A+ Complete Lab Manual

Windows XP comes in two variations, Home and Professional. Windows XP Home is designed to work as a stand-alone unit. It is optimized for the home environment where the needs for network security are not as great. Windows XP Professional is geared toward use in the corporate environment where interconnectivity with other systems is required. Windows XP Professional is designed to interoperate with Windows Servers that are running Active Directory.

This lab will cover the installation of Windows XP Professional. If you have the Windows XP Home edition, the steps are similar, but several steps are not required.

The minimum hardware requirements for installing Windows XP are:

Processor

Pentium 233MHz

RAM

64MB

Disk Space

1.5GB

Upon completion of this lab, you will be able to:

Set Up

For this lab, you will need a computer that meets the hardware requirements for installing Windows XP and the XP Installation CD.

Exercises

With Windows XP, the first choice you need to make is which edition to install. Then you need to choose whether to upgrade an existing operating system or perform a clean (new) installation. You will perform an upgrade when you want to preserve settings from the previous version of Windows. These setting include user options, custom settings, and applications. You will perform a clean installation when you do not have an existing operating system installed or you want to dual-boot the computer with two different operating systems. You will also perform a clean installation when you are using an operating system that is not compatible with performing an upgrade. This lab will cover the steps needed to perform a clean installation on a computer with an existing operating system installed.

Installing Windows XP

To install Windows XP,

  1. Turn on the computer and log in. Place the Windows XP Professional CD into the CD-ROM drive.

    Note

    You may have to change the CMOS settings to allow you to boot from the CD-ROM.

  2. From the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP screen, click Install Windows XP to begin the installation process.

  3. In the Welcome to Windows Setup window, select New Installation from the Installation Type drop-down menu and click Next.

  4. In the License Agreement window, select the I Accept This Agreement option and click Next. If you do not accept the license, the installation will halt.

  5. In the Your Product Key window, enter the product key from the yellow sticker on the case of the CD. Click Next.

  6. The next window gives you the opportunity to choose advanced and accessibility options and to select the primary language and region. The advanced options allow you to specify source and destination folders and indicate whether you want to choose the install drive letter and partition during the setup process. The accessibility options let you install the Microsoft Magnifier and the Microsoft Narrator. Once you have selected the options and language, click Next to continue.

  7. In the Get Updated Setup Files window, you have the chance to use the Dynamic Update to get the latest setup files from Microsoft via the Internet. If you do not have a connection to the Internet, select No, skip this step, and continue installing Windows. If you have a connection to the Internet, you can select Yes to download the updated setup files. If you select this option, your system will collect some information about your computer and then contact the Microsoft website and download all pertinent updated files. Once the update is completed, the system will finish this portion of the setup and then reboot the computer. After the reboot, you will again see the Welcome to Windows Setup screen; press Enter to continue the installation.

  8. The partitioning screen gives you a chance to partition your hard drive. You can select the partition for the installation. Select the C: drive and press Enter to continue.

  9. If you are installing to a partition that is using FAT, the setup routine gives you the option of converting the installation partition to NTFS. For this lab, ignore the obvious advantages of NTFS and leave the format as FAT.

  10. Once the formatting is complete, the setup routine copies files to the hard drive. This process takes several minutes. Then the computer will reboot and start the GUI installation.

  11. The first question asks you for the regional and language options. Select the appropriate options for your region and language. Click Next to continue.

  12. The next screen asks you to personalize the computer. Enter your name and the name of your organization. An entry in the Name field is required; the organization name is optional. Click Next.

  13. You now need to enter the computer name and the password for the administrator account. The name is a byproduct of your name and some randomly generated characters. You can simplify the name by typing an appropriate name. The administrator’s password should be unique. You need to type it twice and then click Next to continue.

  14. The Date and Time screen has you verify the computer time and date. Click Next.

  15. The next step starts to install networking on your computer. You are asked whether you want to install the typical settings or custom settings. Select Typical Settings to install TCP/ IP with DHCP enabled. Click Next.

  16. The next screen asks if the computer will belong to a workgroup or a computer domain. Select Workgroup and then click Next. The computer will finish copying files and then reboot.

  17. In the Welcome to Microsoft Windows screen, click Next.

  18. In the next screen, select whether the computer will connect to the Internet directly or through a network. Click Next.

  19. The next screen asks if you are ready to register. Select your answer and then click Next. If you selected Yes, fill out the registration fields and then click Next.

  20. Fill in the names of the people who will use the computer. Doing so creates user accounts for all of these users. Click Next.

  21. Finally, you have completed the installation. Click Finish, and you can begin to use Windows XP.

Activating Windows XP

To activate Windows XP,

  1. When Windows XP starts, you are prompted to activate it.

    Note

    You need to activate Windows XP within 30 days or it will stop working. Although activation seems to be an invasion, it is an attempt to prevent software piracy. You can activate it either over the Internet or by phone. Activation records a unique hardware profile. If you update more than three major components, you will have to reactivate Windows XP.

  2. In the Let’s Activate Windows window, select the method for activation that is most appropriate for your situation and click Next.

  3. If you selected the Internet, the computer gathers some information about your machine and passes it to Microsoft secure server, where it is stored it in a database. You are then automatically given the confirmation code. This process should take only a few seconds to complete. No personal information is collected in this process.

    If you chose to activate over the phone, call the toll-free number on the screen. The customer service representative will ask for the installation ID on the same screen and give you a confirmation code that you need to enter. Once it’s entered, the process is complete.

    Note

    Product registration is an optional process. It is not the same as product activation, which is mandatory. Product registration asks for some personal information.

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