Clean install of windows Xp os- any tips?

[GLeN]

Well I was wondering the other day when i get my system, after i put everything together using this sites guides and the manuals etc, how do i get windows xp on it? Is it self explanatory and quick(wanna have a go or two at css on xmas before dinner ) or will it take along time?

Does anyone have tips or any guides on how to do it?

Any help is well appreciated, Merry Christmas!

 

[PaulieG]

Loading Windows XP is a breeze, just put the disk in and follow the prompts.

 

[trog100]

it all depends on whether the gods are with u or against u.. may they be with u this time..

i dont think i have ever put a bunch of unknown hardware together and have it simply all work..

as i say.. may the gods be with u..

trog

 

[Hawk1]

Should be easy. If its a new system/motherboard, should be easy after the install too. Just pop the MB driver CD in and go to town (some of the drivers may be a few months old on the CD, so you shoud update those when you get a chance).

If you plan to have SATA Hard Drives and you set them in the BIOS as AHCI or RAID mode, the only additional step would be to make an F6 driver disk and install it at the beginning of the OS installation - otherwise when the CD wants to know where to install it will not see your HDD.

 

[trog100]

newer boards have native sata and bolt on ide.. he he.. its gone full circle.. my abit ip35 pro needs additional drivers to read ide drives.. believe it or not.. it has a bolt on jmmicro chip just for the ide drives..

trog

 

[Natrid]

It's a pretty straight forward process. Stick XP disc in, follow onscreen instructions, install drivers, etc. Simple stuff.

 

[keakar]

read the motherboard manual (you may need to download it from the motherboard makers website) it will help you with all the connections and tell you how to set it up.

as for windows just put in the disk and follow the directions and occassionally you need to click this or that choice. after your done put in the disk that came with the motherboard and load the drivers it came with, this is to get it running good then go to the motherboards website and see if there are any newer drivers for your board (usually they always have newer ones to download and install). now install the video card driver from its cd and then go to the home page here to find the latest drivers for your video card to download and install.

NOTE: it is best when downloading the new drivers for everything that you select "save to desktop" instead of "run". when it finishes saving it to the desktop then click on run to install it. that way you can record them on a cd disk later on when you have time. keep your updated drivers cd with your windows cd so in case you ever need to reformat and reinstall windows you will need them again.

now your computer should be running full speed and you can start downloading all the microsoft windows updates from their site. (this means restarting your computer and downloading more updates several times because you need to restart the computer so it can digest the updates you loaded before it can find more updates based on the updates you just made. it will be a fun learning experience but plan on spending the whole day to finish everything by the time your done.

go to the computer assembly and troubleshooting guide in my sig and print it out so you will have a guide to follow so you can make sure everythings working and in case of trouble it can help you figure out the problem.

 

[GLeN]

Should be easy. If its a new system/motherboard, should be easy after the install too. Just pop the MB driver CD in and go to town (some of the drivers may be a few months old on the CD, so you shoud update those when you get a chance).

If you plan to have SATA Hard Drives and you set them in the BIOS as AHCI or RAID mode, the only additional step would be to make an F6 driver disk and install it at the beginning of the OS installation - otherwise when the CD wants to know where to install it will not see your HDD.

I will be using a western digital 500gb sataII hdd http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124228
but i didnt plan on getting a floppy disk drive :O So is there any way around it?

 

[Hawk1]

I will be using a western digital 500gb sataII hdd http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124228
but i didnt plan on getting a floppy disk drive :O So is there any way around it?

Well you can see this on how to install without floppy.

If that's too much of a PIA for you, your other option is to set SATA as IDE mode in the BIOS. This will emulate your SATA drive as PATA. You would lose a little performance, but makes the install a little easier, as you would just have to pop the CD in and follow the instructions (no floppy required).

 

[GLeN]

That would be exellent i will have to try that, I will put it into ide mode then burn a cd with those drivers and reformat the whole system, sound like a plan? can you change it to sata mode on next install?

 

[Hawk1]

That would be exellent i will have to try that, I will put it into ide mode then burn a cd with those drivers and reformat the whole system, sound like a plan? can you change it to sata mode on next install?

Yup, should work out. Just make sure, after you burn the CD and ready to reinstall, you set SATA in BIOS and choose either AHCI or RAID mode (it will be a sub-option for SATA). Once you set the mode, (SATA or IDE, and AHCI or RAID), you cannot change any of them after the OS is installed (well there are solutions around that too, but best to clean install if your switching modes), you would have to reinstall.

Edit: What hardware do you plan to get (MB, CPU etc). Shouldn't matter if its newer, but just checking.

 

[twicksisted]

Clean install of windows Xp os- any tips?

Yeah, get yourself some beer... takes a while... not so much the install, but to updates, service packs, drivers etc...

 

[GLeN]

Yup, should work out. Just make sure, after you burn the CD and ready to reinstall, you set SATA in BIOS and choose either AHCI or RAID mode (it will be a sub-option for SATA). Once you set the mode, (SATA or IDE, and AHCI or RAID), you cannot change any of them after the OS is installed (well there are solutions around that too, but best to clean install if your switching modes), you would have to reinstall.

Edit: What hardware do you plan to get (MB, CPU etc). Shouldn't matter if its newer, but just checking.

So what I get from that is, set it up as ide no drivers need, get os up and running, install everything, then reformat for clean install, choose sata instead of ide this time, then do everything else etc

or do you mean set it to sata in bios of first install like on start up? then do install?

Sorry about this But i wanna get it right first time

the specs are:

q6600
crucial ballistix 2 gig ram
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L
500gb hdd caviar wd
evga 8800gt

Cheers, merry xmas

 

[Hawk1]

So what I get from that is, set it up as ide no drivers need, get os up and running, install everything, then reformat for clean install, choose sata instead of ide this time, then do everything else etc

or do you mean set it to sata in bios of first install like on start up? then do install?

Sorry about this But i wanna get it right first time

the specs are:

q6600
crucial ballistix 2 gig ram
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L
500gb hdd caviar wd
evga 8800gt

Cheers, merry xmas

Sorry, I misunderstood your last post. You EITHER have to run in IDE mode (and live with it) OR do a slipstreamed complete install CD (as shown in the link I posted) to get the SATA drivers embeded in the install. I don't think I've seen anyone do it with a CD just containing the drivers - has to be a floppy - you will see an option to hit F6 during the first 5-10 seconds when the install begins. I know of no other way to do it (on your board), so someone else may have another option for you, as I am not familiar with your chipset (ICH9). Good luck, but if you really want SATA performance, I would either do the slipstream install CD or get a floppy drive (they're less than $10).

 

[GLeN]

Yeh i just relised the trouble so ill think il get the floppy drive out of my sisters pc as she doesnt used it or just buy one as you said. So would this old floppy drive work? its like 10 years old lol thanks alot hawk!

 

[Hawk1]

Yeah, I don't think floppy's have changed much in 25 years, so your sisters one should be good to go.

 

[keakar]

Yeh i just relised the trouble so ill think il get the floppy drive out of my sisters pc as she doesnt used it or just buy one as you said. So would this old floppy drive work? its like 10 years old lol thanks alot hawk!

get a new one! they are cheap and those old ones are clickety clack noise makers. besides you dont want one the floppy gets stuck in or has trouble reading disks.

look at this one: SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive $6.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16821103203