Back it up. Next, you'll need to back up everything that you can't stand the thought of losing from your old system. Most nonsystem files (files that aren't a part of the OS itself) should remain intact after an installation, but the risk of error and data loss is unavoidable during an OS install. So, if you have years of financial records, scads of scanned photos, or a folder full of songs from your favorite obscure folk singer, back them up. The best ways to do this are to transfer the files to another PC over a network, copy them onto a removable disk (such as a floppy or Zip disk), or burn them to a CD-RW or CD-R. WinXP has an installation tool to help you transfer files and settings from one Windows version to another; if you have important files, however, you'll want to back them up separately for added safety just in case the automated (but somewhat more complicated) transfer process fails.

Gather all of your materials. Third, collect all of your materials. Gather your WinXP CD-ROM and registration codes, a pen and some paper (in case you want to write down options or settings), as well as any installation CD-ROMs for other applications you might need to reinstall. WinXP has more robust hardware support than previous versions, but you'll probably still want to grab your driver discs for your peripherals so you can set them up easily, if necessary. If you have a dial-up modem, broadband Internet connection, or LAN (local-area network), you may need to have the account and settings information on hand, as well. Contact your ISP or network administrator if you don't know what you need.

Start the install. Finally, boot up your computer and close any applications that are running. Check your System Tray (the area on the far right end of your Taskbar) to make sure you've closed all background applications. You won't have to worry too much about preparing settings and deciding which core and optional features to install. WinXP has more or less eliminated the "Custom" install option; almost everyone gets the default feature set, to which you can then manually add or subtract later from the Control Panel. To get started, simply insert your WinXP installation CD-ROM in your optical drive. If nothing happens, double-click My Computer from your Windows Desktop and then double-click the appropriate icon to open your optical drive. Navigate to the Setup.exe application (you may or may not see the .EXE extension, depending on your existing Windows folder options) and double-click it to begin the installation.

The Installation's Welcome Screen

When the CD-ROM launches its setup application, the first thing you'll see is the Welcome screen. This is your gateway to all of the tools and features of WinXP's Installation. You'll see three options: Install WinXP, Perform Additional Tasks, or Check System Compatibility. If your PC is already running WinXP, you'll also see an option to Install Optional Windows Components. The Install WinXP option is pretty self-explanatory, but be sure to take advantage of some of the features offered in the other areas before you make the leap.

Perform Additional Tasks. This option provides you with Windows-related tools to assist you in installing and setting up your WinXP system.

• Set Up Remote Desktop installs the software you need to remotely control a Windows XP Professional system. Only WinXP Pro comes with the ability to be the host machine (to be remotely controlled via Remote Desktop), but you can use this feature to set up any Win-dows 95 or higher PC as the client (controller) machine.
  
  
• Set Up A Home Or Small Office Network will launch the Network Setup Wizard, which will walk you through configuring a simple home or office network.
  
  
• Transfer Files And Settings collects and stores files, folders, and settings from your PC and transplants them on your WinXP system. You can use this tool either to transfer data from one machine to another or as a way to back up files and settings on a computer that you will be upgrading. See the "The Files And Settings Transfer Wizard" sidebar in this article for more detailed instructions about this feature.
  
  
• Browse This CD lets you directly view the files and folders contained on the WinXP installation CD-ROM.
  
  
• View Release Notes displays information that was released too late to be included in the WinXP printed documentation. The most useful parts of these Release Notes describe known issues with specific hardware and software products. You should browse through the Release Notes to see if anything applies to something you own.
  
  

1. You should have already backed up your important data, gathered your materials, and closed all running applications. If not, do so now.
   
   
2. Insert the WinXP Installation CD. It should launch the installer and Welcome Screen automatically. If not, double-click My Computer on your Desktop, navigate to your CD-ROM drive, and double-click the Setup.exe application (you may also see this as simply Setup).
   
   
3. This will launch the Welcome Screen. Select Install WinXP from the menu.
   
   
4. After you begin the installation, you may be prompted to decide whether to perform an upgrade or a new installation. If you purchased the upgrade version of WinXP, you won't have this option; you'll have to have a supported previous version of Windows already installed and ready to be upgraded. In short, an upgrade will retain all your applications, data, and settings, without removing your current OS. The OS is simply upgraded to WinXP from its existing state. On the other hand, a new installation installs the OS from scratch, removing and replacing any existing OS in the process. If you are going to perform a new installation, you might want to manually uninstall your old OS beforehand, just to ensure a clean installation. If you don't already have a Windows OS on your hard drive or if you are running Windows 95 (which can't be upgraded to WinXP), you won't have a choice: You'll need to perform a new installation. Keep in mind, though, that only an upgrade installation can be uninstalled. If you perform a new installation, you won't be able to revert to your previous OS.
   
   

5. If you want to use special Accessibility features or install to a nonstandard location, you'll need to perform a new installation instead of an upgrade.

   When prompted, accept the WinXP License Agreement and enter the product key you received with your CD-ROM. If you run into trouble, double-check your entry to make sure you haven't entered an incorrect number or letter. (Watch out for the difference between the letter O and the numeral 0.)
   
   
6. If you chose to perform an upgrade installation or if you have the upgrade version of WinXP, the setup process will prompt you for an Upgrade Check. This will launch and run the Upgrade Advisor. If you haven't already done so, run an Upgrade Report to make sure the components of your PC are compatible with WinXP. If you already ran this utility in preparation for the installation, there's no need to run it again.
   
