Have I got this correct?

[ill]

Running XPro SP1. Single home computer used only by me.

Within the next 30 days my subscription to Norton's Firewall and Virus
checker expire. I am going to 'upgrade' my video card from GeForce2 to a
GeForce 4. SP2 will be available to me. I'm on cable so downloading is
no problem.

I want to do a clean install. Format the HD.

Should I do this?
1. With the computer off install the GeForce4 card.
2. Chance the bios to boot off the CD
3. Insert the original XP disk.
4. Let the computer upgrade to SP2.

5. Let my 2 subscriptions to Norton expire and use the SP2 for a
firewall.
6. SP2 Have a virus protector? If not, buy only the Norton 2004 Virus
protector.
7. Install MS Office. (I already own it)
8. Install any software (games) I want.

Do I have the sequence right?
The computer is used for only web access and gaming.

Thank you, in advance, for your time.

 

[Chris Priede]

I want to do a clean install. Format the HD.

Your sequence sounds reasoable, if you *want* to do a clean install. You
definitely don't have to, just to upgrade from one video card to another and
to SP2. I will assume you have other reasons for wanting to start fresh.

With that asumption, the only thing I would recommend you do differently
would be download and save (for example, burn to a CD) the full SP2 install
from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...BE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en

This will allow you to apply SP2 before connecting your computer to the
Internet, so that it isn't left unpatched and exposed while downloading the
updates.

You can also slipstream SP2 with your Windows XP CD, resulting in a new CD
that will install Windows XP SP2 right from the start:

http://www.neowin.net/articles.php?action=more&id=94

This is probably unnecessary, unless you plan on doing clean installs often.

 

[Guest]

One recommendation: forget Norton (and Symantec's tsuris) - I switched to
AVG FREE DOWNLOAD and FREE UPDATE anti-virus and it's been practically
invisible (compared to both Norton and McAfee) and has caught everything that
tried to get into my machine that didn't belong there! You can find the link
at:


http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/

 

[SteveL]

Sounds OK but missing some items, another thing is that if
you are going to do a clean install, you will get 1 more
year of Norton for free with the products you have, when
it asks you to register cancel;

Install procedure:

Clean install:

Insert XP cd into the drive, power down the PC.
Before powering on the PC, unplug the Internet connection,
scanners, printers, any peripheral attached including
modems.
Power on PC, when windows starts create your
partition(s) as desired (if partitions exist you can
delete them and re-create as many as you want), format
your primary partition and install. Do not connect to the
Internet, install your anti-virus and firewall, connect to
the Internet and do your live updates for your anti-virus,
firewall, then windows, after this has completed install
the rest of your sw.
Download the latest drivers for your peripherals,
plug them in and install them, (note) some peripherals
require that you first install the sw, consult your
manufactures manual for instructions.

 

[Ron Martell]

Should I do this?
1. With the computer off install the GeForce4 card.
2. Chance the bios to boot off the CD
3. Insert the original XP disk.
4. Let the computer upgrade to SP2.

5. Let my 2 subscriptions to Norton expire and use the SP2 for a
firewall.
6. SP2 Have a virus protector? If not, buy only the Norton 2004 Virus
protector.
7. Install MS Office. (I already own it)
8. Install any software (games) I want.

I am not a great fan of the current crop of Norton Products. I
suggest that you evaluate the possibility of switching to another
antivirus product, of which there are several to choose from.

My own personal preference list for Antivirus would be:
- eTrust from http://www.my-etrust.com
- AVG (free) from http://www.grisoft.com
- Kaspersky from http://www.kaspersky.com
- PCCillin from http://www.trendmicro.com
- Avast (free) from http://www.avast,com

McAfee does not make my list either.

You might also want to seriously consider just installing SP2 over top
of your existing install, unless you have other issues or reasons for
wanting to do a clean install. I have never felt the need to do a
clean install of any of the Windows versions in the last 9 years, and
my current system running XP Pro with SP2 has a heritage that dates
back to Windows for Workgroups 3.11 in 1994. Numerous hardware
changes during that time, of course, and lost of housekeeping
cleanups, but never a clean install.

And if there are issues with Service Pack 2 after the install then you
still have the option of wiping it all out and doing the clean
install. But reinstalling all of those apps can be a real p.i.t.a.,
or at least I find it that way. During the beta testing of Windows XP
I did some clean installs on a separate partition so I could see if
there was any substantive difference in performance or behavior
beetween an upgrade (from WindowsMe) install and a clean install. The
only difference I really ever found was the gawdawful amount of time
it took to install a representative selection of application programs
(nowhere near the full lot) with a clean install.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

 

[Alex Nichol]

I want to do a clean install. Format the HD.

Should I do this?
1. With the computer off install the GeForce4 card.
2. Chance the bios to boot off the CD
3. Insert the original XP disk.

At this point add: Install XP from that, check it out, (making sure you
enable *its* firewall before connecting to the net at all) and activate
it. Only then

Run the upgrade to SP2.

5. Let my 2 subscriptions to Norton expire and use the SP2 for a
firewall.
6. SP2 Have a virus protector? If not, buy only the Norton 2004 Virus
protector.

No it doesn't, but there are better options than Norton, and cheaper. I
use eTrust as AV; the annual sub for that is $9.95 and currently there
is a one year free trial offer of its EZArmor (which includes the
ZoneAlarm firewall) at
www.my-etrust/microsoft

7. Install MS Office. (I already own it)

Add - then download and and run its service packs

8. Install any software (games) I want.

Yes