Written by Peter Sbarski. First Published in the Australian PC Active 11. Please see for copyright info and more articles.

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1 Upgrading Windows Imagine yourself holding a brand new shrink-wrapped copy of Windows XP as your computer boots up into Windows 98 for the last time. You ve read about XP s new user interface, stability and how it will change the world. Now in the matter of minutes, you sincerely hope, Windows will be installed and there will be no stop to the astonishment and admiration. The wrapping quickly comes off; the CD-ROM opens and you carefully insert the holographic Windows XP disc. The CD starts to spin and a wonderful blue screen comes up, spelling out Welcome to Windows XP (figure 1). You are about the click the install button when suddenly a little shiver comes down your spine. Have I done the necessary preparations? you ask yourself, Have I downloaded the right drivers and optimized my system? Ok, as you have already guessed, this article will look at the ancient art of upgrading. Installing Windows XP (or other Windows Operating Systems) can be painless if you ve covered the essentials. Read on and good luck with your upgrade. Step 1: Before you even decide to upgrade you need to know if your computer satisfies the minimum requirements of the new Operating System. See Table 1 for details. If your computer does satisfy the minimum requirements go to step 2. Table 1. The Minimum Requirements represent the hardware needed to install the operating system and boot into it. The OS will be slow and possibly unstable. Realistic Requirements represent the average hardware needed to run the operating system at sufficient speed, use multi-task efficiently and operate most software (within requirements of course) smoothly. If you are Minimum Requirements: Realistic Requirements: Upgrading to Windows 98: SE 486DX 66 MHz Processor, 16MB of RAM, 220MB of disk space 133MHz Pentium, 32MB of RAM, at least 1GB Upgrading to Windows ME 120MHz Pentium, 32MB of RAM, 480MB of disk space 266MHz Pentium II, 64MB of RAM, at least 1GB Upgrading to Windows 2000: Professional 133MHz Pentium, 64MB of RAM, 650MB disk space 400MHz Pentium II, 128MB of RAM, at least 2GB Upgrading to Windows XP: Personal 300MHz Pentium II, 128MB of RAM, 1GB of disk space 500MHz Pentium III, 128MB of RAM, at least 2GB Note: The table doesn t include standard hardware such as the graphics card, CD-ROM, monitor and other accessories. Step 2: Determine how you wish to upgrade. There are 4 different ways you can install a new Operating System. Clean Installation Clean installation is probably the best way to install a new Operating System. You will need to format your system and install Windows from scratch. This method ensures that the system is optimally configured; there are no leftover system files from the previous version or redundant registry entries. With this method, your system will run at its best. Upgrade Upgrading is probably the most common technique used to install a new Operating System among a good number of users. This method ensures that your software and

2 system settings are retained with the new operating system. It s also much easier to do than a clean installation. Multi boot Setting up a multi-boot system will bring out a hard-core geek in you - guaranteed. If you have two or more partitions, you may want to install the new operating system to an empty partition and create a dual boot setup. This will ensure that you have the new OS to play with and also the old one, in case something goes astray. Creating a multi-boot setup is only recommended for experienced users. A little hint if you wish to setup up a multi boot system. If you want to dual boot between Windows 9x and 2000/XP, install 98 or ME first and then 2000 or XP. Windows 2000/XP will create a boot manager which will allow you to boot into the two systems. Otherwise, if you get a commercial boot manager like Partition Magic or System Commander (figure 2), the order in which OS s are installed doesn t matter. Just make sure you install the boot maanager first. Emulating This is an ugly, slow and horrific way of installing a new OS but it is also the absolute safest. Through emulating you can run different Operating Systems at the same time. All you will need to do is install a small program, which will emulate another computer and subsequently allow you to install another OS, while still being in Windows. If it sounds like fun, check out Virtual PC ( from Connectix and VMWare ( If you are still deciding whether to do an upgrade or a clean installation, table 2 may answer some of your questions. This article will mostly concentrate on the preparation for an upgrade although most tips and recommendations can be used if you ve decided to do a clean install instead. Table 2. Upgrade Benefits: No need to reinstall your applications after the upgrade Most Windows settings can be retained Requires less experience and knowledge Can be installed over a network, the setup is easier and faster Clean Install Benefits: Hard drive will be clean as a whistle. No superseded or outdated programs/utilities. No redundant registry entries No obsolete files left over. Fever device driver/configuration issues Step 4: Backup your files! It s very important to backup your data beforehand. You should always do it on constant basis anyway but it is especially vital before a new OS upgrade. If you don t have a predefined backup procedure you can do it in two different ways. Using Microsoft s Backup: Windows includes a little utility designed to make backups easier and faster. You can find it by going to Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Backup. If you have Windows 2000, Backup will be installed by default. However, if you use Windows ME or 9x, this may not be a fact. Installation If Backup is missing you need to install it. To do that, go to the Control Panel and double click on Add/Remove Programs. Then click on the Add/Remove Windows Components tab. Scroll down until you see System Tools and double click on it. The first entry you will see will be Backup. Make sure you tick it and exit from Add/Remove Programs. Using Backup

