Chapter Summary

• Before installing Windows XP, you must ensure that the computer meets or exceeds the hardware requirements for the operating system. You should also make sure that all hardware devices are listed in Microsoft’s Windows Catalog.

• Windows XP supports three types of installations: clean installations, upgrades, and multiple boot installations. Windows XP also supports three methods of installations: standard (attended), network, and automated.

• The Files and Settings Transfer Wizard and the USMT can both be used to transfer files and settings. The Files And Settings Transfer Wizard is intended for home and small business users and provides a simple wizard interface. USMT is intended for users on larger networks.

• The system partition holds the files that are necessary to start the computer. The boot partition holds the files necessary to start the operating system. Often, the boot and system partition are the same partition.

• Common reasons for a Windows XP installation failure include insufficient disk space, a BIOS-based virus scanner that is preventing Setup from running properly, incompatible or malfunctioning hardware, and problems with the installation CD (or accessing the installation files on the network).

• You can use the Windows Setup log files (Setupact.log and Setupapi.log) to view information about the setup process and help identify the cause of installation failures.

• Stop errors occur when the computer detects a condition from which it cannot recover. You can look up specific stop errors in the Knowledge Base.

• Troubleshooting upgrade problems follows the same procedure as troubleshooting installation problems. However, there are many actions that you should take before performing an upgrade to ensure that the process goes as smoothly as possible. The most important of these actions are to make sure that a computer meets the minimum hardware requirements, that the software and hardware are compatible, that the data on the computer is backed up, and that all programs (especially antivirus software) are stopped.

• You can use the Windows Update site to scan a computer and display available critical, Windows, and driver updates.

• Automatic Updates is a Windows XP feature that downloads and installs critical updates automatically. Although you can specify that Automatic Updates prompt users before downloading or installing, Microsoft recommends that you configure Automatic Updates to download and install automatically according to a preset schedule.

• Service packs are collections of updates (and sometimes new features) that Microsoft has tested to ensure that they work together correctly. Microsoft occasionally issues new service packs for its products.

• The Safe Mode and Last Known Good Configuration options are two of the most useful tools to try first when troubleshooting Windows startup. Enabling Boot Logging is also useful typically when you are having trouble locating the source of the problem.

• The Recovery Console is a command-line utility that gives you access to the hard disks when the operating system does not start. The Recovery Console can access all volumes on the drive, regardless of the file system type. As the administrator of a Windows XP computer, you should be familiar with the Recovery Console and how you can use it to correct operating system problems.