Lesson 1:?Getting Started

When you install Windows XP Professional, the Windows XP Professional Setup program asks you to specify how to install and configure the operating system. Preparing in advance helps you avoid problems during and after installation.

After this lesson, you will be able to

• Identify the hardware and installation information required to install Windows XP Professional successfully

Estimated lesson time: 30 minutes

Preinstallation Tasks

Before you start the installation, complete the following tasks:

• Ensure that your hardware meets the requirements for installing Windows XP Professional.
• Determine whether your hardware is on the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL).
• Decide how you will partition the hard disk on which you will install Windows XP Professional.
• Choose a file system for the installation partition.
• Determine whether your computer will join a domain or a workgroup.
• Complete a preinstallation checklist.

Hardware Requirements

You must determine whether your hardware meets or exceeds the minimum requirements for installing and operating Windows XP Professional, as shown in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1 Windows XP Professional Hardware Requirements

Hardware Compatibility List

Although the Windows XP Professional Setup Wizard automatically checks your hardware and software for potential conflicts, before you install Windows XP Professional, you should verify that your hardware is on the Windows XP Professional HCL. Microsoft provides tested drivers for the listed devices only. Using hardware not listed on the HCL could cause problems during and after installation. The most recent versions of the HCL for released operating systems are on the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/hcl/.

Disk Partitions

The Windows XP Professional Setup program examines the hard disk to determine its existing configuration. Setup then allows you to install Windows XP Professional on an existing partition or to create a new partition on which to install it.

New Partition or Existing Partition

Depending on the hard disk configuration, do one of the following during installation:

• If the hard disk is unpartitioned, create and size the Windows XP Professional partition.
• If the hard disk is partitioned and contains enough unpartitioned disk space, use the unpartitioned space to create the Windows XP Professional partition.
• If the existing partition is large enough, install Windows XP Professional on that partition. Installing on an existing partition overwrites any existing data.
• If the existing partition is not large enough, delete it to provide more unpartitioned disk space for creating the Windows XP Professional partition.

Remaining Free Hard Disk Space

Although you can use Setup to create other partitions, you should create and size only the partition on which you will install Windows XP Professional. After you install Windows XP Professional, use the Disk Management administrative tool to partition any remaining unpartitioned space on the hard disk.

Installation Partition Size

Microsoft recommends installing Windows XP Professional on a 1.5-GB or larger partition. Although Windows XP Professional requires less disk space for installation, using a larger installation partition provides the flexibility to install Windows XP Professional updates, operating system tools, or other necessary files in the future.

File Systems

After you create the installation partition, Setup prompts you to select the file system with which to format the partition. Like Microsoft Windows NT 4 and Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Professional supports the NT file system (NTFS) and file allocation table (FAT). Both Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP Professional support FAT32. Figure 2.1 summarizes some of the features of these file systems.

Figure 2.1 NTFS and FAT/FAT32 file system features

Use NTFS when the partition on which Windows XP Professional will reside requires any of the following features:

• File- and folder-level security. NTFS allows you to control access to files and folders. For additional information, see Chapter 8, "Securing Resources with NTFS Permissions."
• Disk compression. NTFS compresses files to store more data on the partition. For additional information, see Chapter 14, "Managing Data Storage."
• Disk quotas. NTFS allows you to control disk usage on a per-user basis. For additional information, see Chapter 14, "Managing Data Storage."
• Encryption. NTFS allows you to encrypt file data on the physical hard disk, using the Microsoft Encrypting File System (EFS). For additional information, see Chapter 14, "Managing Data Storage."

The version of NTFS in Windows XP Professional supports remote storage, dynamic volumes, and mounting volumes to folders. Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000, and Windows NT are the only operating systems that can access data on a local hard disk formatted with NTFS.

FAT and FAT32

FAT and FAT32 offer compatibility with other operating systems. You must format the system partition with either FAT or FAT32 if you will dual boot Windows XP Professional and another operating system that requires FAT or FAT32.

FAT and FAT32 do not offer many of the features (for example, file-level security) that NTFS supports. Therefore, in most situations, you should format the hard disk with NTFS. The only reason to use FAT or FAT32 is for dual booting with another operating system that does not support NTFS. If you are setting up a computer for dual booting, you need to format only the system partition as FAT or FAT32. For example, if drive C is the system partition, you could format drive C as FAT or FAT32 and format drive D as NTFS.

