Client Operating System

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LO1_1 Install a Client Operating System

1- Perform Manual Installation Before Installing an Operating System we must determine if the computer meets the minimum hardware requirements needed for the installation. For Windows XP Professional and Home Edition the requirements are as follows 1- CPU 233 MHz Intel Pentium II/Celeron or AMD-compatible processor, 300MHz or higher is recommended. Windows XP Pro supports up to two processors 2- Memory minimum 64 MB of RAM, 128 MB or more is recommended. Windows XP supports a maximum of 4GB 3- Hard Disk 1.5 GB of free space for installation, additional space is required for additional features and applications 4- Display SVGA or better display with a monitor capable of 800x600 resolution 5- Input Devices Keyboard and mouse or any other pointing device 6- CD-ROM CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive is needed if the installation is to be performed from CD-ROM 7- Floppy Disk Drive The computer must have a high-density 3.5 drive if you will be performing Setup across the network using a network client or boot disk or if the computer does not support booting with Windows XP installation CD 8- Network Adaptor Card The computer must have a Network Adapter Card appropriate for your network or in the case if the Setup is to be performed from a network installation point. Microsoft maintains a catalogue Windows Catalog which lists devices that Microsoft has tested and supports for use with Windows XP. If the device is not listed that means that Microsoft does not support it. However, the manufacturers can be contacted to determine whether they provide drivers and support for the device under Windows XP. The catalogue can be found at www.microsoft.com/windows/catalog.
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Client Operating System

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Preparing the BIOS The Basic Input Output System (BIOS) is a set of basic software routines that resides in a special area of the computers permanent memory. Once the computer is switched on the BIOS tests and initialises the computers hardware and then starts the operating system. If the BIOS is outdated (old), it may cause problems with disk partitioning, power management, peripheral configuration, and OS installation. Thus before installing the OS you should check with the manufacturer of the computer or the Motherboard to determine if the BIOS supports the OS. You may need to download and apply an update on your computer BIOS prior to installation. OS Installation Types An OS like Windows XP can be installed using three types of installation. The choice of installation made would greatly affect the decisions that will be made during the installation. Clean Installation In this type of installation there is normally no existing OS on the computer or there is an existing OS but there is no desire to preserve the existing installation. The advantage of a clean installation is that one can be certain that nothing is carried over from a previous installation, this normally means better performance and stability. The disadvantages in this type of installation is that all applications will have to be reinstalled and OS settings would need to be reconfigured. Upgrade This is where the OS like Windows XP is installed over an existing installation of a previous version. The advantage here is that one can retain application installations and user settings. The disadvantage is that the OS would retain all existing settings and applications so if there is an existing problem, the problem would represent itself again with the new upgrade.

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Client Operating System

DF9M 34

Multiple boot Installation Here multiple Operating Systems are installed on the computer, and the user can select which OS to use during system startup. All applications will have to be reinstalled if they are to work with the additional operating system. The advantage of this type of installation over the other two is that all previous operating systems and applications can be retained which is useful if you want to only experiment with the new OS or if you have applications which you know they will not work with the new OS.

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Client Operating System

DF9M 34

Installation Methods There are three different methods of installations that can be associated with an OS like Windows XP Standard Attended Installation This is the one that most people are familiar with and is the method most likely used by home and small businesses. Here the user remains at the computer to supply information that is needed by the OS Network Installation Here the OS files are located on a network share. This is the method that is used in small businesses and corporations. This type of installation removes the need for the user to have an installation CD Automated Installation This type of installation does not require the user to provide information during setup. There are several ways to automate an installation but they all share the common purpose, that is, reducing or eliminating the amount of user intervention that is required during the setup process. This type of installation is often used in larger corporate networks.

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Client Operating System

DF9M 34

Standard (Attended) Installation This type of installation requires the person performing the installation provide information during the installation process. The information includes the , name of the computer, locations for the Windows files, whether to create and format a partition, and basic network settings. There are several ways to start a standard installation If the computer is already running, a previous version of Windows, you can simply insert the Windows XP installation CD and use a setup wizard to begin the installation, Setup gives you the choice of upgrading the existing operating system or performing a clean installation. Whether the computer is already running a previous version of Windows or has no operating system installed, you can start the computer from the installation CD. Only a clean installation can be performed when starting the computer using the installation CD. The computer's BIOS must support booting using the CD-ROM drive to use this option. Check the BIOS to make sure that the CD-ROM drive is a supported hot device. You should also make sure that the order of boot devices listed in BIOS places the CD-ROM drive ahead of the hard drive in the boot sequence. If a computer does not support booting from CD, a set of floppy disks can be created that will start the computer and then initiate setup from the CD. After the installation has started, this method proceeds just like booting from CD. You can also start Windows XP installation from the command line. You can use the command winnt.exe to start the installation from the command prompt in MS-DOS or Windows 3.x. This command is especially useful for starting the Windows XP installation when booting using a DOS boot disk. You can use the command winnt32.exe to

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Client Operating System

DF9M 34

start installation from the command prompt in Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, or Windows 2000. Network Installation Installing an operating system by booting from the CD is practical only when there is a limited number of installations to perform. On larger networks, it is inconvenient to carry CDs around to many different computers. Also because Windows XP is often licensed for numerous installations, there may not actually be a CD to carry around. A network installation differs from a standard installation only in the location of the installation files. In network installations, the Windows XP installation files are stored in a shared network folder. Either an upgrade or a clean installation can be started from a network installation point. When a network installation is performed, the computer on which Windows XP is being installed must have a connection to the network share that contains the installation files. If the Setup is on a computer that already has an operating system installed, you likely already have network connectivity. To start the installation we can simply locate the shared folder and run the Setup program (setup.exe). Starting a network installation on a computer that does not already have an operating system installed is a little more complex. The most common way to start such an installation is to use an MS-DOS boot disk that contains DOSbased network drivers and client software. After starting the computer with this disk, you can connect to the network share and start the installation by using the winnt.exe command. It is also possible that network administrators would have created a boot disk with a batch file (a text file that automatically executes commands) that initializes the network, locates the installation files, and then starts the installation automatically.

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Client Operating System

DF9M 34

Thus, before you can begin a network installation of Windows XP Professional, you need to copy the Windows XP Professional installation files to a file or distribution server and share the folder (directory) so that people who need to perform an over the network installation can attach to the share. (They will also need the proper level of folder and NTFS permissions to attach to the share.) The distribution server share will need to contain the installation files from the i386 folder on the Windows XP Professional CD-ROM. From the computer you wish to install Windows XP on, you connect to this shared directory and then run the Setup program. The client computer needs to be prepared in advance in order to be successful with an over the network installation. First, you need to create an NTFS partition on the client computer of at least 1.5 GB of disk space and format it. You then need to enable the client computer to connect to the distribution server either by booting from a client diskette that includes a network client, or by installing the client directly to the local computer hard drive. The simplest method is to boot from a client diskette. Once you have booted from the diskette and the network client on the client is started, you connect to the shared folder on the distribution server that contains the Windows XP Professional installation files and run Winnt32.exe to start the Setup program.

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