How to s Reinstall Your Operating Sysytem

Starting Out

3 A Solid FoundationThe Who, What & Where Of

Operating System Installations

6 Just Like Starting OverWhen Should You Reinstall Windows?

8 Reinstalling FAQsAnswers For Some Basic Questions

First Try This

10 Stop! Before You Reinstall/Install Your OS,

Try These Things First

11 The Way We WereSystem Restore Can Turn Back

Time For Your PC

14 Playing it SafeUse Windows’ Safe Mode

17 When All Hope Appears LostWinXP’s Recovery Console

May Still Bail You Out

19 Your Seat Is CrookedReseat Your Cards, Cables & RAM

22 A Temporary Solution Clean Up Your Temp Files

24 Drivers DIYGet Your Drivers Back On Track

26 How To Check For & Remove MalwareDon’t Let Digital Pests Control Your PC

31 Check & Clean The Windows RegistryPreserve Your Registry

To Keep Your PC Trouble-free

35 Build A Linux Troubleshooting ToolkitTroubleshooting Tips For Linux Users

38 Troubleshooting For The Mac OSYes, Macs Have Troubles Too

Backing Up

42 Who Has Your Back?A Guide To Backing Up

& Restoring Your Data

45 Drive Time: Restoring Normalcy Post-CatastropheSetting Up A RAID

Can Keep Disaster At Bay

48 Insure Your Computer’s Nervous SystemKnow How To Back Up

& Restore Windows XP’s Registry

50 Let’s Get PersonalA Guide To Saving & Restoring

Your Personal Settings

53 Create A Boot DisketteBe Prepared When Murphy’s Law Strikes

Step-By-StepReinstalling Tutorials

56 Reinstall Windows XP Home & ProfessionalRepair Windows Woes

61 Reinstall Windows 2000Repair Your System

& Keep Your Stuff

66 Reinstall Windows MeHow To Fix Windows Me

When It Breaks

71 Reinstall Windows 98A Classic Comeback

76 Mac First AidRepair OS X With An Archive

& Install Installation

81 Reinstall LinuxRescuing The Penguin

Clean InstallationTutorials

86 Format & Partition Hard Drives: A PrimerClear The Slate For A Freshly

Installed Operating System

90 Windows XP Home & Professional Start Over With A Clean

Windows XP Installation

95 Begin AgainHow To Install A Fresh Copy

Of Windows 2000

100 Install Windows MeStart Over With A Clean Installation

105 How To Reinstall Windows 98 A Step By Step Guide

To Resolve One Of Windows’

Difficult Headaches

Reinstalling Your Operating SystemSometimes the best way to rejuvenate a tired, slow-poke PC is to start over—not with

new hardware, but with a fresh operating system. Reinstalling your OS is an inexpensive

and effective way to wring out errant files and other data bits that may be slowing down

your computer. It’s also a surefire way to get rid of malicious software such as rootkits or

viruses. This issue walks through the different types of operating system installations and

also covers other maintenance options that will help keep your PC running like new.

110 A Fresh AppleReformat & Reinstall OS X

115 Install LinuxThe Penguin Marches On

Multiboot Systems

120 Saving Your Old Operating SystemsIs A Multiboot System The Answer?

121 Fedora Core 5 To Windows XP ProCan’t We All Just Get Along?

126 Windows XP To Mac OS XBoot Either One With Boot Camp

131 Add Windows XP Home To A Windows 98 PCBe Prepared For Some Work

136 Windows XP Pro& Windows VistaOne Computer, Two Windows

System Maintenance

141 Update On-The-FlyStreamline Your XP Installation

With Slipstream

144 Windows Powers, Activate!Reactivate Your Operating System

145 Install Updates & PatchesUpdate To Improve Your

Computer’s Security & Stability

147 Register DLLs & Other FilesRegister Files To Repair

Unstable Applications

149 Too Hot To HandleA System Full Of Heat

Means It’s Time To Clean

152 Drive MaintenanceOn The Road To Peak

Performance

155 Speed Up Your StartupQuick Tips For A Quick PC

158 Full Speed Ahead Accelerate Windows Through

Application Management

Online OnlyThe following material is available on

SmartComputing.com as an extra bonus to

our readers. You do not need to subscribe to

Smart Computing to read this article; just

browse to the address indicated.

Vista Beta To Mac OSThe Many Faces Of An Intel Mac

http://www.smartcomputing.com/

r1006/vistamac

When One OS Isn’t EnoughBuild A Triple-Boot System With Windows

XP, Vista Beta 2 & Ubuntu

http://www.smartcomputing.com/r1006/

tripleboot

Reinstalling FAQs, Part 2More Answers To Common Questions

http://www.smartcomputing.com/r1006/

reinstallingfaqs

Table Of Contents l Reference Series Volume 10, Issue 6EEddiittoorriiaall SSttaaffff:: Ronald D. Kobler / Rod Scher /

Sally Curran / Linné Ourada / Corey Russman

/ Christopher Trumble / Calvin Clinchard /

Katie Sommer / Katie Dolan / Raejean Brooks

/ Michael Sweet / Nate Hoppe / Trista Kunce

/ Sheila Allen / Joy Martin / Vince Cogley /

Ashley Finter / Leah Houchin / Tara Simmons

/ Marty Sems / Blaine Flamig / Kylee Dickey /

Josh Gulick / Andrew Leibman / Jennifer

Johnson / Nathan Lake / Holly Zach /

Barbara Ball

WWeebb SSttaaffff:: Dorene Krausnick / Laura Curry /

Kristen Miller

SSuubbssccrriippttiioonn RReenneewwaallss:: Connie Beatty / Matt

Bolling / Patrick Kean / Charmaine Vondra / Miden

Ebert / Kathy DeCoito / Stephanie Contreras

AArrtt && DDeessiiggnn:: Lesa Call / Fred Schneider / Aaron D.

Clark / Carrie Benes / Ginger Falldorf / Sonja

Warner / Aaron Weston / Lori Garris / Jason Codr /

Andria Schultz / Erin Rodriguez / Lindsay Anker

SSaalleess && MMaarrkkeettiinngg:: Mark Peery / GrantOssenkop

/ Bob Chester / Marcy Gunn / Kelly Richardson /

Eric Cobb / Jen Clausen / Scot Banks / Travis Brock /

LindsayAlbers / Lana Matic / Jeff Ashelford / Brynn

Burtwistle / Toni Hinn

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“In terms of security,

there is no substitute

for doing a clean

installation of your OS.”

It probably comes as no sur-prise that Microsoft is the worldleader in desktop operating systems with92.8% market share in 2005 ac-cording to the global analysis firmIDC. This number factors in allversions of Microsoft Windows.Apple’s Mac OS is in second place at4.7%, with all forms of Linuxcoming in at 2.3%. According toIDC, all of the other operatingsystems combined have a mar-ket share of 0.2%, so there arereally only three primary oper-ating systems that have substantialpresences in the marketplace. As you mightimagine, IDC says that Microsoft gets the lion’sshare—estimated at more than 95%—of the rev-enue that is generated from operating systems.

For this issue, we’ll focus on the most popularoperating systems, primarily Windows, Mac OS,and some of the more popular versions of Linuxsuch as Ubuntu and Fedora.

System Requirements

Every operating system has certain basic require-ments. If your computer is not powerful enough,the operating system may not perform well—or itmay not run at all. As supplied by the OS makers,here are the listed requirements for the operatingsystems that we cover in this issue.

Microsoft Windows XP• Processor: Intel Pentium/Celeron or AMD

K6/Athlon/Duron or compatible; 300MHz or

higher recommended

• RAM: 64MB; 128MB or higher recommended

• Hard Drive: 1.5GB free space

• Video: Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution

video adapter and monitor

• Optical drive: CD-ROM or DVD drive

• Keyboard and Microsoft mouse or compatible

pointing device

Deep in the recesses of your PC’s hard drivelies the software supporting everythingyour computer does—the operating

system. Making your PC’s hardware work, and pro-viding the underpinning on which your programsrun, an operating system is certainly complex soft-ware. But, while the operating system may be com-plex on a technical level, you can understand thebasics enough to allow you to reinstall your oper-ating system on your own. This issue is dedicated tohelping you understand how to reinstall an oper-ating system onto your PC.

An operating system is the software that controlsthe basic functions of computer—how data is storedand how the various pieces of hardware in yourcomputer communicate with each other. Over time,the term operating system has become more inclu-sive as companies have bundled more and more sec-ondary applications into the operating system. Aneasy example is Windows Solitaire—Microsoft in-stalls it as part of Windows, but it doesn’t reallyhave anything to do with the underlying operationsof the computer. The line becomes even blurrierwith Web browsers and other types of utilities. We’llget beyond marketing hype and consider operatingsystem or OS to refer to the software that controlsyour PC’s hardware.

Another distinction that we need to make—oper-ating systems can run personal computers that youuse at home, as well as servers, the industrial-strength computers that run Web sites, process data,and other large and complex tasks. For the purposesof this issue, we’ll be focusing on the desktop oper-ating systems that run home and business PCs,rather than server operating systems that run Websites and high-volume business computers.

Major Operating Systems

While there are many operating systems availablefor use, there are only a few that can be described astruly popular. This is significant, because for an OSto be useful, it needs programs to be written specifi-cally to support it.

A Solid FoundationThe Who, What & Where Of Operating System Installations

STARTING OUT

Reference Series / PC How-Tos 3

Microsoft Windows Vista (unre-leased at press time)

• Processor: 800MHz (Intel or AMD; 32-

or 64-bit) processor; 1GHz (Intel or

AMD; 32- or 64-bit) recommended

• RAM: 512MB; 1GB recommended

• Hard Drive: 15GB free space; 40GB ca-

pacity with 15GB free recommended.

• Video: Super VGA (800 x 600) or

higher-resolution video adapter and

monitor; Recommended: support for

DirectX 9 graphics with a WDDM

driver, 128MB of graphics memory,

Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel.

