28 |MAMAMAXIMXIMXIMXIMUUUUMMPPPCC| FEB 09 | http://www.maximumpc.com
site such as Download.com, you
should be fi ne. If you can’t locate a
particular key, contact the vendor
for a replacement key or a copy
of your original key before you
proceed if you know you’re going
to need access to the app. You did
write down your Windows XP or
Windows Vista key, right?DEACTIVATE
YOUR APPS
Many applications require activa-
tion before running—even if you
have a legitimate serial number.
You can’t, for example, reinstall
Photoshop without reactivating it, so deactivate any programs
on your old drive that use this copy-protection technique (for
more information on deactivation see our sidebar on page 26).PREP ITUNES AND STEAM
Moving your iTunes library is fairly easy, but it can be made more
complicated by diff erences among versions. If you’re running
iTunes 7 and plan to use iTunes 8 on your clean install, we suggest
that you install iTunes 8 on your existing hard drive fi rst. It doesn’t
always happen, but people have reported issues migrating the da-
tabase from iTunes 7 to iTunes 8. You should also consolidate your
library by going to File > Library > Consolidate Library in iTunes.
This will copy the various music and video fi les that are scattered
around your PC into the iTunes directory at C:\Documents and
Settings\ your user name \My Documents\My Music\iTunes (or C:\
Users\ your user name \Music\iTunes on Vista). Once you’re done,
migrating your library is as easy as copying the iTunes folder
of your old drive into the \My Documents\My Music\ folder of
your new drive. Your fi nal move in iTunes will be to turn out the
lights. In iTunes, go to Advanced > Deauthorize and deauthorize
the computer. This will prevent you from playing any protected
content that you downloaded from iTunes on your PC until youhave reauthorized the computer on your new OS install.
Likewise, if you have any games using Valve’s Steam ser-
vice, we recommend that you use the program’s built-in backup
feature to create a backup of your games folder. Generally, just
copying the entire Steam directory over to the new install will
work, but having the backup fi le will help should you encounter
problems. While the old drive is up and running, you should
hunt down any saved games you want. We can’t tell you where
to fi nd the saved games for each particular title, as developers
use diff erent locations. Check the individual C:\Program Files\
game name folders to see if the saved games are there, if they
aren’t in a subfolder of Documents.COLLECT YOUR DRIVERS
Gather all the driver discs for the peripherals connected to your
PC. If you can’t fi nd a particular disc, chances are you can get the
driver off the manufacturer’s website. There’s no reason to rely on
the driver CD that came with your motherboard since it’s likely
out of date. Go to your motherboard vendor’s site and download
the latest drivers and applications for your board. The NIC driver
is most critical. It’s unlikely Windows XP will have native NIC
support, so you’ll need the driver. Microsoft Vista could have
support for it, but many newer chipset NICs are not supported,
so download the version you need. You should also download
the most recent drivers for your videocard and any other add-in
cards you have in your PC.
While you’re online, download the latest Service Pack for
the OS you’re installing. If you have a Windows Vista disc with
SP1 already integrated, don’t worry about it. If not, download
it at http://tinyurl.com/5w44a9. For Windows XP, you’ll want
to download the network installation package of the Service
Pack (http://tinyurl.com/5ofnk8). It’s designed to be installed on
multiple computers, but it will also let you install the Service Pack
without having to connect to the Internet. You can put all the
drivers and the Service Pack in a folder on the hard drive you’ll be
replacing or save them to a USB key.SAY YOUR GOODBYES
OK, you’ve got your keys and apps, your drivers and Service
Pack. It’s time to leave behind your previous install. Completely
power down your machine by unplugging it or switching it offIt’s very important that you deactivate some applications, such as Adobe’s Photoshop CS3, before
you take down your old drive or you may have problems reinstalling it.Backing up your Steam games with the app’s built-in utility will save
you a lot of downloading later on. Alternatively, you can copy the
entire Steam directory over from your old drive to your new one.clean
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