How to Install Windows XP Pro/Home

First off, the only difference between Pro and Home is that Pro has a few more features to use while Home has those features disabled. Pro is good for businesses that have several computers and maybe a tech department to set up their computers for special jobs. Also, Pro costs over $50 more than Home. Home does every thing the average user needs and then some. But they both install the same way.

Second off, you have to be aware of what happens when you reinstall Windows. All of your previous information will be completely erased. All of your programs and games will be gone, and all of your saved data, such as pictures or web sites you have saved will be deleted. So before we start, you might want to back up any data that you want to keep on disc, or some type of external source (USB Hard Drive), or just a secondary hard drive in your computer.

Once finished saving all of the information you want to save, put in your Windows disc, and restart your computer. It should say something like, push any key to boot from CD. Do that and it takes you to a blue screen, with text popping up in the bottom panel. Let it go for a few seconds, then it will ask you if you want to Continue, Repair, or Exit. Hit the 'Enter' Key on your keyboard to continue. The next screen is the License Agreement. Most people ignore this, knowing it just says things like, "don't use Windows for any thing illegal" etc, etc...

Push F8 to agree, and the next screen is the important one. It brings up a list of all the partitions on your hard drive. This is nothing most people has to worry about. If you know this computer will only have one operating system on it, and no one else uses the computer (they might have their own reason for having more than one), then their should only be two or less partitions in the list (you'll know them when you see them). If there is more than 2, delete them all (if you don't want them) by pressing the D key and following the directions on screen. Once every thing is set, choose the largest partition (if there are more than one), or the one that you want windows XP to be installed on, and hit enter to continue. It might tell you that there is a installation on this partition already, but you can ignore it, and hit C to continue, or Enter, which ever one it's asking you to push. This next screen is asking how to format the partition. We want to format it with NTFS with out the word (quick) behind it.

That will do it's thing, and have a blue load bar telling you it's progress. We let that go for half an hour or so. It might take quite a bit longer, it just depends on your computer's speed. Once those blue bars are finished it will restart itself then continue loading windows. After 15 minutes or so, it should ask for some information. The first window, you can push next, then it asks for your Product Number. If you bought a new disc of Windows, it will be on the package, or on the disc itself. You can eject the disc, it will not hurt the installation, or the disc. If you are installing Windows from a disc that came with your computer, the number might be on the side or the back of your computer tower.

After you type in all the information it asks for, just keep pushing next and then it will go back to loading windows. A few minutes later it will ask which type of LAN (Local Area Network) settings do you want. Just click Typical and push next. It will load again for about 15 minutes or more, then open up your desktop with your start menu and such. Congratulation!! You have installed Windows XP onto your computer!

Although windows is installed, the work is not finished yet. The windows still has to be activated, and the drivers still needs to be installed. To activate windows, you have to be on the Internet, just click that button at the bottom that keeps popping up saying, "Activate Windows". It will pop up a window, tell it to activate and push next. The next page, tell it to not register, and push next. If things go well, it will say Congratulations, if not, it will tell you. Choose activate by phone at the bottom, choose united states (or your current location) and it will give you a phone number. Follow the directions they give you and afterwards your windows will be activated.

The second to last thing you have to worry about are the drivers. Open start menu and right click on the "My Computer" icon, and open up properties. Click the hardware tab at the top of the new window, then click the button saying "Device Manager". If you see any yellow question marks, or yellow exclamation marks, then those are devices that has to have the drivers installed. Drivers are just programs that tell windows how to use those devices. If you are using a computer from a known manufacturer like HP, Dell, Compaq, Gateway, Sony, or Toshiba then you can get on the Internet and go to their web sites. Examples are WWW.HP.com, WWW.Dell.com, etc....

Click on Downloads, or Drivers (depends on which site your on), and type in the model of your computer tower. It will be listed on your tower, usually on the front. An example would be: Dell Inspirion 2850. It will bring up a list of drivers you can down load. Just choose the driver for the item in your Device Manager, and download it. Once downloaded it will ask if you want to install it. Choose yes, and just keep clicking next. Once done, the item in the Device Manager will have a different symbol than the yellow question mark. Once all the yellow stuff is gone in there, then you only have one more step to be completely finished.

Last step: All the information you've saved off of your old Windows, just put back on there, and install your programs again. Then enjoy!!