changing OS on laptops

[Nejc]

Hello to everybody. I just bought a new laptop with
Italian Win XP Home Edition pre-installed. I want to
change the language to English and to Win XP Professional.

I need to format my laptop and reinstall WIN XP PRO. i
have never tried formatting a laptop computer.

Are there any differences from formatting a regular
computer?

Do i have to pay attention to something?

If so, can somebody please tell me how to do it? (the
entire process, please).

Thank you really much

Nejc

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Using a "Full English Version" of Windows XP Pro,
use the following procedure:

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

7. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

8. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------


| Hello to everybody. I just bought a new laptop with
| Italian Win XP Home Edition pre-installed. I want to
| change the language to English and to Win XP Professional.
|
| I need to format my laptop and reinstall WIN XP PRO. i
| have never tried formatting a laptop computer.
|
| Are there any differences from formatting a regular
| computer?
|
| Do i have to pay attention to something?
|
| If so, can somebody please tell me how to do it? (the
| entire process, please).
|
| Thank you really much
|
| Nejc

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Hello to everybody. I just bought a new laptop with
Italian Win XP Home Edition pre-installed. I want to
change the language to English and to Win XP Professional.

I need to format my laptop and reinstall WIN XP PRO. i
have never tried formatting a laptop computer.

Are there any differences from formatting a regular
computer?

Do i have to pay attention to something?

If so, can somebody please tell me how to do it? (the
entire process, please).

Thank you really much

Not much difference. Basically the same.

In order to be safe, download all the necessary Windows XP drivers for your
components (video/sound/modem/nic/etc) first and put them someplace you can
access later (network/CD/etc.) Also download the Update Rollup 1 for
Windows XP from http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=826939 .

Also Write down all important keys/etc. Backup everything you have done
(documents, pictures, movies, etc) as well.

Then put in the CD, boot from it, install. Leave it off the
network/internet until you installed the patch I suggested above and also
have turned on the Internet firewall.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=283673

Get all of your drivers updated with what you downloaded/saved to
CD/where-ever installed.

Then connect up, install the rest of the patches from
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and get your AntiVirus software
installed and updated.

When you are all done with all of that - probably will take several
reboots - download and install ad/spy/mal-ware removal software such as
Spybot Search and Destroy, LavaSoft AdAware, SpywareBlaster, etc.

Then install all of your software. I also suggest highly tweaking the
system to your liking with things like Microsoft Powertoys for XP (TweakUI
in particular) and assorted plugins so you don't have to download them later
(Quicktime, Macromedia Flash/Shockwave, Adobe Acrobat, etc.)

That's it. Good Luck.

(Keep the machine patched, keep the antivirus software updated and run the
spyware removal software frequently...)

 

[Guest]

Thank you Mr. Carey Frisch and Mr. Shenan Stanley. I really appreciated your help.

Bye

Nejc

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Thank you Mr. Carey Frisch and Mr. Shenan Stanley. I really
appreciated your help.

Bye

Nejc

Thanks for saying thanks. It happens more seldom than not. =)

 

[Guest]

No problem.
Bye
Nejc