ReFormating Hard drive

Matt wrote:
> I recently reformatted my main Hard Drive ( I have two ) as best as I
> can tell I deleted everything then reinstalled Windows XP off the resorce
> CD.
>
> From the way things looked to me I still had 8mb that did not get
> deleted. When reinstalling windows it was not neccisary to reenter the
> product key.
>
> Is this normal? or did I screw up again?
>


If that 8Mb are at the end of the drive's display in Disk Management,
it's perfectly normal. The OS sets aside that small amount of space in
case you should ever decide to convert your basic partition into a
dynamic partition.

As for not having to enter the Product Key: Did you use an OEM
installation CD that originally came with the computer? If so, this
behaviour is probably normal. Many computer manufacturers deliberately
design their installation CDs so that a Product Key would be requested
only if you were to attempt the installation on a different computer.

>
> P.S. I just noticed for the first time that Outlook express no longer has
> spell checker on it. Whats up with that??
>
>

Also perfectly normal. Outlook Express has never had spell-checking
capabilities of its own. Instead, it relies upon the presence of other
Microsoft applications, such as the Office Suite, Word, or the Works
_Suite_ (which includes Word, not the regular Works). There are also
some 3rd-party shareware/freeware solutions available at any of the many
shareware sites on the Internet Spell Magic seems well thought-of,
though I haven't tried it myself:
http://www.alcodasoftware.com/spell-magic.htm.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
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They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

Matt wrote:
> I recently reformatted my main Hard Drive ( I have two ) as best
> as I can tell I deleted everything then reinstalled Windows XP off
> the resorce CD.
>
> From the way things looked to me I still had 8mb that did not get
> deleted. When reinstalling windows it was not neccisary to reenter the
> product key.
>
> Is this normal? or did I screw up again?

Nope: That's exactly what should have happened. Perfectly normal; do not
try to "fix" it; you cannot.

>
> Thank you
> Matt
>
> P.S. I just noticed for the first time that Outlook express no longer
> has spell checker on it. Whats up with that??

Dunno that one; it should have the spell checker.

Poprivet wrote:
>
>
> Dunno that one; it should have the spell checker.
>
>

Sorry, but that's incorrect. Outlook Express has never had
spell-checking capabilities of its own. Instead, it relies upon the
presence of other Microsoft applications, such as the Office Suite,
Word, or the Works _Suite_ (which includes Word, not the regular Works).



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

"Matt" <mcella.RemoveThis@tds.net> wrote in message
news:uWKwHWJLHHA.2456@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> I recently reformatted my main Hard Drive ( I have two ) as best as I
> can tell I deleted everything then reinstalled Windows XP off the resorce
> CD.
>
> From the way things looked to me I still had 8mb that did not get
> deleted. When reinstalling windows it was not neccisary to reenter the
> product key.
>
> Is this normal? or did I screw up again?
>
> Thank you
> Matt
>
> P.S. I just noticed for the first time that Outlook express no longer has
> spell checker on it. Whats up with that??
>
>

How exactly did you format the hard disk?

AFAIK, OE spell checker will come back after you have installed
MS Office. Ask an OE newsgroup if you require more details.