Note: Use these instructions at your own risk! They were originally intended for IS&T Help Desk internal use. Only clients experienced in installing, troubleshooting, and making repairs to Windows Operating Systems should attempt to follow these instructions on their own. If you choose to proceed, be aware that IS&T assumes no responsibility for any problems encountered.

Introduction

A "clean install" of Windows XP, i.e. formatting the hard drive and reinstalling the operating system, puts the system back in the state in which you first got the machine. This is recommended for a variety of cases--for example:

• If a virus with a "backdoor" was found on your machine, which may have allowed a remote attacker access to your machine to upload files and install programs which are virtually impossible to hunt down manually.
  
  
• The machine is so bogged down with ads and other undesirable programs that it's easier to just start fresh.
  
  
• You need to install a system on a brand new hard drive.
  
  
• You've decided to do a clean install of Windows XP instead of upgrading from Windows 2000 or another version of Windows, which is a good idea because Windows upgrades are likely to introduce instability and strange problems into the operating system.

The caveat, of course, is that during this process all your user files and programs ARE DELETED. Make sure you have a backup of your files before you begin this process! (If you have multiple partitions on your hard drive, data on partitions other than the system partition should not be affected with the following steps, but a backup is still recommended to be on the safe side.) You will need to reinstall all of your programs after the Windows install is completed.

The steps are the same for setting up both Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home.

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Preparation

• If your computer has an internal zip drive, it would be a good idea to open up the case (if you're comfortable with doing so) and disconnect it. Otherwise it may take over the C: designation and force Windows to be installed on E:.
  
  
• If you have an IBM or HP machine made in the last three years or so, take a look at your machine documentation; most of these machines have built-in operating system reinstall partitions that do not require the following steps.

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The Install

1. Boot up from your Windows XP CD. Pressing the F12 key right as your computer starts up will allow you to choose from a list of boot devices on most recent computer models. Otherwise, you will need to take a look at your user manual to figure out how to set the BIOS to boot from CD first.
   
   Once you have successfully booted from the CD, you will see the Windows XP "Welcome to Setup" screen.
   
   



2. Press ENTER to begin the setup process. You will then see the Windows XP license agreement.
   
   



3. Press F8 to agree to the license. Setup will search for existing Windows installations. You will see the next "repair or install fresh copy" screen appear only if a Windows installation currently exists on your machine. If you're installing on a brand-new hard drive, skip to step 5.
   
   



4. Press ESC. You will be given a list of partitions available on your hard drive.
   
   



5. If there are multiple partitions on your hard drive, or you have multiple hard drives in the computer, use the UP or DOWN arrow keys to choose your install partition. Please note that your system partition needs to be a primary partition (usually the first partition that shows up in the list), not a logical partition.

The partition should optimally be at least 10 GB in size (10000 MB). Again, make sure that all the data you need from this partition is copied elsewhere, because it will be wiped!

6. Once you have the right partition selected, press ENTER. You will see the next "you already have a system installed" screen only if you already have Windows installed on this partition. If you are installing on a brand-new hard drive, skip to step 7.
   
   



7. Press C to continue. You will be given a list of install options.
   
   



8. Select the option to "Format the partition using the NTFS file system" and press ENTER. (Windows XP can also run on FAT32, but NTFS is recommended because of stability and functionality gains over FAT32.) You will receive a warning about formatting the drive unless the drive is brand-new.
   
   



9. Last chance! If you're not sure about your backup, check it before proceeding! If you are sure, press F to start formatting the drive.
   
   



10. After formatting, Setup will proceed to copy files automatically...
    
    



11. It will then automatically restart, and finish the rest of the install.
    
    

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After The Install

The Windows XP install is just the first step; you should also take a look at the following steps to make sure your computer is configured correctly and protected from viruses and intruders:

1. Install any missing drivers. Windows XP will install a limited set of drivers, but you'll have to find the rest. To see which drivers you're missing, go to the Control Panel > System > Hardware tab > Device Manager. Anything with a yellow question mark next to it is a missing driver. You'll need to reinstall these drivers from a system CD that came with your computer or download them from the manufacture's website.
   
   
2. Secure your computer before going back on the network.
   
   
3. Move your user files back to their original locations and associated them with your user account.
   
   
4. Reinstall your programs.