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the PC, the desktop background, the Windows update settings
(Recommended Settings is right for most people), and the loca-
tion setting for the Network: for home, select Home, if you’re at
work, select Work.
A RAID confi g on XP is a diff erent story. If you want to
install RAID, AHCI, SCSI, or any third-party controller drivers,
they can be installed only from a fl oppy drive, and many XP
discs will not support newer USB fl oppy drives. Even more
inane, to install the drivers, you’ll need to punch the F6 key
within a three-second window just aft er the installer has
started. It’s like Dragon’s Lair but without the fun; miss the F6-
key window and you’ll have to reboot and try it again until you
hit it just right.
If you have timed it right, you’ll see a screen that tells you
that the OS cannot determine the type of mass storage control-
ler. Put your fl oppy with the drivers in, hit the S key, and select
the device driver you need. XP will continue to ask you if you
need to install additional drivers, but if you’re done, just hit the
Enter key.
The installer will present you with what drive you want
to install the OS on. Unless you need to create multiple parti-
tions, just hit Enter. Windows XP will now give you a choice
of a quick format or a full format. The rule of thumb is to do
a full format on new drives since the OS will map out any
bad sectors on the disc. Quick formats should be done only
on drives known to be good. However, a full format on a
1.5TB drive will take hours to run. If you don’t like to be told
the odds, do a quick format and then perform a chkdsk /r as
soon as you have some spare time. Once the format is com-
plete, XP will begin the install. At some inconvenient point,
XP will ask you to customize your region settings, enter a
user name and password, enter your product key, name the
PC, and set the time. You’d think that would be all it needs,
but aft er 20 minutes or so, XP will halt the install and ask you
for network settings (select Typical Settings and click Next)
and any work group or domain settings (enter these later or
just accept the default and move on; you can change these
later). Now XP will make you wait another 10 or 15 minutes
while it fi nishes. This stop and go can mostly be avoided by
building an automated slipstream disc using nLite (http://
tinyurl.com/6d7aed), but honestly, unless you install the OS
a lot, it’s faster to just deal with the prompts.INSTALL SERVICE PACKS
You disconnected your PC from the network, right? This is just an
optional precaution for Vista, as its fi rewall is on by default. But, it
doesn’t hurt to be extra careful, so until you have the latest Service
Pack installed, don’t connect your rig to the net. Windows XP is far
more vulnerable because non–Service Pack builds don’t have the
fi rewall on and connecting the machine directly to the Internet
will infect a new install almost instantly. We know of people who
got caught in an infi nite loop of getting infected and not knowing
how it happened since each instance was a “clean” install from
a factory Windows XP disc. Even if you’re on the other side of a
router, there’s no guarantee that your PC won’t be infected by a
machine inside the network, so disconnect that XP box.
Once the machine is running, power down and plug your old
hard drive back in and boot into the BIOS. Make sure your BIOS
is set to boot from your new drive, not your old drive. Now bootinto the OS. Find the old drive (it will have a letter other than
C:) and install the Service Pack you downloaded. For Windows
Vista, Service Pack 1 is the current version. For Windows XP, it’s
Service Pack 3.MOVE IN
The fi rst driver you install should be the chipset driver. Next,
reboot and install the audio drivers, NIC, SATA, and any other
devices your board has. Some of the drivers will require a reboot
and should prompt you if they do. Once those are done, move on
to your other devices, such as the graphics card, add-in sound-
card, and TV tuner. Now connect the machine to the Internet and
run Windows Update. You might also need to activate Windows.
If Microsoft ’s server doesn’t accept the activation, be prepared to
do a phone activation. Now, install the applications you gathered
up earlier and do any OS tweaks, such as setting the standby
mode, installing your favorite screensaver, changing the desktop
background, and arranging the icons just so.MIGRATE YOUR DATA
Now it’s time to move all your data over to the new drive.
Open My Computer, fi nd your old drive and start copying
your fi les over. In Windows Vista, the bulk of your user fi les
are located in C:\Users\ your user name. Since your new driveBlink and you may miss the F6 prompt during Windows XP’s
install for third-party drivers such as RAID, AHCI, or SCSI.If you are installing Windows XP on a new disk, we recommend
that you perform a full format that maps out the bad sectors on
the hard drive. If you skip this, you can perform a chkdsk/r at a
later point.clean
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