• Optical drive: CD-ROM or DVD

• Keyboard and Microsoft mouse or

compatible pointing device

Mac OS 10.4 Tiger• Processor: PowerPC G3 or better

• RAM: 256MB

• Hard Drive: 3GB free space

• Video: Built-in display or display con-

nected to compatible video card

• Optical Drive: DVD drive for installa-

tion (CD media extra)

• Built-in FireWire

Ubuntu 6.06• Processor: Intel x86, AMD64,

UltraSPARC T1, or PowerPC

• RAM: 256MB

• Hard Drive: 3GB free space

• Video: Compatible video card

Fedora 5• Processor: Pentium-class (400MHz

Pentium II or better recommended),

AMD64 processors or Power PC

(400MHz G3 or better)

• RAM: 256MB recommended

• Hard Drive: 6GB free space recom-

mended for full system

• Video: Compatible video card

Installation Types

There are multiple ways to install anoperating system. The vast majority of

consumers don’t do the initial installa-tion. Instead, the OS comes prein-stalled by the manufacturer or OEM(original equipment manufacturer—see “OEM Software” for details). If theOS was not preinstalled, then it waslikely installed from a retail package ordownloaded from the Internet. Re-gardless of who installed your OS,there are several different ways to rein-stall. Here are descriptions as well aspros and cons for various installations:

Full or “clean” install from OEMdisks or package bought at store. Thisinstallation is a clean installation froma generic retail package or OEM disk.Before you do a full installation, youneed to erase and/or reformat thehard drive so that the installation isstarting entirely from scratch.

Pro: You have total control overhow the OS is installed. No files are leftover from the previous installation,minimizing the possibility of problems.

Con: You may have to reinstallhardware drivers manually. You willhave to reinstall any system updatesthat have come out since the installa-tion disk was created. You will have toreinstall programs and copy your filesback to your disk.

Overlay installation from OEMdisks or package bought at store. Thisreinstallation is one in which the harddrive is not erased, but the installationis done over the existing OS.

Pro: You have substantial controlover how the OS is installed. You willnot have to copy files back to the disk.

Con: You may have to reinstall hard-ware drivers manually. You will have toreinstall any system updates that havecome out since the installation disk wascreated. If your system has malware,this is less effective than a clean install inridding your system of its issues.

Repair install from disks. In the strictsense, this is not a true reinstallation, asonly the system files are copied backonto the hard drive. This is very usefulif a system was damaged by a virus orby spyware, as it can allow a non-func-tional PC to operate long enough forthe user to do a backup of files.

STARTING OUTOperating System Installations

OOEEMM stands for oorriigg--

iinnaall eeqquuiippmmeenntt

mmaannuuffaaccttuurreerr. When we

talk about OEM soft-

ware, we mean software

that is initially licensed

to a manufacturer and

then bundled with hard-

ware for an end user.

OEM software is pri-

marily (but not exclu-

sively) a Microsoft phe-

nomenon, as many

people get their copies

of Microsoft Windows

and Microsoft Office

from their computer

manufacturer via an

OEM license.

The most important

thing to understand

about OEM software is

that you cannot buy it

without buying quali-

fying hardware from an

authorized reseller. That

means that if you buy

loose OEM software at a

flea market, it’s being

sold to you illegally, and

the software does not

have a valid license. Not

only is OEM software to

be sold with a particular

computer, but it can

only be legally used

with that piece of hard-

ware. So, if you get an

OEM copy of Windows

when you buy a PC,

when that computer

eventually dies, you

cannot legally use that

copy of Windows

with another PC, as you

could with a retail

package. If you see an

offer for cheap OEM

software being sold

without hardware, it’s

cheaper because it’s

being sold illegally.

Legal OEM software

is cheaper because it is

sold to manufacturers

in bulk, and they pass

on part of the savings

to their customers.

The license is between

the buyer and the

manufacturer, which

means that the buyer

must call the manufac-

turer for support, not

the software company

(i.e. Microsoft).

The licensing on OEM

software can be compli-

cated. As a simple rule

to make sure that you’re

buying legitimate soft-

ware, buy only from a le-

gitimate dealer when

you’re buying a full PC. If

a deal involving OEM

software sounds too

good to be true, then it

probably is. ❙

OEM Software

4 www.smartcomputing.com / PC How-Tos

Pro: Offers many of the benefits ofreinstallation without losing files andwithout having to reinstall programs.

Con: The least thorough of all theinstallations, this may not offer all ofthe customary benefits of a full reinstal-lation, including better performanceand the elimination of malware (forexample, viruses and spyware).

Recovery install using disks from amanufacturer. This reinstallation re-stores the PC to its original state withthe operating system, applications,and drivers it had when purchased.

Pro: You will not have to install yourhardware drivers manually. This is theeasiest reinstallation to accomplish.

Con: You will have to reinstall anysystem updates that have come out

since the recovery disks were created.You will have to reinstall programs andcopy your files back to your disk. Youhave less control over the installation.

Slipstreaming. This is a process inwhich a user creates a hybrid diskconsisting of the OS with all currentupdates including hardware drivers.In effect, it is a user-created recoverydisk with all the latest system soft-ware. (Similar but not to be confusedwith slipstreaming is “ghosting” or“imaging” in which a utility is used tocreate an exact backup of all the fileson your hard drive, so that you canrestore the entire drive with one step.)

Pro: Once the slipstream disk iscreated, you can reinstall very quicklyand easily.

OS Timelines WWiinnddoowwss

Windows 1.0 1985

Windows 2.0 1987

Windows 3.0 1990

MS DOS 6.xx June 1, 1994

Windows 95 Aug. 15, 1995

Windows NT Workstation 4.xx July 29, 1996

Windows 98 June 30, 1998

Windows 98 SE June 30, 1999

Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me) Dec. 31, 2000

Windows 2000 Professional March 31, 2000

Windows XP Professional Dec. 31, 2001

Windows XP Home Edition Dec. 31, 2001

Windows XP Media Center Edition3 Oct. 28, 2002

Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Feb. 11, 2003

Windows XP Professionalx64 Edition April 25, 2005

Windows Vista Early (as of press time) 2007

MMaacc OOSS

Mac OS 1 1984

Mac OS 6 1988

Mac OS 7 1991

Mac OS 8 1997

Mac OS 9 1999

Mac OS X 2001

LLiinnuuxx

Initial Release 1991

Kernel 1.0 release 1994





STARTING OUTOperating System Installations

Con: Unsophisticated users mayfind this process to be complicated.

Since there are so many types of re-covery disks that are customized foreach brand of PC, we’ll spend most ofour time in this issue focusing onclean installs and repair installs usingretail packages.

Read on for detailed instructionsand insights on reinstalling your op-erating system. And, remember: al-ways back up your files.

BBYY SSHHAAWWNN MMUUMMMMEERRTT

Linux & LinusPPerhaps the most un-

likely success story of

the last decade of com-

puting has been the

emergence of Linux,

named for its creator

Linus Torvalds. As a stu-

dent in the early 1990s,

Torvalds set out to create

a free version of Minix, a

clone of the UNIX oper-

ating system. The oper-

ating system’s last major

release was version 2.6, re-

leased in 2003, and this

release is being actively

maintained with many re-

visions to date.

Linux is different from

other operating systems

in that the term LLiinnuuxx

refers mainly to the very

core of an operating

system or kernel. For the

operating system to be

truly useful, it must be

combined with other

tools. Many of these

tools come from the

GNU Project of the Free

Software foundation,

so some argue that the

operating system should

be called GNU/Linux.

However, the term Linux

has remained the name

most widely used.

Because Linux traces its

history back through the

UNIX clones, its under-

lying design is quite dif-

ferent from Windows

(although it shares UNIX

ancestry with Mac OS X).

Many Linux supporters

argue that it is both more

stable and more secure

than Windows, and this

argument is supported by

the popularity of Linux as

a server operating system.

Beyond its technolog-

ical differences, Linux dif-

fers from Windows in a

couple of important

ways. First, it was created

and is maintained by

volunteers as an open-

source project, meaning

that all of the program-

ming source code is freely

available to anyone that

wants to download it.

(All code submitted by

volunteers—whether

professional or ama-

teur—is checked and

tested to make sure that

it works.) Second, there

are many versions of

Linux; these are called

ddiissttrriibbuuttiioonnss. Companies

may sell Linux distribu-

tions and make changes

to Linux, as long as they

follow the rules of Linux’s

license, which include the

demand that all changes

to Linux must be avail-

able without cost.

Distributions such as

Ubuntu and Fedora are

helping to build Linux’s

popularity as a desktop

operating system by

making it easier to use and

install. The conventional

wisdom is that Linux

needs to be easier to use

and to have more applica-

tions in order to compete

head-to-head with Win-

dows, but many users

have found that they can

use Linux for their primary

computing needs. ❙

RS


You know better, don’t you?Some folks think that whentheir computer catches a vi-

rus, starts spewing error messages, orjust gets too slow to be useful, theyneed to buy a whole new PC. Othersmay be tempted to spend $50 on soft-ware that claims to fix all sorts ofproblems (although our experiencewith utilities like these has been dis-appointing at best).

You may know that you can fixmany problems your computer hasby reinstalling your OS (operatingsystem), such as Windows XP. If youhave an installation CD for your OS,or a recovery CD, DVD, or hard drivepartition from your PC’s manufac-turer, you can give your computer aclean bill of health without spendingany more than your time. On theother hand, if hardware such as amemory module, power supply, orvideo card has gone bad, replacing itmay save you the trouble of a rein-stallation by fixing the root cause ofsome errors.

Many users keep their systems run-ning well by revamping their OSesevery year or two. Windows in partic-ular simply was not designed to runfor too many years without a refreshin most cases. Typical Windows in-stallations accumulate problems overthe years as users install and removesoftware and hardware, update driv-ers, and apply patches to the OS andapps. It pays to clean things out.

It’s faster and easier to first try torepair Windows, meaning to attemptto reinstall it without disturbing yourapplications and personal data files

(see the “Step-By-Step ReinstallingTutorials” section of this issue).However, some problems, such as abad virus or rootkit infection, meanthat only reformatting your hard driveand reinstalling everything—your OS,your applications, and your data—willsolve your troubles (we’ve includedguides for this, too, in the “CleanInstallation Tutorials” section). Don’tforget to read the “Backing Up” sec-tion of this issue to learn how to backup all of your personal data and set-tings before you do anything else.

Tipping Points

Few people really want to spend aweekend reinstalling their OSes, butthere are a few common scenariosthat should make you seriously con-sider doing so. Most are listed in the“You Know It’s TimeTo Reinstall When . . .”sidebar, but a few ofthose topics merit alittle more discussion.

Do over. WhenWindows Me/XP usersget into a bind withnew errors or a badsoftware (un)installa-tion, they often turn toSystem Restore. Thisbuilt-in uti l ity can“turn back the clock”on a PC and return itto its state on an ear-lier date (see “The WayWe Were” on page 11in this issue).

