Resize Hard Disk Partition On Vista

Because programs such as Partition Magic don’t work on Windows Vista, some of you may be wondering how to resize partitions without losing any data. The good news is that you probably won’t be needing those programs because Windows Vista can manage your partition resizing.To resize a partition with Windows Vista, follow these steps:

Be sure to back up any valuable information, because there is a slight chance that data can be lost when dealing with partitions.

1) Click on the Start menu
2)Right click on Computer and click on Manage

3) You may get a User Account Control dialog here; just click Continue
4) In the left pane, open up the Storage category and click on Disk Management

Here, you will find your partitions for your disks. Right click on the partition you’d like to modify

6) Click on Extend Volume or Shrink Volume to extend or shrink the selected partition. If this doesn’t work for you because some options were greyed out, you can try out this option below

or

Windows Vista’s Disk Management tool can be quite deceiving. It allows you to work with partitions at ease in a presentable GUI format - but with problems. There have been a lot of complaints and confusion as to why Windows Vista grays out the extend volume and shrink volume properties. In response to this, I have found an alternative way to work with partitions, allowing you to easily resize, delete, and create partitions.


Diskpart.exe does a very good job at working with partitions. Unlike Disk Management, Diskpart actually works!
Before continuing, make sure that you: Backed up all important files

Do not run diskpart.exe with Dynamic Disks

1) First, you’ll want to pull out your Start Menu and type diskpart.exe(Windows XP users might have to download diskpart.exe ).This will open a command-prompt like window. At this window, type list disk. This will list all your available hard disks.



2) Proceed by typing select disk to select the disk you want to work with.
Creating a Partition or Volume: (skip)At this point in time, you can create a partition. Type create and a set of new options will be presented to you. To proceed, just type create . (e.g. create volume)

What kind of partition should I create?

Primary: Primary partitions are limited to four per hard disk. If you are planning to install an operating system into a partition, you’ll want to choose primary since it is the only one that can be made bootable.

Extended: If you are planning to have more than four partitions, you’ll want to work with extended. An extended partition counts towards the limit of four, but you are then allowed to create logical volumes within these extended partitions. You’ll want to use extended partitions for backup or storage purposes only since they are not bootable.

3) Now we want to see which number is associated with the volume we want to work with. To obtain this list, type list volume



4) Select the desired volume by typing: select volume or select partition
You then have a list of options to choose from. Below is a list of commands you can type in depending on what you want to do with your selected volume. If you don’t input a number for size, the program will automatically use all the space available for your operation. For the purpose of this tutorial, I have decided to work with 10GB. (1000MB = 1GB)
Shrink desired=10000 minimum=2000 (Shrinks the volume by 10GB. If that’s not possible, this command makes sure that you at least shrink the volume by 2GB.)

Extend size=10000
Delete Partition
Format

Disk Management can be quite a nuisance since it decides to gray out certain properties on any given day. Please spread the word about diskpart.exe if you know someone who has had trouble working with partitions; as I am sure there are lots who are having similar problems.If it still doesn’t work for you, and you haven’t given up, there's always method no 3 :-)

How Can I Increase My Internet Connection Speed in Windows XP?

This tip is designed for increased BROADBAND speed in Windows XP, but it should work for 56k modems too.

QoS Packet Scheduler is a method of network bandwidth management that can monitor the importance of data packets and depending upon the priority of the packet, give it higher or lower priority or bandwidth levels. It's not very useful unless you're using apps which are QoS-aware or running a server, so you can gain some network overhead back by turning it off.
Note: This following tip will not work on XP Home Edition.

1. Make sure you're logged on as actually "Administrator". Do not log on with any account that just has administrator privileges.

2. Start > Run > type gpedit.msc (not available in home version).
3. Expand the Local Computer Policy branch.
4. Expand the Administrative Templates branch.
5. Expand the Network branch.
6. Highlight the "QoS Packet Scheduler" in left window.
7. In right window double click the "limit reservable bandwidth" setting.
8. setting tab check the ENABLED item.
9. Where it says "Bandwidth limit %" change it to read 0 (ZERO).
10. Close gpedit.msc.

Effect is immediate on some systems, some need to re-boot.

How can I increase my hard disk speed in Windows XP/2003?

