Installing Windows the Right
Way
There is only one way to install Windows the right way:
Backup data you want to keep and then format then install the OS.
Microsoft allows you to "upgrade" a previous installation (such as
from 98 to XP) but in my experiences, a lot more problems occur when
you do this. First of all, there's no guarantee that the
upgrade will get rid of outdated components. Then the fun
begins (at least trying to troubleshoot). The following
applies to installing Windows XP.
Pop the Windows CD in the tray and boot/reboot (making sure that
you have changed the boot order in the BIOS so that your computer
will boot first from the CD). Watch all the drivers load at
the bottom of the screen; eventually you will get to the main screen
of the installation (if you have a SATA drive or RAID setup, make
sure you have a driver loaded up on a floppy). Follow the
instructions, making sure you install XP on the drive you want to.
After awhile and a few reboots (be sure to change the boot order in
the BIOS back to boot from the hard drive), XP should be installed.
You will have to install a service pack (SP) to get Windows
up-to-date; if that is the case, I prefer to
slipstream whichever SP is out (as of this date, for XP it is
SP2; it just makes life easier). But you can always install a
service pack after installation if you want.
Once everything is patched, install chipset drivers for your
motherboard. Then either activate XP's firewall or install
your own (by default in SP2, XP will turn on its firewall). It
has been said it only takes 4 minutes for an unprotected Windows box
to become infected with worms and/or viruses. Better safe than
sorry. Once the firewall is installed, head over to
windowsupdate.com and update any critical updates. Install
other drivers as needed (sound, video, etc.)
Things to do after this:
- Install an antivirus program (a good free one is
AVG)
- Size down the Recycle Bin and System Restore points to a
more manageable size
- Determine how you want Windows to inform you about automatic
updates (I have mine just search the net and if there is an
update available, tell me)
- Buy a good defragmentation program. Sorry, the one with
Windows suck-diddily-ucks. You'll want one called
Diskeeper
Pro or
Perfect
Disk (both are good; I prefer PD)
- Make sure your firewall is installed and functioning (even
if you are on dial-up!). Go
here and
here to test it
- Spyware/Malware: you can't avoid it. The best thing is to
minimize it. Grab
Ad-Aware,
Spybot and Spy Sweeper
- External hard drives (whether USB 2.0 or Firewire) are your
friends; even USB thumbdrives are better than nothing
- Scan every file you download (whether it is from a place you
trust or not)
- Run weekly AV and spyware scans
- Don't use IE for browsing (use it only for Windows updates;
use Firefox or
Opera instead for day-day
browsing)
If you follow these tips, your computing experience should be
more satisfying and less nerve-wracking.
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