Many people still use the "low tech" way to synchronize files in Windows XP. They copy them onto a floppy for transfer. Others hook their laptop into the network and manually copy files over the network.
There's nothing wrong with that, except that there's a much simpler way to synchronize files in Windows XP.
If you want to keep files synchronized between your laptop and your office environment, you're much better off using something called "Offline Files" in Windows XP.
Offline Files automatically deals with situations where files are changed both on your laptop and on the network location. How would you manage synchronization when it's possible that neither copy is in it's original state ?
100% availability
The Offline Files functionality is extremely useful if you want to work with your files when they are not always available 24/7. Think of files on a network that periodically goes down for maintenance or files on a desktop pc that you want to access while traveling with your notebook.
Offline Files is designed to be an improvement over the Briefcase function from previous Windows versions.
The feature is only available in Windows XP Professional, not in Windows XP Home Edition. However, only the computer that needs to maintain and synchronize the Offline Files needs Windows XP Professional. The computer that stores the original files can be running any operating system.
You must first turn off "Fast user switching" to start using Offline Files to synchronize files in Windows XP. Don't know if "Fast user switching" is enabled ? If your computer is part of a network with a domain, you don't have to worry about it. Fast User Switching is not an option in domains.
Not part of a domain ? Do the following :
* Click the Start button and select "Control Panel"
* Open up "User Accounts"
* Click "Change the Way Users Log On or Off"
* Deselect the "Use Fast User Switching" checkbox and click ok
Now you're all set to synchronize files in Windows XP.
* Right-click the Start button and select "Explore"
* From the Explorer menu, select "Tools"->"Folder Options"
* Click the Offline Files tab and check the "Enable Offline Files" check box
* Change the additional synchronization settings if needed
You can return to this dialog any time to delete offline files with the "Delete Files" button. Use the advanced button to setup how your computer needs to react when the connection to another computer on the network is lost.
Make the selection
Next, you need to select which networked files and folders you want available on your local hard drive :
* Right-click the network file or folder that you want to cache
* Select "Make Available Offline"
If this is the first time that you do this, the Offline Files wizard will allow you to set some extra configuration options. If you selected a folder that contains subfolders, you will need to specify whether you want to include these as well.
When you work offline
If you synchronize files in Windows XP like this, the files will appear as if they were online even when they are not actually available. You can access them the same way you usually do. If they are available via the network, you get the "live" copy; if they are not available, you get the offline copy. An icon in the notification area will inform you if you are working offline.
Connected to the network
As soon as you connect your laptop to the network again, you need to synchronize your files. Windows does it automatically for you if you have set the configuration options to automatically synchronize at logon and / or logoff.
You can also manually synchronize files in Windows XP :
* Click the Start button
* Select "All Programs"->"Accessories"->"Synchronize"
* The "Items to Synchronize" dialog allows you to select which items you want to synchronize
* Click the Synchronize button
When both your local copy and the network copy of a file have changed, Windows will ask what you want to do. When only one of the copies has changed, it will overwrite the un-changed copy.
Alternatively, you might want to....
Another way of accessing your files in your office environment is by using remote control software. Windows XP has its own built-in remote access feature, called remote desktop (RDP), but that is often limited when your office network uses a firewall.
This limitation can be overcome by using a third party remote access software like Citrix GoToMyPC. It works like a charm and passess through most firewalls, because it uses the standard http internet port to remotely access your pc.
So try Accessing your PC from anywhere using - GoToMyPC® free now
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Modify Windows Vista System Properties logo
Not many people know how to change System Properties logo and support information on Windows computers.
This little trick is useful to
* customize and tweak the system properties screen
* insert your own business contact information in the system properties screen
* insert a customized picture in the system properties screen
* in other words, "brand" your computer with your own information
In a previous post regarding modifying the xp-system-properties-logo article we explained how you can manually change the graphic and support information in the Windows system properties screen. However, the techniques described in that article were specific for Windows XP.
Since Windows Vista has been released, we have gotten some questions from readers wanting to change system properties logo and information on a Vista computer.
So here's how to do it:
* Create your customized image in a .bmp graphic file with maximum dimensions of 120 by 120 pixels
* Save the .bmp file somewhere so that you can find it in a next step
* fire up your text editor (notepad or any text editor) and enter the following information:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OEMInformation]
"Logo"="C:\\logo\\oemlogo.bmp"
"Manufacturer"="windows-help-central"
"Model"="just to show branding"
"SupportPhone"="123456789"
"SupportUrl"="www.windows-help-central.com"
"SupportHours"="8am to 7pm"
Remarks:
* Please make sure that the first line (the one starting with "Windows Registry Editor..." appears in the text file
* The path and filename should point to where you saved your 120 by 120 pixel .bmp logo file - use the double backslashes in the path
* The support url will result in a clickable "Online support" link in your system properties window that takes the user to whatever url you put there
* Of course you can change the Manufacturer, Model and support information to whatever you want
Now save this text file somewhere and make sure to give it a .reg extension.
In this next screenshot you can see how we saved it on the desktop:
You can now enter the information contained in the file into the Windows Registry by double-clicking the file. That's an easier way to change system properties logo than entering the information in the registry manually.
When you double-click the file, Windows will issue a warning about entering information into the registry, but it's ok to continue.
Afterwards you will see a confirmation that everything is entered into the registry and now it's time to reboot your computer.
This little trick to change system properties logo only takes effect after the computer is rebooted.
So after a reboot, right-click "Computer" in the Start menu, select "Properties" and take a look at your customized System Properties screen:
This little trick is useful to
* customize and tweak the system properties screen
* insert your own business contact information in the system properties screen
* insert a customized picture in the system properties screen
* in other words, "brand" your computer with your own information
In a previous post regarding modifying the xp-system-properties-logo article we explained how you can manually change the graphic and support information in the Windows system properties screen. However, the techniques described in that article were specific for Windows XP.
Since Windows Vista has been released, we have gotten some questions from readers wanting to change system properties logo and information on a Vista computer.
