10.1 Installing the Operating System | Fixing Windows XP Annoyances

Both the steps to begin the installation procedure and the procedure itself can vary, depending on what's already installed on your system (if anything) and how you choose to approach the task.

Windows XP setup can be run from within an installed copy of Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4, Windows Me, or Windows 98/95. You can also run setup from DOS (also known as the Windows 9x Command Prompt). Or, if you have no operating system at all, you can boot off the CD and install it fresh. The following sections cover the advantages and drawbacks of each type of install.

Anyone installing Windows XP on a hard disk that has data on it would be wise to back up the entire system before starting the install process. Make sure the backup software you use will also operate in Windows XP so you can read the media after the install is complete; otherwise, your backup will be worthless. See Chapter 6 for more information.

10.1.1 Installing on a New (Clean) System

The Windows XP installation CD is bootable, which means that you can put it in the drive, turn on your computer, and the installation process will start automatically.

While most modern systems support bootable CDs, very few are configured to actually boot off such a CD when one is inserted. If your computer doesn't boot of the Windows setup CD, you'll need to change your BIOS settings accordingly. Start by entering your system's BIOS setup utility (discussed in Appendix B), going to the boot section, and changing the "boot device priority" or "boot sequence" so that your CD drive appears before your hard disk.^[1] Exit the BIOS setup when you're finished.

^[1] If you have a SCSI-based CD drive, look in your SCSI controller's BIOS setup screen and enable support for bootable CDs. If your SCSI controller is built into your motherboard, you'll probably need to first specify your SCSI controller as a boot priority over your hard disk, and then enable bootable CDs in your SCSI BIOS.

If you're unable to boot off the Windows XP CD, you'll need to use a bootable floppy, either one made from a previous version of Windows (see "Installation from the Command Prompt," later), or one that comes with the full version of Windows XP. See Section 10.4.2, later in this chapter, for more information.

Otherwise, setup will display a welcome screen and spend several minutes loading drivers for your hardware. This ensures that setup will properly support your hard drive, CD drive, and mass storage controllers; when Windows XP is installed, only the drivers you specifically need are loaded. But since Setup hasn't been prepared in this way (for obvious reasons), it must load (or attempt to load) every possible driver.

When the initialization is done, you'll be presented with several choices. The first screen instructs you to press Enter to set up Windows XP now, or press R to repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console (an advanced diagnostic and repair tool covered later in this chapter). Unless you specifically need to use the Recovery Console, press Enter to continue (even if you're here to repair a Windows installation).

Next, Setup will look for an existing Windows XP installation. If one is found, you'll have the opportunity to repair it now (see Section 10.1.4, later in this chapter for details). Just press ESC to continue.

The next screen will allow you to choose a drive and partition on which to install Windows. Here, you'll have the option of installing onto an existing drive or making changes to your partition table to add or remove partitions. See Section 10.3.2, later in this chapter, for more information. Note that Setup will not allow you to choose the installation folder, but instead will simply place the files in the \Windows folder.

During the installation of some earlier versions of Windows, you could choose the name of the folder in which Windows is stored (by default, \Windows). This can be a problem if you're upgrading a Windows 2000 or Windows NT system, which, by default, placed their files in \WINNT. If this applies to you, it's better to use the procedure outlined in Section 10.1.2, later in this chapter. In this case, Setup will use the whatever folder name is used by the current Windows installation.

If you're installing on a clean system (with a new, empty hard disk), you'll want to create a new partition using all of the available space (or several partitions, as desired). If your hard disk already has data on it, you'll be given the opportunity here to repartition your drive or simply install Windows XP on an existing partition (usually the first one, C:\).

Repartitioning your drive involves deleting one or more existing partitions so that one or more new partitions can be created. It's important to realize that if you delete any partition that has data on it, all of the data will be erased. And without a complete backup, there will be no way to get it back.

When asked about the file system, you'll want to choose the NTFS file system in most cases; see Section 5.2.2 for more information.

