAN
j) RAID

9) Install anti-virus.
10) Install your internet connection software, and secondly also make sure Windows XP firewall is enabled, or the like.
11) Connect to internet and then perform a update anti-virus database.
12) Then do a FULL Windows update by going to Tools > WindowsUpdate in Internet Explorer. Choose the "Express" update, and it will be pretty much automatic.

13) Lastly, if you can, when you've set up and configured everything how you like, use a program like Norton Ghost to take a backup image of your newly installed operating system so you'll never need to re-install Windows from scratch again. If ever you need to (in the future), you can simply re-copy this backup image to the main hard-disk and restore the hard-drive to the same state it was in when you took the backup.

14) Carry on installing any applications how you like.