To speed up your hard disk speed we need to configure a special buffer in the computer's memory in order to enable it to better deal with interrupts made from the disk. This tip is only recommended if you have 256MB RAM or higher.Follow these steps:
1. Run SYSEDIT.EXE from the Run command.
2. Expand the system.ini file window.
3. Scroll down almost to the end of the file till you find a line called [386enh].
4. Press Enter to make one blank line, and in that line type
Irq14=4096



Note: This line IS CASE SENSITIVE!!!
5. Click on the File menu, then choose Save.
6. Close SYSEDIT and reboot your computer.
Done.
Speed improvement will be noticed after the computer reboots.The most speed improvement is visible with IDE drives, however there are reports that this tweak also does good for SCSI disks. In any case, it won't harm your system, so why not try it yourself and let me know what you find.

How can I increase my broadband connection speed in Windows XP/2003?

This tip is designed for increased BROADBAND speed in Windows XP while using standard Network Interface cards (NIC) that are connected to ADSL modems, or when using any directly-connected USB ADSL modem.
To speed up the Internet connection speed we need to configure a special buffer in the computer's memory in order to enable it to better deal with interrupts made from the NIC or the USB modem.This tip is only recommended if you have 256MB RAM or higher.

Step #1 - Identify the IRQ used by the NIC/USB modem
Follow these steps:
1. Open the System Information tool by running MSINFO32.EXE from the Run command.
2. Expand System Summary > Hardware Resources > IRQs.
3. Look for the listing made for your NIC (in my case - a Intel(R) PRO/100+ Management Adapter).
Note the IRQ next to the specified line (in my case - IRQ21).


In case of USB modems you will first need to find the right USB device used by your modem. Follow these steps:
1. Open the Device Manager tool by running DEVMGMT.MSC from the Run command (or by right-clicking My Computer > Hardware tab > Device Manager button).
2. Scroll down to Universal Serial Bus controllers and expand it.
Right-click the USB Root Hub and select Properties. Note that you might need to do so for all listed USB Root 3. hubs (if there are more than one) in order to find the right one.


4. In the Power tab, look for your USB ADSL modem.
5. In the Resources tab look for the assigned IRQ (in this case - IRQ21).



6. This is the IRQ we're looking for.

Step #2 - Modify the system.ini file
Follow these steps:
1. Run SYSEDIT.EXE from the Run command.
2. Expand the system.ini file window.
3. Scroll down almost to the end of the file till you find a line called [386enh].
4. Press Enter to make one blank line, and in that line type
IrqX=4096
where X is the designated IRQ number we found in step #1, in my case it's IRQ21.

5. Click on the File menu, then choose Save.
6. Close SYSEDIT and reboot your computer.
Done.

Speed improvement will be noticed after the computer reboots.
Update: The most speed improvement is visible with USB A/DSL modems, however there are reports that this tweak also does good for regular NICs. In any case, it won't harm your system, so why not try it yourself and let me know what you find.

How can I disable the Welcome Screen in Windows XP Pro?

To turn the Welcome Screen on or off:
You must have a computer administrator account on a computer that is a member of a workgroup or is a stand-alone computer to turn on or turn off the Use the Welcome screen feature. Logging on at the Welcome screen is not available on computers that are members of a network domain.
1. Open User Accounts in Control Panel.
2. Click Change the way users log on or off.

Do one of the following:
- To specify that users log on to the computer using the Welcome screen, select the Use the Welcome screen check box. A user logs on to the computer by clicking his or her user account name on the Welcome screen. If a password is assigned to the account, the user is prompted to type it.

- To specify that users log on to the computer without using the Welcome screen, clear the Use the Welcome screen check box. The Welcome screen will no longer appear when you start the computer. To log on to the computer, type your user name (and password, if you have one) in the standard Log On to Windows dialog box.



Note: To open User Accounts, click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click User Accounts. Fast User Switching is available only when the Welcome screen is turned on.
Note: To disable the Welcome screen you can also open the Registry editor and go to


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\WinLogon
In the right pane, remove the entry for Gina.DLL.

How can I temporarily bypass the Welcome Screen in Windows XP?

Windows XP uses that idiot proof welcome screen where all one has to do is click the stupid icon of a user and wham! He's logged on. Not only does the welcome screen hog resources, but it's bound to another XP feature - the Fast User Switching method. Sometimes the Welcome screen in XP can drive you nuts...