At this point, Windows setup will begin to copy files and configure your system. The rest of the installation process should be fairly straightforward; if you run into a problem, see Section 10.1.5, later in this chapter.

10.1.2 Upgrading from a Previous Version of Windows

The preferred way (at least according to Microsoft) to upgrade to Windows XP from a previous version is to install from within the existing copy of Windows. With Windows running, insert the Windows XP installation CD into your drive, and it should start automatically.^[2]

^[2] If you have the AutoPlay feature disabled (see Chapter 4), or Setup doesn't start automatically for some reason, open Windows Explorer, navigate to your CD drive, and double-click Setup.exe.

When Setup starts, you'll be given four choices:

Install Windows XP

This opens the main Windows Setup program (also accessible by launching \i386\Winnt32.exe). When it starts, your first choice will be between Upgrade (Recommended) and New Installation (Advanced). Choose the upgrade option only if you want to install Windows XP over your existing installation, replacing your current OS with Windows XP and migrating all your settings and applications in one step.

On the other hand, you may wish to choose New Installation if you want to install on another partition or on a clean hard disk (see Section 10.1.1, earlier in this chapter). This option is instrumental in setting up a dual-boot system (discussed later in this chapter).

Install Optional Windows Components

This is the same as going to opening Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel, and clicking Add/Remove Windows Components. Place a checkmark next to components you want installed, or clear the checkmark next to components you want removed.

Perform Additional Tasks

This page contains links to several, mostly self-explanatory, tasks. Click Set up Remote Desktop Connection to install the Remote Desktop Connection software (described in Section 7.2.8) on another computer. Click Set up a home or small office network to run the Network Setup Wizard, also discussed in Chapter 7. Finally, click Transfer files and settings to run the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard, discussed in Section 10.3.1, later in this chapter.

Check system compatibility

This runs the Microsoft Windows Upgrade Advisor, which looks for potential problems, such as incompatible software and hardware, and lists them in a report. See Section 10.2.1, later in this chapter, for additional issues.

10.1.3 Installing from the Command Prompt

If you need to install Windows XP on a new system, and you are unable to boot off the CD, you can optionally install from a DOS boot disk (created on a Windows 9x/Me system by going to Control Panel Add/Remove Programs). Just insert the floppy in your A: drive and power on your computer. If it's a Windows 98 or Windows Me floppy, it should contain all the necessary drivers for your CD drive,^[3] required to access the setup program on the Windows XP CD.

^[3] If you're using a Windows 95 startup disk, you'll need to obtain DOS drivers from the manufacturer of your CD drive and install them according to the included instructions.

When you get to the command prompt (A:\>), change to your CD drive by typing D: or E: (including the colon), depending on the letter with which the drive is installed. Then, type \i386\winnt.exe to start the DOS-based setup utility. The setup utility will copy the necessary boot files to your hard disk, reboot your computer, and run the same installer discussed in Section 10.1.1, earlier in this chapter.

10.1.4 Reinstalling Windows XP

You may find yourself in a position where you'll need to reinstall Windows XP, either to solve a configuration problem or to repair a damaged installation. The procedure you choose depends on the current state of your computer.

If you're able to start Windows XP and access your CD drive, your best bet is to reinstall from within Windows. See Section 10.1.2, earlier in this chapter, for details.

Otherwise, if Windows XP won't start, you should use the following procedure to repair the installation:

Boot off the XP CD, as described in Section 10.1.1, earlier in this chapter.
When setup begins, it will display two timed choices (timed, in that they disappear in 2-3 seconds if not activated). The first allows you to load a third-party SCSI or RAID controller driver by pressing F6. Use this only if Setup is unable to access your hard drive without them.
The second option allows you to repair your system with the Automated System Recovery (ASR) feature by pressing F2. If you have a dual-boot system or other special arrangement, I recommend avoiding ASR, as it will attempt to repair your installation based on a few pre-determined scenarios. The assumptions made by such an "automated" feature can wreak havoc if they're wrong.

