Assuming that you haven’t set up an unattended installation, there are three main sections of the Windows installation during which input from you is needed. The first comes before any Windows files have been transferred to your hard drive. It’s concerned with setting up partitions, formatting and copying the main files to hard disk for speedier access. After a reboot, Windows begins installing. You’ll be asked to provide personal details, location and language information and your networking preferences as well as the product key during this phase. Much of the time is taken with extracting and copying files, so having a cup of tea on standby is a good idea. The final phase involves checking connectivity, product activation and registration and setting up users. Once that’s completed, you’ll have a working copy of Windows on your PC, but you’ll still need to sort out some device drivers, modify display settings and install all your software.
It’s possible to start an installation of Windows by launching the Windows CD from within Windows itself. This was really designed for upgrading from an older version of Windows and it’s not recommended because it basically installs a copy of Windows on top of itself. It will restore deleted or corrupt files, but it won’t rid you of the junk data and other problems that probably necessitated the reinstall in the first place. It’s much better to wipe the slate clean, format your Windows partition and start with a brand new fresh copy of Windows.
You can launch the installation from within Windows, but this is only recommended for upgrades.To start the installation, you need to boot from your Windows XP CD. You may need to enable CD booting in the BIOS to achieve this. See the boxout to find out how. The set-up program interrogates your hard disk(s) and reports the current partitions. You can create or delete partitions here, but eventually you need to choose the one you want to house XP and press Enter. You are presented with a number of format options. The best option for stability and performance is Format the partition using the NTFS file system. Setup describes the partition you chose to format. Press [F] to continue. Your drive will be wiped and you’ll start the installation of Windows XP. All installation files are now copied from the CD to the drive. This takes some time, but it means that later parts of the installation go more quickly. When it’s complete, reboot your PC
When you’ve confirmed regional settings, you will need to provide your name and company. The latter field you can leave empty if this is a home PC. You can use typical network settings in practically all circumstances unless you’re an industry professional or power user, in which case you’ll know what you’re doing. Using typical settings your PC can still log onto a domain or join a workgroup, which is the most common setup for home networks. If this is your only computer, having the network settings in place won’t affect its function. If you plan to set up a simple home network later the default settings will suffice.
During your installation, you’ll be asked for the product key. This is the code that you’ll find on the back of your Windows XP folder or on the CD case if you’re installing an older version of Windows. Enter this carefully as it uniquely identifies your copy of Windows. The product key forms part of the Windows XP product activation code, along with information generated from parts of your computer hardware. If your installation is an upgrade version of Windows, you’ll need to prove that you own the earlier version of Windows that you’re upgrading from. You may be prompted to insert a CD or browse to installation files of the earlier version.
You’ll find your product key on your CD box or stuck to the outside of your computer.During the last stages of installation for Windows XP, you’ll be asked for an administrator password. This protects the main PC settings. If you share your PC, you may want to keep this secure if you don’t want other people altering key system settings.
It’s rare for an installation to completely fail, but if it does, Windows creates text log files for you to investigate the cause. Assuming you are able to access the hard drive, 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. Get to a PC that’s got a working internet connection and go to http://support.microsoft.com. Browse the Microsoft knowledge base for the version of Windows that you are installing and enter any error message you found into the search bar.
Use the installation log files to help you trace any faults in the install process.
The most common problems with installing Windows relate to lost data or the inability to get devices up and running again due to not backing up correctly. If you have a drive image taken, this shouldn’t be a problem and on the next spread we’ll see how you can restore it.
