Clean install of computer with Windows XP Pro

[John Bradbury]

My Computer came with XP Home on it included on a setup disk.
The set up disk has been damaged and the supplying company has gone out
of business so I have now obtained a legal copy of XP Pro (not the
upgrade version).
I want to perform a clean install with XP Pro and then install my other
working programmes again because everything has gone so S L O W and I
keep getting various crashes and blue screens at the most awkward times

One question that comes to mind is - does XP Pro support a DVD-RW or do
I need to get additional software for this?
If it doesn't support DVD-RW can someone point me towards suitable
software?

Also I cannot find an fdisk.com anywhere on the disk to re-partition the
hard drive. How would I re-partition the drive so I can get going? Do I
need to make a start up disk or does the CD-ROM boot itself? (I have run
Partition Magic to give me an extra drive but feel I will be best to
partition with XP rather than use an external programme.

I have not done a clean install with XP before and so can anyone give me
any further hints

Thanks in anticipation

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

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.

NOTE: If you have an internal Zip Drive installed, physically disconnect the
EIDE and power cable to it before proceeding, otherwise your main
hard drive may not be assigned the customary C: drive letter.
After installing Windows XP, you may then reconnect it.

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 all 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. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.mspx

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

8. 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.

9. 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
Microsoft Newsgroups

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

:

| My Computer came with XP Home on it included on a setup disk.
| The set up disk has been damaged and the supplying company has gone out
| of business so I have now obtained a legal copy of XP Pro (not the
| upgrade version).
| I want to perform a clean install with XP Pro and then install my other
| working programmes again because everything has gone so S L O W and I
| keep getting various crashes and blue screens at the most awkward times
|
| One question that comes to mind is - does XP Pro support a DVD-RW or do
| I need to get additional software for this?
| If it doesn't support DVD-RW can someone point me towards suitable
| software?
|
| Also I cannot find an fdisk.com anywhere on the disk to re-partition the
| hard drive. How would I re-partition the drive so I can get going? Do I
| need to make a start up disk or does the CD-ROM boot itself? (I have run
| Partition Magic to give me an extra drive but feel I will be best to
| partition with XP rather than use an external programme.
|
| I have not done a clean install with XP before and so can anyone give me
| any further hints
|
| Thanks in anticipation
| --
| John Bradbury

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

The following article by Michael Stevens will show you how to 'Clean'
install XP.

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

You will need to install a 3rd party DVD burning software:

http://www.roxio.com/en/products/emc75/index.jhtml
http://www.nero.com/eng/Products.html

 

[Ken Blake]

My Computer came with XP Home on it included on a setup disk.
The set up disk has been damaged and the supplying company has gone
out of business so I have now obtained a legal copy of XP Pro (not the
upgrade version).
I want to perform a clean install with XP Pro and then install my
other working programmes again because everything has gone so S L O W
and I keep getting various crashes and blue screens at the most
awkward times

I am almost always in favor of troubleshooting the problem and fxing it,
rather than reinstalling. There are many reasons why I feel that way, but to
mention just one, if you don't find out what the problem is and just
reinstall, it's likely that you will soon recreate the problem situation and
be back where you were.

But if you want to do this, just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the
BIOS boot order if necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for
a clean installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when
prompted, then create a new one).
You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

One question that comes to mind is - does XP Pro support a DVD-RW or

No.


do I need to get additional software for this?

Yes.


If it doesn't support DVD-RW can someone point me towards suitable
software?

I have relatively little experience here, so I'll let someone else answer
this question.

Also I cannot find an fdisk.com anywhere on the disk to re-partition
the hard drive.

You don't need it.

How would I re-partition the drive so I can get
going?

You do it a part of the installation from the CD. See instructions above.

Do I need to make a start up disk

No.


or does the CD-ROM boot
itself?

Yes.


(I have run Partition Magic to give me an extra drive but
feel I will be best to partition with XP rather than use an external
programme.

Yes. Partition Magic (or similar) is needed to change an existing partition
structure non-destructively. It's not at all needed or desirable for what
you want to do.

 

[NotMe]

I see several replies on how to install.
The DVD software should have been supplied with the DVD drive.
Check your disks that came with the original system.
In most cases, it is a separate CD than the setup/restore disk.

 

[see.cher]

BEFORE you do it, you should seriously consider if partitioning the hd
would be helpful.

If you have a large hd, the way i did it might appeal to you.
the major thing this does is make it a lot easier to reinstall the os
should bad things happen-except for losing the whole hd.

partition drive C: as 5G for a normal to heavy user (10G if you have
tons of stuff).
partition the rest as drive D:-if the hd is really large, you might
want another partition to very transient stuff

Load all SYSTEM ONLY stuff on drive C:
That means when you install stuff you must always select "custom", if
that is an option, and change the install location. There are some
prog that won't let you change.
AV and frirewall stuff on drive C:

relocate My Documents to the D: drive.

It take vigilence to do this and get all your docs and data on D: but
if you need to reload the os it becomes simple-transfer any data like
internet explorer, and OE things to the D; drive for storage.

reload system as a clean install - delete, create, format, load.
and reinstall sw. Some will reload w/o the need for reconfig, etc.
but at least you will know what you had and your data will be there
without a hassle.