Do I Start All Over Again? (Repost from another Newsgroup)

[Gord & Paulette Campbell]

After many months of denial - I finally broke down and purchased Windows XP
(upgrade). I originally had Win98SE on my P3-800MHz computer and after
awhile my computer needed some good housecleaning and rather than just
wiping everything out and starting fresh with a new reinstall of Win98SE, I
decided to move into the new era and put on Windows XP. I hope I will not
regret this decision.

I purchased the upgrade version since I already owned a Win98SE. I was told
by the sales guy that I still needed to install the Win98SE on my hard disk
before I installed XP because it was an upgrade. (Not sure if this was true
or not)

I have two hard disks 40GB and 20GB. My intention was to use the 20GB drive
as a capture drive for recording video and creating DVD home movies etc. I
reformatted the 40GB (Drive C) and installed Win98SE on it. I then installed
XP. I was hoping to do a "new" install rather than the "Quick" upgrade
install thinking that XP would over write the Win98SE files and I would only
have XP on my system. This would provide more available disk space and force
me to be fully committed to XP.

I am not sure if something went seriously wrong but what ended up happening
was that XP installed itself on the D Drive (20 GB) which is now a NTFS
drive. Win98Se still resides on the C Drive. XP appears to be working fine
in this arrangement. I still have Win98SE on Drive C and when I start my
computer I have the option of booting to either operating system.

The question I have is:
1) do I leave things the way they are and operate XP from the D drive, use
the C drive as my data collecting drive? Is there a problem if I install new
software on C rather than on D where the operating system resides? Sometimes
some software would not like being on a different drive in Win98SE. If I
leave this unusual arrangement as is - will I always be having to correct
the default directory when I install new software?

2) Can I easily transfer all my XP files over to the C drive and operate it
from there?

3) Reformat the D drive and reinstall XP again - forcing it on the C drive
where I originally wanted it. (Do I leave Win98SE on or do I try to remove
it after or during the XP install?)

I want to get this install correct before I start loading on the software -
I have had limited exposure to XP up till now and I don't need to add more
frustration to the learning curve of this new operating system.

Thanks to those who can help me out on this with your advice.

Gord

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Gord;
Follow this for a Clean Installation.
In step 5 on the link, delete all partitions in the 40gb drive.
You will have an option where to install Windows XP, choose the 40gb
drive.
After installation is complete, you can use Disk Management to
partition and format the 20gb drive.

Clean Installation:
Disconnect all peripherals (camera, printer, scanner, etc)
Disconnect network/modem cable.
Go to BIOS and set CDROM as boot device before hard drive.
Insert Windows XP CD and reboot.
At "Press any key to boot to CDROM" quickly press a key and follow the
prompts for a Clean installation:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_clean.asp
Delete all partitions in step 5 if you desire to erase all data on the
hard drive.
Partitioning and formatting will be done automatically.
All data will be destroyed, back-up important data first.

Enable or install firewall BEFORE connecting network cable.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=283673

Install ALL Critical Windows Updates:
Start/All Programs/Windows Update

After you are finished, you will need to load the appropriate drivers.

If your computer was shipped with Windows XP, these procedures may or
may not apply.
Check your manual or contact the computer manufacturer for more
details.