So here's how to do it:
* Create your customized image in a .bmp graphic file with maximum dimensions of 120 by 120 pixels
* Save the .bmp file somewhere so that you can find it in a next step
* fire up your text editor (notepad or any text editor) and enter the following information:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OEMInformation]
"Logo"="C:\\logo\\oemlogo.bmp"
"Manufacturer"="windows-help-central"
"Model"="just to show branding"
"SupportPhone"="123456789"
"SupportUrl"="www.windows-help-central.com"
"SupportHours"="8am to 7pm"
Remarks:
* Please make sure that the first line (the one starting with "Windows Registry Editor..." appears in the text file
* The path and filename should point to where you saved your 120 by 120 pixel .bmp logo file - use the double backslashes in the path
* The support url will result in a clickable "Online support" link in your system properties window that takes the user to whatever url you put there
* Of course you can change the Manufacturer, Model and support information to whatever you want
Now save this text file somewhere and make sure to give it a .reg extension.
In this next screenshot you can see how we saved it on the desktop:
You can now enter the information contained in the file into the Windows Registry by double-clicking the file. That's an easier way to change system properties logo than entering the information in the registry manually.
When you double-click the file, Windows will issue a warning about entering information into the registry, but it's ok to continue.
Afterwards you will see a confirmation that everything is entered into the registry and now it's time to reboot your computer.
This little trick to change system properties logo only takes effect after the computer is rebooted.
So after a reboot, right-click "Computer" in the Start menu, select "Properties" and take a look at your customized System Properties screen:
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Windows Vista Step-by-Step Installation Guide
Well, hi today lets learn about the step by step installation guides to windows vista, which has created a wow every where and windows has come up with quite an eye catching design for its vista OS. As it is quite complicated compared to that of windows XP, let am explain the whole processes step by step with the related captions, so that you can understand it better and complete your installation without any hassles :)
So first of all Buying a full-version DVD greatly eases the process. We recommend—and assume here—that this is the route you'll follow. Though buying a Vista upgrade DVD can save you some money, it ties your Vista installation to the version of Windows (XP or 2000) that you are replacing. If you want to reinstall Vista "clean" at some future point from this upgrade DVD (as most enthusiast/upgrader types will), you'll first have to reinstall XP or 2000. This will be a complication if you don't have your original XP/2000 install CD, and a time-waster even if you do. (Microsoft has confirmed a little-publicized workaround, intended for use in cases when, say, a hard drive dies, but it's still time-consuming.) Simply put, settling for an upgrade disc will present some hurdles down the road if you're an enthusiast who reformats his or her boot drive often.
Once you've settled on a version and completed any necessary hardware upgrades, it's time to get ready. Back up your music, photo, and other media files; e-mail archives and contacts; documents; and browser favorites to CD, DVD, a USB key, a network volume, or a secondary hard drive or partition. We prefer to back up our data and settings manually (forcing us to weed out what we really need), and recreate our user accounts so we can reconsider their settings. But Vista includes a utility, Windows Easy Transfer, that works with Windows 2000 SP4 or XP SP2 to transfer files, folders, user accounts, and more automatically. To use it, insert the Vista disc into your DVD drive and choose "Transfer files and settings" from the opening screen. Then launch it and follow the wizard to indicate the items you want to transfer and where to back them up. (You'll restore them from this location in the last step.)
Step 2: The first thing you'll see is a remarkably prosaic black prep screen with all the flair of, oh, MS-DOS 6:
Feel free to grab a beverage and/or snack of your choice, since you'll be treated to that slowly growing white bar for the next 5 to 10 minutes. Once it fills, and after a brief Microsoft splash screen, you'll be treated to your first dialog, for choosing your operating language, time/currency format, and keyboard or input method. Make your selections from the drop-downs. We left ours set to the English/United States defaults.
Then hit the Next button. You'll be taken to the Install Now screen, shown here.
On this screen, the "What to know before installing Windows link" is worth a visit if you want to revisit your pre-install options—decisions that, presumably, you've already made with our help. And at some future point, you might begin an attempt to repair a corrupted Vista installation from this screen, by booting to the Vista DVD-ROM and clicking the "Repair your computer" link. For now, though, you'll want to click the Install Now button and move on.
Step 03 : The next step is the hardest task of the whole install—which indicates what a pain-free process you'll likely find the rest of it to be. Examine your Vista DVD's packaging to locate the Microsoft product key, and type in the code. It's a 25-character alphanumeric key, broken into five groups of five characters each. Don't worry about the hyphens—Vista thoughtfully inserts them for you.
Below the product key is a checkbox labeled "Automatically activate Windows when I'm online." Leaving it checked will enable your PC to "activate" your installation of Vista with Microsoft, automatically, starting three days after the install is complete.
Activation is mandatory. Like with Windows XP, keying in the product code isn't enough to validate the OS—you need to authenticate the installation with Microsoft via the Net or by phone. Doing so matches up the product key with your particular hardware configuration. Also, you may need to re-activate Vista in the future, if you make substantial hardware changes to the PC.
If you uncheck the box here, you'll need to manually activate your Vista install with Microsoft within 30 days. (Go to Control Panel > System and Maintenance > System, and check under the "Windows activation" area); otherwise, Vista will dial back to a "reduced functionality" mode, though it will certainly give you ample warning before doing so. (For more details on the Windows activation process, you can click "What is activation?" on this screen.) When you're done, click Next.
Step 04 : Ah, the Windows Vista license agreement. If you're a concerned cybercitizen with time on your hands, spend some time scanning the entire length of the document. Indeed, it does make for interesting reading in parts—especially the in-depth disclosures about Vista's authentication and periodic auto-validation processes. But, we admit, we also skipped great swaths of it and clicked "I accept the license terms," followed by the Next button.
Step 05 : Had you run the installer from within your current version of Windows, you might have been allowed a choice here: between an Upgrade ("in-place") install, which would retain your apps, settings, and data, and a Custom ("clean") install. But, since you booted from the DVD, your only choice here will be Custom. Select it. Hopefully you've backed up your essentials, as mentioned earlier, because we're nearing the point of no return. Hit Next.
Step 06 : On this screen, you'll choose a target drive or partition for your Vista install. Depending on the number of hard drives you have installed, as well as their current partitioning, the number of entries you see here will vary.
If your aim is a clean install over an earlier version of Windows, writing over the full contents of that drive or partition, click the "Drive options (advanced)" link to access disk-formatting options. You might, for example, wish to reformat the partition that will host Vista, leaving intact a data-only partition on the same drive. Clearing off a drive or partition for the install is always the wisest move for achieving a Windows install that's stable and offers the best possible performance. But the sternest of warnings, lit up with Roman candles and shouted by 20 supermodels waving red flags: Make triple certain you know which drive or partition you are formatting before you commit to doing so. It's not unheard-of that the partition you thought was disposable was the one that hosted all your vacation photos and MP3s. In our case, we did a quick format of our entire 160GB Western Digital drive (ultimately to be our Vista boot drive), which was configured as one large partition.
