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Thoughts About Reinstalling XP
As the time for Windows XP Service Pack 2 drew closer to
final release I wrote a little
article suggesting that users might want to consider
doing a complete reinstall of XP before SP2 was installed. I
really didn't have much hope it would spur many users to go
ahead and take the plunge, but as is more often the case
than not, I was wrong. The article also generated a lot of
questions about the best ways to approach the clean install
of XP.
In the left hand border of this page under the
Install/Remove section there are a number of links leading
to pages that deal with a clean install of XP Home and
Professional. However, they really don't touch on what
you're likely to encounter before and after the installation
process. I've puzzled over how to adequately address those
questions and I still don't have a good answer. I toyed with
documenting a complete clean reinstall of XP
on one of my machines that includes both the before and
after processes that I go through. I dismissed that idea
because your system will likely be
totally different from mine as far as hardware is concerned
and you may not use the same programs that I do, but the
general order of the procedures and things to consider as
you move through the process are going to be similar. I'm
breaking it down into three sections;
Pre Reinstallation Procedures
Reinstallation Procedures
Post Reinstallation Procedures
Your individual situation may be substantially less or
possibly more complicated than mine. Bear in mind that this
article is based on a machine that is used in a home
environment where a number of different machines are
networked together. Hopefully the article will give you some
things to consider and apply to your own situation rather
than specific instructions for only one system. Let's get
started.
Pre Reinstall Procedures
The title Pre Reinstall Procedures sounds kind of fancy,
but what it really boils down to is backing up important
data before we get to the point where we wipe the hard drive
clean to reinstall XP. Once or twice I've run into users that could absolutely
care less about anything they had saved on their system. As
far as they were concerned the hard drive could be wiped
clean and it wouldn't bother them a bit. I don't think I
have to tell you what a rare breed those users are. Most of
us shudder at the thought of losing all the data we have
accumulated and stored on our hard drives. Of course that
still makes me wonder why the majority of users don't do any
kind of regular backup, but that's another story. If you
happen to be one of those users that truly doesn't have
anything of value on your system then move along to the next
section. For the other 99.9%, read on.
I suggest you read
through the
Protecting The Windows XP System and Data
page for some thoughts on how to accomplish a successful
backup. There is also a section on the same page that talks
about system organization and how it can aid the backup
process. As long as you're going to the trouble of
reinstalling the operating system before SP2 is added, this
would be an excellent chance to revamp the way the system is
organized. It can pay big dividends if you ever decide to go
through the reinstallation procedure again.
Here are a few things you might want to think about if
you're considering reinstalling XP. They aren't in any
specific order as I tend to be a fairly random thinker and
just jot as my mind wanders.
- Don't make the mistake of backing up unnecessary
items. Of course what you consider necessary and what I
consider necessary can vary greatly. In my case, I
consider the following items essential.
-E-mail and its associated components such as address
book, contacts, etc.
-Web browser favorites.
-Any data files created by your office suite of choice.
This would include word processor documents,
spreadsheets, databases, presentations, etc.
-Website project files.
-Data files created by miscellaneous applications. This
might be financial information backups in a program like
Quicken or Money, image or sound files, or even a file
that stores settings for something like a newsreader or
RSS feed program.
-Selected shortcuts I keep available on the Quick Launch
menu.
- I think it's very important to spend some time
organizing data files into Archive and Current
categories.
Archive Files
- These are files acquired through any number of methods,
either downloaded or created by you that don't change once they
have been created. Image and audio files are good examples in
this category. They are looked at and listened to for enjoyment
but as a rule they seldom if ever receive any modification once
they have been added to your system. To back up these same files
repeatedly is a waste of time and storage space.
Current Data
Files
- Of everything on your system, these are the files you want
backed up and protected on a regular basis. The list of included
files will vary by user, but a few examples are text documents,
spreadsheets, financial records, databases, e-mail, internet
favorites, Personal Information Managers (PIM's), website
projects, and generally any type of data you create and work
with or modify on a regular basis.