   
7. If you chose to perform a new installation, you will have the opportunity to define your Setup Options. After you click the Advanced Options button, you can direct the installation to copy to or from a nonstandard location on your hard drive (not recommended for general use). Accessibility Options lets you opt to use a screen magnifier or have a narrator read the setup instructions aloud. You also can define the language in which your installation should take place (U.S. English is the default).
   
   
8. Just before beginning the actual installation and transferring files, WinXP will prompt you to let it Get Updated Setup Files. This is the Dynamic Update feature that checks with Microsoft (via an Internet connection) for updates to the installation. Microsoft included this utility to make sure you receive the most current install available, but the version on the CD-ROM should work fine if you aren't online or don't want to use the Dynamic Update option.
   
   
9. If you're creating a new installation, you'll see a Welcome To Setup screen to prompt you through several steps. First, press ENTER to begin the installation (you also can quit or repair an interrupted install from here). Next, you'll need to choose which partition (normally, but not always, you will have one partition per hard drive) on which to install WinXP. In most circumstances, you'll select your C: drive here. In addition, you'll need to decide which file system to use; you can use either FAT32 (what Windows 95/98 and Me users will have already) or you can convert your system to NTFS (a newer and more secure file system used in Windows NT and Windows 2000). Keep in mind that if you convert from FAT32 to NTFS, you can't convert back or uninstall WinXP. If you have an existing Windows installation on your selected hard drive, you'll receive a warning that the process will overwrite it.
   
   
10. This is where the easy part begins: Let the installation run. The preparation and copying of files can take one to two hours or more, depending on the speed of your system's optical drive, processor, hard drive, and other variables. The screen and progress meter won't change much during this time, which can be a bit disconcerting, and the timer that tells you how much time remains isn't generally very accurate. WinXP's installation doesn't do a good job of letting you know that it's working fine; you may even start to think that your installation has stopped working, but be patient and just let the installation run. If you can't detect any progress for a very long time (such as 30 minutes or more), then you should try to start the installation over (if possible).
    
    
11. After the installation process is complete, new (as opposed to an upgrade) installations will present you with options to enter in order to set up the system. You will need to define regional and language options (how numbers, dates, and other information displays), enter your name and (if appropriate) your organization, provide your computer with a name, enter your modem and/or network settings (if applicable), and set the date and time (Windows defaults to U.S. Pacific time, so change the time zone accordingly). Finally, you'll need to set up your Internet connection, if necessary. If you performed an upgrade installation, all of these settings will transfer from the older OS to WinXP.
    
    

12. Microsoft Product Activation is designed to help prevent software piracy. You can choose to activate Windows XP online or over the phone.

    Users performing both new and upgrade installations will need to activate WinXP. Product Activation is another part of WinXP that Microsoft introduced to prevent piracy. Product Activation combines your hardware profile with your product key to create a unique identifier for your PC and your copy of WinXP. You can activate the OS now or do it later, but you only have 30 days to activate the OS or WinXP will stop working. The easiest way to activate is online; WinXP will connect to Microsoft with your unique identifier and verify that your product key hasn't already been used. If you don't have a connection to the Internet, you can wait to activate the OS manually (Select Start, All Programs, and Accessories. Choose System Tools and Activate Windows) or activate it over the phone. See the "Windows XP Product Activation" sidebar in this article for more information about activating WinXP.
    
    
13. The installation may prompt you to create an MSN (The Microsoft Network) account. This is one of the features that critics have highlighted as an example of Microsoft using its OS monopoly to promote its other services. If you already have an MSN account or if you received one as a part of buying your computer, you can set it up now. If you have another ISP, you should skip the MSN setup and install your own ISP's software later.
    
    
14. The final step for Windows XP Home users is to create user accounts. You should create separate accounts for each person using the computer. At this point, you just need to name each account. After the installation, you can add or remove accounts and change the settings for each account from the User Accounts area of the Control Panel. (Such settings can include instituting password-protection or limiting file access.)
    
    

In certain circumstances, you may find that you want to uninstall WinXP. For example, you might discover that you have some incompatible hardware or can't replace a particular application that you need to use daily. Or maybe you simply don't like the design and usability changes Microsoft included with WinXP. Uninstalling is, on the face of it, a fairly straightforward operation. However, there are several things to keep in mind that might complicate the process somewhat. If you performed a new installation or converted your file system to NTFS, you won't be able to uninstall WinXP or roll back the file system. The only way to return to your previous system is to reformat your hard drive entirely (after booting from a Windows boot disk) and reinstall everything from scratch.

Uninstalling is also fraught with peril: Your risk of data loss or corruption is even greater during an uninstall than during an installation. If you simply don't like the look of WinXP, you can opt to use the classic Windows design. Just right-click your Desktop, choose Properties, and click the Themes tab in the Display Properties dialog box. Select Windows Classic as your current theme and click Apply.

If you have more fundamental problems with WinXP, the Add Or Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel will give you the option to uninstall it. (Remember that this option will not be present if you performed a "new" installation.) Scroll down and look for the Windows XP Uninstall entry. You can either uninstall WinXP or remove the backup of your previous OS. To uninstall, choose Uninstall, click Yes to revert to your previous OS when prompted, and the uninstall process will begin. The system may reboot a few times, and then it will take you back to where you began when you started the WinXPinstallation.

Easiest Install To Date, But Watch Out For The Pitfalls

Although Microsoft has made WinXP's installation the easiest Windows installation to date, there are still several potential pitfalls to keep in mind. Make sure your hardware and software are compatible with WinXP and back up any important data before you begin. When in doubt, avoid doing anything irreversible. If you keep these tips in mind and make use of the installation tools WinXP provides, you can achieve a graceful entrance to the world of WinXP.

by Gregory Anderson