(How stupid can this be?)
You CAN temporarily disable the Welcome screen by clicking on CTRL + ALT + DEL twice when the Welcome screen appears.You will then receive the original logon screen found in W2K and in XP Pro that is a part of a domain. You can then press ESC to come back to the Welcome screen if you want.
BTW, for this to work there shouldn't be any users logged on.

How Can I Add The Missing Desktop Icons Back To The Windows Vista Desktop?

Someone in the Windows XP/2003/Vista design team has decided that desktop icons are bad for you. I don't know what this assumption is based upon, but one of the first things I do whenever I put my hands on a computer, any computer, is to add the missing icons. Too many easy shortcuts are missed because of the removed desktop icons, and I'm just too hooked on them to live without them.

So in order to restore the desktop icons you could use just one method instead of the 2 methods in Windows XP/2003 (see comment below).Right-click an empty spot on your desktop, select Personalize.


In the Personalization window, in the top left-hand corner, click on "Change desktop icons". Note, you can also get to this window directly from the Control Panel.



In the Desktop Icon Settings window, click to select all the empty checkboxes for the desktop icons. Click Ok.


Done

Note: As I mentioned earlier, in Windows XP/2003 you could use a second method - by reverting to the "Classic" Start menu you got your icons back (but also missed the "Regular" Start menu as a result). In Windows Vista doing so will only return the Internet Explorer icon back, not the rest of the desktop icons.

Another, more advanced note: If you don't want to go through all the clicking and crap that the Vista inventors have imposed on us, you can simply execute the following command from the Run command:

"C:\Windows\system32\rundll32.exe" Shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL desk.cpl,,@Web

This also works in Windows XP/2003.

How Can I Install Windows Vista?

Step #1: Plan your installation
When you run the Windows Vista Setup program, you must provide information about how to install and configure the operating system. Thorough planning can make your installation of Windows Vista more efficient by helping you to avoid potential problems during installation. An understanding of the configuration options will also help to ensure that you have properly configured your system.
I won't go into that part right now (I might later this month, no promises...) but here are some of the most important things you should take into consideration when planning for your Windows Vista installation:
- Check System Requirements
- Check Hardware and Software Compatibility
- Determine Disk Partitioning Options
- Decide on a Workgroup or Domain Installation
- Complete a Pre-Installation Checklist
After you made sure you can go on, start the installation process.

Step #2: Beginning the installation process
You can install Windows Vista in several methods - all are valid and good, it all depends upon your needs and your limitations. In this manual I will focus on the simplest form of installation - directly from the Windows Vista DVD media. So, insert your Windows Vista DVD media into your DVD drive and reboot your computer. A black window will appear momentarily while the DVD content is read.

Step #3: The GUI-based portion of the Setup program
Unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows Vista does not have a noticeable text phase of the setup process, and it will boot directly into the Graphical User Interface (GUI) mode.

1. After a few moments you will see the first prompt:

Press Next unless you want to change some regional settings for the installation process.

2. Press the Install now button.


3. After a short delay you're be prompted to enter your product key:

You can skip this part if you don't have the product key handy. However, if you do have a valid product
key at that time (and you should have one, we're dealing with legal issues here), then by entering the right
key the setup program knows which version of Vista to install.If you skip it, you'll be prompted for a Vista version that matches your product key (the one you don't have handy at that moment):

4. You now have to accept the license terms

5. Next you need to press the Custom (Advanced) installation type button

The Upgrade button is disabled because this specific installation if performed on a new computer
without any previous operating system on it.

6. The next phase is to pick the installation partition. Since this computer has a new hard disk that hasn't been formatted before, you will only have the option to create a new partition on it. Had it had previous partitions on it you could have chosen to either delete them or perform other tasks. Pressing the Advanced button will bring up the following options.

Since we don't need to perform any additional task we will just press on the Next button. The installation process will then create a partition on all the available disk space, and format it.



7. The setup process will now begin to copy files from the installation DVD media to the hard disk.

This will take some time:

8. After some time (the exact amount of time will greatly depend on your computer's hardware), the setup process will install updates for the operating system.

9. The computer will then automatically reboot.


10.Now comes a long waiting period, where the installation process configures the system. Again, the exact amount of time will greatly depend on your computer's hardware.