Unfortunately, System Restorecan’t fix every problem. If the troublestarted too long ago, such as a fewweeks, Windows may have erased anold pre-error Restore Point (a virtualsnapshot of the state of the computerat that moment) to make room for amore recent post-error one. Also,System Restore occasionally can’t rolla PC back to a particular RestorePoint for one reason or another.

If Windows won’t boot at all, youmight see a black screen with a list ofoptions, such as Safe Mode, Safe Mode

Just Like Starting OverWhen Should You Reinstall Windows?

STARTING OUT

F-Secure’s BlackLight (www.f-secure.com/blacklight) can findmany rootkits, but in general, experts say that only a reformatand reinstall will get rid of one.


With Networking, and others. Ifnot, try pressing F8 repeatedlyafter a restart. Select Last KnownGood Configuration, which re-stores Windows’ Registry with abacked up version. If this doesn’tallow Windows to boot, and youdon’t suspect that a device prob-lem or recent BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) change is the cul-prit, an OS reinstallation might be necessary.

Malware. Even if your PC getsinfected with a virus, rootkit,worm, or spyware, there’s no-thing physically wrong with it. Itjust means there is some very un-wanted data on your hard drive.

If your antivirus and antispywareapps (and free tools such as TrendMicro’s CWShredder [www.trendmicro.com/cwshredder], F-Secure’sBlackLight [www.f-secure.com/blacklight], and Sysinternal’s RootkitRevealer [www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/RootkitRevealer.html]) can’tfully get rid of the malware, you don’thave to throw the drive away. Thatsaid, you will need to delete the drive’spartitions, repartition the drive, and re-format its file system. Modern OSes letyou do all of these things as you runtheir installation routines. Note thatonly a reformat and reinstall will get ridof some rootkits, as removal toolswon’t always work.

Use another PC with fully updatedantivirus, antispyware, and firewallsoftware to inspect all of your back-up media for malware before youtransfer any data back to your system.If any data is infected on a write-oncebackup medium, such as a CD-R, youmight need to copy the files to an-other PC’s hard drive, disinfect them,and then write them to a fresh CD-R.Of course, if you wait a few weeks be-fore laundering your data this way,the security software on the secondPC will be more likely to be immuneto any malware on the backup mediathanks to updates in the meantime.

Errors and data corruption. Someerror messages have so many possible

causes that it’s hard to categoricallylay the blame for one on the OS. Forinstance, some STOP errors listed ona BSOD (blue screen of death) inWindows might be caused by anynumber of things, from bad RAM(random access memory) to data cor-ruption to an OS fault. In general,BSODs are fairly serious, as are errorsthat multiply and keep you frombeing productive. Either case maywarrant a reinstall.

Data can get corrupted on the harddrive by someone turning off the PCwithout shutting it down throughWindows, as well as by a failing harddrive, a drive controller driver issue, oreven a defragmenting session that went

awry. If Windows scans the harddrive for file system errors and badsectors at every bootup, and youcan’t get it to automatically fix the errors in Windows Explorer(right-click C: or the relevant driveletter, then click Properties, Tools,and Check Now under Error-Checking), run a free diagnosticsuch as Seagate Seatools (www.seagate.com/support/seatools). Ifthe hard drive turns out to bephysically OK, a reformat (whichmaps out bad sectors) and rein-stall should fix the trouble.

The Litmus Test

Basically, you should reinstall or re-pair your OS when you realize that itwould cost you less time, effort, andmoney than trying to troubleshootyour system’s problems piecemeal. Forreference, installing WinXP from a CDmay take less time that it will take todownload the necessary WindowsUpdates afterward, especially if the CDdoesn’t contain Service Pack 2.

Factor in driver updates, applicationinstalls and setup, and data transfersfrom backup media, and you’re talkingabout a couple of long afternoons. Butif the result is a faster, trouble-free PC,that’s time well spent.

BBYY MMAARRTTYY SSEEMMSS

STARTING OUTWhen Should You Reinstall?

Smart Computing’s database of error messages(www.smartcomputing.com/techsupport/errorbrowse.aspx) lists plenty of STOP errors, many of which indicateproblems in the Windows OS (operating system).

You Know It’s Time To Reinstall When . . .

AAny or all of the following may send you reaching for that OS installation CD,

as long as you’ve first ruled out a hardware problem. For in-depth tips on

things to try beforehand, flip forward to the “First Try This” section of this issue.

It’s time to reinstall when:

• Error messages are making it very hard to use your PC

• Your security software can’t fully get rid of malware, such as spyware, a worm,

or especially a rootkit

• System Restore doesn’t solve the problem

• You can’t find any useful advice online about your PC’s error messages

• You can’t keep applications from conflicting with each other, nor uninstall a

troublesome app

• Updating relevant drivers, rolling them back to earlier versions, and/or

cleaning out old drivers with a utility don’t help

RS


In the dark ages of PCs—like, say,1997—computer users lookedforward to reinstalling their op-

erating systems as much as they antic-ipated invasive dental work. The goodnews is that reinstalling operating sys-tems has become far easier in recentyears, but many users have questionsabout how the process works.

Read on for answers to many of themost common questions about rein-stalling an operating system—and seethe rest of this issue for detailed in-structions on how to make your rein-stallation as painless as possible.

Q Why would I want to reinstallmy operating system?

A The most common reason to re-install an OS (operating system)

is that a computer has stoppedworking right, and attempts to fix ithave failed. Perhaps the computer hasa virus (a self-replicating programthat causes problems) or even morecommon, an abundance of spyware(programs that surreptitiously track acomputer’s use and thereby slowdown the system). While securitytools have greatly advanced in thepast three or so years, some malware(the blanket term for unwelcome pro-grams like spyware and viruses) is dif-ficult or impossible to remove, andreinstallation of the operating systembecomes the only option.

Users that frequently install anduninstall programs may find thattheir operating systems slow downover time, seemingly of their own vo-lition. Part of the problem is that

some programs donot adequately uninstallthemselves, exacerbating theproblem. Regularly using utilitiessuch as disk defragmenters can helpslow down this process. Reinstallingthe operating system can be the bestanswer to this creeping slowness.

Also, you may reinstall an oper-ating system for testing reasons—starting from a clean operating systemmakes for a better test, as there arefewer variables to account for (such asother programs getting in the way ofthe operation of the system).

Q My computer is running slowerthan it has been. Based on what

you have said so far, does this mean that should I reinstall the operating system?

A Not necessarily. First make surethat you don’t have unwanted

programs hogging your memory. Dothorough spyware and antivirusscans, and then uninstall any unnec-essary programs. Check your systemtray. Are there a lot of programs run-ning? Disable anything that you don’tactually need, then see if your systemperformance improves.

If all these fixes don’t help, and it’sbeen at least a year since you got yourcomputer or you reinstalled the OS,then your PC may be a good candi-date for reinstalling the OS.

Q My computer has a virus or spyware that I can’t get rid

of. Should I reinstall the operat-ing system?

A If you have the latest version of agood antivirus program (such as

Norton Antivirus, www.symantec.com; or eTrust Antivirus, www.ca.com), and you can’t get rid of a virusafter doing a complete scan accordingto the antivirus program’s instruc-tions, then reinstalling the operatingsystem is an option.

There are particularly noxiousforms of malware called rootkits,which are programs that instal lthemselves in the depths of the oper-ating system and are notoriously dif-ficult to exterminate. If you have arootkit and you don’t have access toa utility specifically designed to eraseit, you should do a clean reinstall ofthe OS.

Also, keep in mind that you may beable to get rid of a virus, but the fixmay hurt your computer in otherways by deleting corrupted files or changing important settings. Inthat case, reinstalling the OS may bean option.

Q Should I reinstall my operatingsystem every so often just to

be safe?

A No. You should not have to rein-stall your operating system unless

it is experiencing symptoms of slow-ness or other problems, or if you want

ReinstallingFAQsAnswers For Some Basic Questions

STARTING OUT


to do it for other reasons. You cankeep your system running smoothly ifyou run antispyware and antivirusutilities. Even with older operatingsystems, such as Windows 95, that areparticularly known for slowing ontheir own with time, you shouldn’treinstall until you start to see symp-toms of sluggishness.

Q My operating system has a“system restore” feature. Can I

just use that instead of reinstalling?

A The system restore feature builtinto some operating systems can

be very useful, allowing you to undochanges that you’ve made to an oper-ating system. (Don’t confuse this withusing restore disks, which we talkabout below.) If you have the earliestsystem restore when you did the ini-tial install (or from when you first gotyour PC), you may be able to restoreto that version and have most of thebenefits of reinstallation without all the work. Always back up your files first, before using any re-store functionality.

Doing a repair from Windows in-stallation disks is yet a different approach, in which Windows at-tempts to reinstall damaged files.This can be useful for getting a PCrunning again.

Keep in mind that certain kinds ofmalware (particularly rootkits)cannot always be eliminated throughsystem restore features. In terms ofsecurity, there is no substitute fordoing a clean installation—you have amuch higher degree of certainty thatyou will be getting rid of all malignantprograms from your PC.

Q I need to permanently get rid of some files on my PC. Should

I reinstall?

A If you just have a couple of filesthat you want to permanently

delete, then a deletion utility likeEraser (www.heidi.ie/eraser) shoulddo the trick.

If you’re giving away your PC to aschool or other charity, you shoulddelete the entire disk using Active@KillDisk (www.lsoft.net) or a similarutility. Then, you can reinstall yourOS. Doing this kind of deletion is agood way of making sure that anysensitive information hidden on yourhard drive doesn’t become public.

Q What is reformatting? If I’mdoing a clean reinstall, should I

reformat my hard drive first?

A Formatting is the process bywhich your PC’s hard drive is

made readable (and writable) by youroperating system. If you reformat adrive, you effectively erase the entiredrive and start from scratch. (This isnot to say that information on thedisk before the reformat is perma-nently deleted as data can often be re-covered with sophisticated utilityprograms.) If you want to do a trulyclean reinstallation, then you shouldreformat your hard drive.

Q I have recovery disks from myPC’s manufacturer. What kind

of reinstallations can I do?

A Many people look at the re-covery disks as a poor substitute

for “real” or generic Windows instal-lation CDs. Why? Because the onlykind of reinstallation you can do is torecover the system to its originalstatus with all the original drivers forthe PC automatically installed.However, for the vast majority ofusers, using recovery disks actuallysaves time over using a genericWindows installation package, sincereinstalling the drivers can be a longand taxing experience. In general,unless you are a computing expertand prefer to use one of the alternatemethods described elsewhere in thisissue, you’re better off using the re-covery disks from a manufacturerthan you are installing Windows onyour own and then manually rein-stalling the drivers.