Once you've performed any drive-formatting tasks, and highlighted the target location for the Vista install, click Next.
Ready for a break? Good—so are we. Luckily, Vista's installer will run on autopilot for a while now.
Step 07 : Now's the time to fetch more coffee, while the bulk of the Vista install runs. Vista will take a solid 15 minutes or more "expanding files" and "installing features," keeping you apprised of its progress along the way, before you need to do anything, so make yours a double.
After completing four of the five steps, your PC will reboot and launch into a teaser screen that says, "Please wait a moment while Windows prepares to start for the first time."
Keep sipping, though, since the next thing you'll see is the same install-in-progress screen that you saw before, which will stall on the "Completing installation" entry for another few minutes. After that clears out, expect another auto-reboot.
Soon, you'll see the same brief Microsoft splash screen you saw several times before, after which the setup process will begin in earnest. Back to work.
Step 08 : Your first action on the next screen ("Choose a user name and picture") will be to create an administrator account for your Vista install. Give the user account a name of your choice, and, optionally, an administrator password. If you decide to password-protect the account, the screen will change slightly, indicating that you need to verify the password by typing it again, and prompting you to enter a password hint. You can create additional user accounts (of the less-privileged "standard" and "guest" variety) later within the OS.
Next, choose a logo for this account. This step might seem frivolous, but you'll see this logo at the top of the Start menu, reminding you which account you're logged into. If none of the logos truly speaks to who you are (we weren't overly enamored with the robot, really), no worries—you can exchange it later for your headshot from your modeling days, or a candid of your chihuahua. (Once the dust settles, go to Control Panel > User Accounts and Family Safety > User Accounts > Change Your Picture, and click the "Browse for more pictures" link.)
Step 09 : Give your PC a name—preferably a readily identifiable one, if it'll be important to distinguish it from among several others on your network. (Use of certain characters is verboten—click the "computer name" link for details.) Then choose among the six desktop backgrounds. With so few choices on offer, we're not sure why Microsoft even bothered with this step, since you're almost certain to want to customize this immediately. Regardless, don't dwell too much on that—make your Hobson's choice, and click Next.
Step 10 : The next step is brief but important. The screen "Help protect Windows automatically" appears, with three choices: "Use recommended settings," "Install important updates only," and "Ask me later." We chose—and highly recommend you choose, too—the first option. Doing so will turn on a variety of protective measures, including Windows Update (for automated updates and patches for the OS itself); Windows Defender (Vista's built-in spyware app); and the Phishing Filter in Internet Explorer 7 (highly recommended). Choosing this option will also okay Vista to perform an initial automated check for hardware drivers. You can turn all of these options on and off yourself within the OS later on, of course, but unless you've got specific objections to any of these features, we suggest going the safe route.
Step 11 : Next up is the "Review your time and date settings" dialog. Unless you live on the West Coast of the United States or Canada, you'll probably need to do more than just review these settings. Change the time zone if needed (and uncheck the "Automatically adjust..." box if you live in one of the few spots in the States that don't abide by Daylight Savings Time). Then set the date and time. The easiest way to set the time (the analog clock's hands aren't draggable): Use the Tab key to advance to the different time fields (clicking and highlighting in these fields is a bit awkward), and use the up and down directional arrows to change the parameters.
After clicking Next, you'll reach the "Select your computer's current location" screen. You'll choose among three options: Home, Work, or Public Location. Which you choose will auto-set several networking parameters governing whether your PC can see and be seen by other networked PCs and certain peripherals. We chose Home.
Clicking the appropriate location will bring you to the end of the scripted Vista install process. At the Thank You screen, hit Start.
Step 12 : Your PC will launch into a brief "performance check," spiced up by an assortment of splash screens detailing the features and functionality Vista adds.
Once you see the Windows Vista logo on a black background, the real first launch of the OS is imminent.
Step 13 : Vista will now log you in to the OS under your administrator account. If you set up the account with password protection, a login screen will pop up now, asking you for your password. No need to click in the password field to do so—just type it in and click the blue arrow. Two wait screens will go by before Vista extends its official welcome.
Step 14 : Then the Vista Desktop appears, topped by Vista's Welcome Center. Now's the time to reattach your PC's Ethernet cable (or other means of accessing the Net), since you may wish to test the state of your Net connection from here. If you have a Vista-compatible version of your antivirus software, installing it first is an excellent idea.
Click the Connect to the Internet link to check the status of your Net connection. We plugged in the Ethernet cable connecting our Vista PC to our home network's router, and did so—our connection was live immediately.
You can perform a variety of tasks from the Welcome Center. An important one, if your PC will be used by multiple family members, is to create accounts for members who will need them. Hit Add Users to start the process. This is especially important if you don't want to grant administrator rights to everyone (or, for that matter, if you'd prefer to create a "working" account for yourself that keeps admin access at arm's length—never a bad idea). Vista is very forthright about alerting you to processes that will require admin rights, and makes it easy to escalate a process to the admin level if needed.
Other tabs in the Welcome Center point you to various customization and basic function screens. A great place to start getting oriented, once you're done with the entire install, is with Vista's built-in video demos. (In the Welcome Center, expand the "Get started with Windows" field by double-clicking on it, and choose "Windows Vista Demos.") Some of the content is extremely basic, but it's worth a quick browse.
If you don't want to see the Welcome Center every time you boot up, dismiss it by unchecking the "Run at startup" box at the bottom of the window. But we suggest letting it hang around for a while as you get acclimated to Vista. Many familiar items are in new places, and the Welcome Center can make it easier to find them.
Step 15 : Once you close the Welcome Center, you'll get your first good look at the Vista Desktop. One important word of warning: Your installation may or may not have installed the proper graphics drivers for your graphics card or PC's motherboard-based graphics. (In our case, the RTM install we performed did not install the drivers for our Radeon X1950 Pro card. Your mileage may vary.) As a result, even if your system is compliant with the Vista Aero specifications, you may not be seeing the Aero interface yet. The easiest way to tell: Hover over the close ("X") or minimize ("-") buttons in the upper-right corner of a standard window. If they don't glow, no Aero. You don't have to manually activate Aero; once the correct graphics driver is installed, and if your PC is up to spec, it'll show itself.