3 Now, you ve got Backup installed and it is high time to begin the fine task of archiving your data. If you ve never used Backup before click Backup Wizard (figure 3), read the introduction and click Next to go to the second dialogue box. Here you need to choose what type of backup you wish to perform (figure 4). Unless you want to backup every file on your computer, select the second option and click Next. This part of the Backup Wizard looks very similar to Windows Explorer. Select the folders you wish to backup (figure 5) and click Next. All folders and files will be saved in a file (by default Backup.bkf ), which you can rename and save anywhere you want (figure 6). If you want to backup to floppy disks, specify A: drive now and Backup will do the rest copying and splitting files over disks. Click Next to advance to the final screen. Here you can review your settings and click Finish (figure 7). Or you can click Advanced and fine-tune some extra settings. and finally Unless you ve backed up to floppy disks, copy the backup file to a removable drive, such as a ZIP or a CD, if you can. There is no point keeping the backup on your main hard drive. If something goes awry and you are forced to format it, not only will you loose the original file but the backup as well. How to Restore When you need to restore your files, fire up Backup and click Restore Wizard (If you are using Windows XP please see: How to Restore under XP ). Click Next. In the second dialogue box, click on Import File and browse for the backup file you ve created earlier (figure 8). Select the files (inside the backup) you wish to restore (figure 9) and click Next. Again, at this last prompt you can click Finish (figure 10), to begin restoring your backup, or Advanced to configure some other settings. Note, that during the restoration process, Backup may ask you to catalog the backup file. If this happens, point Catalog backup file to your backup and click OK. Hot to Restore under XP: Restoring is even easier under Windows XP. First you need to run Backup by going to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Backup. Click Next to bypass the first welcome message and select Restore files and settings. Click Next again. Click Browse to find the backup. In the Items to restore window select the files you wish to bring back and click Next. Click Finish to finalize your choices. Using Winzip or another archiver You can use a file compressor to do your backups too. I prefer Winzip (figure 11) or Winrar because unlike Microsoft s Backup these utilities can compress files very nicely. By the way, the backup procedure is very similar to that of Microsoft s backup. In Winzip you need to select the files you wish to keep, select the compression rate and name the zip file. You can compress files over numerous disks or save them as one big chunk. You can find a copy of Winzip at and a copy of Winrar at I recommend saving all your personal data and files (documents, databases, save games, etc ). Basically anything that is of value to you. Step 5: A new Windows OS will most likely require a new set of drivers for your hardware. Now, drivers are considered compatible and stable if they have passed Microsoft s Hardware Compatibility Labs. At you can search through a big hardware database to see if your particular hardware has Microsoft s blessing. If you can t find your graphics card, sound card or anything else for that matter, don t panic. Many companies don t submit their drivers to HCL. Go to your hardware maker s site and look for the drivers there.

4 If you aren t sure where to look for, make for and click on Advanced Search on the left hand side. When you have found all the drivers you need, put them into one folder for easy access or copy them to a removable drive for safe keeping. As a bare minimum check that you have the right driver for the network card or the modem. If you don t get all the drivers before the upgrade you can always download them later. Step 6: Having a boot disk might come in handy. If you are doing a normal upgrade you won t need it (hopefully). Nevertheless, if you are aspiring to do a clean installation (or a dual boot configuration), it might come in very useful. Just to refresh your memory, in Windows 98/ME a normal boot disk can be created under Add/Remove Programs, while the backup utility (see step 4) can be used to make a boot disk in Windows Run Backup and click Create Emergency Repair Disk button. Step 7: Clean up and optimize your system Check for and resolve any IRQ conflicts Run SFC (System File Checker) if you have Windows See Windows Tips (PCA Issue 5). Run thorough scandisk. If there are any lost clusters remove them. Run full defrag. Make sure you do this because there should be as little fragmentation as possible. Scan your PC for viruses. Empty the recycle bin. Empty temporary files in \Windows\Temp and temporary internet files in \Windows\Temporary Internet Files Upgrade (Pause and Pray) You are now ready to upgrade. Close all programs running in the background (especially Anti- Virus software). Use the three-finger salute (ctrl-alt-del) and end-task everything except Explorer and Systray. Insert the upgrade CD and off you go. Note: If you are installing Windows 98 or Millennium copy the setup files to your hard drive. This will ensure that Win98 or WinME won t ask you for the CD-ROM each time you make a system change or add/remove Windows programs. Note: If you are upgrading to Windows 2000 or XP, you will be given two options. Namely, Upgrade to Windows 2000/XP or Install a new copy of Windows 2000/XP. If you select the first option you current system will be upgraded to the new OS. If you select the later option, setup will create a dual boot menu where through which you will be able to boot into the new OS or your current one. See Multi System/Boot above. After Upgrade After the upgrade/installation procedure is over check your device manager for hardware that hasn t been installed. You will see this hardware and a yellow exclamation point or a red X, which means that this particular hardware item has been disabled. Install your drivers and all should be fine. During the upgrade the new OS will modify some of your system settings. It is up to you to change these settings after the installation is complete. For example, Windows ME will turn off DMA mode by default. If you want DMA enabled (figure 12) go to the Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager. Open IDE controller settings and double click on the Primary IDE Channel. Click on the Advanced Settings tab. Change the

5 transfer mode to DMA if available and click OK to exit. Change the same settings in the Secondary IDE channel. Enjoy your new experience.

6 Figure 1. Caption: The first thing you will see when Windows XP starts rolling.

7 Figure 2. Caption: You can run a LOT of Operating Systems on one computer using System Commander".

8 Figure 3. Caption: The Backup Wizard is very useful for quick backups.

9 Figure 4. Caption: The second option provides the most flexible way to backup data

10 Figure 5. Caption: Select the files you need and click Next

11 Figure 6. Caption: Specify the file and destination where all your files will be saved to

12 Figure 7. Caption: Click Advanced to specify additional options or Finish to exit

13 Figure 8. Caption: Browse for the backup you want to restore and click OK.

14 Figure 9. Caption: You must select the files/folders you wish to bring back.

15 Figure 10. Caption: Click Finish to restore your files.

16 Figure 11. Caption: You can use Winzip instead of Microsoft s Backup.

17 Figure 12. Caption: Changing to DMA (Direct Memory Access) mode will greatly speed up your hard drive.