Installing Microsoft Windows XP
- Place your Windows XP installation disc in your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive and restart your computer. You may be asked whether you wish to boot from the disc; if not, press the appropriate key on your keyboard to access the boot screen during BIOS start-up. This may differ depending on the BIOS version that you have, it should be listed on the initial BIOS screen. In many cases it is the F8 key, though it may also be Tab or Esc on some systems. Boot your computer from the drive with the installation disc.
The disc will install the basic setup files for Windows XP onto your computer; you will be prompted to input basic information such as directory information during this phase of installation. You will be given the option to format the hard drive partition that you choose to create a clean installation, or to install to a drive that already has information on it. The display is very basic because the installer is currently working in DOS mode and has not actually installed the Windows XP user interface yet. This portion of installation may take several minutes, after which the computer will reboot. - Once the computer reboots, the actual installation of Windows XP will begin. The Windows user interface will be loaded at this point, so the installation screen will look significantly different. You will be prompted for information such as your Windows product key, the installation directory, and basic information such as your name and company. The company is optional.
This phase of installation will on average take 30-40 minutes. The computer will reboot at least once during this time, and will display a progress meter with an estimate of the amount of time remaining for the installation (though this estimate may not be completely accurate.) Once installation has completed, all that's left to do is set up Windows XP for use. - When the computer reboots after completing installation you will have to answer some questions in order to setup Windows. You will be prompted to create an Administrator account password and to set up any additional user accounts that you wish to have on your computer. The program will also give you the option of setting up the computer on a network as well as prompting you to choose whether to turn on features such as Automatic Update.
You will also need to activate your copy of Windows XP, either by allowing it to connect to the Microsoft activation server via the internet or by calling the activation hotline. If activating by phone you will be given a code based off of your product key; you will then receive a second code from the hotline which needs to be entered in order to activate your installation.
Once you have activated and customized your copy of Windows XP it is recommended that you reboot the computer one last time before using it. This will allow the operating system to boot with all of its settings in effect and will ensure that you don't run into any problems with components or network features not working correctly.