Q My recovery disks installed abunch of useless programs on

my PC. Can I do a clean installationwith my recovery disks instead?

A Generally, if you have system re-covery disks, you’ll need to get

retail disks in order to do the “clean”installation. The single biggestproblem with recovery disks is thatmuch of the time they install propri-etary utilities from the manufacturerthat are of dubious use. Worse yet,the utilities tend to run every timeyou start Windows. Read the docu-mentation for your PC and find outwhat programs are useful. Those thataren’t useful should be uninstalled ordisabled so that they don’t start upevery time. Even with some of the“shovelware” that gets installed fromyour recovery disks, most of the timeyou are still better off doing the re-covery than you are doing an installfrom a generic installation disk sinceyou can avoid manually installingyour hardware drivers.

Q My computer didn’t come withany operating system disks or

with recovery disks. Am I missingsomething?

A Unfortunately, some manufac-turers cut corners by not in-

cluding recovery disks. In those cases,users are either instructed to purchaserecovery disks from the manufactureror to burn their own recovery disksfrom an included utility. In eithercase, make it a priority to obtain orburn recovery disks.

When buying a PC, make sure thatthe PC includes recovery disks. If itdoesn’t, include the cost of buying ormaking your own recovery disks inyour decision-making process.

BBYY SSHHAAWWNN MMUUMMMMEERRTT

[EDITOR’S NOTE: For answers tomore questions about reinstalling operating systems, go to www.smartcomputing.com/r1006/reinstallingfaqs.]

STARTING OUTReinstalling Q&A

RS


Software Solutions

Software areas that can cause OS instability includean outdated BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), in-compatible programs on the same system, and missingor corrupt drivers, which are apps that let hardwarecommunicate with the system. Updating or rollingback a problematic driver can solve some problems.For more on this, plus using Microsoft’s DriverVerifier utility, see page 19. Another problem area canbe Windows XP’s Registry, a database of your system’ssettings. Corrupt data here can cause crashes andmore. Repairing the Registry is possible but sometimesrisky. Software that can check and repair the Registryincludes Registry Mechanic ($30; www.pc tools.com).For more on the Registry, see page 31.

Other culprits include spyware, Trojans, andviruses, which can steal personal data, spy on yourWeb activity, hijack your Web browser, and more.You should run antivirus and antispyware softwaresuch as Ad-Aware SE Personal (free; www.lavasoftusa.com) and Norton AntiVirus 2006 ($40; www.symantec.com). For more on malware, see page 26.

Windows apps to try before an OS reinstall/installinclude System Restore, which returns Windows to aprevious, good configuration (see page 11). DiskCleanup helps remove data your system no longerneeds (see page 152). Recovery Console can help re-store WinXP, though some experts advise it for onlyadvanced users (see page 17). There’s also a chanceyou’ll need to enter Windows’ Safe Mode, a startupmode that launches Windows with minimal settingsfor some tasks—see page 14 for more on using it.

Overall, you should religiously run antispyware andantivirus software, install updates and security patches,defragment the hard drive regularly, and keep yoursystem’s interior clean. More details on system mainte-nance are available starting on page 141.

BBYY BBLLAAIINNEE AA.. FFLLAAMMIIGG

For most of us, installing or reinstalling anOS (operating system) will never be a cake-walk. Feeling anxious about tinkering withyour OS is not uncommon. Not only is a

reinstall/install lengthy, if something goes wrong, youcan also lose data and personal settings.

That said, it should ease your nerves knowing thatmany users with and without much experience havemade the leap before you. For most roadblocks youmay encounter, someone has already found a solutionand documented it online. Also, many proceduresexist that may make an install/reinstall unnecessarywhile getting your system back to normal operation.We’ll discuss some of these in this section, but if youknow a reinstall/install is mandatory, see our step-by-step reinstallation tutorials starting on page 56 and ourinstallation tutorials on page 90. For Linux and Macusers, we have Linux OS tips on page 35 and Mac OSX tips on page 38.

Hardware Solutions

If your OS is acting up, check that the system’s ex-terior cords are properly connected, including thePSU’s (power supply unit’s) power cord. Also checkthat your LCD or monitor’s cord is snug in itsgraphics card or motherboard port. Check alsomouse, keyboard, cable or DSL modem, and USB-connected device cords. Next, remove the system’sside panel to check internal connections. Your systemor motherboard’s manual should detail the locationsof components on the mother-board. Key areas to check includethat RAM modules are seatedproperly in their slots and in the proper configuration; someboards require multiple RAMsticks be set in a specific order.Also check the connections for theCPU, graphics and PCI (Per-ipheral Component Interconnect)cards, and the power and data ca-bles for the floppy diskette, optical,and hard drives. For more onthese areas, see page 19.

Stop!Before You Reinstall/Install Your OS, Try These Things First

FIRST TRY THIS

Windows hasseveral built-in

programs youcan run to

possibly preventhaving to

reinstall your OS, including System

Restore, whichreturns Windows

to a previousconfiguration.

RS


Whoooa, hoss. Take astep back. You’re inunfamiliar territory

with your PC, and you wouldgive a lot to be able to undothe last thing you did.

We’ve all had some “uh-oh” computing moments.Opening an attachmentwe shouldn’t have. In-stalling new video driverswithout first uninstalling(and cleaning out) the pre-vious ones. Surfing to a Website that turned out to be rife with drive-by malware installers. Turning the PC offwithout shutting down Windowsproperly—in the middle of a defrag-mentation session.

But don’t worry, there’s hope.Windows Me/XP have a utility calledSystem Restore that can usually setyour computer back the way it was.It’s like a big UNDO key that you canpress when you need to fix just aboutanything. To launch the utility, clickStart, (All) Programs, Accessories,System Tools, and System Restore.

The Time Machine

System Restore uses dedicatedhard drive space to store snapshots,called Restore Points, of your PC’ssettings and data at particular times.Windows saves Restore Points in ahidden, protected folder called Sys-tem Volume Information.

If you get into a tight spot withmalware, a driver conflict, or someother confusing problem, you can use

System Restore to “roll back” your PCto its settings and system state at thetime of a Restore Point of yourchoice. Generally, returning to aRestore Point before your PC’s prob-lems started will fix the trouble.

Even better, a rollback doesn’t getrid of the documents, email, andother personal data you’ve created orchanged in the meantime. However,you’ll have to redownload the latestantivirus, antispyware, and Windowsupdates, as System Restore will turnback the clock on these applicationsand the OS (operating system), too.

System Restore will also reconsti-tute some files you’ve deleted, evenones you erased “permanently” in-stead of relegating them to theRecycle Bin. The other side of this be-havior is that a rollback will delete

certain types of files you downloadedor moved to your drive after thatRestore Point, such as an applica-tion’s installer EXE file.

System Restore originally appearedin WinMe in 2000. Like WinXP’s CD-burning feature, System Restore wasbased upon third-party software,namely a standalone utility calledGoBack from a company called

WildFile. Roxio (formerly Adaptec)later acquired GoBack from

WildFile. Symantec cur-rently sells the software asNorton GoBack for Win-dows 98/Me/2000/XP

($49.95; www.symantec.com).

Create A Restore Point

You can tell SystemRestore to save a Re-store Point when you’reabout to do somethingwith your PC that couldcause problems, such asinstalling a new DVDburning software suite

or upgrading your graph-ics card drivers. From the

Welcome To System Restorescreen (click Start, All Programs,Accessories, System Tools, and thenSystem Restore to get there), clickCreate A Restore Point and Next.Type a Restore Point Description,such as Pre-QuickTime Installation,and click Create.

Note that when there are too manyRestore Points to fit in SystemRestore’s assigned hard drive space,the oldest Points will be deleted tomake way for new ones (see “Ad-justing Settings” below). This meansthat the sooner you attempt arestoration after you notice a majorproblem, the better.

Sometimes Windows and indi-vidual applications set RestorePoints, too. WinXP does this period-ically (once a day or, if delayed, atthe next startup in WinXP; every 10hours after two minutes of idle time

FIRST TRY THIS

The Way We WereSystem Restore Can Turn Back Time For Your PC


or, if delayed, every 24 hours inWinMe) to give the user a choice ofsystem states to return to. WhenWindows sets a Restore Point, it cal ls it a System Checkpoint.Spybot sets a Restore Point be-fore deleting cookies and spyware, and Adobe Reader creates one during installation.

Perform A Restore

To roll back your system to a pre-vious state, click Restore My Com-puter To An Earlier Time and Nexton System Restore’s welcome screen.You may first need to log on usingyour Administrator user account(click Start, Log Off, and SwitchUser in WinXP). Back up your datato a device that won’t be affected bythe rollback, such as a DVD or anexternal hard drive you’ll disconnectfrom the PC after the backup.

In the calendar on the left, bolddates indicate days when one or moreRestore Points were created. Click thedate to which you’d like to restoreyour computer. Next, choose one ofthe Restore Points from the sectionon the right side of the window.Snapshots taken earlier in a day willbe lower on the list, represented bytimes and text descriptions.

You won’t be able to select a daywhen no Restore Points were set, butrestoring the computer to the nearest

older date is generally fine. If youneed to go back a month or two,click the arrow icon at the top left ofthe calendar.

Finally, click Next twice. After asuccessful Restore, Windows will re-boot. A Restoration Complete statuswindow will appear. If Windows hadto rename certain folders during the

operation, you’ll see a Re-named Files And Folderslink that will display a list ofthe affected directories.When you’re done viewingthe list, click Back. To exitthe status window, click OK.

Windows should nowappear and act as it didwhen the Restore Point wasoriginally set. Check forWindows, antivirus, anti-spyware, firewall, MicrosoftOffice, and browser up-dates, if you don’t see thesedownload automatically.

If the rollback didn’tcompletely solve your prob-

lem, launch System Restore again.You’ll now see an Undo MyLast Restoration option onSystem Restore’s welcomescreen. Alternatively, youcan go further back to anearlier Restore Point, oreven forward to a later one,if available.

Adjust System RestoreSettings

Click the System RestoreSettings link on the utility’swelcome screen to access afew items you can adjust.Alternatively, press the Win-dows key-PAUSE combina-tion keystroke to launchSystem Properties, or click Start,Control Panel, and then System. Notethat you can easily erase RestorePoints when adjusting these settings,so proceed carefully.