Along the right-hand side of the desktop you'll see the new Sidebar, a dedicated area for hosting Gadgets, which are mini-apps that bring certain functionality straight to the desktop. Vista provides a few choices of Gadget (right-click the Sidebar and choose Add Gadgets), and you can expect plenty more downloadable possibilities from Microsoft, third parties, and enthusiasts as Vista gains steam. For some new ones to try beside the defaults, start at the Windows Live Gallery. Out of the box, you can set up real-time stock tickers, RSS feeds, a local-weather feed, and more in the Sidebar. To be used to the best effect, though, some of these require an always-on Net connection.
Step 16 : On our initial boot, we didn't see the Aero interface, so our next step was to install our graphics card's driver. Indeed, you'll certainly have to download and install some drivers for hardware that Vista couldn't auto-install. To see which drivers you'll need, go to Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Device Manager. Hardware with an exclamation point (!) next to it likely needs a driver—double-click on the item to confirm this is so.
Incidentally, on your way to Device Manager for the first time, you'll be confronted by a User Access Control pop-up window—the first of many of these you will face as you putter around in your new OS. It's Vista's controversial way of limiting access to sensitive areas of the OS, or of double-checking that you indeed want to take a potentially risky action. Here, it's okay to authorize it.
In our case, we learned in Device Manager that we needed to track down drivers for our ATI graphics card, Creative Audigy sound card, and the RAID controller on our Intel motherboard.
We scouted out these drivers at the various manufacturer Web sites and downloaded the versions for 32-bit Vista. Then we ran the install routine for our graphics card only, and chose Restart from the Start menu. (Hover over the right-pointing arrow at the lower right of the Start menu to see this and other shutdown-related commands.) Installing only that one driver for now was intentional. We recommend that you install only one driver at a time, and reboot between installs, checking the functionality of that component before moving on to the next. That way, it's easier to diagnose any glitches along the way.
At the initial bootup screen, we sidetracked the boot process into the BIOS again, like we did in Step 1. Go again to the bootup-order options, and redirect the system to boot first from your Vista drive. Save this change, which will trigger a quick exit from the BIOS and yet another reboot.
Step 17 : Once you've gotten over the initial oooohs and ahhhhs, continue installing your hardware drivers, one at a time. When you're done, restore your backed-up files and reinstall your Vista-compatible apps. (If you used Windows Easy Transfer, go to Start > Programs > All Accessories > System Tools > Windows Easy Transfer to begin the import process.) After that, relax and enjoy: You're free to explore all that Microsoft's new OS has to offer.
Hope you enjoyed our tutorial :) So keep commenting and keep coming for more tutorials and guides.
So first of all Buying a full-version DVD greatly eases the process. We recommend—and assume here—that this is the route you'll follow. Though buying a Vista upgrade DVD can save you some money, it ties your Vista installation to the version of Windows (XP or 2000) that you are replacing. If you want to reinstall Vista "clean" at some future point from this upgrade DVD (as most enthusiast/upgrader types will), you'll first have to reinstall XP or 2000. This will be a complication if you don't have your original XP/2000 install CD, and a time-waster even if you do. (Microsoft has confirmed a little-publicized workaround, intended for use in cases when, say, a hard drive dies, but it's still time-consuming.) Simply put, settling for an upgrade disc will present some hurdles down the road if you're an enthusiast who reformats his or her boot drive often.
Once you've settled on a version and completed any necessary hardware upgrades, it's time to get ready. Back up your music, photo, and other media files; e-mail archives and contacts; documents; and browser favorites to CD, DVD, a USB key, a network volume, or a secondary hard drive or partition. We prefer to back up our data and settings manually (forcing us to weed out what we really need), and recreate our user accounts so we can reconsider their settings. But Vista includes a utility, Windows Easy Transfer, that works with Windows 2000 SP4 or XP SP2 to transfer files, folders, user accounts, and more automatically. To use it, insert the Vista disc into your DVD drive and choose "Transfer files and settings" from the opening screen. Then launch it and follow the wizard to indicate the items you want to transfer and where to back them up. (You'll restore them from this location in the last step.)
Next, download your graphics card's most recent 32-bit Vista driver, and save it to a second hard drive, USB thumb drive, or CD-R. And keep your antivirus software's install disc nearby, assuming it's Vista-compatible. We also recommend detaching your PC from its Internet and network access before beginning.
When you're ready, reboot your PC. And get ready for installing your peace of Vista.
Step 01 : At the very start of your PC's boot process, you'll see instructions for entering its setup utility, or Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). It's usually a key press, such as F2. If you're using a full-version DVD of Vista, follow the instructions to reach the BIOS, and navigate to the BIOS's boot-drive-order option. You'll want to designate that the system should boot to your DVD optical drive first. (In the case of our system BIOS, pictured here, we could prioritize the drive types to be checked for a boot disc or OS—optical drive, hard drive, floppy, and so on—as well as the specific order in which the hard drives are checked.)
Step 2: The first thing you'll see is a remarkably prosaic black prep screen with all the flair of, oh, MS-DOS 6:
Feel free to grab a beverage and/or snack of your choice, since you'll be treated to that slowly growing white bar for the next 5 to 10 minutes. Once it fills, and after a brief Microsoft splash screen, you'll be treated to your first dialog, for choosing your operating language, time/currency format, and keyboard or input method. Make your selections from the drop-downs. We left ours set to the English/United States defaults.
Then hit the Next button. You'll be taken to the Install Now screen, shown here.
On this screen, the "What to know before installing Windows link" is worth a visit if you want to revisit your pre-install options—decisions that, presumably, you've already made with our help. And at some future point, you might begin an attempt to repair a corrupted Vista installation from this screen, by booting to the Vista DVD-ROM and clicking the "Repair your computer" link. For now, though, you'll want to click the Install Now button and move on.
Step 03 : The next step is the hardest task of the whole install—which indicates what a pain-free process you'll likely find the rest of it to be. Examine your Vista DVD's packaging to locate the Microsoft product key, and type in the code. It's a 25-character alphanumeric key, broken into five groups of five characters each. Don't worry about the hyphens—Vista thoughtfully inserts them for you.
Below the product key is a checkbox labeled "Automatically activate Windows when I'm online." Leaving it checked will enable your PC to "activate" your installation of Vista with Microsoft, automatically, starting three days after the install is complete.
Activation is mandatory. Like with Windows XP, keying in the product code isn't enough to validate the OS—you need to authenticate the installation with Microsoft via the Net or by phone. Doing so matches up the product key with your particular hardware configuration. Also, you may need to re-activate Vista in the future, if you make substantial hardware changes to the PC.