- Hard drives have become huge; not in physical size
but in the amount of data they store. Hard drive
partitioning has always been a hot discussion topic with
valid points both for and against partitioning. Drives
have also become quite reliable and many users now
create a separate partition on a large drive that they
use for storing data backups. That's fine - but - if a
drive physically crashes, bites the dust and is beyond
repair, the data is gone. It doesn't matter if the drive
has one partition or a hundred, everything on it is
effectively gone unless a data recovery program or
service is enlisted to recover the data. I think it's
far too risky to store a critical backup on a drive that
is the only one in a system. Hard drives are inexpensive
now so if you prefer to use one for the backup, buy a
second drive and install it in the machine. If you don't
want to do that, get an external hard drive that plugs
into a USB port and keep the backup there.
- As opposed as users are to backing up their system
it's almost criminal to suggest that one backup isn't
enough. But is one enough? Probably, although I always
keep one backup on an external or internal hard drive
and another backup on CD or DVD's. I don't like having
all my eggs in one basket.
- Most users find it convenient to use some type of
software made specifically for creating backups,
including the backup utility that comes with XP. There's
nothing wrong with these products and they make the
process almost foolproof. What I don't like about them
is they create a single backup file that uses a special
file extension specific to the program. For example, the
XP backup utility creates a file with the .bkf
extension. Simply put, that means that in order to
restore the backup file it's necessary to have the
program that created the backup file installed on the
system. In all likelihood that won't be a problem, but
it could be and if you don't have the backup program
you're out of luck.
- I prefer to perform the backup by copying the data I
want backed up directly to the backup medium. A DVD or
CD are good choices as is an external hard drive. A
second hard drive is also a good choice. A bad choice
would be the primary system hard drive or a partition on
the primary hard drive. The data needs to be isolated
from the medium where it's being created and initially
stored.
- Depending on the quantity of data that needs to be
backed up it may well require more than one CD or DVD
disk. If that's the case, organization of the data into
folders that meets the size restrictions of the storage
medium easily overcomes this limitation. Almost all
commercially available backup programs or programs
designed to burn data to CD or DVD's have a provision
where if the quantity of data being saved exceeds the
capacity of a single CD or DVD disc the program will
automatically prompt for an additional discs and 'span'
the backup across multiple discs. An example of the type
of prompt you're likely to receive is shown below.
- The downside to using a program that incorporates
this 'spanning' feature is files are sometimes split to
better utilize the capacity of the CD or DVD. When this
happens a utility is also added to the backup that
allows the split file to be reassembled. The screen
capture below for Roxio Retrieve
is typical of programs that employ the spanning
feature. I never use the spanning feature because I
don't trust it. I've seen numerous cases where spanned
backup sets have become unusable.
- It's also important to
note that you don't want an image of your system drive like
those created by Norton Ghost and other well known imaging
programs. If an image was created at this point in time it
would be a 'dirty' image that contains all the junk
currently on the system partition. The whole point of this exercise is to back up
only data that won't be recreated when you reinstall the
operating system and applications. Restoring a dirty image would only put back all
the crap on the drive you're trying to eliminate. That's not
to say the imaging programs aren't useful, because they are,
and I'll deal with them after the operating system
reinstall.
- And finally, my last comment on backing up your
data. It's critical to realize that when you wipe a hard drive
clean, all of the data - everything - that was there is
going to disappear. Yes, it's true that there are methods
available to recover data from a drive that has been
reformatted or wiped clean, but it's an expensive
proposition that is performed by companies that specialize
in data recovery. Even then there is no guarantee that the data
will be recoverable. Here is what is probably the most
important thing to understand regarding backing up data.
It's necessary to back up
data in a way that it can be restored to the system after
the drive is wiped and the operating system reinstalled.
-
A backup that is unusable after the
operating system is reinstalled is absolutely worthless.
I've seen users create a backup and store it on the drive
where the operating system is reinstalled. Of course once
the drive is reformatted, the backup is gone and with it all
the saved data. Cursing and the sound of a hand slapping a
forehead normally make this mistake easily identifiable.
- As long as you're going to the trouble of
reinstalling XP, why not pop the system case open, grab
a can of compressed air and give the guts a good going
over to get rid of accumulated pet fur, dust bunnies,
and whatever else has managed to find its way where it
doesn't belong.