If you're unable to repair your system using the subsequent steps listed here, and you're unable to start the Windows Recovery Console due to a lost administrator password, you may wish to return here and try ASR as a last resort.
After Setup loads the hardware drivers, you'll then be presented with several choices. Press R at this point to start the Recovery Console (discussed later in this chapter). If you wish to repair XP without using the Recovery Console, press Enter here instead (I know, it's a bit counterintuitive). Or, press F3 to abort Setup and reboot the computer.

Next, Setup will look for an existing Windows XP installation, and will hopefully find the one you're trying to repair here. Each Windows XP installation on your system will be listed here (you'll see only one if you don't have a dual-boot system). If it finds the installation you wish to repair, make sure it's highlighted and press R to begin the repair procedure, which, essentially, is an express reinstallation of the OS.

If Setup can't find your installation, it means that one or more key system files are corrupted or missing. If you have a backup of your system, now would be the time to pull it out and think about restoring said files (see Chapter 6).

Otherwise, your best bet is to use the Windows Recovery Console, discussed later in this chapter.

If you try to repair Windows by pressing ESC here to start a new install, it may not work as expected. For example, even if you install to the same partition as the installation you're trying to repair, Setup may place the new copy of Windows in a different folder (i.e., \Winnt vs. \Windows).

The rest of the repair procedure should be relatively automated and fairly self-explanatory. For more troubleshooting information, see Section 10.1.5, later in this chapter. See also Chapter 6 for more general troubleshooting tips.

10.1.5 Dealing with Potential Problems During Setup

No single book could possibly document every possible problem and incompatibility you might encounter while trying to install Windows XP. Luckily, about 95% of the problems you're likely to encounter (as well as where to find solutions to the other 5%) can be covered by the following tips:

Motherboard BIOS: The most common cause of a failed installation of Windows XP is an out-of-date BIOS. Fortunately, nearly all motherboards made in the last decade have software-upgradable flash BIOSes. Contact the manufacturer of your system or motherboard for any BIOS updates they have available, but don't bother unless a BIOS upgrade is absolutely necessary. (A failed BIOS upgrade will make your motherboard unusable.) See Appendix B for more information.
Video card: Another common stumbling block to a successful Windows XP setup is your video card (display adapter). If setup stops with an unintelligible error message, reboots unexpectedly during setup, or just hangs at a blank screen, your video card may be at fault. Some older video cards are simply not supported by Windows XP, but Setup will rarely, if ever warn you about such an incompatibility before you begin. If replacing the video card permits Windows XP to install, then the culprit is obvious. Note that while many video cards have upgradable flash BIOSes, I've never seen an instance where a BIOS upgrade can solve this type of incompatibility (although, it may be worth a shot). See the discussion of video cards in Chapter 6 for more troubleshooting advice.
Hardware Inconsistencies and other Problems: Windows XP is a little more touchy about improper hardware configurations than previous versions of Windows. If, for example, your memory (RAM) is not all the same rated speed, is not the correct type for your motherboard, or is malfunctioning in some way, it will prevent Windows XP from installing or running. Other potential problems include insufficient processor cooling, incorrect SCSI termination, improper jumpers on your IDE devices, bad cables, and even an older power supply. Chapter 6 includes troubleshooting tips for many kinds of hardware. See also Appendix B for system BIOS settings that may prevent Windows XP from installing.
Driver roadblocks: Windows XP attempts to install drivers for all detected hardware towards the end of the setup process. If Setup crashes at the same point each time, try temporarily removing any extraneous devices (unneeded drives, cards, and external peripherals).
CD drive: Since Windows XP installs from a CD, your CD drive may be to blame if the installation fails. A drive that delivers corrupt data to the computer will certainly cause problems, as will a drive that isn't accessible during the entire installation process. The same goes for older controllers (RAID and SCSI units, for example).
Dust in the wind: Lastly, I've seen Setup fail from nothing more than excessive dust on the CD. Wipe the disk against your shirt and try again.