put on operating sytem from scratch

the_jocky

can som one please guide me through the process of putting on xp
from a completly blank hdd
any help would be greatfuly received.

zAbbo

Put in cd, start computer.

You may need to enter your bios and set the cd drive to boot first

seamus

You will need:

1. The Windows XP install disc (not the recovery disc).
2. Your Windows XP license key.
3. A minor knowledge of changing BIOS settings.
4. A litre of coffee/tea/coke/7up (choose as appropriate).

Boot up the machine and stick the CD in straight away. You may be prompted to "Press any key to boot from CD...". If you're not, you'll just see a message saying "Invalid disk or disk error" or some other error. If so, you'll need to reboot, go into BIOS, set the boot order to include your CD drive.

After that, you press any key to boot from CD and follow the instructions. It's a piece of piss really.

the_jocky

thanks me auld buckos and i love that your from lewcan class .....
happy xmas to ye all even them f_ekn rednecks

the_jocky

just another question im told its a blank hdd if its not and theres data on it how do i wipe it?
sorry for the probably stupid questions.

SwampThing

The install will allow you to delete the partitions on the disk and create new ones.

Easiest way is to delete all partitions on the disk, create new one(s) and install.

Format it NTFS - a quick format should do, but if you've the time, you might prefer a full format, just to be on the safe side.

Depending on your preference, some people like to create a small partition for the XP install and another one for data/games etc. Basically a C and a D drive on the same disk. Entirely personal preference really.

...just can't spell partitions - get's me every time

Capt'n Midnight

SwampThing wrote:

Format it NTFS
... Depending on your preference, some people like to create a small partition for the XP install and another one for data/games etc.
..
Entirely personal preference really.

RE "Entirely personal preference really". - depends on how recoverable you want your system to be.
I'd set aside 8-12GB for windows and install all progrms into

If you setup C: as NTFS then when setup finished go into the command prompt and from the CD run
\i386\winnt32 /cmdcons
this will give you a recovery console in case you ever need to delete/edit files on the NTFS partition if windwows dies not wrok

SwampThing

This has been covered a hunderd and one times on boards.

depends on how recoverable you want your system to be.
I'd set aside 8-12GB for windows and install all progrms into

Why? Where's the gain?

It's all well and good in theory, but if you have to reinstall the OS, you have to reinstall the apps as well, so there's little point in putting apps on a separate drive. If an installation writes to the registry in any shape or form, you'll need to reinstall it after an OS reinstall. I know you can export registry settings etc. etc. but in all honesty, who does that?

Data files, music, movies, documents, saved games etc - absolutely, they're a given for a separate drive, but not applications.

Now if you've more that one hard drive, well then that's a different kettle of fishies.

Capt'n Midnight

SwampThing wrote:

Why? Where's the gain?

mainly 'cos it's faster to restore - using cloned image or ntbackup. also you can put the swap file there so it's at the start of the drive.

When you reinstall the apps they should inherit their settings (mar dhea)

Balfa

SwampThing wrote:

if you have to reinstall the OS, you have to reinstall the apps as well

Again, no you don't. Almost all the games and apps i work with do not need to be reinstalled after reinstalling windows. You just install windows then run the app and if it really does need something in the registry, it'll usually create it then and there.

Data files, music, movies, documents, saved games etc - absolutely, they're a given for a separate drive

"Why? Where's the gain?" :P

SwampThing

You've been in Dallas too long Balfa.

Good for you if your apps don't need reinstalling - I'm happy for you; genuinely.

Now, off you go and play with John Ross and Christopher, like a good lad!

Spunog UIE

Having 2 partitions is the way to go. One for OS and one for everything else, IMO.

Having more than 2 partitions isn't a great idea, as you'll regret it as your hard-drive fills up, no matter how big it is now, it'll probally fill up, its what they do lol. So don't bother with more unless you have a definite reason for doing so. Keeping things sorted (Apps, Games, Vids) with partitions is a bad idea, use folders.

I find 6gigs to be loads for WinXP. As was stated, most apps don't need to be reinstalled just run once, if you have to install an OS again at a later date.