If you uncheck the box here, you'll need to manually activate your Vista install with Microsoft within 30 days. (Go to Control Panel > System and Maintenance > System, and check under the "Windows activation" area); otherwise, Vista will dial back to a "reduced functionality" mode, though it will certainly give you ample warning before doing so. (For more details on the Windows activation process, you can click "What is activation?" on this screen.) When you're done, click Next.
Step 04 : Ah, the Windows Vista license agreement. If you're a concerned cybercitizen with time on your hands, spend some time scanning the entire length of the document. Indeed, it does make for interesting reading in parts—especially the in-depth disclosures about Vista's authentication and periodic auto-validation processes. But, we admit, we also skipped great swaths of it and clicked "I accept the license terms," followed by the Next button.
Step 05 : Had you run the installer from within your current version of Windows, you might have been allowed a choice here: between an Upgrade ("in-place") install, which would retain your apps, settings, and data, and a Custom ("clean") install. But, since you booted from the DVD, your only choice here will be Custom. Select it. Hopefully you've backed up your essentials, as mentioned earlier, because we're nearing the point of no return. Hit Next.
Step 06 : On this screen, you'll choose a target drive or partition for your Vista install. Depending on the number of hard drives you have installed, as well as their current partitioning, the number of entries you see here will vary.
If your aim is a clean install over an earlier version of Windows, writing over the full contents of that drive or partition, click the "Drive options (advanced)" link to access disk-formatting options. You might, for example, wish to reformat the partition that will host Vista, leaving intact a data-only partition on the same drive. Clearing off a drive or partition for the install is always the wisest move for achieving a Windows install that's stable and offers the best possible performance. But the sternest of warnings, lit up with Roman candles and shouted by 20 supermodels waving red flags: Make triple certain you know which drive or partition you are formatting before you commit to doing so. It's not unheard-of that the partition you thought was disposable was the one that hosted all your vacation photos and MP3s. In our case, we did a quick format of our entire 160GB Western Digital drive (ultimately to be our Vista boot drive), which was configured as one large partition.
Once you've performed any drive-formatting tasks, and highlighted the target location for the Vista install, click Next.
Ready for a break? Good—so are we. Luckily, Vista's installer will run on autopilot for a while now.
Step 07 : Now's the time to fetch more coffee, while the bulk of the Vista install runs. Vista will take a solid 15 minutes or more "expanding files" and "installing features," keeping you apprised of its progress along the way, before you need to do anything, so make yours a double.
After completing four of the five steps, your PC will reboot and launch into a teaser screen that says, "Please wait a moment while Windows prepares to start for the first time."
Keep sipping, though, since the next thing you'll see is the same install-in-progress screen that you saw before, which will stall on the "Completing installation" entry for another few minutes. After that clears out, expect another auto-reboot.
Soon, you'll see the same brief Microsoft splash screen you saw several times before, after which the setup process will begin in earnest. Back to work.
Step 08 : Your first action on the next screen ("Choose a user name and picture") will be to create an administrator account for your Vista install. Give the user account a name of your choice, and, optionally, an administrator password. If you decide to password-protect the account, the screen will change slightly, indicating that you need to verify the password by typing it again, and prompting you to enter a password hint. You can create additional user accounts (of the less-privileged "standard" and "guest" variety) later within the OS.
Next, choose a logo for this account. This step might seem frivolous, but you'll see this logo at the top of the Start menu, reminding you which account you're logged into. If none of the logos truly speaks to who you are (we weren't overly enamored with the robot, really), no worries—you can exchange it later for your headshot from your modeling days, or a candid of your chihuahua. (Once the dust settles, go to Control Panel > User Accounts and Family Safety > User Accounts > Change Your Picture, and click the "Browse for more pictures" link.)
Step 09 : Give your PC a name—preferably a readily identifiable one, if it'll be important to distinguish it from among several others on your network. (Use of certain characters is verboten—click the "computer name" link for details.) Then choose among the six desktop backgrounds. With so few choices on offer, we're not sure why Microsoft even bothered with this step, since you're almost certain to want to customize this immediately. Regardless, don't dwell too much on that—make your Hobson's choice, and click Next.
Step 10 : The next step is brief but important. The screen "Help protect Windows automatically" appears, with three choices: "Use recommended settings," "Install important updates only," and "Ask me later." We chose—and highly recommend you choose, too—the first option. Doing so will turn on a variety of protective measures, including Windows Update (for automated updates and patches for the OS itself); Windows Defender (Vista's built-in spyware app); and the Phishing Filter in Internet Explorer 7 (highly recommended). Choosing this option will also okay Vista to perform an initial automated check for hardware drivers. You can turn all of these options on and off yourself within the OS later on, of course, but unless you've got specific objections to any of these features, we suggest going the safe route.
Step 11 : Next up is the "Review your time and date settings" dialog. Unless you live on the West Coast of the United States or Canada, you'll probably need to do more than just review these settings. Change the time zone if needed (and uncheck the "Automatically adjust..." box if you live in one of the few spots in the States that don't abide by Daylight Savings Time). Then set the date and time. The easiest way to set the time (the analog clock's hands aren't draggable): Use the Tab key to advance to the different time fields (clicking and highlighting in these fields is a bit awkward), and use the up and down directional arrows to change the parameters.
After clicking Next, you'll reach the "Select your computer's current location" screen. You'll choose among three options: Home, Work, or Public Location. Which you choose will auto-set several networking parameters governing whether your PC can see and be seen by other networked PCs and certain peripherals. We chose Home.
Clicking the appropriate location will bring you to the end of the scripted Vista install process. At the Thank You screen, hit Start.
Step 12 : Your PC will launch into a brief "performance check," spiced up by an assortment of splash screens detailing the features and functionality Vista adds.
Once you see the Windows Vista logo on a black background, the real first launch of the OS is imminent.
Step 13 : Vista will now log you in to the OS under your administrator account. If you set up the account with password protection, a login screen will pop up now, asking you for your password. No need to click in the password field to do so—just type it in and click the blue arrow. Two wait screens will go by before Vista extends its official welcome.
Step 14 : Then the Vista Desktop appears, topped by Vista's Welcome Center. Now's the time to reattach your PC's Ethernet cable (or other means of accessing the Net), since you may wish to test the state of your Net connection from here. If you have a Vista-compatible version of your antivirus software, installing it first is an excellent idea.
Click the Connect to the Internet link to check the status of your Net connection. We plugged in the Ethernet cable connecting our Vista PC to our home network's router, and did so—our connection was live immediately.
