Some WinXP Questions re: Upgrading, Loading Multiples

ImagoX · #1 09-12-2002, 06:34 AM

Hi all, first time post in here- GREAT TIPS!

I have three quickie questions if I may- sorry if these are noob questions but I'm, really new to WinXP (used 98 up till a week ago). My background is this: I have a LAN w/ 3 PCs, 2 are Win98SE and the third is a brand new Athalon running under XP.

1) I want to load XP on one of the Win98 PCs I have. The copy of WinXP Pro I have states on the box "For PCs that DO NOT have an existing operating system (in other words it's not an "upgrade version"). If I put the WinXP disc into this PC, which already has a hard drive formatted for FAT32, can WinXP reformat the hard drive, totally wipe all my existing files, and then load the new OS, or do I have to go through a more complex set of steps to get a totally "clean load" of XP? I have a boot disc for this Win98 machine, that just loads the CD drivers and allows you to do a HD reformat, but this won't allow me to format the HD in the WinXP formatting structure obviously.

2) On the machine ALREADY running XP: A buddy just sent me a spare HD he had no use for, but he can't remember what file format it was formatted as. If I simply hook up the new hard drive, will XP auto-detect it and allow me to wipe out all the existing files and re-format it with the WinXP file structure, or will I have to do kooky things in the BIOS or something to configure it?

(Can you tell I don't have huge amounts of set-up experience beyond "plug and pray"??)

Last question: The version of XP Pro I have I got from Microsoft as a complimentary version. It's not patched yet with the service pack. I DID get all the "30 Days Till Product registration Runs Out" stuff, so I went ahead and completed the Registration. Can I ALSO load XP on a second PC on my LAN, or will the copy be locked out because of Product Registration? I thought they had DONE AWAY with that crap... what's the skinny?

Thanks a million in advance for any guidance you guys might be able to offer!

excorcist · #2 09-12-2002, 08:05 AM

dude, just put in the xp cd. You will have a choice of reformatting and using an ntfs partition, or keeping the fat32 partition.

I run xp and both my drives are fat32, this way, I escape a lot of the compatibility issues that most ppl seem to have ith xp.

About, your HD. Plug it in, in windows explorer right click on it and go to properties, this isll tell you what file system it has on it. you also have the choice in the right click menu to reformat the drive if you so please.

prolly the best setup to have would be a drive with winxp on it using the ntfs partition, and a seperate drive with a fat32 partition. That way, if you dl a proggie that works with 98 and it won't work on your main drive, move it over to the fat32 drive and it will prolly work.

ImagoX · #3 09-12-2002, 11:17 AM

My replies are mixed in... THANK YOU for the speedy reply and great tips!!

Quote:

Originally posted by excorcist
dude, just put in the xp cd. You will have a choice of reformatting and using an ntfs partition, or keeping the fat32 partition.

*** That's EXACTLY the answer I was hoping for... thank GOD!

Quote:

I run xp and both my drives are fat32, this way, I escape a lot of the compatibility issues that most ppl seem to have ith xp.

*** So do you know the benefit of the NT file partition scheme then? I know I can converyt from FAT32 -> NTFS but not the other way...

Quote:

About, your HD. Plug it in, in windows explorer right click on it and go to properties, this isll tell you what file system it has on it. you also have the choice in the right click menu to reformat the drive if you so please.

prolly the best setup to have would be a drive with winxp on it using the ntfs partition, and a seperate drive with a fat32 partition. That way, if you dl a proggie that works with 98 and it won't work on your main drive, move it over to the fat32 drive and it will prolly work.

*** So in my case, I can install the new HD, and then reformat is as FAT32, and it will STILL operate under the XP OS with the master drive set up under NTFS? Spiffy indeed. Anything I shold look out for when the drive is live and operating compatibility-wise?

THANK YOU again!

leceur · #4 09-13-2002, 05:07 AM

NTFS is a quicker FAT and has security on it. I would always go for NTFS if you're not running an other OS on that machine. If you make shares on NTFS, other non-XP machine's on your network can still access those shares.

About installing the drive. Have a look at the jumpers on the existing drive and the one from your friend. If you are going to plug the "new" disk on the same cable as the existing one, the primary drive (your "old" drive) should have the jumper set to master and the other one to Slave.

GL

ImagoX · #5 09-13-2002, 07:39 AM

Lecur, yup, knew that one... It's an IBM HDD, with some pretty freaky jumper settings, so I may need to visit their web site to verify I have them set correctly.

Thanks again!

shadow_man · #6 09-13-2002, 09:13 AM

For your Compplimentary copy of XP, not sure, but when the 30 days are up, it's like shareware....you have to buy it to use it.

shadow_man

ImagoX · #7 09-13-2002, 10:48 AM

Actually I ended up with *10 copies* of WinXP Pro which were sent to me from Microsoft. I needed about 5 of them for work, and I have the rest.

I only have one other PC that can possibly run XP, but I'd STILL like to be able to load the copy I have on multiple PCs, just so I don't have to keep track of which copy goes with which PC...