Hardware And Networking

In this post We are going to tell you how to do Windows XP clean installation. The procedure is simple and there are lots of pictures to help you understand it and do it your own.

 Ok let’s see now how to do a Windows XP clean install. Clean means that the OS will be installed from scratch and not as an upgrade from a previous OS.

 Everything else is just following a setup wizard.

Insert the Windows XP install CD in the DVD/CD ROM.

In order to launch the Windows XP setup you have to set the computer to boot from the Windows XP install CD. You have two choices to do this.

The first, which is more typical, is to enter in the BIOS and change the boot priority.

The second is to bring the boot menu which is showed by pressing an F-key during memory test. When the computer performs the memory test look down at your display and see which F-key brings the boot menu. Just select the CD-ROM option and you are good to go.

 To enter the BIOS, restart your computer and press the “del” key during the memory test. When you are in, go to the “Advanced BIOS Features” and find the boot priority setting. Set as first device the CD-ROM. Then go back, save and exit. Now when you start up your computer, it will first look if there is a bootable CD or DVD and if there is nothing on the drive it will continue booting from the HDD. The BIOS environment  will look like the following picture.

Ok now we are ready to launch a Windows XP clean install. As the computer finds the bootable medium in the DVD/CD ROM it will prompt you to press any key to boot from the CD. Just press a key and wait for the Windows XP installation to begin. What you will see next is showed in the following picture.

In first seconds the setup gives you the choice to add third party SCSI and RAID drivers. If you have created a RAID array then you have to install these drivers from a floppy disk in order for your hard drive to be detectable. These are advanced tips that we will cover in a later article. Let’s continue to our normal Windows XP clean install for now.

After a while you will be prompted to accept the Eula and continue. Next you will have to select a partition where the Windows will be installed. Look at the next photo.

On this screen you can create, delete or format partitions. If your hard drive is brand new then you may have to create the partitions and then to format them prior selecting them to install Windows XP. You can do all these through this screen. Create a Partition .

Now we are going to select a partition to perform a Windows XP clean install.

The installation continues with copying the necessary files. After this it will restart the computer and the installation will continue from the hard drive and in a more beautiful interface.  If you have changed the boot priority from the BIOS, now you can enter again and revert it back as it was previously. After the system restart you are going to see the next screen.

The installation continues and you just have to follow the wizard. You will be prompted several times to select some regional, language and user settings. We will see them all.

As you see there is a progress bar that show you when the installation will be completed and the action that is currently performed.

On the above menu you have to select the date and time and also your time zone. Select the one that apply to your region and press next.

Now it’s time to enter some settings about your region and language. Click on Customize to set your Current location and Language settings. You will see the following tabs.

Select your Language and Location.  Be careful, these settings are not for selecting the Windows XP language. As clearly showed there “this option affects how some programs format numbers, currencies, dates, and time”. Sochoose your spoken language here. Don’t afraid if you select something wrong as all of these settings can be changed later when the Windows XP clean install will have been completed.

On the Location menu just select your country and hit OK.

Now if you want to install extra keyboard languages, click on the Details on the previous Regional and Language Options form. This will look like the following picture:

Select you default input language that will be used when you start windows. Click Ok and then next to continue with the installation.

The next thing that you will be prompted is to enter user details:

Simply enter your name here and press next. In the next form enter a name for your computer. The computer’s name cannot be the same with your name.

Enter an administrator password if you want. If you leave it blank then Windows will not ask you for a password during logon. If the computer is going to be used also from other people then it may be better to set a password. But this is clearly your choice. Press next to continue

Some network options. What you see above are the defaults. Unless your computer belongs to a corporate network you are not going to enter something different here. Click next.

Now installation continues and you will not be prompted again. A restart will follow and then Windows XP will start for the first time.

After the last restart you will see the above screen. Windows XP operating system is preparing to run for the first time. You may have to select some few options here but are all very easy to follow.

Congratulations you just performed a Windows XP clean install! Now you are ready to use your new operating system. Did we say ready? Ok you have to dosome extra work now like to install the drivers of your devices but this is another chapter.

We hope that you found this guide easy. As you see there’s nothing difficult to it. The installation is an easy and intuitive procedure and does not require any special knowledge. Try it and see for yourself.

Windows XP Clean Install Summary

•        Insert Windows XP install CD into DVD/CD ROM

•        Select CD-ROM as the first boot device from the boot priority sequence in the BIOS or from the boot menu.

•        Start the installation and select the partition that you want to install Windows XP.

•        Enter the details that the setup wizard will ask you during the installation.

•        Wait till the installation completes. That’s it! You just completed a Windows XP clean install!