Time to grasp the Nettle. Use our hints and tips to smooth your way through the process.
Don’t try to install Windows on top of itself. While it works, the only way you’ll be sure to get a stable system that behaves in a predictable manner is to format your Windows partition and start afresh. For Windows 9x and ME this will mean rebooting using a Windows start up disk. Once at the Dos Prompt, type Format C: (Where C is the Windows partition). When the format is complete, run the setup file from your Windows Setup folder in your still intact data partition. For Windows XP, boot from the installation CD.
Batch 98
When you come to install, using batch 98, you’ll need to start your computer using a Windows startup disk. Then change dive to your data partition’s drive letter, in most cases D by typing D: or similar. Change directory to the Windows setup folder, using cd\window~1, as DOS will truncate your directory name. If this doesn’t work use DIR to see a list of your directories. Once in your Windows Setup directory type setup.exe msbatch.inf. This will start the installation, using the batch file
Regional settings
Don’t forget to set your regional settings and keyboard layout. If you get these wrong, you can end up with keys that don’t bring up the characters they should (often “ and @ are reversed, if you’ve selected a US keyboard). These aren’t set to UK English and English (British) by default, so avoid working in dollars instead of pounds and set them appropriately. If you are using Batch 98, check these settings have been picked up properly.
Copy setup files to hard drive
Windows XP will let you copy all the setup files to your hard drive. Tick the right box to ensure this happens, as it will speed up the installation no end. You can achieve the same speed increase by copying the setup files for other versions of Windows before the installation, as we described earlier.
Download updates for XP
Windows XP will connect to the Internet and download updated setup files during installation. This can take some time, but it is well worth the effort, as your installation will have the most up to date, signed drivers available.
Make a Start Up Disk
If you are lacking a start up disk to perform a clean Windows 98 or ME installation, don’t despair. Pop a formatted disk into your floppy drive and go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs. Choose the Startup Disk tab and click on Create Disk.
Enable boot from CD in BIOS
When starting afresh with a Windows XP CD, make sure you can boot from CD. Enter your computer’s BIOS (Basic Input Output Settings) by pressing Esc, or the key combination your computer uses during boot. You can see the key(s) needed during start up. Once in your BIOS, look for the boot sequence entry. Ideally, this should be set to try the floppy drive first, then the CD drive and finally your hard disk. Exit, saving your changes.
First XP Install?
If you’re taking the opportunity to install Windows XP as part of your perfect PC set up and you previously ran an older version of Windows, be aware that you may run into hardware difficulties. Devices that worked well under Windows 9x may not function properly under Windows XP. The XP setup program will try to install all of your devices, using the most appropriate driver available to it. In some, albeit rare cases, the driver used may not be suitable, and you’ll need to alter it after installation (see Manually Installing Drivers). In even rarer cases, the incompatible hardware may cause the setup program to crash. This has happened in the case of some video cards. If it does, replace the device and try again. You can find a list of compatible hardware at http://www.microsoft.com/hwtest/default.asp.
Run Upgrade advisor
The easiest way to check your system over for Windows XP compatibility is to run Upgrade advisor. Insert your windows XP CD and when it auto runs, choose Check System Compatibility. The program will connect to the internet to get the most up to date information, then it interrogates your computer, checking hardware, software and disk space. It gives a detailed report when it’s finished, which you can print out, giving you a checklist of blocking issues or things you need to do to ensure a smooth installation.
Check the logs
If the worst happens, and your installation fails, Windows creates text files that log the installation. Assuming you are able to access the hard drive, using DOS or another version of Windows, check through the Windows directory for Setuplog.txt and Setupapi.log. You can open these using any text editor, like notepad. You may need to save the files to a floppy disk and take them to another computer to view them. Look for components that did not install correctly. These will give you a clue as to where the installation failed and how you can ensure it doesn’t happen next time you try.
File system for Windows XP
The Windows XP setup program lets you choose whether to use the FAT32 or NTFS filing system for your Windows XP partition. For benefits of NTFS, see Partitions and Chewing The FAT on page XX. If Windows XP is your only operating system, its best to choose to format your Windows partition using the NTFS system. If you are setting up a dual booting system with both Windows XP and an earlier Windows, choose FAT32, if you want to be able to see your Windows XP partition from you other Windows. NTFS partitions cannot be read by Windows 9x and ME.
Dual booting
Which brings us to the option of dual booting. Windows XP will happily install itself alongside another version of Windows, giving you the option to choose which OS you boot into at start up. If this is the way you’d like to go, make sure you set up some space on your hard drive when you partition it, so you have partitions for your older Windows and for XP as well as your data partition. Also, if you want to install both Windows XP and 9x/ME as clean installations, make sure you install Windows 9x/ME first. Windows XP makes installing a dual boot easy. It is not easy to set up dual booting when you install an older version of Windows. However, Acronis OS selector can save the day if you have got your set up wrong. Simply re-install Acronis and it should sort you out.
Unforeseen problems
If you’ve still run into difficulty with your installation, get yourself to a PC that’s got a working internet connection and go to http://support.microsoft.com. This is the Microsoft knowledge base, which allows you to search through all known problems and their solutions. Select the version of Windows that you are installing and enter the error message into the search bar. If you don’t have an error message or didn’t make a note of it, try to summarise the problem into a few key words.
Installing Drivers Manually
Windows XP installs most drivers automatically, but here’s what to do if things don’t work out.
Go to Control Panel, Printers and other hardware and choose Add Hardware from the See Also pane. Answer yes to Is the hardware connected? Click Next.
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Windows XP then lists the detected hardware on your computer. If your hardware is not listed, you need to get Windows XP to detect it. Try reconnecting your device.
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Any listed components that do not have drivers installed will have yellow exclamation marks by them. Double click the device in question. Click Finish to start the hardware troubleshooter.
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Put your driver CD into its drive and click Next to get Windows to automatically search for the driver. If the search fails, click Back and browse to your driver’s location.
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If your driver is in your drivers folder on your data partition, enter its path here. Windows will warn you if the driver is unsigned. Once found, Windows will install your driver.
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If it still can’t find a suitable driver, Windows XP will connect to the Windows Update Website to search. If this search fails, you’ll need to go to your manufacturer’s website and manually download it before repeating the process.