A good step is to re-assign My Desktop, My Documents (keeps files in a safe place, can also be used for game data), Application Data folder (this will save a lot of settings for your apps etc) to \ too, then restore these paths after you reinstall. Changing the location of these folders, only takes 1min and it'll save you so much hassel.

There a few other advantages to this set up as well as the safety of having apps etc on a seperate drive (no reinstalling). Making a backup image of your OS is much quicker as its smaller and only the essential files are located on C:\
You can also defrag the drive more efficiently and gain increased performance.

SwampThing

Gideon wrote:

As was stated, most apps don't need to be reinstalled just run once, if you have to install an OS again at a later date..

I've just had a look at my own PC here - Alcohol 120%, Photoshop, Office, Visual Studio, Dreamweaver, Nero, Norton AntiVirus, VMWare, SQL Server, Ultra DVD Creater, FTP Voyager, Crystal Reports, Power DVD, Acrobat Professional, RealPlayer - to name but a small number of the apps installed.

How many of those do you think would work without reinstalling?
Not to mention the updates for these and many many more applications.

I agree about redirecting My Documents etc. but, as I said myself, this is to protect data files in the event of reinstalling the OS.

I don't agree with the idea that apps don't need reinstalling

Balfa

SwampThing wrote:

You've been in Dallas too long Balfa.

Good for you if your apps don't need reinstalling - I'm happy for you; genuinely.

Now, off you go and play with John Ross and Christopher, like a good lad!

I don't think I get your point.

Alcohol 120%, Photoshop, Office, Visual Studio, Dreamweaver, Nero, Norton AntiVirus, VMWare, SQL Server, Ultra DVD Creater, FTP Voyager, Crystal Reports, Power DVD, Acrobat Professional, RealPlayer - to name but a small number of the apps installed.

How many of those do you think would work without reinstalling?

At least 13, since you asked. I've never played with Power DVD or Norton AntiVirus, so I don't know about them. But don't take my word for it. Just try it yourself.

edit: oops, i'm thinking of easy cd creator or something, not ultra dvd creator. never used that either.

SwampThing

Balfa wrote:

I don't think I get your point.

I was being facicous.

Balfa wrote:

At least 13, since you asked. I've never played with Power DVD or Norton AntiVirus, so I don't know about them. But don't take my word for it. Just try it yourself.

That reminds me of a guy here who would take a hard disk with XP or 2000 installed from a machine and put it in a completely different spec'd machine and wonder why in a weeks time it fell over in a heap.

If the apps will run without reinstalling (no registry entries whatsoever) why do they create the entries in the first place? For the craic?

Are you honestly saying that, from experience, you know for a fact that SQL Server, Office, Visual Studio, VMWare etc. will run without reinstalling?

It is something I must try sometime, maybe on a VM.

kippy

Does anyone use google anymore.......
http://www.theeldergeek.com/xp_home_install_-_graphic.htm


No need to replicate the same instructions when there are tonnes of FAQs out there on d'internet.......

Mutant_Fruit

The main reason why you don't install your apps on the C: is NOT because it means you'll have to reinstall them later, its because space on your C: is limited. If you were to start installing apps willy-nilly on the C: you'd find you have no space left on it within a VERY short space of time.

Some apps require files to be put in c:\program files. Thats why you allocate 8-12 gigs for your C partition. This allows windows to be installed, and the necessary junk to fit into C:\program files. For everything else, theres MasterCard... i mean, you're D partition

EDIT: For example VS Express 2005 *has* to put over a gig on the C drive. No option to install elsewhere. And i'm pretty sure there's a similar problem with VS.NET 2003. So thats a few gigs gone to them (worst case scenario).

Spunog UIE

Well from my experience the following work off the bat. They probally make up(or used to), 80% of my apps\games.


