Formatting

[Guest]

I need to completely clean a hard disk on a PC desktop. The desktop
originally had ME installed, and was upgraded to XP Home edition. Once I have
the hard disk cleared I am assuming that I need to use a startup disk for ME;
install ME and then upgrade to XP Home edition. I have the original
installation cd's (ME & XP) that came with the desktop; however, I do not
have a startup floppy for ME. Also, the ME files that were saved to the hard
drive when the upgrade was done have been erased.
Is there a way of meeting my goal of re-installing XP Home other than as I
have described?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

NOTE: If you have an internal Zip Drive installed, physically disconnect the
EIDE and power cable to it before proceeding, otherwise your main
hard drive may not be assigned the customary C: drive letter.
After installing Windows XP, you may then reconnect it.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete all the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.mspx

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Get Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.mspx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| I need to completely clean a hard disk on a PC desktop. The desktop
| originally had ME installed, and was upgraded to XP Home edition. Once I have
| the hard disk cleared I am assuming that I need to use a startup disk for ME;
| install ME and then upgrade to XP Home edition. I have the original
| installation cd's (ME & XP) that came with the desktop; however, I do not
| have a startup floppy for ME. Also, the ME files that were saved to the hard
| drive when the upgrade was done have been erased.
| Is there a way of meeting my goal of re-installing XP Home other than as I
| have described?
| --
| Al W

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

You will need to boot your system with the XP CD. You will not have to
install ME first. The following article by Michael Stevens will show you
how to 'Clean' install XP. You will possibly need the ME CD as proof for an
upgrade:

"Clean Install Windows XP "
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the input. It sounds like a much better approach than I had
anticipated. You may see a similar question from me which you can ignore. I
was not sure that this original message had been inputted properely so I
re-submitted. Hope it doesn't cause any confusion.
Thanks again.
--
Al W

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

NOTE: If you have an internal Zip Drive installed, physically disconnect the
EIDE and power cable to it before proceeding, otherwise your main
hard drive may not be assigned the customary C: drive letter.
After installing Windows XP, you may then reconnect it.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete all the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.mspx

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Get Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.mspx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| I need to completely clean a hard disk on a PC desktop. The desktop
| originally had ME installed, and was upgraded to XP Home edition. Once I have
| the hard disk cleared I am assuming that I need to use a startup disk for ME;
| install ME and then upgrade to XP Home edition. I have the original
| installation cd's (ME & XP) that came with the desktop; however, I do not
| have a startup floppy for ME. Also, the ME files that were saved to the hard
| drive when the upgrade was done have been erased.
| Is there a way of meeting my goal of re-installing XP Home other than as I
| have described?
| --
| Al W

 

[Guest]

Sorry to use this process but how can I post a question. I almost never(only
once in multiple tries) get a blank window. I need to ask how I can preserve
dates in copying back my files from a CD after a hard drive replacement.
That's two questions! Looking forward to the answer(s). Many thanks,

 

[Harry Ohrn]

Using the web based newsgroup is a PITA at times. After you are logged on
you may have to repeatedly keep clicking the "New" button to get the window
to open so you can start a new thread. I much prefer using Outlook Express
over the web based service.

To retain the original file dates I believe you will need to either zip your
files before burning them to CD or use third party software like Nero. Nero
has a setting for retaining the original date prior to burning to disc.

 

[Nepatsfan]

Sorry to use this process but how can I post a question. I
almost never(only once in multiple tries) get a blank
window. I need to ask how I can preserve dates in copying
back my files from a CD after a hard drive replacement.
That's two questions! Looking forward to the answer(s).
Many thanks,

Try holding down the CTRL key when you click on New ->
Question. A popup blocker on your computer may be preventing
the window from being displayed.

Nepatsfan

 

[Guest]

YEs, from my limited experience that could be it. Perhaps I can turn off the
PO blocker while in the process under discussion. Many thanks.

 

[Guest]

Dear HO: 1) I'm way behind you but will try the multiple hits, 2) What would
be the address line in Outlook Express? 3)I've already burned the CD, last
year, and the dates of creation were still in place. In an effort today to
rebuild files on the HD, I copied some. Whatever I did I did differently in
two evetns as one group copied carried their initial creation dates and the
other showed as today's date. Any ideas? And thanks again.
--
Thanks, Ajimmo

Using the web based newsgroup is a PITA at times. After you are logged on
you may have to repeatedly keep clicking the "New" button to get the window
to open so you can start a new thread. I much prefer using Outlook Express
over the web based service.

To retain the original file dates I believe you will need to either zip your
files before burning them to CD or use third party software like Nero. Nero
has a setting for retaining the original date prior to burning to disc.

--

Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp

 

[David Candy]

news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics

will open the group in OE.

--
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http://webdiary.smh.com.au/archives/_comment/001075.html
=================================================

Dear HO: 1) I'm way behind you but will try the multiple hits, 2) What would
be the address line in Outlook Express? 3)I've already burned the CD, last
year, and the dates of creation were still in place. In an effort today to
rebuild files on the HD, I copied some. Whatever I did I did differently in
two evetns as one group copied carried their initial creation dates and the
other showed as today's date. Any ideas? And thanks again.
--
Thanks, Ajimmo

Using the web based newsgroup is a PITA at times. After you are logged on
you may have to repeatedly keep clicking the "New" button to get the window
to open so you can start a new thread. I much prefer using Outlook Express
over the web based service.

To retain the original file dates I believe you will need to either zip your
files before burning them to CD or use third party software like Nero. Nero
has a setting for retaining the original date prior to burning to disc.

--

Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp

Sorry to use this process but how can I post a question. I almost never(only
once in multiple tries) get a blank window. I need to ask how I can preserve
dates in copying back my files from a CD after a hard drive replacement.
That's two questions! Looking forward to the answer(s). Many thanks,
--
Thanks, Ajimmo


:

I need to completely clean a hard disk on a PC desktop. The desktop
originally had ME installed, and was upgraded to XP Home edition. Once I have
the hard disk cleared I am assuming that I need to use a startup disk for ME;
install ME and then upgrade to XP Home edition. I have the original
installation cd's (ME & XP) that came with the desktop; however, I do not
have a startup floppy for ME. Also, the ME files that were saved to the hard
drive when the upgrade was done have been erased.
Is there a way of meeting my goal of re-installing XP Home other than as I
have described?