Converting a FAT or FAT32 Volume to NTFS

Windows XP Professional provides the Convert command for converting a partition to NTFS without reformatting the partition and losing all the information on the partition. To use the Convert command, click Start, click Run, type cmd in the Open text box, and then click OK. This opens a command prompt, which you use to request the Convert command. The following example shows how you might use switches with the Convert command.

Convert volume /FS:NTFS [/V] [/CvtArea:filename] [/Nosecurity] [/X]

Table 2.2 lists the switches available in the Convert command and describes their functions.

Table 2.2 Convert Command Switches

For help with any command-line program, at the command prompt type the command followed by /? and then press Enter. For example, to receive help on the Convert command, type Convert /? and then press Enter.

Domain or Workgroup Membership

During installation, you must choose the type of network security group that the computer will join: a domain or a workgroup. Figure 2.2 shows the requirements for joining a domain or workgroup.

Figure 2.2 Domain or workgroup membership requirements

Joining a Domain

When you install Windows XP Professional on a computer, you can add that computer to an existing domain. Adding a computer to a domain is referred to as joining a domain.

Joining a domain during installation requires the following:

• A domain name. Ask the domain administrator for the Domain Name System (DNS) name for the domain that the computer will join. An example of a DNS-compatible domain name is microsoft.com, in which microsoft is the name of the organization's DNS identity.
• A computer account. Before a computer can join a domain, you must create a computer account in the domain. You can ask a domain administrator to create the computer account before installation or, if you have administrative privileges for the domain, you can create the computer account during installation. If you create the computer account during installation, Setup prompts you for the name and password of a user account with authority to add domain computer accounts.
• An available domain controller and a server running the DNS service (called the DNS server). At least one domain controller in the domain that you are joining and one DNS server must be online when you install a computer in the domain.

Joining a Workgroup

When you install Windows XP Professional on a computer, you can add that computer to an existing workgroup. This process is referred to as joining a workgroup.

If you join a computer to a workgroup during installation, you must assign a workgroup name to the computer. The workgroup name you assign can be the name of an existing workgroup or the name of a new workgroup that you create during installation.

Preinstallation Checklist

Use the following preinstallation checklist to ensure that you have all the necessary information available before you begin installing Windows XP Professional.

Lesson Review

The following questions will help you determine whether you have learned enough to move on to the next lesson. If you have difficulty answering these questions, review the material in this lesson before beginning the next lesson. The answers are in Appendix A, "Questions and Answers."

1. What are the minimum and recommended memory requirements for installing Windows XP Professional?
2. The minimum hard disk space required for installing Windows XP Professional is
   1. 1.5 GB on a 2-GB hard disk
   2. 1 GB on a 2-GB hard disk
   3. 500 MB on a 1-GB hard disk
   4. 750 MB on a 2-GB hard disk
3. Where can you find the most recent versions of the HCL for released operating systems?
4. Joining a domain during Windows XP Professional installation requires which of the following? (Choose all that apply.)
   1. You must know the DNS name for the domain the computer will join.
   2. You must have a user account in the domain.
   3. At least one domain controller in the domain must be online when you install a computer in the domain.
   4. At least one DNS server must be online when you install a computer in the domain.
5. Which of the following statements about file systems are correct? (Choose all that apply.)
   1. File- and folder-level security are available only with NTFS.
   2. Disk compression is available with FAT, FAT32, and NTFS.
   3. Dual booting between Microsoft Windows 98 and Windows XP Professional is available only with NTFS.
   4. Encryption is available only with NTFS.

Lesson Summary

• The first preinstallation task is to ensure that your hardware meets the hardware requirements for installing Windows XP Professional.
• The next preinstallation task is to ensure that your hardware is on the Windows XP Professional HCL.
• Additional preinstallation tasks include determining how to partition the hard disk on which you will install Windows XP Professional and deciding whether to format the partition as NTFS, FAT, or FAT32.
• Your computer can join a domain or a workgroup during or after installation.