Installing Windows XP Professional

Introduction
In this chapter, we take a look at the installation of Windows XP Professional.We
walk through a clean install on a new PC, an upgrade from Windows 2000
Professional, and finally, we look at a few methods for automating the installation
of Windows XP Professional. First, let’s take a look at the requirements for
installing Windows XP Professional.Table 2.1 lists the requirements that
Microsoft specifies.
Table 2.1 Requirements for Windows XP Professional
Component Recommendation
Processor 233 MHz minimum
300 MHz recommended
Memory 64MB minimum
128MB recommended
Hard Disk 1.5GB available space
Video Super VGA (800x600) or higher
As you can see from the table, Microsoft has taken the additional steps to provide
both minimum and recommended hardware requirements for the new OS.
You will obviously need a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive if you plan to install
from CD, or a network adapter if you plan to install from a network distribution
point. An important feature to note about Windows XP Professional that isn’t
mentioned in the table is its support for multiple processors.WinXP Pro will
support up to two processors, whereas WinXP Home Edition only supports one
processor.
If you were in the position to purchase new computers for a Windows XP
deployment, the best advice would be to buy the fastest you could afford.This
should (hopefully) protect you from needing to turn over your PC inventory
every two years. In fact, many major corporations try to plan for new PCs
sticking around for a minimum of three years.
Now that you’ve seen the requirements for Windows XP Professional, let’s
move on to the basics of installation. Microsoft supports two methods of installing
Windows XP Professional on target workstations: either an upgrade or a clean
installation. Upgrading to Windows XP Professional implies that the target workstation
already has an existing operating system that may have its own settings and
configuration. If the target workstation is configured with an operating system
that is supported for upgrading, you can instruct the setup program to upgrade in
place, migrating all user settings and applications available.
If, however, the target workstation is a new machine, requires reinstallation, or
is configured with a nonsupported operating system, you must apply a clean
installation to the workstation.You can then install the primary drive of the target
workstation with Windows XP Professional without searching for existing data
(though you can preserve data), applications, or configuration settings.
Administrators and support engineers should take the time to perform the
upgrade and installation process numerous times to be aware of potential problems.
Identifying show-stopping problems (such as the application not working)
may be a great deal easier than handling issues (such as the profile directory
changing to the Documents and Settings folder) that manifest much more subtly.
Several factors will influence your decision whether to upgrade or to apply a
clean installation of Windows XP Professional.These include the following:
 Current workstation management levels If modifications to the
workstation’s operating system and applications have followed strict
change controls, the current state of the workstation will be well known.
An upgrade would best suit a well-managed environment, preserving the
investment in your configuration information. If the state of the workstations
is indeterminate, a clean install of Windows XP Professional
would allow you to revert the configuration of the workstations back to
a known state.
 User preferences and settings If your users have a level of control
over their workstation, they may have personalized certain settings and
preferences. Determining what settings exist can be difficult.To preserve
these settings, the best option would be to perform an upgrade.
 Applications and data Some users may store data on their local
workstations, or install applications locally. An upgrade would be the best
choice to prevent inadvertently deleting data, and it would also ensure
that applications would still function (if compatible with Windows XP
Professional). Many businesses store data centrally for backup and management
purposes, and as a result, you could consider a clean install.
 Existing operating systems on client workstations The installation
type you choose will also be dictated by the operating system of the
client prior to deployment. If, for example, you are using Windows 3.1,
the only option available would be to perform a clean installation.
Upgrading from previous versions of Windows NT (version 4.0) is
inherently easier than upgrading from Windows 9x.This is due to the
commonality between the operating system kernel architecture, device
driver models, registry database, security architecture, and file systems.
Upgrading from existing Windows 98/Me installations can present additional
issues that you would need to resolve.
 Operating system history If your client workstations have been
through a regular cycle of upgrades, the preferred option would be to
perform a clean install, thus resolving possible legacy issues. Migrating
the workstation to Windows XP Professional from a platform that has
been repeatedly upgraded could negate some of the advantages (such as
stability) of deploying Windows XP Professional in the first place.