Under the System Restore tabyou’ll find a checkbox to disable

System Restore. If you check thisand click Apply and OK, you’ll loseall Restore Points even if you turnthe utility back on. Your antivirus orantispyware vendor might tell you todisable System Restore if you needto clean up a malware infection.Also, gamers and benchmarkersoften turn the utility off to speed uptheir PCs a little and ensure repeat-able test results.

The Disk Space Usage slider letsyou change the amount of harddrive space allocated to RestorePoints. The default and maximumamount is 12% of the partition’s ca-pacity. Click Apply and OK to con-firm the new setting.

Restore Point sizes may vary de-pending on the number and types ofapplications and files on your com-puter. On one computer devoting12% of a 36GB partition to SystemRestore, or about 4GB, the utilitystored 64 Restore Points spanningtwo months. On another system witha 48GB partition, 12% gave us nearly6GB of space. However, only 50

Restore Points covering three monthswere stored in that space.

Use caution when adjusting DiskSpace Usage. You can lose RestorePoints for good by setting the slidertoo low. If the new amount of spaceyou’ve set doesn’t have enough

FIRST TRY THISUse System Restore

System Restore is the very model of a modern, majorlysimple utility. It’s so easy to use, in fact, that you mayforget how powerful it is.

You can create a Restore Point at any time, such as whenyou’re about to install a new program or update a driver.Windows and some applications create Restore Points automatically, too.


room for all of the current RestorePoints, the utility will delete theoldest snapshots to free up some ca-pacity. (System Restore doesn’tdelete old Restore Points until it’s

nearly out of space.) Youwon’t be able to undo thisoperation, nor get the lostRestore Points back byrolling the computer backto an earlier state. On theother hand, reducing theamount of Disk Space Usageis a quick way to free upextra hard drive space anddelete old system states atthe same time.

If you have more than onepartition on your hard drive,such as a drive letter E: or F: inaddition to the usual C: drive,you’ll have the option to turnoff System Restore coverage

or adjust Disk Space Usage for each ofthem. Of course, these settings can af-fect System Restore’s ability to rollthose partitions back and reversechanges made to files stored on them.

Not A Panacea

For various reasons, System Re-store doesn’t always work. When thishappens, the program will tell youthat a restoration has failed. Next, itwill attempt to return the PC to themost recent working system state.

Notice that we said “attempt.”There’s some risk involved in usingSystem Restore. You can use it asoften as you like, but remember thatit’s a powerful tool. Don’t treat itlightly simply because it’s so friendlyand easy to use.

Always back up your data beforeyou try to return your computer to aRestore Point. And if you need trou-bleshooting help, point your Webbrowser to support.microsoft.com/kb/302796/en-us.


FIRST TRY THISUse System Restore

QQ WWiillll rroolllliinngg bbaacckk mmyy PPCC ttoo aann eeaarrlliieerr ddaattee lloossee mmyy ddaattaa

aanndd sseettttiinnggss??

AA Yes and no. System Restore won’t disturb your per-

sonal documents, emails, music files, and the like, even

if you’ve created, modified, or moved them since the Restore

Point was set. However, some other types of files you’ve

downloaded or moved to your system since the Restore

Point, such as application installer EXEs, Windows updates,

and antivirus definitions, will be lost. Back up your data to a

removable medium before performing a restoration. As for

settings, Windows will generally take on the settings it had

when the Restore Point was set.

QQ WWhhaatt iiff II cchhaannggee mmyy mmiinndd aafftteerr aa rroollllbbaacckk??

AA You can undo the last restoration you did, or even roll

your PC forward to a later Restore Point, if one exists.

QQ CCaann aa rreessttoorraattiioonn ffiixx aa vviirruuss oorr ssppyywwaarree iinnffeessttaattiioonn??

AA System Restore can fix many malware problems, but

only if there’s a clean Restore Point to return to. If

SSYYSSTTEEMMRREESSTTOORREE you’re able to roll back to a Restore Point

before the malware infection took place,

immediately update your antivirus and

antispyware programs. Next, do a thorough virus scan

and spyware scan. By “thorough” we mean setting the

apps to scan every part of your hard drive(s). Many an-

tivirus and antispyware utilities only do faster scans of

the most likely malware locations by default, but you’ll

want to run the most thorough scans possible in case

there are still traces of nasty software on your drive. At

an earlier Restore Point your PC might not have been

infected with a virus, but the virus may have been lying

dormant in an executable file just waiting to be

triggered in some way. Finally, perform rootkit scans

with F-Secure’s free BlackLight (www.f-secure.com

/blacklight) and Sysinternal’s free Rootkit Revealer

(www.sysinternals.com/utilities/rootkitrevealer.html).

QQ CCaann II rreessttoorree mmyy PPCC ttoo aannyy ddaayy II wwaanntt??

AA Yes, as long as you, Windows, or an application set a

Restore Point on that day. Because each new Restore

Point forces out an old one once the hard drive space al-

lotted to System Restore becomes full, you probably will

only be able to roll back your system a few months.

FFAAQQss

The bold dates on the calendar represent days on whichRestore Points were created. If you want to return yourPC to a day with no snapshots, you’ll have to settle for abold date near it instead.

RS


Window’s SafeMode can seemmore like a

nuisance than a friendsometimes. After a systemfailure, or when new hard-ware is acting up, you’relikely to find yourself in thestrange parallel computinguniverse that is Safe Mode.Don’t be annoyed by the en-vironment’s limitations,though. Embrace it. We’llhelp you understand how SafeMode can be a helpful tool for main-taining your system and trouble-shooting Windows problems.

Most operating systems include astripped-down or minimalist modethat loads only the most essential ele-ments for basic file management, vi-sual display, and input. Safe Mode isexactly that tool for Windows. Forexample, Safe Mode doesn’t loadStartup programs or processes. It alsoskips most device drivers and oper-ates only on a stripped-down graph-ical interface displaying the title “SafeMode” in each corner of the screen.Avoiding the complicated web of in-terdependent drivers, nonessentialservices, and demanding high-endcomponents helps provide a stableand simplified environment formaintenance and troubleshootingyour computer.

We’re going to concentrate on thestandard version of Safe Mode. Ahandful of similar variations operatethe same way with slightly differentdisplay settings or feature sets. Other“Safe Boot” options provide added

functionality. Check out our“Safe List” sidebar on page 15 for alittle more detail on some ofWindows’ other modes. In someways, you can do less in Safe Modethan in Windows’ normal operatingmode. But it can be an extremelypowerful tool in certain situations.

Get In & Get Around

Getting into Safe Mode is easy. Justreboot and, during the BIOS (BasicInput/Output System) startupprocess, press and hold the F8 orF5 key. On Windows 9x sys-tems, pressing F5 will take youdirectly into Safe Mode, and F8loads Windows’ Advanced Op-tions boot menu populated withseveral Safe Mode and other op-tions. In Windows XP, eitherkey takes you to the Advanced

Options boot menu. Press the key earlyin the startup process, while thememory and hardware checks are stillrunning. By the time Windows’ splashpage loads on-screen, you’re too late. Ifyou can’t bring up the Windows

Advanced Options menu with eitherkeystroke, try a roundabout me-thod from within standard mode.Launch Windows normally andopen the Run option from yourStart menu. Type msconfig inthe command box and clickOK. Click the BOOT.INI tab inthe System Configuration Util-ity dialog box and select the

/SAFEBOOT checkbox. ClickOK and reboot the machine.

Windows will now launch auto-matically in Safe Mode. If you ac-cess Safe Mode with the msconfigoption, be sure to revert the settingto Normal Startup under theGeneral tab after you’re finishedor you’ll continue to boot intoSafe Mode. Shut down orrestart using the Start menu, as

you normally do.Navigating Safe Mode isn’t very

challenging. The limited graphics func-tionality will make Safe Mode appearless vibrant than Windows’ regularmode, and most devices won’t be avail-able. But the Start menu, commandline prompts, and file browsing (fromMy Computer or Windows Explorer)operate as usual. Your All Programsmenu will also be available, and youcan run most programs (including

FIRST TRY THIS

Access Windows’ Device Manager inSafe Mode to disable or uninstall hardware that’s causing trouble.

Playing It SafeUse Windows’ Safe Mode


security applications, file utilities, andother tools) as you normally do.

Using Safe Mode

The most common situation inwhich you’ll need to use Safe Mode iswhen a newly installed device or ap-plication corrupts Windows files orother programs in such a way that theoperating system can’t boot up in itsregular mode. When you can’t bootinto Windows normally, remove theoffending new component and, afterlaunching the system normally again,try to reinstall. We’ll show you how.

You can disable hardware in SafeMode using the Device Manager, justas you can in full Windows operatingmode. Because Safe Mode loads farfewer drivers, however, you’re lesslikely to experience driver conflicts orcorruption and so you can success-fully remove corrupted devices anddrivers. Right-click My Computer, se-lect Properties, and choose the Hard-ware tab. Click the Device Managerbutton and, in the subsequent win-dow, find and expand your device’scorresponding category (DVD/CD-ROM Drives, Storage Volumes, USBControllers). Right-click the specificdevice you need to remove and selecteither the Disable or Uninstall option.If you aren’t sure which device iscausing trouble, disable each suspectin turn until you identify the culprit.

If you know where the pro-blem lies, uninstall the deviceand attempt to reinstall it afterexiting Safe Mode and loadingWindows normally.

Uninstalling software in SafeMode also works the same wayas in regular mode. ChooseAdd Or Remove Programsfrom the Control Panel and se-lect the program you wish toremove. Uninstalling in Safe

Mode has the added benefit of re-moving all the application’s parts while hidden background programs and other persistentprocesses are less likely to be running in Safe Mode.

You don’t need to experiencea complete breakdown for SafeMode to come in handy. SafeMode works equally well for those situations where partic-ular devices or applications

aren’t necessarily interfering withyour system’s overall performancebut still won’t uninstall properly.Programs that mysteriously reap-pear after you apparently unin-stal l them often need the Safe Mode treatment.

FIRST TRY THISUse Safe Mode

The Safe List

SSafe Mode is just one

of several Windows

“Advanced Options”

that exist for very spe-

cific purposes. Apart

from the operating sys-

tem’s regular operating

mode, you’ll find options

for Safe Mode With

Command Prompt,

Enable VGA Mode,

Last Known Good

Configuration,

Debugging Mode,

and Safe Mode With

Networking.

Safe Mode With

Command Prompt loads

only a DOS-like com-

mand prompt rather

than the graphical

Windows interface. Use

Command Prompt

mode for running scripts

or if you’re a hard-core

dedicated keyboardist.

