AG> I was running Warp Connect with fixpack 40, on a VESA bus 486
 AG> when my VGA card suffered hardware death. 

- remove broken card.
- boot with ALT + F1
- selcet F3 to reset the system to VGA
  here the 08/15 VGA driver will be reinstalled
- after bootup use the procedure described in the readme of you new video card 
to install its driver.

a complete reinstall is unneccessary.

 AG> I ahve more Vesa VGA cards than is good for a normal
 AG> human, so I simply swapped it out. Unfortunately, it was
 AG> a different brand. This meant attempting a switch back
 AG> to VGA. This failed - the scan rate was bizarre.

 AG> Obviously time for a re-install.

Never.

 AG> What is the official way to reinstall after applyting a fixpack
 AG> after you have deleted the archive/backup? Personally, I
 AG> would prefer to BUY (Hint, IBM: this means giving you my
 AG> hard earned cash) a manufactur-refreshed version.

- format x: /FS:HPFL /L		make a long format to prevent some
				obscure things in case of chkdsk
- do a normal inmstall
- plug in the actual fixpack
- plug in fixes for mpts, tcp/ip, peer
- install netscape
- install actual feature installer
- install the actual JAVA
- restore the saved objects or reinstall them


but before you have to try to reinstall you should
- if your video hard-/software is broken: reset to standard VGA
  and then replace them with a good one
- if the desktop seems broken: either
  - reset it to a previous saved version (see Alt+F1 at boot time)
    more information in you online help (press F1 on desktop)
  - run a tool such as unimaint or Henk Kelders checkini (found in
wptoolxx.zip)
    until there are no more errors

A true reinstall will be mostly absolutly unneccessary.

--- Sqed/32 1.14/development