You can perform a variety of tasks from the Welcome Center. An important one, if your PC will be used by multiple family members, is to create accounts for members who will need them. Hit Add Users to start the process. This is especially important if you don't want to grant administrator rights to everyone (or, for that matter, if you'd prefer to create a "working" account for yourself that keeps admin access at arm's length—never a bad idea). Vista is very forthright about alerting you to processes that will require admin rights, and makes it easy to escalate a process to the admin level if needed.
Other tabs in the Welcome Center point you to various customization and basic function screens. A great place to start getting oriented, once you're done with the entire install, is with Vista's built-in video demos. (In the Welcome Center, expand the "Get started with Windows" field by double-clicking on it, and choose "Windows Vista Demos.") Some of the content is extremely basic, but it's worth a quick browse.
If you don't want to see the Welcome Center every time you boot up, dismiss it by unchecking the "Run at startup" box at the bottom of the window. But we suggest letting it hang around for a while as you get acclimated to Vista. Many familiar items are in new places, and the Welcome Center can make it easier to find them.
Step 15 : Once you close the Welcome Center, you'll get your first good look at the Vista Desktop. One important word of warning: Your installation may or may not have installed the proper graphics drivers for your graphics card or PC's motherboard-based graphics. (In our case, the RTM install we performed did not install the drivers for our Radeon X1950 Pro card. Your mileage may vary.) As a result, even if your system is compliant with the Vista Aero specifications, you may not be seeing the Aero interface yet. The easiest way to tell: Hover over the close ("X") or minimize ("-") buttons in the upper-right corner of a standard window. If they don't glow, no Aero. You don't have to manually activate Aero; once the correct graphics driver is installed, and if your PC is up to spec, it'll show itself.
Along the right-hand side of the desktop you'll see the new Sidebar, a dedicated area for hosting Gadgets, which are mini-apps that bring certain functionality straight to the desktop. Vista provides a few choices of Gadget (right-click the Sidebar and choose Add Gadgets), and you can expect plenty more downloadable possibilities from Microsoft, third parties, and enthusiasts as Vista gains steam. For some new ones to try beside the defaults, start at the Windows Live Gallery. Out of the box, you can set up real-time stock tickers, RSS feeds, a local-weather feed, and more in the Sidebar. To be used to the best effect, though, some of these require an always-on Net connection.
Step 16 : On our initial boot, we didn't see the Aero interface, so our next step was to install our graphics card's driver. Indeed, you'll certainly have to download and install some drivers for hardware that Vista couldn't auto-install. To see which drivers you'll need, go to Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Device Manager. Hardware with an exclamation point (!) next to it likely needs a driver—double-click on the item to confirm this is so.
Incidentally, on your way to Device Manager for the first time, you'll be confronted by a User Access Control pop-up window—the first of many of these you will face as you putter around in your new OS. It's Vista's controversial way of limiting access to sensitive areas of the OS, or of double-checking that you indeed want to take a potentially risky action. Here, it's okay to authorize it.
In our case, we learned in Device Manager that we needed to track down drivers for our ATI graphics card, Creative Audigy sound card, and the RAID controller on our Intel motherboard.
We scouted out these drivers at the various manufacturer Web sites and downloaded the versions for 32-bit Vista. Then we ran the install routine for our graphics card only, and chose Restart from the Start menu. (Hover over the right-pointing arrow at the lower right of the Start menu to see this and other shutdown-related commands.) Installing only that one driver for now was intentional. We recommend that you install only one driver at a time, and reboot between installs, checking the functionality of that component before moving on to the next. That way, it's easier to diagnose any glitches along the way.
At the initial bootup screen, we sidetracked the boot process into the BIOS again, like we did in Step 1. Go again to the bootup-order options, and redirect the system to boot first from your Vista drive. Save this change, which will trigger a quick exit from the BIOS and yet another reboot.
Step 17 : Once you've gotten over the initial oooohs and ahhhhs, continue installing your hardware drivers, one at a time. When you're done, restore your backed-up files and reinstall your Vista-compatible apps. (If you used Windows Easy Transfer, go to Start > Programs > All Accessories > System Tools > Windows Easy Transfer to begin the import process.) After that, relax and enjoy: You're free to explore all that Microsoft's new OS has to offer.
Hope you enjoyed our tutorial :) So keep commenting and keep coming for more tutorials and guides.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Modify the Windows XP System Properties logo
The Windows XP System Properties logo is often changed by computer manufacturers. Hardware vendors use this general system information dialog to brand your computer with their own logo and support contact information.
In this tip you can learn how you can insert your own logo in the system properties dialog and complete it with your own contact information.
To invoke the system properties dialog, click the Start button, right-click "My Computer" and select "Properties".
This will open up your general system information dialog. On our Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Pro laptop, the Windows XP System Properties logo looks like this :
If you want to put your own graphic in there, you should create your image in a .bmp graphic file. It's also a good idea to create this bitmap image with the same background shade of gray (RGB: 192, 192, 192) used in the Properties dialog. Otherwise, you risk letting Windows make its own judgments regarding color contrast and background shading.
The next thing to consider is the image size. The system properties dialog only offers enough real estate for an image of about 180 (wide) x120 (high) pixels. Make sure that you can fit your logo in this area.
Once you have created your logo and saved it as a .bmp file, copy it over to the system32 subfolder of your Windows system folder. If you don't know where your system folder is :
* Click the Start button and select "Run"
* In the "open" field, enter "cmd" (without the quotes) and click ok
* Windows will open up a dos command window
* In the command window, type "set system" (without the quotes)
* Look for the line that contains "SystemRoot", this is where your system directory is (generally, the Windows XP system folder is c:\windows)
Now that you know where your system folder is, copy your logo image file over to the system32 subfolder of your system folder. Then rename your logo image file to oemlogo.bmp
Additionally you can create a new file in this same folder and name the new file oeminfo.ini
In this file you can enter your contact information like in the example below :
[General]
Manufacturer=Windows Help Central
Model=ShowCase
[Support Information]
Line1=" "
Line2=" For support, sales, upgrades or questions:"
Line3=""
Line4=" Some text to demonstrate the XP System Properties logo"
Line5=" Windows XP Tips and Tricks "
Line6=" yadayada"
Line7=""
Line8=" +1 (888) 888-888 (voice)"
Line9=" +1 (888) 888-889 (fax)"
Line10=""
Line11=""
Line12=" http://windows-operating-system.blogspot.com/"
Save and close the file and you are ready. From now on, if someone opens up the system properties dialog, your own Windows XP System Properties logo is in there.
