Clean install for XP, Easy?????

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nathan
  • Start date Start date
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Nathan

HI all,

I want to upgrade ME to XP pro but I want a clean install
as I am told this is the best way to do it.
Is this easy and how would I go about it, apart from
formatting the c drive.

Thanks in advance for all replies.

Nathan.
 
Hi

The following article by MVP Michael Stevens will help you:

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

Will


--

Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User


| HI all,
|
| I want to upgrade ME to XP pro but I want a clean install
| as I am told this is the best way to do it.
| Is this easy and how would I go about it, apart from
| formatting the c drive.
|
| Thanks in advance for all replies.
|
| Nathan.
 
In
Nathan said:
I want to upgrade ME to XP pro but I want a clean install
as I am told this is the best way to do it.
Click to expand...


There are those who tell you it is the best way, and those who
tell you it is not. I fall into the latter camp. Unlike with
previous versions of Windows, and upgrade to XP replaces almost
everything, and usually works very well.

My recommendation is to at least try the upgrade, since it's much
easier than a clean installation. You can always change your mind
and reinstall cleanly if problems develop.

However, don't assume that doing an upgrade relieves you of the
need to backup your data, etc. before beginning. Before starting
to upgrade, it's always prudent to recognize that things like a
sudden power loss can occur in eth middle of it and cause the
loss of everything. For that reason you should make sure you have
backups and anything else you need to reinstall if the worst
happens.


Is this easy and how would I go about it, apart from
formatting the c drive.
Click to expand...


You don't even need to separately format the drive. Just boot
from the Windows XP CD and follow the prompts for a clean
installation. It will do the reformat for you.

You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html
 
While a clean install is one way to install XP I do not agree that it is
"the best way". On a system that is operating well an upgrade can be
faster, avoid the need to reinstall some (not all software) and minimizes
the need to restore data and other files from your backups. Of course one
should always have backups of important data but an upgrade can be a safe,
effective and time saving way to change operating systems. And if the
upgrade is not successful you can still clean install. See Gary Woodruff's
excellent site regarding Upgrading to XP http://www.aumha.org/a/xpupgrad.htm
and Alex Nichol's site on converting to NTFS http://aumha.org/a/ntfs.htm
 
Greetings --

Some people will recommend that you perform a clean installation,
rather than upgrade over Win98/Me. For the most part, I feel that
these people, while well-meaning, are living in the past, and are
basing their recommendation on their experiences with older operating
systems. You'd probably save a lot of time by upgrading your PC to
WinXP, rather than performing a clean installation, if you've no
hardware or software incompatibilities. Microsoft has greatly
improved (over earlier versions of Windows) WinXP's ability to
smoothly upgrade an earlier OS.

WinXP is designed to install and upgrade the existing operating
system while simultaneously preserving your applications and data, and
translating as many personalized settings as possible. The process is
designed to be, and normally is, quite painless. That said, things
can go wrong, in a small number of cases. If your data is at all
important to you, back it up before proceeding.

Have you made sure that your PC's hardware components are capable
of supporting WinXP? This information will be found at the PC's
manufacturer's web site, and on Microsoft's Hardware Compatibility
List: (http://www.microsoft.com/hcl/default.asp) Additionally, run
Microsoft WinXP Upgrade Advisor to see if you have any incompatible
hardware components or applications.

You should, before proceeding, take a few minutes to ensure that
there are WinXP device drivers available for all of the machine's
components. There may not be, if the PC was specifically designed for
Win98. Also bear in mind that PCs designed for, sold and run fine
with Win9x/Me very often do not meet WinXP's much more stringent
hardware quality requirements. This is particularly true of many
models in Compaq's consumer-class Presario product line or HP's
consumer-class Pavilion product line. WinXP, like WinNT and Win2K
before it, is quite sensitive to borderline defective hardware
(particularly motherboards, RAM and hard drives) that will still
support Win9x.

HOW TO Prepare to Upgrade Win98 or WinMe
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q316639

Upgrading to Windows XP
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.htm

If you still want to perform a clean installation:

It's quite possible to perform a clean installation using the
Upgrade CD. You'll be offered the opportunity to delete, create, and
format partitions as part of the installation process.

Simply boot from the WinXP Upgrade CD. The Upgrade CD checks to
see if a qualifying OS is installed, and, if it finds none, it asks
you to insert the installation media (CD) of that OS. Unfortunately,
an OEM "Recovery/Restore" CD will not work for this purpose; you must
have a true installation CD, complete with the "\Win98" folder and
*.cab files, or the "\i386" folder of WinNT/2K.

Alternatively, or especially if all you have is an OEM Recovery CD
for the earlier OS, you can even start the upgrade from within the
current Win98/Me/NT/2K installation, and still elect to perform a
clean installation, to include formatting the drive. In this case,
there's no further request for the qualifying OS's installation CD,
because the installation routing "remembers" that you started from
within the qualifying OS. This process is more time-consuming, but
you get the same results: a clean installation of WinXP.



Bruce Chambers

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