After freshinstall of XP - now what?

Hello

I've just done a fresh install of XP on a second drive and being unfamilar with it in general what do i need to do first?

I did download the SP2 pack in Win98se and move it over to XP where it was installed as soon as XP was setup. Other than that I haven't installed anything - hardware or software. It's still in the 'Raw' form.

One thought is I'd like to get a hard back-up of the way it is now without anything added.I've got the original drive (5 yr old 13 gig IBM) with 98se on a single partition unhooked for now. I did a fresh install of 98se on a new drive with both drives hooked to a Promise TX100 card. I was thinking of reformating this old drive and having two partitions for each OS for backup. I don't know how backup works on XP yet or which drive I need to hook up to.

I'm not installing the internet software until I get the security thing figured out. I've got a "software firewall" but don't know if I need to leave XP's built in stay or turn it off. I'm using Sygate free version. Is there some parts of XP I need to fine tune or set before going online? thanks for any help.


Kenny J.

 

This is my "checklist" for a clean XP install, C&P from my notes.

Install and configure Internet Security Software and Policy before going online
Install MS updates

1. Turn off auto restart
Control Panel/System/Advanced/Startup and Recovery
uncheck auto restart to prevent an endless loop of boots
2. Decide option for XP firewall
3. Pro only- set password expiration to 0
4. Appearance tweaks- resolution, start menu, taskbars, screensaver, desktop
5. Set the MS Update policy
6. Log on Passwords and User accounts and permissions
7. Set up Outlook Express (import WAB!)
8. Configure Network and online Connections
9. Set Power policies, Set System Restore to desired size, and disable on drives NOT containing the XP OS.
10. Set Folder views and options
11. IE Policies and homepage.
Adjust
Select Tools | Internet Options | General
Under Temporary Internet Files click the Settings button.
In the box for the amount of disk space to use, enter a value between 5 and 80 megabytes.
Click OK to accept the changes.
12. Bios needs set to boot from cd and/or floppy before hard drive
13. Check Device Manager for exclamation points or question marks. Get any needed drivers and install them.

That list is pretty generic. You have installed SP2 and your firewall (if you can run both w/o any conflicts, why not?) You are ready to go online. Hope this gets you started- post back with any questions.

Johanna

Favorite Freeware

 

Speaking from experience, you must first Get the Latest Updates and Information from Your PC Manufacturer Before Installing Windows XP Service Pack 2. If you do not, you most likely will have problems.

This page contains a listing of computer manufacturers
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sp2/oemlinks.mspx

My first experience with installing SP2 -
I had to remove SP2 using recovery consol after booting from Xp startup floppies to even get back into my system and then had to do a complete instal of XP. After that, having learned my lesson, I went to my computer manufacturers webstite and did everything suggested before installing SP2. Now everything is working well.

Beamuse

 

this is the best info I have seen. He realy knows what he is doing.

http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/supertweaks.htm

 

I just installed XP Pro SP2 on an old (early 1999) Gateway Celeron 433 with 192MB RAM using the original BIOS and stock hardware. No problems at all, except as expected it is a little slow. But the old couple I set it up for said "We're slow as well, so it doesn't matter"

Make sure you only run one firewall. If you use the Sygate one then turn off the one in SP2, and vice versa.

 

Thnx for the reply Paul....bonus that the computer is up and running.

The update that was needed for my compaq was a fix for system restore that had to be done before installing SP2. I was experiencing a minor problem that was annoying so I decided to do a system restore - Yeah well, the minor problem was now huge.

Then, after the fresh instal of Xp, updates and then Sp2, I started to have shutdown problems. After research, I discovered that my Logitec Trackman Wheel mouse driver needed to be updated. The shutdown problem was solved. I know, it sounds strange but the info I found led directly to the update and strangely enough, it did fix the problem.

Thus, I will reinterate that it is a good idea to periodically check for hardware and driver updates on the manufacturers website. Not only for the computer but for other hardware as well (in my case, the mouse)

So anyway , that is my experience
Regards Beamuse


p.s. I do not use the windows firewall as I have a home network and am behind a d-link 624 router with an advanced firewall, so no worries there