ugh...reinstalling windows...

yeah, i'm a bit n00b at this.
so, apparently my family's dell is chockfull of stuff that needs to get just...WIPED. So i went to go reinstall windows and found a sad problem.
The internal CD drive is broken. The laser is out. Blame it on wear.
And the external CD drive is broken as well. Blame it on wear too D: My family tends to break several times.

So, i was wondering if there was anyway I could just load windows onto my external HD and install it that way? I'm not sure how to go about it...
either that or just wipe the whole drive. The problem is its a family computer, and its not like i can just chuck it and get a new one (money issues, etc). Especially with the whole new school year, my mother and brother will need some form of computer for assignments and such!

Yeah, um...a detailed how-to-do thing would be nice. I'm sort of retarded on this whole matter...

And as for how i'll set it up, i'm sure that i'll leave one admin (with a pass that i only know) and make sure everyone else can't install shit. I'm hoping this is the last reinstall i'll have to do before we get a new one, just this computer needs to last another year or so.

thanks

(ugh just realized i posted this in the wrong subforum, if it could be chucked into appropriate forum that'd be real fine and dandy =\)

Jam it back in, in the dark.

yeah, floppy drive. i was planning on using port hd though, since i'm sure windows is a lot more than 1.2 megs or so that a floppy could hold =x

There's nowhere I can't reach.

all i have is windows xp, but i'll resort to 98/ME (considering the damn thing could barely run xp decently!)
thanks

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

ah xD i see!!! ok i'll get this to work *__*!!! thank you

Additional Spam:
ah ok. so i have everything set up. the boot disc, the hd with that folder you told me to copy... (ah, i am so stupid with this stuff!)...
so i went to mess about with it, and as expected, i'm like "WTF HOW DO I BOOT DISC D:?"
being so young, i guess i'm sort of unexperienced with this stuff ^^;;

i grabbed the windows me boot disc version =x

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Soluzar

You could always buy a new optical drive. A brand new DVD-RW drive doesn't need to cost more than $40 bucks which is not exactly a large sum.

it'd have to be external, since its a smaller dell that really wouldn't fit an internal into it :\ isn't that more expensive?
oh well, i'll wait a few weeks and then get to it.

I was speaking idiomatically.

thats actually a really good idea, never thought of it xD thanks

How ya doing, buddy?

>< i always get help from you, and feel bad about it! lol, cuz i'm sure you have better things to do.
;~; but i'm not free this weekend (new job thing)
what about next week =\?

FELIPE NO