Topic: Installing Windows from Scratch

[BillB]

Question from a member:

We have decided to reformat the hard disk on my son's 4 yr. old desktop; he's just having too much trouble and has already saved what he wants to a CD. We have an XP CD but I can't figure out how to get the job done. Any guidance would be much appreciated.

[BillB]

With a 2000 model PC, be sure you've got the resources for XP: Don't think about it if it's not at least 1 GHz processor speed and 256 MB RAM. Double that would be a modest installation.

Boot the computer from the CD or from a floppy with CD support. You may have to access the computer's BIOS setup to make the CD drive the primary boot device. Because entering and modifying BIOS setup varies significantly between models, you may need to consult your documentation or manufacturer's website for instructions. It would be pure luck that a Forum expert would know the exact procedure for your computer.

If the Windows setup does not start automatically, from the DOS prompt after booting from a floppy, type the commands in bold:
d:
where "d" is the letter of the CD drive. This may be different than its usual drive letter; it should be on the last few lines after the floppy booted.
setup.exe

From now, the installation should proceed mostly automatically. At the beginning, you will need to tell Setup that you want a new installation and you will need to choose to overwrite and reformat the current partition. Choose to format it as NTFS, especially if the disc is over 40 GB.

Advanced features:
If you have a particularly weak computer and/or a particularly large disc (ie: >60 GB), you may want to choose to use less than the entire available space. See a later post for more information.

You may want to install on a new hard disc, they're dirt cheap. Be sure you remove your old disc during the installation. Afterwards, you can return the old disc as a secondary HD and access your old data or use it for additional storage.

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[BillB]

If you are using an OEM Windows XP disc that did not come with your brand and model of PC, it probably will not install.

Assuming you're using a retail XP disc, you may need to reinstall many of the drivers for your specific hardware. Out-of-the-box, it should run decently and get on the network; but may not take full advantage of the capabilities of your video card, sound, and possibly even the mouse. If you have the original discs that came with the computer they may have the drivers but Win9x drivers may or may not work with Win2Kx. Your manufacturers' web site(s) should have the appropriate drivers.

The hard part is identifying the exact components of your computer to get the right drivers. Even if you have original discs with Win2Kx drivers, they may support everything manufactured that month and not have a utility to identify the exact video or sound card actually installed. If you have a Dell computer, you're in luck. Just enter the serial number at Dell.com and you can find the "Original System Configuration". I don't have experience, but assume other manufacturers have similar records.

[BillB]

Back in the olden days, disc drives got big faster than DOS could handle them. My first hard drive was 40 MB (about what a basic cell phone has now) but no disc letter could be bigger than 32 MB, so I had a C: and D: drive. Then I became aware of the 2 GB barrier when my 6.4 GB machine came with C:, D:, E:, and F: drives. Now that Windows can handle something like 4 TB and assign space on multiple physical drives the same letter, there's no need to partition any more, is there?

If I am building a single-user desktop computer with 80 GB or more of disc space, I typically create 3 partitions. The boot drive should be 30-50 GB which is sufficient (at the moment) to hold Windows, a typical suite of Program Files, and personal configurations. Then I create a backup drive of 40%-100% the size of the boot drive. The remainder of the space is designated a data drive.

I prefer to have a separate data partition because it makes it easier to organize and share your data among multiple users. If it's on a different physicial disc, all the better.

Practically, the only place on the boot drive for user files is the Documents and Settings folder. If you want to share data with other users, you have to navigate to c:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents every time you save or open a file. Wouldn't it be easier just to go to e:\Bookkeeping?

On the backup drive, I create a full-system image of the boot drive and installed programs before I deliver it to the user. Then, if the system gets completely corrupted, I can readily return it to "like-new" condition. Depending on available space, I may also use this drive for instantaneous backups, temporary files, or to hold entire program or data CDs. Remember, because it's physically in your computer, this does not qualify for "protect my data against catastrophe" backups.

Your boot drive and data drive should be formated as NTFS for security and stability. I like to format the backup drive as FAT32 because if Windows gets corrupted, it's still readable from a floppy boot. However, if you're creating full-system backups with Windows Backup, a FAT32 drive will not do because it is limited to a maximum file size of 4 GB.

Be sure to temper my "standards" with your use of the computer. Depending on your programs and data files, you may have a need of a single huge disc or more backup capacity.

Ditto what Bill said.

If the CD does not boot, or the BIOS does not have an option for making the CD a boot device (usually only very old machines have this problem.  4 years, in this case, is not very old!), you can put the CD into another machine and make some bootable diskettes.  Look for a directory called BOOTDISK (I think) or search the disk for *boot*.bat.  You will need 3-5 formatted disks.  Once you have these, place the CD and first disk into the machine and set the first boot device to the 3.5in drive. Reboot and install each disk as requested.  This is a very slow process but does work.

Dewey

If you are using an OEM Windows XP disc that did not come with your brand and model of PC, it probably will not install.
.

If you don't have an OEM disk for the machine, sometimes you can get one from the manufacturers web site.

An OEM disk that came with your system will not work if you FDISK'ed the hard drive.  Dell, Gateway and the other manufacturers build the hard drive much like Bill described his system.  They create a partition on the hard disk (that is hidden) that holds all the OS, driver and software that comes with the machine.  The "System Restore Disk" that is used to rebuild an OEM machine gets all its data from that hidden partition. The partition may have survived if you just formatted C: drive, however.

Dewey

[BillB]

They create a partition on the hard disk (that is hidden) that holds all the OS, driver and software that comes with the machine.  The "System Restore Disk" that is used to rebuild an OEM machine gets all its data from that hidden partition.

So what do you do if your hard disc is physically damaged or you just want to install a clean Windows on a new, $79 160 GB drive?

[Anonymous]

If the drive is damaged the manufacturer prefers you get a replacement from them.  They will send a tech out, install the drive and use CD/DVD to install all the software.

The manufcturers used to include instructions for backing up or creating a restore disk, but with the size of the programs these days I am not certain they do this any longer.

Some manufacturers will sell Restore Disks for certain models for $10-$20.  when you request one, make certain you let them know your hard disk is dead.  Otherwise you may not get a full installation set.

The only other alternative is to install Windows XP and all the software from scratch.  You can download most of the OEM drivers from the OEM website.  It may take some searching to find the proper drivers is the machine is an old one or was an 'embarrasment'.

I had this problem recently, needing drivers for a WebPC.  They were made for less than 6 months and never sold well.  It took several trials/errors and searching forums and newsgroups before I got drivers that would make everything work.

They create a partition on the hard disk (that is hidden) that holds all the OS, driver and software that comes with the machine.  The "System Restore Disk" that is used to rebuild an OEM machine gets all its data from that hidden partition.

So what do you do if your hard disc is physically damaged or you just want to install a clean Windows on a new, $79 160 GB drive?