As a Microsoft Windows XP Professional support professional, one of your tasks may be to install the operating system.

Step #1: Plan your installation

When you run the Windows XP Professional Setup program, you must provide information about how to install and configure the operating system. Through planning can make your installation of Windows XP Professional more efficient by helping you to avoid potential problems during installation. An understanding of the configuration options will also help to ensure that you have properly configured your system.

I won't go into that part right now but here are some of the most important things you should take into consideration when planning for your XP installation:

• Check System Requirements

• Check Hardware and Software Compatibility

• Determine Disk Partitioning Options

• Choose the Appropriate File System: FAT, FAT32, NTFS

• Decide on a Workgroup or Domain Installation

• Complete a Pre-Installation Checklist

• Check that you have drivers for Graphic, Sound, Modem etc

After you made sure you can go on, start the installation process.

Step #2: Beginning the installation process

1. Start the computer from the CD.

Step #3: The text-based portion of the Setup program

The setup process begins loading a blue-looking text screen (not GUI). In that phase you will be asked to accept the EULA (licence) and choose a partition on which to install XP, and if that partition is new, you'll be asked to format it by using either FAT, FAT32 or NTFS.
Note: Normally you donot need number 2,3 and 4 below.Just start from Nr.5

2. You can press F6 if you need to install additional SCSI adapters or other mass-storage devices. If you do you will be asked to supply a floppy disk with the drivers and you CANNOT browse it (or a CD for that matter). Make sure you have one handy.

3. If you want, you can press F2 to run the ASR sequence. For that you need a good backup created by the Windows XP backup program, and the ASR floppy disk. If you plan to install a new copy of XP - don't do anything.

4. Setup will load all the needed files and drivers.

5. Select To Setup Windows XP Professional Now. If you want, and if you have a previous installation of XP, you can try to fix it by pressing R. If not, just press ENTER (for complete NEW Windows Installation).

6. Read and accept the licensing agreement and press F8 if you accept it.

7. Select or create the partition on which you will install Windows XP Professional. Depending upon your existing disk configuration choose one of the following:

• If the hard disk is unpartitioned, you can create and size the partition on which you will install Windows XP Professional.

• If the hard disk is already partitioned, but has enough unpartitioned disk space, you can create an additional partition in the unpartitioned space.

• If the hard disk already has a partition that is large enough, you can install Windows XP Professional on that partition. If the partition has an existing operating system, you will overwrite that operating system if you accept the default installation path. However, files other than the operating system files, such as program files and data files, will not be overwritten.

• If the hard disk has an existing partition, you can delete it to create more unpartitioned space for the new partition. Deleting an existing partition erases all data on that partition.

If you select a new partition during Setup, create and size only the partition on which you will install Windows XP Professional. After installation, use Disk Management to partition the remaining space on the hard disk.

8. Select a file system for the installation partition. After you create the partition on which you will install Windows XP Professional, you can use Setup to select the file system with which to format the partition. Windows XP Professional supports the NTFS file system in addition to the file allocation table (FAT) and FAT32 file systems. Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000, and Windows NT are the only Microsoft operating systems that you can use to gain access to data on a local hard disk that is formatted with NTFS. If you plan to gain access to files that are on a local Windows XP Professional partition with the Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows 98 operating systems, you should format the partition with a FAT or FAT32 file system. We will use NTFS.

9. Setup will then begin copying necessary files from the installation point (CD, local I386 or network share).

10. Note: If setup was run by booting from CD, the copying will probably last a few minutes, no more than 5 max.

11. The computer will restart in graphical mode, and the installation will continue.

Step #4: The GUI-based portion of the Setup program

The setup process reboots and loads a GUI mode phase.

It will then begin to load device drivers based upon what it finds on your computer. You don't need to do anything at this stage.

1. Click Customize to change regional settings, if necessary.

• Current System Locale - Affects how programs display dates, times, currency, and numbers. Choose the locale that matches your location, for example, French (Canada).

• Current Keyboard Layout - Accommodates the special characters and symbols used in different languages. Your keyboard layout determines which characters appear when you press keys on the keyboard.

If you don't need to make any changes just press Next.

If you do need to make changes press Customize and add your System Locale etc.

2. Type your name and organization.

3. Type the product key.

4. Note: (Normally for your first time install, you can escape this step by just clicking on NEXT without filling the fields)Type the computer name and a password for the local Administrator account. The local Administrator account resides in the SAM of the computer, not in Active Directory. If you will be installing in a domain, you need either a pre-assigned computer name for which a domain account has been created, or the right to create a computer account within the domain.

5. Select the date, time, and time zone settings (Choose Karachi from the list).

6. Setup will now install the networking components.

After a few seconds you will receive the Networking Settings window.(skip this step) and you will immediately go to the final phase of the setup process.

11. After the copying and configuring phase is finished, if XP finds that you have a badly configured screen resolution it will advise you to change it and ask you if you see the new settings right.

BTW, the minimum supported screen resolution in XP is 800X600.

12. Setup finishes and boots Windows XP.

13. (Skip this Step ) A Welcome screen is the first thing you see. The computer checks your Internet connectivity (required for the mandatory Activation and voluntary Registration processes).

You will be asked to register your copy of XP. You can decline if you want.

14. XP will ask you for the default username that will log onto this computer. You can enter as many as 5 users, but you can create more after the installation is finished.

15. That's it! you're done!

Windows Repair Install

I know it's hard to believe, but Windows can sometimes stop operating properly. When this happens the instinct is often to wipe out the operating system and do a clean install. Yeah, you could do that, but before you get that drastic, try a few other options.

Try to repair from the installation CD. What's that?. A Repair Install will replace the system files with the ones found on the CD but will leave your applications, files and settings where they are. You will, however need to redo your updates. Another advantage is that any files corrupted by adware/malware will be replaced.

Before we start: it is always a good idea to have important data backed up onto disks. This is especially true whenever doing maintenance.

First, you need to boot the computer using the installation CD. You may need to change the boot order in BIOS so the CD boots up before the hard drive.

Next, you'll see a "Welcome to Setup" screen with a few options. You want the first one: "To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER"

So, press ENTER to start the setup. DO NOT choose the second option, "To repair..."

You'll be asked to accept the licensing agreement:Press F8 Key, then it will search for any existing Windows installations. Pick the one you want to repair from the list and press "R" to start the repair.

Don't panic. Don't press any keys. It will look like a clean install, but only necessary files are being copied to the hard drive. Windows will then begin to load.

Your computer will then reboot. It will notice that the CD is in the drive?don't press any keys, let it bypass the CD.

If your XP installation disk came out before Service Pack 2 you'll need to go back out and get it. You should also go to Microsoft and get scanned for updates. These are removed during the Repair Install. Same goes for the updates on other Win flavors for which you may not be able to get updates still. Don't forget to go back into BIOS and change the boot order back to hard drive first.