VGA Mode loads

Windows with its most

basic video drivers at 640

x 480 resolution with

only 16 colors. It’s espe-

cially useful if you’re

having trouble with a

video card.

Last Known Good

Configuration reverts

your system to its most

recent settings that

worked. Each time you

boot up and shut

down successfully, the

Windows Registry stores

a profile of your system

settings. Last Known

Good Configuration

loads that profile, so it’s

handy as a quick trou-

bleshooting shortcut.

When everything goes

wrong with your system,

see if the Last Known

Good Configuration

takes you back to a hap-

pier place.

Debugging Mode

logs each step in the

bootup process for

analysis on another

computer. It sounds

more useful than it is;

you have to connect

the computer to an-

other Windows ma-

chine with a serial cable

in order to access the

debugging information.

Safe Mode With

Networking loads the

standard Safe Mode set-

tings plus the drivers

necessary for making

network connections.

Use this option if you

need to access shared

files or go online to

download updates or

new drivers while in

Safe Mode. ❙

The Control Panel’s Add/Remove Programsoptions, when run in Safe Mode, providescleaner uninstalls of persistent applications.

Running System Restore from Safe Modemight be the only way to fix a system thatwon’t boot into Windows’ normal mode.


Safe Mode can also help trou-bleshoot mysterious general errors andnarrow down possible trouble sources.Booting into Safe Mode is always agood test to help you determine ifyou’re experiencing a software orhardware problem. If you can’t bootinto Windows normally but can bootinto Safe Mode, your problem is likelysoftware-related or created by a non-critical device. Safe Mode only boots asmall subset of applications and devicedrivers, but if they load, you knowyour core hardware is functioning.Start disabling nonessential hardwarecomponents one by one (using thesame process as above) to figure outwhich is creating a conflict. Then re-move and reinstall the offender.

System Restore

Windows System Restore is a usefultool for rolling your system back to aknown, previously functional statewhen basic troubleshooting fails.Sometimes you can become stuck in avicious cycle where Windows won’tboot back into regular mode despiteany changes you make in Safe Mode.In such cases, core Windows files orprocesses have become corrupted andthe system reverts to Safe Mode whenthe full version can’t load. If corruptedapplications or malfunctioning hard-ware prevent a successful reboot, andyou can’t access standard Windows torun a System Restore, remember thatSystem Restore works in Safe Mode aswell. You’re less likely to run into in-terference and more likely to be ableto access System Restore. Access Sys-tem Restore the same way you do inWindows normal mode. From theStart menu, select All Programs andthen Accessories. Under System Tools,choose System Restore and select thedesired restore point. You can’t actu-ally create a restore point in SafeMode, however, because you aren’toperating with a fully loaded set ofsystem components.

BBYY GGRREEGGOORRYY AANNDDEERRSSOONN

FIRST TRY THISUse Safe Mode

SSafe Mode isn’t just

for solving Windows

crises. You can use the

stripped-down environ-

ment for routine system

maintenance, as well.

Here are just a few non-

troubleshooting tasks

enhanced by Safe Mode.

DDeeffrraaggmmeenntt yyoouurr hhaarrdd

ddrriivvee.. Running

Windows’ defrag tool

during normal OS (op-

erating system) opera-

tions is a never-ending

battle with the con-

stant background

processes and

hard drive

changes that

can make de-

fragmenting

take forever.

Boot into Safe

Mode to de-

fragment your

hard drive and

you’ll find the

process a lot

smoother and

a lot faster.

With fewer

programs and

processes running, your

defrag will experience

fewer interruptions,

have to start over less

frequently, and will be

able to move more files

around for a more effi-

cient cleanup.

CChhaannggee WWiinnXXPP HHoommee

ppaasssswwoorrddss. It’s a little-

known fact (not to men-

tion a gaping security

hole), but Windows XP

Home Edition users can

boot into Safe Mode

and change passwords

for system users with

default Administrator

credentials. Launch in

Safe Mode, enter

Administrator as your

username, and leave the

password blank (unless

you set an Adminis-

trator password at some

point previously). Then

access User Accounts

from the Control Panel

to change or remove

passwords for particular

users. Though this tip is

handy if you forget your

password or need to

access someone else’s

profile, it should also

serve as a reminder that

WinXP Home isn’t se-

cure by default and that

you need to take extra

precautions (encryption,

application passwords)

to protect sensitive per-

sonal information.

SSccaann ffoorr vviirruusseess aanndd ssppyy--

wwaarree.. Don’t neglect to

schedule regular auto-

matic antivirus and anti-

spyware scans while

Windows is operating

normally. But you

should also take the

time to occasionally

boot into Safe Mode

and take your antivirus

and antispyware appli-

cations for a spin. Some

nasty programs evade or

survive regular scanning

because they have

processes embedded in

your startup procedures

which revive or repair

their nasty hosts when-

ever you boot up.

Scanning in Safe Mode,

where malware doesn’t

have a chance to start,

digs down and elimi-

nates the

persistent

pests’ roots.

CCoonnttrrooll ssttaarrttuupp

pprrooggrraammss..

Microsoft’s

System

Configuration

Utility

(launched by

entering

mmssccoonnffiigg at

the Run

prompt) helps

you control

most applications that

launch at bootup. But

sometimes even other-

wise legitimate pro-

grams refuse to be

stopped so easily.

Booting into Safe Mode

and running msconfig

(after launching the

utility, select the

Startup tab) will help

you wrest control from

programs that stub-

bornly refuse to let you

control your own sys-

tem’s startup process. ❙

Other Safe Mode Tips

Antivirus and antispyware applications can bemore effective in Safe Mode, where malware hasless chance to take hold.

RS


We’re all familiar with thephrase, “last-ditch effort.”Well, that’s exactly how

many experts familiar with Win-dows XP describe the RecoveryConsole, a tool first introducedwith Windows 2000. If you’retrying to revive a dying systemand all other Windows utilities,third-party apps, and other toolshave failed, Recovery Consolemay represent your last hope.

While it’s good to have hope,there’s a reason some experts savethe Recovery Console as a last resort: Itcan be very complicated to use. In fact,some resources suggest that unlessyou’re an experienced user or have ac-cess to one over a long duration, usingthe Recovery Console may not providemuch realistic hope at all. That may bea bit of a stretch, but in the wronghands, the Recovery Console can causefar more harm than good. Used cor-rectly, though, it can bail you and yoursystem out of a great deal of trouble.

What Is The Recovery Console?

The Recovery Console is a com-mand prompt-based tool that makes itpossible to bring your PC back fromthe apparent dead when Windowswon’t start correctly or at all. Typically,you’ll only use it if your system is expe-riencing hard drive-related errors, ifyou can’t enter Windows Safe Mode, ifyou see error messages related toWindows’ inability to load device dri-vers, and other technically advancedproblems. The Recovery Console cando such things as format drives, repair

Microsoft’s Knowledge Base searchfield, it turns up 200-plus articles.

A quick scan of these articles showssoon enough how many things go offtrack when using the Recovery Con-sole, including deciphering relatederror messages, dealing with missingdrivers and drive letters, trouble-shooting folders that were deleted afterreinstalling the Recovery Console, andother nightmares. In short, we’d be re-miss to not warn you again that usingthis tool can be harmful to your sys-tem’s health if you make even one mis-

step. Further, some experts actuallysuggest starting clean by rein-

stalling Windows altogether in-stead of using the RecoveryConsole. If you do use it, you’llneed administrator rights overthe system, and you’ll probablyhave to enter an administratorpassword when prompted.

Because the Recovery Console’sabilities are so wide-ranging, we

can’t cover everything it can do inthis article. Instead, we’ll address how

to install and uninstall the RecoveryConsole and the steps for using onecommon command. For specific prob-lems you may be facing, we’ll refer youto Microsoft’s support site for detailed,often lengthy instructions.

Start The Recovery Console

You can access the Recovery Con-sole from your WinXP installation CDor by installing it to your hard drive,which requires about 7MB of space.This second option makes the tool al-ways available from the Start menu. Toinstall it from your WinXP disc, insertit in your PC’s optical drive and restart.If you see a Press Any Key To BootFrom CD message, do so. If you don’tsee this message and the PC insteadboots straight to Windows, you need toenter the system BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) and make the opticaldrive the first device that Windowsboots from. Entering the BIOS typicallyrequires pressing F8 or DELETE atstartup, but check your PC’s manual

When All HopeAppears LostWinXP’s Recovery Console May Still Bail You Out

FIRST TRY THIS

the MBR (Master Boot Record); reportbad boot sectors; copy, rename, anddelete files (including Registry files);and enable services. It’s this kind ofpower that makes the Recovery Con-sole sometimes risky to use.

Microsoft itself warns that the“Recovery Console is recommendedonly if you are an advanced user whocan use basic commands to identifyand locate problem drivers and files.”Essentially, this means you’ll strictlyuse commands, actions, and rulesyou’ll type at a prompt instead of usinga familiar GUI (graphical user inter-face) and mouse. This alone turnsmany users away. If you bravely plowon, though, Microsoft has many arti-cles available at its Help And SupportWeb site (support.microsoft.com) thatdetail commands and their attributes,how to use them, how to install/unin-stall the Recovery Console, and more.If you type recovery console into


for exact instructions, as well as for in-structions to change the boot devicepriority. When Windows displays aWelcome To Setup screen, press R tostart the Recovery Console. Enter youradministrator password if necessaryand press ENTER.

If the version of Windows that’s in-stalled on your computer is new-er than the version on your installationCD, you may see anerror message as theRecovery Consoletries to install. Thishappens, for ex-ample, if you in-stalled WinXP froma Service Pack 1disc but later up-graded to ServicePack 2 via down-load. To remedy this, Microsoft sug-gests installing the Recovery Consolefrom a WinXP SP2 installation CD orinstalling the Recovery Console beforeinstalling WinXP SP2.

To install the Recovery Console toyour hard drive, insert your WinXPdisc in an optical drive, click Start, clickRun, type D:\I386\WINNT32.EXE/cmdcons (where D is the letter of youroptical drive), and click OK. WinXPwill ask you to confirm that you wantto install the Recovery Console. ClickYes. After you restart the system, youshould be able to open the RecoveryConsole from the Start menu.

Use chkdsk

Once you’re in the Recovery Con-sole, there are about 25 commandsavailable. You can see a list of these,along with their respective attributes, atwww.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/enus/recovery_console_overview.mspx?mfr=true. You can also access the listwithin the Recovery Console by typinghelp at the prompt.