- Before long you're going to be faced with an empty
hard drive that you're going to want to load back up
with an operating system and applications, not to
mention the data you spent all that time backing up. It
would be a real shame to get to the reinstall process
and find out you don't have the XP CD or the product
installation key. The same holds true for any
applications that will be reinstalled after the
operating system. Better to make sure at this point they
are all available than to be surprised later.
Reinstallation Procedures
Installing XP on a system is very straightforward. I've
covered the procedure a number of times on this site and in
other articles so I won't bother going through it again. If
you do have questions or aren't sure about the procedure I
suggest you look at the links to your left under the Install
/ Remove and Boot Disk Resources sections. Detailed
instructions with screen captures are available there which
should get you through just about any situation you're
likely to encounter.
If you're one of those users that find yourself
frequently reinstalling XP you'll probably want to create a
new slipstreamed XP CD that incorporates SP2. That
eliminates having to be bothered with installing it via
Windows Update or from the network install version after XP
is reinstalled. The slipstreaming instructions are located
at
Slipstreamed Windows XP CD Using SP2.
There's only one other comment I want to make in this
section about the reinstall of XP. At the end of the
procedure, when the system reboots for the final time,
you'll arrive at the screen with prompts for activation and
registration of the product. Registration, where you provide
your name and address, is entirely optional. You never have
to provide this information if you don't want to and it will
have no impact on using XP. Activation is another matter. It
is required that you activate XP within 30 days of
installation or it will cease to function until you do
activate. I suggest that you not activate at
this time. Wait a few days until you've installed all the
other hardware and applications and run some system tests to
make sure everything is working as you expected. In the
event things go wrong and you have to reinstall again you'd
just have to activate after the second install. Take
advantage of the 30 day grace period to get things set up
properly and then activate. If it should happen you do have
to call, you'll only have to do it once. And it really is a
painless procedure in spite of what you may have heard.
Post Reinstallation Procedures
I'm going to assume (yes, I know that's dangerous) in
this section that XP was reinstalled, not activated, and
you're looking at the desktop after the system has booted
for the first time post installation. Pretty stark looking,
isn't it? So, what do you do now? The options are pretty
much limitless, but I'm going to tell you what I do in this
situation.
Earlier in the Pre Reinstall Procedures section I mentioned that I'd be talking about
disk imaging
programs. Now that XP has been
reinstalled it's time for that conversation. The very first
thing I do once the installation is complete is pull out the
CD for an imaging program and install it on the fresh XP
installation. I use a product by Norton but there
are a number of options available. There may even be some
freeware options available I'm not aware of so another
Google search might be beneficial.
What I'm looking to do at this point is create an image
of the system before any changes whatsoever are made.
Because I'd be using a slipstreamed XP/SP2 CD, that's
exactly what this first image would contain; just XP/SP2 and
the imaging application. Nothing else. Later on if
something goes wrong I could restore the image quickly
without having to go through the standard XP installation
procedure. If I hadn't used a slipstreamed CD then this
first image would contain only XP and the imaging application.
Because the majority of the boxes I use contain
motherboards that require special drivers to enable all
their features, I go ahead and install them next. Items in
this category could include things like motherboard chipset
drivers, network and wireless controllers, USB controllers,
audio drivers, and a few other oddities. At the same time I
install the video card and monitor drivers as well as mouse,
keyboard, UPS, modem, TV tuner, card reader, and anything
else hardware related. Once these items are installed,
tested, and configured to taste it's time for another image
to be created. Don't get rid of the image you created
earlier. Keep them all so they're available if you want to
go back to a previous point.
By this point I'm so tired of looking at the standard XP
desktop color scheme that I go ahead and make some cosmetic
changes to the system. I get rid of that hideous blue color,
turn off screensavers, activate the Quick launch area,
modify the Start Menu settings, and turn off most of the
visual effects that are annoying and slow down performance.
I don't bother making another image at this point. The
settings are so quick and easy to modify that it seems
pointless, but you could create another if you wanted.