11. After the long wait, the system will then reboot once again.

12. You will think something went wrong because of the relative long time it take the system to display anything besides the black screen, but finally, after a few moments you will note a small colored circle:


13. A few seconds after that you will be prompted to enter a username and password for the first user on the computer. Although the setup program will let you continue without entering a password, note that it is very advisable to enter a password here, and the best option would be to choose a complex password made of at least 7 characters or more (something like P@ssw0rd or MYpa$$w0rd). Make sure you remember it.
Also pick your user's display picture. This can be changed later.


14. Pick a name for your computer. The setup program will create one based upon the username you chose in the previous step, but you can change it now (and later). Also pick a background for the user's desktop. This can be changed later.

15. Choose what sort of protection your computer gets. The recommended settings are best for someone that doesn't plan to hide their computer behind a corporate firewall (and even then, in some cases, this would be the best option). If you plan to install a 3rd-party firewall later you can opt to be prompted later.Note that this setting will also have effect on how the computer uses the Microsoft Windows Update (Automatic Updates) features


16. Next comes the Time Zone settings window. Choose your location.

17. Done! You're prompted with the last setup screen.Again a long wait and some promotional screens you see the hourglass circling around, in preparation for the first logon.


18. Finally, the first screen appears, you're ready to rock and roll! Note that if the computer was connected to the Internet while installing it, it will automatically download and prompt you to install any missing hotfix or update it finds for the current state of the operating system.

Set the location of the My Documents folder

My Documents is usually located under the C:\Documents and Settings folder, in a sub-folder named with the same name as your username. I usually move the location of My Documents to another physical disk, on a partition called D:\Documents.
Why?
Simply because that way I don't need to worry about ever formatting my C:\ drive and loosing precious information. I run a daily backup of my D:\Documents drive and burn images of my important information to CD. If for any reason I need to format C:\ and re-install - I only need to copy some minor files and updates and I'm done.
Follow the next steps:

1. Right-click My Documents and choose Properties.


2. In the General tab notice the default location for the My Documents folder. Click the Move button.


3. In the Select a Destination window - browse for the destination. I chose D:\Documents. Click Ok.

4. The Move Documents windows will open asking you if you want to move all the content of the current My Documents folder to the new location. If you have any files you want to move click Yes. Otherwise click No.


5. Open Windows Explorer and check the location of the My Documents folder

Disable the Error Reporting option

I don't want Microsoft to know about the errors I have (if any) on my system You don't either. Disable this option and stop those annoying pop-up screens that ask you if you want to report this or other error to Microsoft.
Follow the next steps:

1. Right-click My Computer and select Properties (or press the Windows logo key ÿ and the Pause/Break key together).
2.In the Advanced tab press the Error Reporting button.


3. Select Disable Error Reporting. If you want you can select the option to let you know what happened (in case of an application error).


4. Click Ok all the way out.

Add a the Quick Launch toolbar

The Quick Launch toolbar was a good thing. We had it on since Active Desktop in Internet Explorer 4.01, and really got used to it in W2K. I use it all the time. I don't know why the MS folks thought I didn't need it anymore. I do. To get the Quick Launch toolbar follow the next steps:

1. Right-click an empty spot on the Taskbar.
2. In the Toolbars sub-menu select Quick Launch.

To make room for additional icons and shortcuts we need to drag the right-hand side of the Quick Launch toolbar a bit more to the right. But the MS people made clear that wasn't a good idea, so the locked the Taskbar. We need to un-lock it.
To make the Quick Launch toolbar wider follow the next steps:
1. Right-click an empty spot on the Taskbar.
2. Un-check the Lock Taskbar option.

Notice how the Taskbar becomes a bit wider and that now you can see a small border marked with small
black dots that marks the end of the Quick Launch toolbar.

3. Place your mouse pointer on that border, click it and drag it to the right while holding the left mouse button.

Configure IE to download more than 2 concurrent files

IE 6 has a nasty habit of preventing us from downloading more than 2 files at once. Sounds idiotic? Believe it or not, it's true! To configure IE to allow up to 10 simultaneous downloads (it only allows 2 at a time) do the following:
1. Open Registry Editor.

2. In Registry Editor, navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings

3. On the Edit menu, click Add Value, and then add the following registry value:
"MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server"=Dword:0000000a
"MaxConnectionsPerServer"=Dword:0000000a
You can change 0000000a to any other value as long as it's hexadecimal.