As an example, we used variations ofthe chkdsk command to generate a re-port on the status of our 80GB Western

Digital hard drive. After typing chkdskat the prompt, the command reportedthe date the drive’s volume was created,its serial number, and the volume’soverall state. Chkdsk also reported thetotal drive space; how much space wasavailable; and data relating to howmany bytes were in each allocation unit,or cluster, total allocation units, and

available allocationunits. (A cluster is a group of sectors,which is the smallestunit of data on adrive that softwarecan access.) Chkdskcan also check forand correct drive er-rors. Several para-meters you can addto the chkdsk com-mand include:

drive:—selects the drive to checkerrors for, where drive represents theletter of the drive you’re checking,such as chkdsk C:.

/p—performs an extensive check ofthe drive, even if you don’t mark adrive to check, but this parameterdoesn’t make changes.

/r—searches for bad drive sectorsand can recover readable information.

Running chkdsk without paramet-ers on our drive showed the drive’svolume was in good condition, thuschkdsk didn’t check it for errors. How-ever, we used the /p parameter to checkfor errors, which informed us thatchkdsk found one or more errors onthe volume. Running the /r parameterindicated no errors on the drive.

Uninstall The Recovery Console

If you installed the RecoveryConsole to your hard drive, you canuninstall from the root directory. To

do this, click Start and My Computerand then double-click the drive youinstalled the Recovery Console to.Next, click Tools and Folder Options.On the View tab, find the AdvancedSettings area and click the ShowHidden Files And Folders option andclick OK. Next, uncheck the HideProtected Operating System Files boxand click OK.

Now, delete the Cmdcons folder inthe root directory and then delete theCmldr file. Next, right-click the Boot.inifile in the root directory and clickProperties. Uncheck the Read-only boxand click OK. You’ll now open theBoot.ini file in Notepad and remove theentry listed for the Recovery Console,which should appear similar to this:C:\CMDCONS\bootsect.dat=”Microsoft Windows Recovery Console” /cmd-cons. Save the file and close it. Note thatif you change the Boot.ini file incor-rectly, Windows may not restart.Microsoft warns to only delete theRecovery Console entry in the Boot.inifile for this reason. When you’re fin-ished, right-click Boot.ini again, clickProperties, and change its attributeback to Read-only. Also, re-enter My

Computer and change the view of thefolders and files back to hidden andhide the protected OS (operatingsystem) files, as well.

Mission Recovered

We’ve only scratched the surface ofwhat the Recovery Console can do.Although using the Recovery Consolecan be frightening, if you take yourtime, research the problem intricately,and get all your error messages in a row,this powerful tool just may save yourcomputer’s skin.


FIRST TRY THISWinXP Recovery Console

You can install the Recovery Console toyour hard drive (it takes about 7MB ofspace) so that it’s always availablefrom the Start menu.

Here, Windows explains thatyou can run Recovery Consolefrom your Windows installationCD if it’s not already installed onyour system’s hard drive.

RS


It sounds kind of ironic, but some-times the most serious PC prob-lems have the simplest fixes. If

your system is spontaneously shuttingdown, serving up blue screen errors, ortelling you it can’t access a drive, youmight not need to reinstall your OS(operating system) at all. The solutioncould be as simple as reseating a card,cable, or memory module.

If you or someone else have beenworking on something inside your PClately, something might have beenbumped out of place so that it’s nolonger making a good electrical con-nection. Also, if you’ve recentlymoved your desktop PC in a car, oreven from one room to another,something might have come loose.Dust can also get into an unusedsocket or slot. When a new card orcable is installed, the accumulated dirtcan keep the metal pins or pads frommaking good contact.

Any of these issues may make thePC work very erratically, if it evenworks at all. The good news is thatthey’re generally easy to fix. Shutdown your PC, open its side panel,and read on.

RAM

When a RAM module, or DIMM(dual inline memory module), isn’tmaking good contact in its slot, thePC will probably claim that it doesn’thave as much memory as it should(press the Windows and PAUSE keysat the same time to view the SystemProperties, which will tell you howmuch RAM Windows recognizes). On

the other hand, a poorly seatedDIMM that makesintermittent con-tact could generate all sorts of errors, especially page faults.

The quick way to spot a memorymodule that isn’t seated properly is tolook at the plastic tabs on either endof the socket. Both tabs should beflipped up close to the DIMM andperpendicular to the motherboard,not canted out at an angle away fromthe module. The latter condition is adead giveaway, as “open” tabs willkeep the DIMM from fully seating inits slot. In fact, the way to remove amemory module is to press the sockettabs away and to the side, which willraise the DIMM out of the slot. WhenRAM is correctly installed, the sockettabs will flip up next to the moduleand engage a rounded notch in eachend of the DIMM’s circuit board.

Of course, even a functional DIMMthat’s fully seated could still have aproblem. Excessive dust in the slotcan prevent a good electrical connec-tion, as can dirt or corrosion on theRAM module’s metal contacts. Goldcontacts won’t corrode, but alu-minum and other metals may forminsulating layers of oxidation whencontaminated with finger oil andother substances. Blow out a dustyRAM slot with canned air, and wipe adirty DIMM’s contacts with isopropylalcohol and a clean cloth.

To reseat a DIMM, line it up sothat the notch in its connector edgematches the isthmus near the middle

of the socket. Push firmly downwardon the top edges of both ends of theRAM module while rocking it length-wise a little. The socket tabs shouldsnap upward and alongside the DIMMwhen the memory module clicks intoplace. Press the tabs inward to ensurethat they’re seated into the RAMmodule’s rounded notches.

Expansion Cards

Graphics, sound, and other expan-sion cards with weighty componentscan wiggle loose over time, causingtrouble for your computing experi-ence. USB, FireWire, hard drive con-troller, and LAN (local-area network)cards are generally lighter and lessprone to stray. However, all expansioncards can suffer from the same conta-mination as RAM modules, so it paysto know how to reseat them. Cleancard connectors and their slots as youwould a DIMM, described above.

Video card. If your computer has adiscrete video card rather than agraphics chip integrated into themotherboard, there’s a chance that thecard may have worked loose. This isespecially true of high-end enthusiastcards, which ofttimes have very heavyheatsinks in order to cope with thethermal output of today’s high-speed

Your Seat Is CrookedReseat Your Cards, Cables & RAM

FIRST TRY THIS


GPUs (graphics processing units) andvideo memory. Also, some avid PCgamers lug their computers to LANparties, and their graphics cards canwork loose in transit.

A video card fits into a PCI-E (Per-ipheral Component Interconnect-Express), AGP (Accelerated GraphicsPort), or even a PCI (Peripheral Com-ponent Interconnect) slot on themotherboard. Its metal bracket is heldto the rear panel of the computer caseby a single screw, or two screws in thecase of a card that’s two slots wide. APCI-E or AGP slot will often have anadditional retention mechanism on theforward end, such as a locking tab, aspring-loaded pin, or simply a bar thatfits into an L-shaped lug on thegraphics card’s circuit board. The rearbracket screw(s) and front retentionmechanism are usually enough to keepa card seated in its slot, but not always.

A crooked card may not connect asit’s supposed to, generating errors. It’sparticularly important to fully insertan AGP card straight into its slot.AGPs’ metal contacts have staggeredsections that are either thicker on theedge or further up the card. If an AGPcard is only partly inserted, half of itscontacts may connect to the wrongcontacts in the slot. The result couldbe a cooked card or motherboard.

To reseat a card, slip the forwardedge of the card’s connector into theslot. If there is a retention mecha-nism, make sure that the lug on thecard’s circuit board fits into or underit as appropriate. Rock the middleand rear of the connector into the slotwhile making sure that the bottom

tab of the card’s rear bracket doesn’tget hung up on the rear of the com-puter case. Once the card is fullyseated, the top of its rear metalbracket should be flush with the ledgeon the computer case, and the metalcontacts of its connector should becompletely or nearly hidden by thesocket. Insert and tighten the rearbracket screw, then latch the front re-tention mechanism if necessary.Don’t forget to attach a power con-nector to the card, if it needs one.

Other cards. You can reseat otherPCI-E and PCI cards in the same way.

The only difference is that there won’tbe retention mechanisms on the for-ward tips of the slots.

Cables

Another source of problems is the fitbetween cables and devices, such asdrives, cards, and the motherboard.Sometimes connectors work free oreven break loose in the case of earlySATA (Serial Advanced TechnologyAttachment) devices. Others, especiallyEIDE/ATA (Enhanced Integrated DriveElectronics/Advanced Technology

FIRST TRY THISCheck Hardware Seating

When RAM isn’t seatedproperly, you’ll usuallysee that its retaining clipsare angled away from thememory module.

Properly installed RAMhas its retaining clipssnapped up against it.Push down on thememory module’s edgeas you push the clip intothe module’s notch.

A video card is held in place by its rear metal bracket andperhaps the front end of its slot.Here, the rear bracket hasn’tbeen tightened down correctly.

Note that when a graphics cardis properly seated, you can

barely see the tops of the metalcontacts on its edge connector.


Attachment) connectors, have pins thatcan become bent. Dirt and corrosioncan plague cable connections, as well.Furthermore, kinks in the cable cancause broken wires. Replace any cablewith a bad kink in it.

Luckily, it only takes a couple ofminutes to check all the data andpower cables in your computer. Pressand wiggle each connector firmly intoits socket or header. If your PC’sproblem seems to be related to a par-ticular device, such as the hard drive,start with its cables. Check the fan ca-bles while you’re at it.

All cable connectors used in com-puters slide straight into their corre-sponding headers or connectors. Ifany fit crookedly, remove the cableand check the connectors for bentpins or foreign objects. To remove acable, always grasp it by the con-nector, not the wires. Some connec-tors, such as those on power cablesfor the motherboard and PCI-E videocards, have levers you must press be-fore you can pull the connectors free.

If a cable connector is too tight orinaccessible to remove easily, don’tforce the issue. It’s better to leave italone than to break the motherboard.

CPU Heatsink

It’s a rare problem, but your pro-cessor’s heatsink might have becomeunlatched. If the heatsink were looseon one side, it would no longer makefirm contact with the CPU to siphonaway the chip’s heat. This wouldmanifest itself with spontaneous shut-downs, usually not long after the PCis turned on.

Fortunately, motherboards manu-factured in the last few years will shutoff the power supply when the pro-cessor grows too hot. If you have anolder board that allowed the CPU tooverheat, your processor and/or moth-erboard may need to be replaced.