Notice that up to this point I've done absolutely nothing
that involves accessing the internet, not even visiting
Windows Update. That's because I don't go near the internet
without anti-virus and firewall programs installed. If you
used an XP/SP2 slipstreamed CD for the installation you've
already been notified by the new Security Center that these
issues need to be addressed. In spite of the fact that SP2
automatically activates the built-in XP firewall, it's
rudimentary at best. Turn it off and install a quality
firewall from one of the vendors like Zone Labs or Norton.
Once you've installed the anti-virus and firewall programs -
and run the update feature in each one to insure your
protection is up to date - it's time for another image.
Once the image completes after the security items have
been installed I'd head to Windows Update and see if there
are any additional updates that need to be installed. If a
slipstreamed XP/SP2 CD was used then you should be all set
as far as critical updates are concerned. If you used an
older version of XP, such as a Gold Edition or SP1 version,
then there should be many updates awaiting your arrival in
Windows Update.
Since this article was written immediately after the
release of SP2 it may not be available yet in Windows
Update. Microsoft is staggering the rollout because of the
huge number of systems that need updating. If it's not
available, you have two choices; enable Automatic Updates
and wait until they send you SP2, or you can download the
full network install version of SP2 from Microsoft and
install it yourself. Microsoft would prefer you use the
first option if you are only upgrading a single workstation.
Once all the updates have been installed it's time for
one more image. To me, this is the most important image of
all the ones created so far. Here's why. The only things
installed at this point are the operating system, the
operating system updates, hardware drivers, the
anti-virus/firewall combination, and the imaging program.
None of these items are anywhere near as likely to cause
problems down the line as some of the other applications
that will be installed. With the exception of the
antivirus/firewall combo they don't get updated very often,
and when they are updated they are seldom the cause of a
system crash. If something does go wrong in the future, this
is likely the image I'll come back to rather than an earlier
one. All I have to do from here is deal with the
applications and data.
From this point on it's pretty much a matter of personal
taste what gets done next. When I first started using this
procedure I'd immediately start installing application after
application until I had everything back on the system that
was there previously. Fortunately, over time, I've learned
to be far more selective in what I install. No matter how
judiciously I prune things down during the backup phase,
when I get to this point I always find a few more things I
can get rid of permanently.
Experience has taught me there are certain applications
that I just absolutely cannot operate without on a daily
basis. Those are the applications that get installed next.
Of course what is absolutely essential to me will vary from
your list so I'll just list the ones I install with a few
notes along the way.
Must Have Applications
-Microsoft Office Professional 2003 - This includes
Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, FrontPage, Publisher,
and probably the most important of all, Outlook 2003 for
e-mail.
-Microsoft Virtual PC - Absolutely essential for
anyone that writes about technology and operating
systems.
-Google Toolbar - This should be in one of the
'priceless' commercials on television.
-Alternative Browsers - I keep Opera, Mozilla, and
Mozilla Firefox installed.
-Utilities - These include (listed alphabetically)
many of Karen's Power Tools, Lavasoft Ad-Aware, Nero,
Pest Patrol, Spybot Search and Destroy, and WinZip.
That's it. That's the sum total of what I feel I need to
effectively manage my business and enjoy the internet safely
and efficiently. After I have them all installed and updated I make one
more image and tuck them all away safely for future
reinstalls. Since I've done nothing with the system at this
point other than just install applications, drivers, etc
there is no junk accumulation or rogue registry entries to
clog up the system. Reverting to this latest image at any
point in time brings me right back to a pristine system. And
since I never store any sort of data files on the system
partition, restoring the image can be done quickly on a
moments notice because I know all my data files are backed
up daily to a location separate from the system partition.
Of course there are other applications (and even a game
or two) I install after this final image is made, but they
are what I consider to be non-essential. If they cause a
problem with the system I use Add/Remove to kill them off
immediately. Hopefully that takes care of the problem and
leaves the system in good shape, but if not I just install
the last image again and I'm home free. I reinstall the few
lost non-essential applications as the need for them arises
again, and more often than not the need never does arise. So
much the better.
Give the items I mentioned some thought and see if you
might not benefit from investing the time to do some
reorganization, backing up, imaging, and a reinstallation of
XP now that SP2 has been released. It will be time well
spent and increase the enjoyment of your computing
experience.
Last Updated:
08/19/2008
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