Need Help Installing OEM XP (what the heck is a OEM preinstalation kit)

[doodlingdude37]

Ok, I'm a first time computer builder and i need some help installing
my OEM XP. It says something about needing a preinstalation kit and
specific drivers, what the heck is this stuff. I've heard that you
can't install it twice so this is why I don't want to screw up the
first time.

 

[Malke]

Ok, I'm a first time computer builder and i need some help installing
my OEM XP. It says something about needing a preinstalation kit and
specific drivers, what the heck is this stuff. I've heard that you
can't install it twice so this is why I don't want to screw up the
first time.

1. It isn't true that you can't install XP more than once on the same
machine. You are thinking of the fact that according to the EULA an OEM
install is tied to the machine onto which it is first installed. This
doesn't mean you can't reinstall onto that machine again.

2. I don't know what "preinstallation" kit that would mean or where you
are reading this. What does "It says" mean?

3. After you install an operating system, you need to then install
drivers for all your hardware. Since you've built the machine yourself,
you will need drivers for all the components you put into the machine:
motherboard, NIC, sound, video, etc.

4. The normal install path for you should be:

a. Install XP with SP2.
b. Install drivers.
c. Make sure that the Windows Firewall is enabled and then and only then
get on the Internet and go to Windows Update and apply all security
updates. Do not download/install driver updates from WU.

5. After the operating system is fully patched, image the drive if
desired. I prefer Acronis TrueImage. Then install an antivirus and
update its definitions. Then install programs.


Malke

 

[Daave]

1. It isn't true that you can't install XP more than once on the same
machine. You are thinking of the fact that according to the EULA an
OEM install is tied to the machine onto which it is first installed.
This doesn't mean you can't reinstall onto that machine again.

2. I don't know what "preinstallation" kit that would mean or where
you are reading this. What does "It says" mean?

OP is probably referring to:
http://download.microsoft.com/downl...6B-9281-92CDFEAE4B45/OPK-preinstall-intro.doc

If he's building only one machine, I doubt he would need to be
concerned.

 

[doodlingdude37]

1. It isn't true that you can't install XP more than once on the same
machine. You are thinking of the fact that according to the EULA an OEM
install is tied to the machine onto which it is first installed. This
doesn't mean you can't reinstall onto that machine again.

2. I don't know what "preinstallation" kit that would mean or where you
are reading this. What does "It says" mean?

3. After you install an operating system, you need to then install
drivers for all your hardware. Since you've built the machine yourself,
you will need drivers for all the components you put into the machine:
motherboard, NIC, sound, video, etc.

4. The normal install path for you should be:

a. Install XP with SP2.
b. Install drivers.
c. Make sure that the Windows Firewall is enabled and then and only then
get on the Internet and go to Windows Update and apply all security
updates. Do not download/install driver updates from WU.

5. After the operating system is fully patched, image the drive if
desired. I prefer Acronis TrueImage. Then install an antivirus and
update its definitions. Then install programs.

Malke

what I am talking about (pertaining to #4) is that on the package that
my oem xp came in it says:

"WARNING:Building a Fully Functional Media Center PC requires use of
specific drivers, software and hardware components as will as the use
of the OEM preinstallation Kit FAILURE TO DO SO MAY CAUSE
FUNCTIONALITY AND INSTALLATION ISSUES Visit http://oem.microsoft.com/mceready
to ensure you have the necessary info to build your PCs right the
first time."

also i have ran into another problem, I installed XP from my old comp
that I still use and thought that i could install it on the new comp,
but then it asked me to register and i did not want microsoft to get
mad at me so i loaded windows 98 i had lying around to format the
disk(and delete the old "illegal" xp. Now i have 98 on my comp and
cant get it off. It seems to me that it needs to come off because when
i try to install xp media center it says that the computer can be
unstable with two operating systems.

Please help, and thx for the help so far.

 

[doodlingdude37]

also, how does the operating system get "attached" to the computer,
does it attach to the mother board or the hard drive or another bit of
hard ware? just wondering

 

[Malke]

what I am talking about (pertaining to #4) is that on the package that
my oem xp came in it says:

"WARNING:Building a Fully Functional Media Center PC requires use of
specific drivers, software and hardware components as will as the use
of the OEM preinstallation Kit FAILURE TO DO SO MAY CAUSE
FUNCTIONALITY AND INSTALLATION ISSUES Visit http://oem.microsoft.com/mceready
to ensure you have the necessary info to build your PCs right the
first time."

also i have ran into another problem, I installed XP from my old comp
that I still use and thought that i could install it on the new comp,
but then it asked me to register and i did not want microsoft to get
mad at me so i loaded windows 98 i had lying around to format the
disk(and delete the old "illegal" xp. Now i have 98 on my comp and
cant get it off. It seems to me that it needs to come off because when
i try to install xp media center it says that the computer can be
unstable with two operating systems.

Please help, and thx for the help so far.

You became an MS Partner just to buy an OEM version of MCE that you're
going to install on only one machine?! Talk about overkill. I can't
read about the preinstallation kit because I'm not an MS Partner and
have no intention of becoming one. I've reinstalled Media Center on pc's
many times and had no problems. If I were you, I'd just go ahead and do
the installation after making sure you have your drivers ready.
Presumably you researched whether your hardware was Media
Center-compatible before you bought it and built your computer.

Specific Media Center questions should be posted in the MCE newsgroup
here: microsoft.public.windowsxp.mediacenter

You really didn't need to go through all that with installing Win98. You
don't need to remove Win98 and in your instance, you can't. Just do a
clean install of MCE with your OEM disk.

I really think you should read through these instructions on installing
XP first:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install How-To
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Reinstalling_Windows -
What you will need on-hand


Malke

 

[Kerry Brown]

You don't need to use the OPK kit. It is a tool to help system builders
customize and deploy XP to many computers. As you are installing an OEM
version of Windows you are considered the system builder. You are
responsible for supporting the computer yourself. This means you have to
find the right drivers for your hardware and figure out how to install them.
This is usually automated by a disk that came with your motherboard and also
any other peripherals you are installing. In most cases the following
procedure will work. Boot from the XP CD. At the start of the boot you will
see a message at the bottom of the screen about pressing F6 to load drivers.
Normally you can ignore this. If you are using a RAID controller you may
have to press F6 and insert a floppy disk with the RAID driver on it. When
you get to the part about where to install Windows delete all the
partitions. Create one partition to install Windows on. If you want more
than one partition then make sure you don't use the whole hard drive for the
install partition. Don't create the extra partitions yet. You can do that
later once Windows is installed. Format the partition and finish the Windows
install. Once Windows is installed you must then install the drivers for
your motherboard, video card, network card, sound card, etc. Other than
doing the motherboard drivers first the order is not that important.

Note installing an OEM version of Windows requires that you delete all the
old versions. Deleting the partitions will do this. It will also erase any
data you have on them. Make sure you have your data backed up before
starting this.

 

[John]

Note installing an OEM version of Windows requires that you delete all
the old versions.

Where did you get this idea?

Deleting the partitions will do this. It will also

erase any data you have on them. Make sure you have your data backed up
before starting this.

You most certainly *can* multi-boot MS operating systems, the same
version or various flavors. Having a back-up OS or two is quite handy if
the one use most of the time goes belly up.

John