4. Close the registry editor.

Delete Temporary Internet Files (and make the temporary storage space smaller)

By default, IE uses a lot of storage space for temporary Internet files. Today, with the availability of broadband connections, storing old and cached content is not a must as it was in the old modem-days. Make that folder smaller. Also, we want to clear up the content of the folder each time we close XP, just to make things right. Follow the next steps:

1. Right-click Internet Explorer on the desktop and choose Properties.
2. In the General tab , in the Temporary Internet Files section click Settings.


3. In the Amount of disk space to use enter the number 10 (for 10mb, you can make it smaller or larger if you want). No need to use 600mb...
4. Click Ok.
5. Go to the Advanced tab and look for the Empty Temporary Internet Files check-box. Mark it.


6. Click Ok all the way out.

How can I customize a new Windows XP installation?

When installing a brand new Windows XP Pro computer (read my Install Windows XP Pro page) I end up making many changes to its interface and some of its interior settings.
Some of these changes are for made for performance reasons while others are purely visual and made only for my convenience.
Some of these tips can be easily modified without the need to go into registry changes. For example, in order to disable the "Windows XP Tour" you can simply click on "Cancel" when it first pops up. However, if you want to disable this "feature" for all users on the workstation, or would like to disable if for many computers, you will need to programmatically do it.
Either way, here are some of the steps I take to customize my own XP machine. I did not list ALL available tweaks or changes, I just wrote about the ones that I use the most and that help me get a better working experience with my own XP machine. BTW, some settings will also work on W2K and Windows 2003.

Get rid of the Tour prompt
The "Take Tour of Windows XP" prompt can drive you mad.


To disable it follow the next steps:
1. Open the registry editor and go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Tour

2. Create a new value with the name of
RunCount
Data Type: REG_DWORD

3. Give it a value of 0 (zero)

Get rid of the MSN Passport creation prompt
Windows XP can drive you nuts with the idiotic Passport reminder balloon. If you don't use Microsoft Messenger for your IM needs, or use a different client then you might want to disable that reminder.


1. Start Registry Editor (Regedit.exe).
Note: As always, before making changes to your registry you should always make sure you have a valid backup. In cases where you're supposed to delete or modify keys or values from the registry it is possible to first export that key or value(s) to a .REG file before performing the changes.

2. Locate the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MessengerService

3. On the Edit menu, click Add Value, and then add the following registry value:
Value Name: PassportBalloon
Value Type: REG_BINARYData: 0a (hexadecimal)
Note: 0a as in "zero a" not "oh a"...

4. Close the registry editor.

Restore my Desktop icons!
XP hides you regular desktop icons. I don't know why, but some sick mind in Seattle thought that a desktop without Internet Explorer, My Computer, My Documents and the My Network Places icons looks nicer.
I don't. So I want to get them back.
Follow the next steps:

1. Right-click an empty space on your desktop. Choose Properties.


2. In the Display Properties window go to the Desktop tab and click the Customize Desktop button.


3. In the Desktop Icons section click to select all the icons you want.


4. Click Ok all the way out.
5. Your icons are back.

How can I install Windows XP Pro on my computer?

This article is created for WinXP newbie

As a Microsoft Windows XP Professional support professional, one of your tasks may be to install the operating system.

Step #1: Plan your installation
When you run the Windows XP Professional Setup program, you must provide information about how to install and configure the operating system. Thorough planning can make your installation of Windows XP Professional more efficient by helping you to avoid potential problems during installation. An understanding of the configuration options will also help to ensure that you have properly configured your system.
I won't go into that part right now but here are some of the most important things you should take into consideration when planning for your XP installation:

Check System Requirements
Check Hardware and Software Compatibility
Determine Disk Partitioning Options
Choose the Appropriate File System: FAT, FAT32, NTFS
Decide on a Workgroup or Domain Installation
Complete a Pre-Installation Checklist
After you made sure you can go on, start the installation process.

Step #2: Beginning the installation process
You can install Windows XP in several methods - all are valid and good, it all depends upon your needs and your limitations.
Manual installations usually come in 3 flavors:
Boot from CD - No existing partition is required.
Boot from the 6 Setup Boot Disks, then insert the CD - No existing partition is required (see the Create Setup Boot Disks for Windows XP page).

