Procedures for Installing Windows XP

Procedures for Reinstalling or

Upgrading to Windows XP

Users who are planning to reinstall Windows XP rather than upgrade should proceed to here.

Can I Upgrade My Computer?

Many users are confused when they check Dell's operating system upgrade advisor to see if their system can be upgraded to XP when they see the following:

Dell is in the business of selling computers. The statements here are correct but some interpretation is helpful. Your computer may not provide the "best customer experience" but that certainly doesn't mean it will not perform properly. The best customer experience will be with the fastest processor available and large amounts of RAM. Although Dell will not be creating another BIOS to support Windows XP users with systems using processors as slow a 300MHz have successfully upgraded to Windows by installing the latest BIOS available for their systems.

Users who would like to upgrade to XP should download and run the XP Upgrade Advisor, available here. It will identify any installed hardware or software which will not be supported under Windows XP.

If you plan to upgrade, be aware that Windows XP will operate with 128MB RAM but it works better with 256MB and 512MB will provide even better performance.

Considerations for Upgrading

The most important recommendation for users of an earlier operating system who are going to migrate to Windows XP is to do a clean installation. While it is possible to upgrade to Windows XP over the top of the existing operating system, a large number of users who have done so have encountered problems which could be resolved only by a subsequent clean installation. For a detailed discussion of the relative advantages and disadvantages for each option, see this. Users can perform a clean installation of Windows XP using a Windows XP Upgrade CD, which means that spending the extra $100 for a full system is not necessary.

Installing/Reinstalling Windows XP

CAUTION--Read Before Proceeding

If you are using a Dimension or Inspiron system made after July 15, 2004 your hard disk has a partition on it which can be used to restore the system to an "as shipped" condition. The procedure for doing this is given here. If you reinstall Windows XP you will rewrite the Master Boot Record on the hard disk and this feature will no longer be available unless you utilize recovery procedures such as those given here, here, or here.

There are numerous sites on the Internet which provide instructions for installing Windows XP. One of the best is Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows, and it is the one which is most frequently linked to in the Dell Community Forum when users ask about installing XP. It is compact enough that it can conveniently be printed out for reference when doing the installation, a consideration for users with only one computer who cannot refer to the instructions online during the process. Users who wish a larger display of the screens that appear during the installation may find them here. Click the thumbnails for larger images.

Before beginning the installation procedure remember to back up all the perishable data on the C:\ partition of the hard disk, as part of the installation procedure is to format that partition. The perishable data includes e-mail folders, address books in e-mail programs, My Documents folders, your Desktop, Favorites, Web browser bookmarks, and any other data that has been created by specific applications. Note that there is no need to back up anything that already exists on CD such as applications. Documents and graphics can simply be copied to CD or other removable media. Procedures for backing up and later importing Outlook Express messages and the Windows address book are here. Similar instructions for Outlook data are here. Favorites can be either copied to removable media and then pasted into the Favorites folder after XP has been installed or exported and imported as described here.

To avoid possible interference from peripherals, it is advisable to disconnect all external peripherals except monitor, mouse, and keyboard from the system before reinstalling XP.

The first step in installing/reinstalling Windows XP is to set the system's CD-ROM drive as the first boot device in BIOS. Dell's instructions for doing this are here for Dimensions, here for Inspirons, and here for Latitudes. There are additional steps which may be required for Dimension 8400 and XPS Gen 3 users and they are listed here.

After setting the boot order the system is ready for the installation of XP. Unlike the Windows 9X family of operating systems, partitioning and formatting of the hard drive is a part of the operating system installation. Users do not have to FDISK or FORMAT the drive prior to installing/reinstalling Windows XP.

To begin the installation insert the Windows XP CD in the drive and restart the system. The first screen display that appears should have this at the top left:

After a key is pressed the installation begins. If a clean install is being done from an XP Upgrade CD and the earlier operating system is still installed, the installation program will recognize it on the hard disk and installation will proceed. If a reinstallation of XP from an upgrade CD is being done the earlier operating system is not on the hard disk so the installation process will prompt for the insertion of the installation CD for the earlier operating system. For this reason, users who upgrade to XP should make sure that the reinstallation CD of the earlier operating system is saved. Without it, the user will have to purchase a new full copy of Windows XP.

At step #5 of the Supersite's instruction users will note they have the opportunity to create or delete partitions. In order to perform a true clean install, the C:\ partition should be deleted at this point. The resulting unpartitioned space can be used to recreate C:\ after which it can be formatted, or users may choose to create more than one partition from this unpartitioned space then format them. Note that the hard disk will also have a partition (~35MB) containing Dell Diagnostics as well as the 3-5GB PC Restore image partition.

Use of multiple partitions is a source of some disagreement between participants in the Dell Community Forum. Some users prefer one single partition while others favor many partitions, each with a specific purpose. The most complex configurations may have the operating system on C:\, applications on D:\, games on E:\, graphics on F:\, and music on G:\. At a minimum, two partitions seem practical, with the operating system and applications on C:\ and everything else on D:\. The reason for this is to provide for efficiency in the event Windows XP must be reinstalled. If all or nearly all data are on the D:\ partition the requirement for backup is at an absolute minimum. After an operating system is reinstalled all applications must be reinstalled so having both OS and apps on one partition makes sense and the data on D:\ are not touched during the reinstallation. Users who use drive cloning software to provide full system backup from a set of CDs can use only a single partition since everything is backed up in the cloned drive.

After Windows is installed the system drivers must be installed (chipset driver first, if it isn't installed as a part of the Windows XP installation) followed by applications. Users with Dells which were made fairly recently will find instructions for driver installation here. Enter the computer's system support number or model, select ALL and select Windows XP from the drop-down menu under Operating System.

Because the W32.Blaster virus is active, in order to protect the computer from infection it is important that Windows XP's Internet Connection Firewall be activated before you it goes online. To activate it go to Start|Control Panel|Network Connections. Right-click your connection icon and select Properties. The firewall can be activated by checking the box on the Advanced tab. It takes only seconds of online time to infect a computer that is not protected.