Installing a new Windows Operating System (post 2001)

[bigsharn]

Well someone's asked for this tutorial on another website, so I've written it here as a point of reference for her and incase someone else needs to know

Step 1:
Back up everything you currently have on the PC you're putting the new Operating system onto. Installing a new OS wipes your hard drive so all your files are going to the great recycle bin in the sky unless you back them up. If you don't have an OS already installed skip this step

Step 2:
Restart the computer and go into your BIOS, make sure your boot order is:
(Media you're install the OS from*)
(Media you're not installing the OS from*)
Hard drive
Floppy Drive

*Media means USB or CD drive, these are the most used ways to install an OS

Step 3:
Put the media in for whatever OS you're using, whether it be Windows XP, Vista or 7
If you're installing a new OS, but already have another installed:
when the screen comes up, delete the original OS' partition
If you don't already have an OS
Skip to step 4

Step 4
Partitioning your hard drive
Now, if you want to partition your hard drive (which makes it slightly faster in most OS' and I would recommend) then make a partition for no less than 40Gb (5368709120 Bytes) formatted in NTFS (Quick), then make a partition for your files etc with the rest of the hard drive space formatted in NTFS (Quick). It should tell you on the screen how much space you have left on the hard drive so no need to worry about that

If you don't want to partition your hard drive just create a new partition for the size of your hard drive (it should have it displayed in Bytes on the screen), formatted in "NTFS (Quick)"

Step 5:
Follow the instructions on-screen depending on your OS, as all of them are different so you'll just have to do as you're told on this one.

[Mark]

Step 2:
Floppy Drive

*If you're not using a floppy drive in your machine, i always disable it in the BIOS.

Step 4
NTFS (Quick)

You should always format using the full NTFS mode, not quick. Data is still recoverable from a "Quick" format.

Also, once your OS is installed remember to re-install all of your drivers. (From your backup!)

[latch]

Step 2:
Floppy Drive

*If you're not using a floppy drive in your machine, i always disable it in the BIOS.

Step 4
NTFS (Quick)

You should always format using the full NTFS mode, not quick. Data is still recoverable from a "Quick" format.

Also, once your OS is installed remember to re-install all of your drivers. (From your backup!)

I can recover data from a format and even deleted partitions.

[Drumm]

They believe you need too format a drive 20 times to make it unrecoverable. I prefer the scramble method. Makes stuff much harder.

[latch]

They believe you need too format a drive 20 times to make it unrecoverable. I prefer the scramble method. Makes stuff much harder.

gwscan will write zeros to the whole drive and you can't get anything from that.

[Mark]

Unless, you're the power that is latch. How does dban spec up?

[Pack3t SynAck3r]

Unless, you're the power that is latch. How does dban spec up?

Never forget the power of Pack3t either. DBootAndNuke is excellent. It has every well documented low level format/DoD wipe in the book. The only way this is countered(getting the data back) is if a)someone is able to alter the firmware on the hard drive to tell the wiping software it is doing something it is not. b)Or if you spend a lot of money doing magnetic resonance scans on the used hard drive to retrieve last known binary states through statistical analysis. The DoD wipe even makes even b difficult.

Sharn you spent a lot of time on this, but the quality is less than substantial. It is not thorough or technically sound. Your articles on your bisexual life are much more useful due to the fact that they provide something useful, a laugh. Please let Mark give general computer tutorials for the nub masses.

[latch]

Unless, you're the power that is latch. How does dban spec up?

Never forget the power of Pack3t either. DBootAndNuke is excellent. It has every well documented low level format/DoD wipe in the book. The only way this is countered(getting the data back) is if a)someone is able to alter the firmware on the hard drive to tell the wiping software it is doing something it is not. b)Or if you spend a lot of money doing magnetic resonance scans on the used hard drive to retrieve last known binary states through statistical analysis. The DoD wipe even makes even b difficult.

Sharn you spent a lot of time on this, but the quality is less than substantial. It is not thorough or technically sound. Your articles on your bisexual life are much more useful due to the fact that they provide something useful, a laugh. Please let Mark give general computer tutorials for the nub masses.

This is how your post went:
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It is incorrect to boast of your mastery and it's a mark of insecurity. Young wolves bark loudly when working their way up the pecking order while the older wolves don't bark at all. We, the nubs, will take care of the boasting for you.

I think most everyone here knows your technical prowess according to their ability to comprehend the depths of it. I myself would need to learn a buttload to begin to realise what I don't know in your bag of tricks.

Thanks for aptly fielding that question while inadvertantly sheilding me from having to say I know nothing about that tool. Thank goodness no one knows what I don't know.

Although meathead is a goober and I have some issues with his tutorial also, I think it is ok for him to contribute in this way. In some cases the best way to learn is to teach. Preperation for something like this requires a person to look stuff up to be as precise as possible. The issues I have with this one, Mark and Pack3t, are as follows:

The title is too vague and encompasses too much- the subject is too large. Can this guide be used to install Solaris, Beos, OS2, or open BSD? It implies that this tutorial can be used for all operating systems when this is clearly not true. There are steps that must be added(such as the swap partition for linux distros that don't do everything for you like ubuntu) and steps deleted(if you are installing DOS or Windows 98 you can't use NTFS) and not every install will wipe the drive. Almost all of the XP installs I do for clients, I leave their data in the drive and install around it. And you don't need to go into the bios all the time- sometimes f12 or Esc with bring up a boot menu allowing to choose your cd drive. This is preferable because if you forget to change it back, then during the lifetime of that install, the precious seconds of your life you waste waiting for the computer to decide if your brittney spears cd is bootable will add up.

This tutorial should have been entitled "An abridged guide for installing Ubuntu, XP, Vista or 7"

[Mark]

Ubuntu shouldn't even be in this tutorial, you install it on either ext2, 3 or 4 which are journaling file systems for Linux then of course the swap is installed on a swap partition. No NTFS in sight.

[Pack3t SynAck3r]

This is how your post went:
Shameless self promotion
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Nod of Respect

This is how my post will go:
Correction
Nod of Respect
Thanks
My Opinion

It is incorrect to boast of your mastery and it's a mark of insecurity. Young wolves bark loudly when working their way up the pecking order while the older wolves don't bark at all. We, the nubs, will take care of the boasting for you.

Indeed, I boasted. The implied existence of mastery was born of your perception however, but not necessarily the intended message. Bad manners would be more accurate than a general judgment of incorrect. I am secure enough to say I have insecurities.

I think most everyone here knows your technical prowess according to their ability to comprehend the depths of it. I myself would need to learn a buttload to begin to realise what I don't know in your bag of tricks.

Thank you kindly.

Thanks for aptly fielding that question while inadvertantly sheilding me from having to say I know nothing about that tool. Thank goodness no one knows what I don't know.

I am pretty sure you know I do know I don't know what I know about what you don't know.

Although meathead is a goober and I have some issues with his tutorial also, I think it is ok for him to contribute in this way. In some cases the best way to learn is to teach.

I think he can contribute however he likes, and I will defend his ability to do so. I will, however, reserve the right to criticize said contribution. The tutorial, if edited THOROUGHLY, could still be useful. Although I somehow doubt it will happen, maybe for once he will prove me wrong.