Boot from an MS-DOS startup floppy, go to the command prompt, create a 4GB FAT32 partition with FDISK, reboot, format the C partition you've created, then go to the CD drive, go into the I386 folder, and run the WINNT.EXE command.
Run an already installed OS, such as Windows NT 4.0 Server. From within NT 4.0 go to the I386 folder in the W2K installation CD and run the WINNT32.EXE command.
If you want to upgrade a desktop OS such as Windows 98 into Windows 2000 Professional you can follow the same procedure as above (You cannot upgrade Windows 98 into W2K Server).
There are other non-manual installation methods, such as using an unattended file along with a uniqueness database file, using Sysprep, using RIS or even running unattended installations from within the CD itself, but we won't go into that right now.It doesn't matter how you run the setup process, but the moment it runs - all setup methods look alike.

Step #3: The text-based portion of the Setup program
The setup process begins loading a blue-looking text screen (not GUI). In that phase you will be asked to accept the EULA and choose a partition on which to install XP, and if that partition is new, you'll be asked to format it by using either FAT, FAT32 or NTFS.
1. Start the computer from the CD.


2. You can press F6 if you need to install additional SCSI adapters or other mass-storage devices. If you do you will be asked to supply a floppy disk with the drivers and you CANNOT browse it (or a CD for that matter). Make sure you have one handy.


3. If you want, you can press F2 to run the ASR sequence. For that you need a good backup created by the Windows XP backup program, and the ASR floppy disk. If you plan to install a new copy of XP - don't do anything.


4. Setup will load all the needed files and drivers.


5.Select To Setup Windows XP Professional Now. If you want, and if you have a previous installation of XP, you can try to fix it by pressing R. If not, just press ENTER


6. Read and accept the licensing agreement and press F8 if you accept it.


7.
Select or create the partition on which you will install Windows XP Professional. Depending upon your existing disk configuration choose one of the following:
- If the hard disk is unpartitioned, you can create and size the partition on which you will install Windows XP Professional.
- If the hard disk is already partitioned, but has enough unpartitioned disk space, you can create an additional partition in the unpartitioned space.
- If the hard disk already has a partition that is large enough, you can install Windows XP Professional on that partition. If the partition has an existing operating system, you will overwrite that operating system if you accept the default installation path. However, files other than the operating system files, such as program files and data files, will not be overwritten.
- If the hard disk has an existing partition, you can delete it to create more unpartitioned space for the new partition. Deleting an existing partition erases all data on that partition.

If you select a new partition during Setup, create and size only the partition on which you will install Windows XP Professional. After installation, use Disk Management to partition the remaining space on the hard disk.

8. Select a file system for the installation partition. After you create the partition on which you will install Windows XP Professional, you can use Setup to select the file system with which to format the partition. Windows XP Professional supports the NTFS file system in addition to the file allocation table (FAT) and FAT32 file systems. Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000, and Windows NT are the only Microsoft operating systems that you can use to gain access to data on a local hard disk that is formatted with NTFS. If you plan to gain access to files that are on a local Windows XP Professional partition with the Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows 98 operating systems, you should format the partition with a FAT or FAT32 file system. We will use NTFS.

9. Setup will then begin copying necessary files from the installation point (CD, local I386 or network share).

10. Note: If you began the installation process from an MS-DOS floppy, make sure you have and run SMARTDRV from the floppy, otherwise the copying process will probably last more than an hour, perhaps even more. With SMARTDRV (or if setup was run by booting from CD) the copying will probably last a few minutes, no more than 5 max.


11. The computer will restart in graphical mode, and the installation will continue.


Step #4: The GUI-based portion of the Setup program
The setup process reboots and loads a GUI mode phase.

It will then begin to load device drivers based upon what it finds on your computer. You don't need to do anything at this stage.


1.
Click Customize to change regional settings, if necessary.
Current System Locale - Affects how programs display dates, times, currency, and numbers. Choose the locale that matches your location, for example, French (Canada).
Current Keyboard Layout - Accommodates the special characters and symbols used in different languages. Your keyboard layout determines which characters appear when you press keys on the keyboard.
If you don't need to make any changes just press Next.


If you do need to make changes press Customize and add your System Locale etc.

Note for Hebrew users: Unlike W2K, it is SAFE and it is OK for you to install Hebrew language support at this phase.
To install Hebrew support:
After pressing Customize go to the Languages tab and select the "Install files for complex script and right-to-left languages".

