Performing a Clean Install

Administrators will have to perform a clean install of Windows XP Professional when the computer with which they are working does not have an operating system. Administrators may also wish to perform a clean installation to give the user a fresh start. Another reason for performing a clean install is to clean up a computer that is not running properly or has large numbers of files from old applications that are consuming large amounts of disk space and are too difficult to track down and remove manually.

A clean install can be initiated by launching the installation process and selecting the New Installation option instead of the Upgrade option. A clean install involves additional configuration on the part of the administrator because no configuration settings will be available to be migrated to Windows XP Professional.

The following procedure outlines the steps involved in performing a clean install of Windows XP Professional. This procedure also demonstrates the steps involved in initiating a clean install by booting directly off the Windows XP CD.

1. Insert the Windows XP Professional CD in the computer's CD-ROM drive and power the computer on.

2. You may see a message prompting you to press a key in order to ensure that the computer boots up using the CD.

3. The Windows XP Professional Setup program begins in text mode. The following options are displayed:

   • To set up Windows XP now, Press ENTER

   • To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, Press R

   • To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, Press F3 Press the Enter key.

     Note 

     To learn about the Recovery Console and how it is used to troubleshoot problems with Windows XP Professional, refer to "Recovery Console" in Appendix B, "Troubleshooting System Startup."

4. The Windows XP Professional end-user license agreement appears. Read it and press the F8 key to accept its terms.

5. The next screen assists you in selecting or creating a partition on which Windows XP Professional will be installed. The following options are available:

   • To set up Windows XP on the selected item, press ENTER

   • To create a partition in the unpartitioned space, Press C

   • To delete the selected partition, Press D

     Either select a partition or use the create and delete options to set one up, and then press the Enter key.

6. Select the file system to be used to format the partition. The following options are available:

   • Format the partition using the NTFS file system (Quick)

   • Format the partition using the FAT file system (Quick)

   • Format the partition using the NTFS file system

   • Format the partition using the FAT file system

     Select an option and press the Enter key.

7. If you choose FAT and the selected partition is greater than 2048MB, you'll see a screen informing you that FAT32 will be used to format the partition. Press Enter to confirm this change.

8. The setup program formats the partition using the selected file system.

9. Setup next displays regional and language options. Click on Customize to change how Windows displays dates, time, number, and currency or to specify your location and make changes to language options. Click on Details to select the default input language and change keyboard settings. Click on Next to continue.

10. Setup prompts you to type the name of the person assigned to this computer and the name of your organization. Supply this information and click on Next.

11. Setup prompts you to type the 25-character Windows XP Professional product key. Enter the key and click on Next.

12. Setup prompts you to type the name assigned to the computer and to supply a password for the local administrator account that will be created as part of setup. Type this information in the fields provided and click on Next.

    Note 

    The name assigned to the computer must be unique on the network to which it is attached. If the computer is to join a Windows domain-based network, an account will need to be defined for the computer within Active Directory.

13. If Setup detects a modem on the computer, you will be prompted to supply the following information.

    • The country or region where the computer is located

    • The area code where the computer resides

    • A number, if required, needed to access an outside telephone line

    • The type of phone system to be used (tone or pulse)

      Fill in these fields as required and click on Next.

14. Setup displays Date, Time, and Time Zone information and allows you to change it as necessary. Make any required adjustments and click on Next.

15. Setup begins installing network components and configuring network access. You are prompted to select from the following options:

    • Typical settings. Installs the Client for Microsoft Networks, File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks, QoS Packed Scheduler, and TCP/IP with automatic IP addressing.

    • Custom settings. Allows the administrator to customize network setting for any client, service, or protocol.

    Select an option and click on Next.

16. If you selected Typical settings skip to step 17. If you selected Custom settings you'll next be presented with a list of default network components. This list consists of all the components listed in the Typical setting option. You are then given the opportunity to install or remove additional components and to customize the settings for any selected network component. Customize the list of network components and click on Next.

17. Setup requires that you specify either a workgroup or domain to which the computer is to join. The default option is workgroup. If the computer is going to be part of a small peer-to-peer network, type the name of a workgroup on the network and click on Next. If the computer is going to run as a stand-alone system leave the default workgroup option selected and click on Next. If the computer is going to join a domain select Yes, make this computer a member of the following domain, type the name of the domain, and then click on Next.

18. If you selected the option to join the computer to a domain the Join Computer to Domain dialog will appear, prompting you to supply the username and password of a domain account that has authority to join the computer to the domain. Type in the account information and click on OK. You with then be prompted to configure a network ID for the computer.

19. Setup continues to install Windows XP Professional and prompts you either to configure a user account and password for the computer or to skip account configuration.

20. Setup continues installing Windows XP Professional, restarts the computer, and then presents the Welcome to Microsoft Windows screen, which steps you through the completion of setup of the computer as described earlier.

21. The Welcome to the Network Identification Wizard appears and steps you through the process of setting up the computer's network ID.

22. Windows XP Professional restarts and displays the Log on to Windows dialog.