You can start the Windows XP Professional setup process in a number of
ways.You can initiate the setup or upgrade process by executing Winnt32.exe
from a command line on a host operating system that is compliant with the
upgrade paths discussed earlier.You can find the setup executable,Winnt32.exe,
in the i386 directory on the Windows XP Professional CD-ROM.You can also
execute setup from a bootable CD-ROM containing the relevant installation
files. Other solutions include using a network management application such as
Microsoft’s Systems Management Server (SMS), or a bootable floppy disk with
network drivers and a connection to the Windows XP Professional installation
source
When using the Winnt32.exe setup program to install Windows XP
Professional, you can use a number of command line parameters to modify the
installation.When attempting to install Windows XP from a bootable floppy disk,
you would use the Winnt.exe setup program.These bullets summarize the usage
for each of the setup programs:
 To clean install Windows XP Professional on DOS,Windows 3.1,
Windows 3.11,Windows for Workgroups,Windows 95, or Windows NT
3.51 Workstation, run Winnt.exe from a DOS prompt.
 To clean install or upgrade from Windows 98,Windows ME, or
Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, use Winnt32.exe.
Clean Installation of
Windows XP Professional
The process of installing Windows XP on a workstation whose hard drive can be
formatted (thus erasing all data), or on a workstation that will be booting
between two operating systems is known as a clean install. In order to proceed
with a clean installation, the only requirements are that the workstation should
meet the minimum hardware specifications for Windows XP Professional and
that the hardware be present on the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). A clean
install will not have any settings other than those entered during setup, and they
may require individual customization.
To speed up the installation process, you can run Winnt32 with the Syspart
switch.The Syspart switch causes all of the installation files to be copied to a formatted
hard drive on the preparation machine.When the drive is then removed
and placed in another workstation, it will continue with the next stage of setup.
This option is particularly useful for reducing deployment time in environments
with dissimilar hardware, or for use with disk imaging software.You must perform
a clean install in the following situations:
 Target workstations are running Windows 3.1,Windows 3.11, and
Windows for Workgroups,Windows 95, and Windows 3.51 workstation
 Target workstations are running a non-Microsoft operating system
 Target workstations do not have an operating system installed
 Target workstation must be built from CD-ROM
Let’s begin by walking through a clean installation of Windows XP from CD.
This installation method assumes that you have a new PC (one without an operating
system), or a PC that already has an operating system, but you do not
intend to preserve the existing OS. In each of the installation examples that you’ll
see in this chapter, we take the installation step-by-step, using screen shots to
illustrate the decision points of the process.
1. Power-on your system and insert the Windows XP Professional CDROM
in the tray.You will need to verify that your system is configured
to boot from the CD-ROM prior to performing this step.
2. After the system completes the POST, the setup routine for WinXP will
begin.This is also known as the text-based setup.The installation of
Windows XP involves four major steps:
 Text-based setup
 GUI-based setup
 Installing the network components
 Completing the setup
Figure 2.1 shows the initial file copy of the setup process. During
this process, the setup program is loading a minimal version of Windows
XP to support the setup process. Specifically, it is loading the drivers for
the common mass storage devices, as well as drivers for other common
hardware devices.This is done to allow WinXP to detect the correct
hardware in your system. Some manufacturers provide new drivers that
you need to load during this stage of the process. At one point in the
initial file copy,Windows XP will display a message prompting you to
press F6 to install third-party drivers. At this point, you can insert the
disk with the new driver, and the setup process will copy the driver to
hard disk.
3. Once the setup program has loaded the initial files and drivers, you will
have the ability to specify an installation partition, or if there are no partitions
on the system, you will have the chance to create new partitions.
Note: If your system has existing partitions, you can delete those partitions
during this stage of the setup.This is the point where you can erase
an existing operating system from your computer.You can also create
multiple partitions from this utility.