And if someone clicks the "Support Information" button ? Just click and check. You will find your contact details entered :)
In this tip you can learn how you can insert your own logo in the system properties dialog and complete it with your own contact information.
To invoke the system properties dialog, click the Start button, right-click "My Computer" and select "Properties".
This will open up your general system information dialog. On our Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Pro laptop, the Windows XP System Properties logo looks like this :
If you want to put your own graphic in there, you should create your image in a .bmp graphic file. It's also a good idea to create this bitmap image with the same background shade of gray (RGB: 192, 192, 192) used in the Properties dialog. Otherwise, you risk letting Windows make its own judgments regarding color contrast and background shading.
The next thing to consider is the image size. The system properties dialog only offers enough real estate for an image of about 180 (wide) x120 (high) pixels. Make sure that you can fit your logo in this area.
Once you have created your logo and saved it as a .bmp file, copy it over to the system32 subfolder of your Windows system folder. If you don't know where your system folder is :
* Click the Start button and select "Run"
* In the "open" field, enter "cmd" (without the quotes) and click ok
* Windows will open up a dos command window
* In the command window, type "set system" (without the quotes)
* Look for the line that contains "SystemRoot", this is where your system directory is (generally, the Windows XP system folder is c:\windows)
Now that you know where your system folder is, copy your logo image file over to the system32 subfolder of your system folder. Then rename your logo image file to oemlogo.bmp
Additionally you can create a new file in this same folder and name the new file oeminfo.ini
In this file you can enter your contact information like in the example below :
[General]
Manufacturer=Windows Help Central
Model=ShowCase
[Support Information]
Line1=" "
Line2=" For support, sales, upgrades or questions:"
Line3=""
Line4=" Some text to demonstrate the XP System Properties logo"
Line5=" Windows XP Tips and Tricks "
Line6=" yadayada"
Line7=""
Line8=" +1 (888) 888-888 (voice)"
Line9=" +1 (888) 888-889 (fax)"
Line10=""
Line11=""
Line12=" http://windows-operating-system.blogspot.com/"
Save and close the file and you are ready. From now on, if someone opens up the system properties dialog, your own Windows XP System Properties logo is in there.
And if someone clicks the "Support Information" button ? Just click and check. You will find your contact details entered :)
Sunday, December 16, 2007
21 Tips for increasing XP performance
1. Your PC must have 256MB RAM , 512 MB Cache , Intel Pentium 4 Processor, 40 GB HDD. These are the minimum requirements.
2. If you see a 'virtual memory low' message then increase its virtual memory. To increase virtual memory,
3. Increase 'Visual Performance'.
4. Don't keep unwanted/extra fonts. To remove extra fonts,
5. Your Desktop Wallpaper & Screensaver consume a large amount of disk space. Select the 'None' option for both wallpapers & Screensavers.
6. Avoid keeping DEMO Games.
7. Uninstall the unwanted Softwares.
8. Use Registry Cleaner to keep your registry clean(without errors).
9. Try to keep Music and pictures files in the folder specified by windows itself.
10. Use Hybernating Option for Quick windows start. To active Hybernating follow the following steps.
11. Keep your Dektop clean with unwanted icons.
12. Use Intel Application Accelerator to speed up your disk access,
13. Memory management (at least 512MB RAM Required). This allow XP to keep data in Memory instead of paging section of RAM.
14. Disable Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and other unwanted programs from startup (You can use registry editior to do this). Because they do not appear in normal Startup Option.
15. Disable indexing files service (only if you do not use search option regularly). To do this follow the following steps.
16. For Windows XP, You must use NTFS partition. FAT partition is less supportive for Windows XP.
17. In BIOS, Select first booting device as your HDD.
18. Setting Priority High for a particular program.
This Priority set if for current session. Once you restart your system then its priority will again be Normal.
19. Keep deleting your Temporary Internet Files in regular intervals.
20. Empty your browser's cache in regular intervals.
21. Avoid keeping Movies in your PC.
2. If you see a 'virtual memory low' message then increase its virtual memory. To increase virtual memory,
Go to My Computer >>> Properties >>> Advanced >>> Performance Settings >>> Advanced >>> Virtual Memory >>> Change >>> Select the appropriate drive >>> Custom size >>> set appropriate level(our it is 600(min.) & 700(max.) >>> Ok
3. Increase 'Visual Performance'.
Go to My Computer >>> Properties >>> Advanced >>> Performance Settings >>> Visual Settings >>> Custom >>> Select only the following options.
a) Slide taskbar buttons.
b) Smooth edges of screen fonts.
c) Smooth-scroll list boxes.
d) Use a background image for each folder type.
e) Use visual style on windows and buttons.
4. Don't keep unwanted/extra fonts. To remove extra fonts,
Go to Start >>> Settings >>> Control Panel >>> Fonts
5. Your Desktop Wallpaper & Screensaver consume a large amount of disk space. Select the 'None' option for both wallpapers & Screensavers.
6. Avoid keeping DEMO Games.
7. Uninstall the unwanted Softwares.
8. Use Registry Cleaner to keep your registry clean(without errors).
9. Try to keep Music and pictures files in the folder specified by windows itself.
10. Use Hybernating Option for Quick windows start. To active Hybernating follow the following steps.
Desktop >>> Properties >>> Screensaver >>> Power >>> Hybernating >>> Enable Hybernating >>> Ok
11. Keep your Dektop clean with unwanted icons.
12. Use Intel Application Accelerator to speed up your disk access,
13. Memory management (at least 512MB RAM Required). This allow XP to keep data in Memory instead of paging section of RAM.
Go to Start >>> Run >>> regedit >>> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE >>> SYSTEM >>> CurrentControlSet >>> Control >>> Session Manager >>> Memory Management >>> Double click it >>> DisablePageingExecutive >>> Double Clik it >>> Set value to 1
14. Disable Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and other unwanted programs from startup (You can use registry editior to do this). Because they do not appear in normal Startup Option.
15. Disable indexing files service (only if you do not use search option regularly). To do this follow the following steps.
Go to My Computer >>> Select the drive for which you want to disable the indexing service >>> Properties >>> Unselect 'Allow Indexing Service' >>> Ok
16. For Windows XP, You must use NTFS partition. FAT partition is less supportive for Windows XP.
17. In BIOS, Select first booting device as your HDD.
18. Setting Priority High for a particular program.
Open Task Manager >>> Processes >>> Select the desired Program >>> Right Click >>> Set Priority >>> High >>> Ok
This Priority set if for current session. Once you restart your system then its priority will again be Normal.