7zip, WinRar, PowerArchiever,active ports,adaware,spybot,animation shop3,azureus,BFFTP Server,BulletProof FTP Client,Cute FTP, File Zilla,,Crap Cleaner,CDisplay,Copernic Desktop Search,Crimison Editor,Cursor XP,DbpowerAMP,DC++,Digiguide,DU Meter,DupDetector,DVDShrink,DVD SAnta,Firefox, Thunderbird,FoxIT (PDF Reader),MIRC,foobar2k, winamp,irfanview,Macromedia MX suite(flash,dreameaver etc)-just have to re-entere serial,Microangelo,MPUI,NBPRO,Photoshop 6,Painshop Pro 9/x,VideoLan,PowerDVD,Rainlendar,Opera,Valve Hammer
10ish Gigs

Games:
C&C Conquer + Zero Hour, just has to be verified, Steam + Games (CS, HL, HL2 etc),Call Of Duty,Quake,Quake3,Tiberian Sun,Unreal Tournement,UT2004
26gigs+


The only apps that I have had to be freshly install, are stuff like burning/mounting apps(Daemon Tools,Nero, A120%), and register their files.
Premiere Pro kicks up a fuss too, but as you can see most of them don't have to be reinstalled again.

As for comparing moving an entire hard-disk from one system to another and using the old os to, simply using apps on a disk with new freshly installed os onto the current hardward, tells me your either full or **** or arguing for the sake of it. Its a completely different situation. An os has to customise itself to your hardware and acts as a base for all the programs you then wish to then run on it.

The only things that are usually written to the registery are keys and a few settings. Most of these settings are recreated by programs when they discover they are missing. When serials etc are missing they may prompt you to enter them or simple say that the installation should be reinstalled so you can enter these details again. OF course you can manually re add these, or use cd key changer apps to re add them, both of which are a 100 times quicker than reinstalling completely. These only make up a fraction of apps I have used.

Some apps should be reinstalled with a system, they are ones that have to be more intergrated with the system, firewalls, antivirus.

In summary 2 partitions mostly >*


Good luck jocky with the install

gamer

if u format in fat 32 than if the system crashes or loses data its much easier to acess the os,,recover and repair,the os by using a bootdisk,floppy,or winxp recovery disk.with ntfs format its easy to get locked out of the os,if certain key data is lost or scrambled,and u can make up a set of win xp emergency recovery disks,which contain the basic xp os data, which can save reinstalling xp,which can take hours if u have alot of programs like viruschecker,firewall,anti spyware. i think drive c: should be at least 30gig.

Capt'n Midnight

Mutant_Fruit wrote:

Some apps require files to be put in c:\program files.

You can change that
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProgramFilesDir
course you have to do it before you install any apps and get a third party app to change all other refs to it in the reg. - must be a setting in the setup inf to do it too.

SwampThing

Gideon wrote:

As for comparing moving an entire hard-disk from one system to another and using the old os to, simply using apps on a disk with new freshly installed os onto the current hardward, tells me your either full or **** or arguing for the sake of it. Its a completely different situation.

Steady on there Gideon, you'll give yourself an aneurysm.

Look, there are so many posts on boards from people with systems having some problem and an amount of the advice being given is 'reinstall everything'.

Personally, and this is my own opinion and I'm not shoving it down your neck, if you're going to do something as drastic as that, then you may as well do it right. If someones asking here how to reinstall an OS, they're unlikely to be able to manually recreate registry settings for apps that kick up a fuss when not reinstalled from scratch. I think that's a fair enough point, don't you?

I will, after the Turkey Festival, try it on a VM and see what happens.

Bah Humbug!

gamer

if u set up frequent xp restore points ,daily,and have 2 sets of xp emergency restore 3/half inch boot disks,make 2 sets .and copy them to 2 cdrs,clean registry,then u,ll probably never have to reinstall,i had to use restore points twice because of virus and spyware attacks.backup the registry and make xp emergency boot,disks ,it takes four floppys to do this. its very easy to get locked out of the pc,os, if u format in ntfs,whereas with fat32 u can use even a win98 bootdisk to boot in dos prompt mode .

gamer

u can download various types of bootdisks for windows. s os.s , from bootdisk.com ,95 and up ,,maybe winxp,not sure about,xp disks.