Windows XP Installation Guide - Preparation Notes
Below you'll find a few notes about things
that should really be done before you even start installing your
OS.
As I said on page one of this guide, there
really is no "right or wrong" way of installing your operating
system and Microsoft go out of their way to make sure their OS's
install on any system no matter what settings you have or
haven't changed.
I can only go on my own experience and what
"works for me".
- If you do not plan to use USB keyboards
and mice, set "USB Legacy Support" to Disabled. In some
BIOS's you may need to set "USB Keyboard Support" & "USB
Mouse Support" to disabled as there is no blanket "Disable
Legacy USB Support" option
- If you plan to use the power management
state called "Suspend To RAM" it’s advisable to enable this
feature in the BIOS before you install Windows. This is
usually a setting that laptop users will want to be using
- Set the primary video adapter to match
your system in BIOS. If all you have is an AGP card, for
example, set as AGP
- Set your "PCI Latency Timer" to 64
- Set “Boot Virus Protection” to Disabled.
You can enable it later if you like, but this setting can
cause problems with some installations and Virus Scanning
software
- Go into the power section of your BIOS
and if any fan RPM is in red, set to "ignore"
- For Windows NT/2000/XP be sure "Plug and
Play OS" is set to "disabled/No" in BIOS
- Set your boot order as Floppy - CD/DVD –
Hard drive or controller where OS will be located
- Make sure the disk(s) you are going to
use are data free. Make sure all of your important data is
backed up and if the disk does have data on prepare to lose
everything on it
If you don't have a broadband connection it
may well be worth keeping an up to date "Drivers CD" containing
everything that you might need should you ever need to reinstall
your operating system.
I have a CD which I update weekly, it contains
all of the latest drivers for all of my hardware, the Windows XP
service pack, DirectX etc.
Unfortunately it is rather difficult to back up
all of the updates from "Windows Update" but at least this way
you'll have a lot of the important and essential drivers and
updates to hand rather than having to wait for them to download
from the internet.
Drivers CD
Even if you have a broadband connection it is
very handy having all of the drivers and utilities to hand that
you will require during an operating system installation.
With that in mind I would recommend using the
following links and downloading the latest version of drivers
and utilities and burning them to a CD before you begin:
Once you've got these safely burnt to a CD you
are ready to begin.
<Background>
<Preparation Notes>
<Install Guide Part 1>
<Install Guide Part 2> |