4. In Figure 2.2, you will notice that there aren’t any existing partitions.To
create a new partition, press C.
5. Figure 2.3 shows the Partition creation screen. It will show the minimum
and maximum possible size for the new partition, and ask for you
to type in the size partition you wish to create. Once you have typed in
a value that falls between the minimum and maximum, press Enter to
continue. Note that you will need to create a partition that is at least
1.5GB in size to meet the requirements of Windows XP Professional.
6. Your next decision is to choose how to format the new partition.Your
choices are NTFS (Quick), FAT (Quick), NTFS, and FAT (see Figure
2.4). Using the keyboard arrow keys, highlight the file system you want
to use, and then press Enter to continue.
7. The setup program will begin the format process on the new partition
that you created, as shown in Figure 2.5. Depending on the size of the
partition and the file system you have chosen, this may take anywhere
from 1 to 10 minutes to complete.
8. As shown in Figure 2.6, the next step in the setup process is to copy the
Windows XP source files from the CD to the new partition.This process
will take a few minutes. Once the file copy has completed, the system
will reboot, and the setup process will transition into the GUI mode.
9. Upon reboot, you will see the new GUI screen (see Figure 2.7).This
screen displays the status of the installation on the left-hand side.You will
also see an estimate of the remaining time left.
10. The next step is to discover and install the devices on your PC (see
Figure 2.8).This process may cause the screen to flicker as Windows XP
attempts to determine what video card your system is using.This step
will also generate the estimated time of completion.
11. Once the installation discovers all of your devices, you will be asked to
verify your Regional and Language Options, as shown in
From this dialog box, you can set the Regional settings, such as the
12. Figure 2.10 shows the dialog box for typing your name and organization
information that will now appear. Once you have entered this information,
click Next.
13. You now need to enter the Windows XP Product Key (see Figure 2.11).
This 25-character key is located on the Windows XP CD. Once you
have typed the key, click Next.
14. Type the computer name in the first box of the dialog box that appears
(see Figure 2.12). Next, enter the password for the local Administrator’s
account, and then re-enter the password for confirmation. Once this has
been done, click Next.
15. Next, you will set the correct date and time for your computer (see
Figure 2.13). Once this is complete, click Next.
16. As Figure 2.14 shows, you now must set the network settings for the
system.You have two choices:Typical and Custom. If you choose the
Typical settings option, the following options will be installed:
 Client for Microsoft Networks
 QoS Packet Scheduler
 File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks
 TCP/IP, configured for DHCP
If you choose Custom settings, you will be given the opportunity
to add and configure any of the network options that are available.Of
course, if you make a mistake at this step of the installation, you can also
go back once the system is ready and make necessary changes. For a
detailed examination of the networking options that are available in
Windows XP Professional after setup has completed, please refer to
Chapter 6. Once you have made your selection, click Next.
17. You are now asked to provide either the workgroup or domain name for
the new system. Figure 2.15 shows the system being configured for
joining a workgroup named Workgroup. If you decide to join a domain at
this point, you will also need the username and password for an account
that is authorized to add computers to the domain. Click Next.
18. Now, the Windows XP installation will begin copying files to support
the options you chose earlier (see Figures 2.16 and 2.17).
19. At the completion of the file copy, the setup program will begin
installing the Start menu items.This is shown in Figure 2.18.
20. After the Start menu items have been installed, Setup will register the
Windows components, as shown in Figure 2.19. Next, Figure 2.20
shows the routine saving settings. Finally, the Setup program will remove
the temporary files from the hard drive that were used to support the
installation (see Figure 2.21).
21. Once the temporary files have been removed, the setup will be complete.
Windows XP will reboot the system. Once this has finished, you
are ready to go.
As you can see, the installation of Windows XP Professional is very simple.
You’ll notice an obvious change to the installation graphics as compared to the
Windows 2000 Professional setup, but for the most part, these installation routines
perform the same steps. A CD-based clean installation will take anywhere from
60 to 90 minutes, depending on the processor speed and memory in your system.