19. Keep deleting your Temporary Internet Files in regular intervals.
Go to Windows Drive (c: or d:) >>> Select the User >>> Local Settings >>> Temporary Internet Files
20. Empty your browser's cache in regular intervals.
21. Avoid keeping Movies in your PC.
Windows XP Step-by-Step Installation Guide
These steps are for a clean install of XP. Read this article for steps on upgrading your current system to XP.
STEP 01: First, you're going to need to change your BIOS boot order to boot from CD-ROM. Once you do this you'll then be able to boot your computer from the Installation CD.
STEP 02: After changing the boot order in BIOS, save the changes, and then reboot your computer. Make sure your Installation CD is in your CD-ROM. If it is you'll be prompted to press your space bar to directly boot from CD-ROM emulation. Press your space bar as soon as you see this message.
Wait a few minutes while the installation begins to copy the preliminary setup files to your computer. After this completes you'll be ready to start directing the install process.
STEP 03: You will be asked if you want to perform a new installation, repair an existing installation, or quit. In this case, you will be performing a new install. Press the correct key to perform a new installation.
STEP 04: Read the terms of the end user license agreement, and press F8 to agree.
STEP 05: The next phase of the installation is real similar to that of Windows 2000. So, if you're familiar with the Windows 2000 installation process this should be a cinch.
Basically, you need to decide which partition of your hard drive you will install Windows XP on. You will have the opportunity to create and/or delete partitions or just allocate the available disk space to one partition. However, try to keep your partitions within reasonable size.
We recommend using multiple partitions of 4-8GB, preferably on more than one hard drive. This will help you back up your data and optimize system performance later on down the road. Once you have figured out which partition XP will be installed on it's time to format it.
STEP 06: Choose to format the partition to either FAT32 or NTFS (recommended for single OS install). You'll also see two additional choices to perform a quick format of each option. Stick with doing a full format of either option instead. After you've determined which option is right for you, press the correct key to format the partition.
This would be a good time to take a break and come back in a few minutes. The setup program will automatically start copying files after the partition is formatted.
From this point on, you're going to see each and every file name that's being copied over to your hard drive appear in the lower left corner. As the file names go from A to Z, the installation completion percentage will increase.
STEP 07: Choose the region and language.
STEP 08: Type in your name and organization.
STEP 09: Enter your product license key.
STEP 10: Name the computer, and enter an Admin password. Don't forget to write down your Administrator password. After the installation is complete it would be extremely wise to create a password restore disk in the event you forget your Administrator password someday.
STEP 11: Enter the correct date and time.
STEP 12: Choose your network settings. Leave on automatic if you use a dhcp server to assign IP addresses. If you have static IP address for broadband access, enter the settings that your ISP has provided you.
STEP 13: Choose workgroup or domain name.
STEP 14: Register this copy of Windows XP if you've installed all the current hardware on your machine. Otherwise, wait until you've finished installing any additional hardware so you don't have to activate your copy of XP again.
STEP 15: Add users that will sign on to this computer.
STEP 16: Log in, and update drivers.
STEP 17: Driver install
XP found drivers for all of the hardware in our test machines, with the exception of a wireless network adapter that was added. Update all drivers that had updates available for download.
It takes about 30 minutes to perform this installation. After that, you will be a few personalized settings away from getting started on your XP-experience. With a little use, the GUI even starts to grow on you.
STEP 01: First, you're going to need to change your BIOS boot order to boot from CD-ROM. Once you do this you'll then be able to boot your computer from the Installation CD.
STEP 02: After changing the boot order in BIOS, save the changes, and then reboot your computer. Make sure your Installation CD is in your CD-ROM. If it is you'll be prompted to press your space bar to directly boot from CD-ROM emulation. Press your space bar as soon as you see this message.
Wait a few minutes while the installation begins to copy the preliminary setup files to your computer. After this completes you'll be ready to start directing the install process.
STEP 03: You will be asked if you want to perform a new installation, repair an existing installation, or quit. In this case, you will be performing a new install. Press the correct key to perform a new installation.
STEP 04: Read the terms of the end user license agreement, and press F8 to agree.
STEP 05: The next phase of the installation is real similar to that of Windows 2000. So, if you're familiar with the Windows 2000 installation process this should be a cinch.
Basically, you need to decide which partition of your hard drive you will install Windows XP on. You will have the opportunity to create and/or delete partitions or just allocate the available disk space to one partition. However, try to keep your partitions within reasonable size.
We recommend using multiple partitions of 4-8GB, preferably on more than one hard drive. This will help you back up your data and optimize system performance later on down the road. Once you have figured out which partition XP will be installed on it's time to format it.
STEP 06: Choose to format the partition to either FAT32 or NTFS (recommended for single OS install). You'll also see two additional choices to perform a quick format of each option. Stick with doing a full format of either option instead. After you've determined which option is right for you, press the correct key to format the partition.
This would be a good time to take a break and come back in a few minutes. The setup program will automatically start copying files after the partition is formatted.
From this point on, you're going to see each and every file name that's being copied over to your hard drive appear in the lower left corner. As the file names go from A to Z, the installation completion percentage will increase.
STEP 07: Choose the region and language.
STEP 08: Type in your name and organization.
STEP 09: Enter your product license key.
STEP 10: Name the computer, and enter an Admin password. Don't forget to write down your Administrator password. After the installation is complete it would be extremely wise to create a password restore disk in the event you forget your Administrator password someday.
STEP 11: Enter the correct date and time.
STEP 12: Choose your network settings. Leave on automatic if you use a dhcp server to assign IP addresses. If you have static IP address for broadband access, enter the settings that your ISP has provided you.
STEP 13: Choose workgroup or domain name.
STEP 14: Register this copy of Windows XP if you've installed all the current hardware on your machine. Otherwise, wait until you've finished installing any additional hardware so you don't have to activate your copy of XP again.
STEP 15: Add users that will sign on to this computer.
STEP 16: Log in, and update drivers.
STEP 17: Driver install
XP found drivers for all of the hardware in our test machines, with the exception of a wireless network adapter that was added. Update all drivers that had updates available for download.
It takes about 30 minutes to perform this installation. After that, you will be a few personalized settings away from getting started on your XP-experience. With a little use, the GUI even starts to grow on you.