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Windows XP Installation Guide - Installation Guide Part 1

1. Insert your Windows XP CD in to your drive and restart your computer. Upon reboot the system will find and boot the Windows XP CDROM.
   You should soon see a blue Windows setup screen. (If you are using RAID, an onboard disk controller chip, or PCI disk controller card; IMMEDIATELY begin pressing F6. If not using RAID ignore pressing F6)
   
2. If using RAID, an onboard disk controller chip, or PCI disk controller card; you will be prompted to insert the Floppy disk containing your XP Compatible RAID / disk controller drivers. Follow the onscreen instructions.
   
3. You will be brought to a License Agreement screen. It is totally up to you if you want to read this or not, however if this is your first Microsoft OS install it maybe worth reading what you are letting yourself in for.
   A few steps later you will be brought to a Screen that shows your hard drives and their sizes. It is from HERE that you may set up (or delete) partitions.
   With Windows XP, this is the proper place to partition your drives. If you plan on using NTFS for the OS partition, its important that you partition your drives here and not earlier with any DOS based utilities.
   
4. Once the drives are partitioned, highlight the partition to which you wish to install Windows, then press Enter and follow the onscreen instructions
   
5. It is now time to let Windows format your Hard Drive partition. With any kind of luck there will be the option of "Fast Format" in which case your wait will be seconds, otherwise prepare for a bit of a wait.
   
6. The OS will then proceed to install without requesting too much information from you. You will be prompted for your CD-Key for example and asked about location, enter whatever details are requested.
   
7. It is possible during the OS installation that you will receive a prompt telling you that the device or driver is not approved for use under Windows XP - make sure you use the Yes/Continue options to install these devices anyway.
8. Once the automated procedures are complete, you will be at the Windows Desktop - You should be feeling a lot happier now, you are back in more familiar territory.
   
9. Click Start Button. Then right click on My Computer and choose "Properties". Then click the "Hardware Tab" and then the "Device Manager" button.
   Double click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI Devices" to expand the tree. Click on "Secondary IDE Channel" and then click the "Advanced Settings" tab. From the available drop down boxes choose "DMA if Available" for both devices. Then click OK to save and exit.
   Repeat these steps for "Primary IDE Channel" Once done, save and return to the desktop.
   
10. Click on Start Button, then Control Panel, and then click Internet Options. Click the "Connections" tab, then click the "LAN Settings" tab. Make sure that none of the boxes have check marks in them.
    If they do, remove them. Save and exit back to the desktop.
    
11. At any point in this process feel free to Activate Windows XP from the icon in the System tray. However please remember you've got thirty days before you need to activate, so it may well be worth waiting until you are happy with your installation before activating.
    
12. Click on the Windows Messenger Icon in the System Tray to open Messenger. When prompted to start entering Passport information, cancel out of that screen. With the remaining Messenger Window, click on the word "Tools". Then click on "Options" and then click the "Preferences" tab. On that page remove the check box from the setting called "Run this Program When Windows Starts." Save and exit back to the desktop. You can now close the Windows Messenger Program.
    
13. Now go to Start Button, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer Management. From the windowed area on the left of the screen click on "Disk Management."
    On the right you will see a graphic of your hard drives and your partitions. During Windows Installation, only the OS partition was formatted. So from the graphic, put your mouse on any unformatted partitions.
    Then right click on that partition and choose "Format."
    From the Dialog box you can choose drive letter, partition name, and allocation unit size. Set them as you wish. One word of caution.
    
14. Now go to Start Button, Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs. Click on the button called "Add / Remove Windows Components." Double click on "Networking Services" and when the next window pops up, place a check mark in the option called "Universal Plug and Play." Click OK.
    Then click the "Next" button and follow any onscreen instructions. While you are still in the Windows Components section of Add/Remove programs, feel free to add any other services you choose.
    Some services may require you to put your Windows CD back in the drive. If so, just follow the onscreen instructions. Once you are finished, save all settings and return to the desktop.
    
15. It is now time to install Windows XP SP1/a. The only difference between SP1 & SP1a is that in the "a" revision Microsoft's Java machine has been removed. You can only download the "a" version now, but if you already have the original SP1 feel free to use that instead.
    As this is a fresh install I would recommend selecting "No" when prompted about backing up replaced files, if this all goes wrong we can simply reinstall the OS from scratch again, we'll only lose about half an hour - on the flip-side we gain a lot of Hard Drive space from not backing the files up.
    
16. When you get back to the desktop, click Start Button. Right click on My Computer and choose "Properties." Click the "Remote" tab and then clear all check boxes you see on that page. The remote call services have a way of acting up and its best to disable them before installing software and drivers.
    If you ever want to use Remote Assistance later, you can enable it on a per use bases. Once you have cleared the check boxes, click the "Apply" button.
    
17. Now while still in System Properties, click the tab called "Automatic Updates." Service pack 1 installs some new features for this tab. Review what you see on the screen and set things up to your liking. Again click the "Apply" button.
    Close everything out and return to the desktop.
    
18. Next step is to install the Intel Chipset Drivers, the latest version being 5.0 - This is where your "Drivers CD" comes in to play. Once this installation has completed you'll be prompted to reboot your system once more, allow your system to do so.

<Background>
<Preparation Notes>
<Install Guide Part 1>
<Install Guide Part 2>

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