Ok, here's my formatting question:

  • Thread starter Thread starter Vodergam
  • Start date Start date
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Vodergam

I recently upgraded my computer from XP Home to XP Professional. My
problem is this: I re-partitioned and re-formatted, (through the XP
installation cd), the drive for a "clean" install. After
installation, I had 2 operating systems choices to boot from, (XP Home
and XP Professional). I know how to get rid of this in the boot.ini
file but, I am wondering why this is happening in the first place. Do
I need to do a low-level format before installing XP Professional? The
computer is now real "glitchy" and will re-install again. I only want
the 1 operating system installed and want no remnants of XP Home on my
computer. Any ideas???

Thanks,

Vodergam
 
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 - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

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

:

| I recently upgraded my computer from XP Home to XP Professional. My
| problem is this: I re-partitioned and re-formatted, (through the XP
| installation cd), the drive for a "clean" install. After
| installation, I had 2 operating systems choices to boot from, (XP Home
| and XP Professional). I know how to get rid of this in the boot.ini
| file but, I am wondering why this is happening in the first place. Do
| I need to do a low-level format before installing XP Professional? The
| computer is now real "glitchy" and will re-install again. I only want
| the 1 operating system installed and want no remnants of XP Home on my
| computer. Any ideas???
|
| Thanks,
|
| Vodergam
 
Thanks, Carey for the quick reply.
I consider myself an intermediate windows user and normally don't have
problems installing Windows XP. It's just that this caught me
off-guard. I am familiar with the steps you outlined in your post and
that is what I did for the install. So, if you have any other ideas
please let me know.

Thanks,

Vodergam, (the tenth letter of the alphabet).
 
Did you boot from the CD to start the install or did you start the install
from within Windows?

Boot from the CD and install that way. When you get to the window where you
choose where you want to install to, delete every partition there. Then
create a new partition. Choose to format as NTFS - Quick format. The
installation will continue and everything else WILL be gone.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
Thanks for the tip, however I did boot from the cd and chose the
"non-quick" formatting option. Does that make a difference?

Let me know,

Vodergam
 
If you formatted the hard drive, there is absolutely no way you could have
two installs on the drive. Did you abort an install, and then start over? Do
you have an install on another hard drive?

When you format/install any previous boot.ini file will be gone. A new one
is created for the operating system you just installed.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
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