2. Type your name and organization.


3. Type the product key.


4. Type the computer name and a password for the local Administrator account. The local Administrator account resides in the SAM of the computer, not in Active Directory. If you will be installing in a domain, you need either a pre-assigned computer name for which a domain account has been created, or the right to create a computer account within the domain.


5. Select the date, time, and time zone settings.
6. Setup will now install the networking components.
After a few seconds you will receive the Networking Settings window. BTW, if you have a NIC that is not in
the HCL (see the What's the HCL? page) and XP cannot detect it, or if you don't have a NIC at all, setup will
skip this step and you will immediately go to the final phase of the setup process.
Press Next to accept the Typical settings option if you have one of the following situations:
You have a functional DHCP on your network.
You have a computer running Internet Connection Sharing (ICS).
You're in a workgroup environment and do not plan to have any other servers or Active Directory at all,
and all other workgroup members are configured in the same manner.
Otherwise select Custom Settings and press Next to customize your network settings.

7. One thing you CAN do (you don't have to do it, it's your call - read more about it on the Increase Internet Connection Speed in Windows XP page) is to uninstall the Qos Packet Scheduler. Click it and press the Uninstall button. If you want to keep it you can simply remove the mark from the QoS check-box. In anyway you can later install or uninstall it if you want.

Keep the TCP/IP, Client for Microsoft Networks and the File and Print Sharing options selected.

8. Highlight the TCP/IP selection and press Properties.
In the General tab enter the required information. You must specify the IP address of the computer, and if
you don't know what the Subnet Mask entry should be - you can simply place your mouse pointer over the
empty area in the Subnet Mask box and click it. The OS will automatically select the value it thinks is good
for the IP address you provided.If you don't know what these values mean, or if you don't know what to
write in them, press cancel and select the Typical Settings option. You can easily change these values
later.

9. In the Workgroup or Domain window enter the name of your workgroup or domain.
A workgroup is a small group of computers on a network that enables users to work together and does
not support centralized administration. A domain is a logical grouping of computers on a network that
has a central security database for storing security information. Centralized security and administration
are important for computers in a domain because they enable an administrator to easily manage
computers that are geographically distant from each other. A domain is administered as a unit with
common rules and procedures. Each domain has a unique name, and each computer within a domain has
a unique name. If you're a stand-alone computer, or if you don't know what to enter, or if you don't have
the sufficient rights to join a domain - leave the default entry selected and press Next.



If you want to join a domain (NT 4.0 domain of W2K/2003 Active Directory domain) enter the domain's name in the "Yes, make this computer a member of the following domain" box.


To successfully join a domain you need the following:
The person performing the installation must have a user account in Active Directory. This account does not need to be the domain Administrator account.
and

The computer must have an existing computer account in the Active Directory database of the domain that the computer is joining, and the computer must be named exactly as its domain account is named.
or

The person performing the installation must have appropriate permission to create a domain account for the computer during installation.

Also, you need to have connectivity to the domain's domain controllers (only to the PDC if on an NT 4.0 domain) and a fully functional DNS server (only in AD domains). Read the Joining a Domain in Windows XP Pro and Requirements when Joining a Domain pages for more on this issue.

Enter the Active Directory domain name (in the form of xxx.yyy, for example: DPETRI.NET) or the NetBIOS name of the NT 4.0 domain (in the form of xxx, for example: DPETRI). Press Next.

Note: If you provide a wrong domain name or do not have the correct connectivity to the domain's DNS server you will get an error message.

A username/password window will appear. Enter the name and password of the domain's administrator (or your own if you're the administrator on the target domain).


10. Next the setup process will finish copying files and configuring the setup. You do not need to do anything.


11. After the copying and configuring phase is finished, if XP finds that you have a badly configured screen resolution it will advise you to change it and ask you if you see the new settings right.BTW, the minimum supported screen resolution in XP is 800X600

12. Setup finishes and boots Windows XP.


13. A Welcome screen is the first thing you see. The computer checks your Internet connectivity (required for the mandatory Activation and voluntary Registration processes).

You will be asked to register your copy of XP. You can decline if you want


14.
XP will ask you for the default username that will log onto this computer. You can enter as many as 5 users, but you can create more after the installation is finished.BTW, the Administrator is not shown as a valid logon option (read more about it on the Add the Administrator's Account to the Welcome Screen in XP Pro page).


15. That's it! you're done!