Intel and AMD heatsinks havevaried over the years, and so have thelevers and latches used to attach thesinks to CPU sockets. In general, for a

recent model, the heatsink has a re-tention clip with one or three holes ineach end. One end of the clip issimple and bare, but the other has acammed plastic lever that tightens theheatsink against the CPU and socket.

If the heatsink came loose only onone side, the thermal compound be-tween it and the processor may beundisturbed enough that you can ig-nore it. However, if the heatsink camecompletely off, you’ll need to carefullyclean off the remainder and replacethe thermal compound. There’s an in-depth tutorial on how to do this atwww.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm. The instructions arefor Arctic Silver 5 compound, but theyapply to most types of thermal grease.

To reinstall the heatsink, turn itscammed lever to one side to loosen it,meaning to make the retention cliplonger. If there is a recess on the un-derside of the heatsink, match it to theraised section on the CPU socket. Tiltthe heatsink slightly, then latch thesimple end of its retention clip overthe hook or hooks on the plasticprocessor socket. Next, rock theheatsink until it lies flat on the CPU.Latch the other end of the retentionclip over the hook or hooks on the op-posite side of the socket. Finally, swingthe retention clip’s cammed lever fullyto the other side to lock the heatsinkin place. You may need to anchor theend of cammed lever under a notch tokeep it from coming loose.

So Much For That

If your computer works normallyafter you reseat all of its cards, ca-bles, and main heatsink, congratula-tions! You’ve just saved yourselfhours of troubleshooting.

If not, don’t despair. Reseating is aneasy fix, but it doesn’t always turn out tobe what an ailing computer needs. Readthe other articles in the “First Try This”section of this issue before you committo a reinstallation of your OS.


FIRST TRY THISCheck Hardware Seating

If a cable isn’t pluggedin the right way, like

this CD drive datacable, it could bend the

pins in the connector.

Each connector on anEIDE (Enhanced

Integrated DriveElectronics) cable oftenhas a ridge on one side

and one of its contact pinholes missing. This helpsyou orient the connector

the right way so it willslide into place.

RS


“Did you delete your tempfiles?”

Whenever someone gives you in-formal advice on troubleshootingyour computer, one of the firstsuggestions they make is todelete the temporary files onyour hard drive. It’s notthat temp files areusually a primarycause of PC prob-lems, however. Veryrarely does gettingrid of temp files“cure” a PC. Instead,it’s an easy bit of mainte-nance that might conceivably take careof an error or two.

Temping Around

You can think of temp files as junkfiles. They once were necessary toWindows or an application, but theyaren’t anymore.

As applications and utilities run,some create files on the hard drive tosave working data. The traditional fileextension for a temp file in Windowsis .TMP, although a program mayconsider any file type temporary. Wefound many other file types in theTemp folders of various Windows XPPCs, as shown in the “Belly Of TheBeast” sidebar in this article.

Apps create temp files for variousreasons, such as to conserve theamount of RAM they use. A DVD au-thoring program may create tempo-rary files as it renders the video thatwill be burned to a movie disc. An

Internet browser may save Web con-tent as temporary files in a cachefolder so that it won’t have to re-download pages that the user wants tovisit again. An installer routine suchas InstallShield may create temporaryfiles as it installs an application on thehard drive.

Temp files also can preserve snap-shots of modified data in files thathaven’t been fully saved yet. For ex-ample, Microsoft Word may create anew TMP file every time a documentis FastSaved, which isn’t actually aformal save of the file to the harddrive as most users expect. If thepower goes out during a computingsession, Word may be able to recovera recent version of a document partlythanks to temp files.

The primary folder for temporaryfiles in WinXP is C:\WINDOWS\TEMP. There’s another one, morespecific to each User Account, atC:\DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS

\USERNAME\LOCAL SETTINGS\TEMP. Some applications createtheir own temporary file folders else-where on the hard drive, or evensubfolders in C:\WINDOWS\TEMP.Many programs, such as the Sea-monkey Internet browser, let you ad-just the maximum size of their tempfolders. Others, such as Nero andother disc burning apps, let youchoose their temp folder’s location,especially if they make very largetemporary files.

Some apps, such as MicrosoftWord, store their temp files in thesame folder as the open file ordocument. When a document orfile is open, its corresponding

TMP file(s) will show a tilde(~) at the beginning

of its name, as in~WRL0167.tmp. Thetemp file’s icon alsowill be dimmed, likethe original file’s icon,to show that the file is

currently in use andtherefore temporarily un-

able to be deleted.

The Trouble With Temps

One of the problems with TMP filesis that they accumulate over time. Theidea is that when an application orWindows shuts down, it deletes thetemp files it no longer needs. Browsersgenerally allocate a finite amount ofhard drive space to the caches in whichthey store temporary Internet files,such as 50MB, and they erase old filesto make room for new ones.

However, some apps don’t deletetheir temp files. If your hard drive onlyhas a few GB of space left free, everyunnecessary temp file simply makesyour computer run a little slower andbe vulnerable to more problems.

Too many junk files also can makeyour backups take longer if yourbackup software isn’t set to excludeunnecessary files such as TMPs.Sometimes, a temp file can becomecorrupted by an improper shutdown

FIRST TRY THIS

A TemporarySolution Clean Up Your Temp Files


or other interruption, which cancause problems with its parent appli-cation and/or the documents or userfiles associated with it.

You also should get rid of temp filesbefore you do a defragmentation ofyour hard drive, as there’s no point inmaking room for junk files that willjust cause gaps on the disk later whenthey’re deleted. However, if your sys-tem’s problems are serious enough thatyou’re considering reinstalling the OS(operating system), as this issue coversin great detail, don’t defrag your harddrive. A blue screen or other majorerror during a defragging session will

probably lead to lost data, and maybeeven an unbootable system.

Terminating Temps

You can delete temporary files in acouple of ways. We recommend usingWindows’ Disk Cleanup utility asbeing safer than the manual method.

Disk Cleanup. To run Disk Clean-up, launch Windows Explorer bypressing the Windows key and E atthe same time, or by right-clickingStart and choosing Explore. Right-click Local Disk (C:) and chooseProperties. Click Disk Cleanup.

After Windows searches your C:drive for junk files, it will give you alist called Files To Delete. Rather thanpresenting you with files listed by their

extensions, Disk Cleanup classifies ex-pendable files in categories such asTemporary Files. On the right of eachcategory is a figure in bytes (such as3,132,413, or about 3MB) or KB (suchas 55KB). This tells you how muchhard drive space you could reclaim ifyou authorized Disk Cleanup to deletethose files (the utility may ignore tempfiles less than seven days old).

Check the box next to the Temp-orary Files category, plus any othersyou’d like to clean out, such as theRecycle Bin, Temporary InternetFiles, Temporary Offline Files, Off-line Files, and Setup Log Files. Next,

click OK and Yes. If youhave more than one parti-tion on your hard drive,try repeating the processabove for each partition’sdrive letter.

The manual method. Ifyou’d rather delete tempfiles manually, you cangenerally delete the filesyou find in the C:\WIN-DOWS\TEMP folder with-out risk. Press CTRL-A toselect all the files, thenSHIFT-DELETE and thenENTER to erase them. Dothe same operation foreach User Account on your

PC at C:\DOCUMENTS AND SET-TINGS\USERNAME\LOCAL SET-TINGS\TEMP. Windows may not letyou delete certain temp files, such asthose that are in use.

Next, click the Search button nearthe top and center of WindowsExplorer. Click All Files And Folders,then type *.tmp in the All Or Part OfThe File Name field. Set the Look Inmenu to Local Hard Drives, then clickSearch. When Windows finds TMPfiles, delete them as described above.

Your browser’s settings may let youdelete the temporary files in its cache,too. In Internet Explorer, click Toolsand Internet Options. Under Temp-orary Internet Files, click Delete Filesand OK. If you use a CD/DVD burn-ing and/or video-editing application,

such as Nero or Roxio, delete oldimage files and working files from thedesignated cache folder.

Note that neither the Disk Cleanupnor the manual method may findevery temp file. If applications arecreating temp files that don’t have.TMP extensions and aren’t stored ina folder labeled with some variationof “Temp,” you may not be able totell them apart from legitimate filesyou shouldn’t delete.

A Temporary Solution

As we mentioned, deleting temp filesisn’t likely to solve your PC’s problems.Still, at the very least, it’s one way to re-cover a little hard drive capacity.


Belly Of The Beast

LLike the eclectic contents of a

shark’s stomach, a Temp folder

can hold many types of files that ap-

plications discard. You wouldn’t

normally delete a DLL or EXE file you

found elsewhere on the hard drive,

but it’s probably safe to do so if you

find it in the C:\WINDOWS\TEMP

folder. Conversely, not every TMP

file will reside in this Temp folder,

and yet you can probably get away

with deleting TMPs no matter

where you find them.

EExxtteennssiioonn FFiillee TTyyppee

.AX MPEG-4 DVD Filter

.CAT Security catalog

.CPL Control Panel

extension

.DAT Video CD movie

.DLL App extension

(dynamic link library)

.EXE Application executable

.INF Setup information

.INI Configuration settings

.LOG Log file

.SETTINGS Settings file

.SYS System file

.TMP Temporary file

.TXT Text document

.WAV Waveform audio file

(Source: FileXT.com)

FIRST TRY THISDelete Temp Files

Windows XP’s folder for temp files is C:\WINDOWS\TEMP,but individual applications may store their temporary fileselsewhere on the hard drive.

RS


Connecting peri-pherals to yourcomputer (such

as your hard drive,CD/DVD drive, printer,etc.) isn’t like stickingtoast in your toaster andturning it on. Generally,computer peripheralsmust be able to work withan infinite combination ofsoftware and hardware com-ponents. In order for this tohappen, they need translators, ordevice drivers, that let them interfacewith your system.

A device driver is a program thatlets each of your hardware devicescommunicate with the OS (operatingsystem) and the applications you useon a regular basis. For instance, everytime you click Print from within aWord document, a driver is workingbehind the scenes to send the data tothe printer. When you install yourOS, drivers make sure your CD/DVDdrive can talk to your hard drive toinstall the necessary files.

Windows also ships with a host ofgeneric drivers that are designed to letyou use some peripherals withouthaving to install a third-party driver.

Driver Breakdown

If a peripheral fails, either suddenlyor immediately after installation, thenan old, corrupt, or missing driver isprobably behind the problem.

Driver Verifier. Windows 2000/XPusers have access to the Driver Ver-ifier, which is an application that runsa series of stress tests on your new and

existing drivers to make sure they willwork reliably. This utility also lets you troubleshoot and prevent driverproblems. To launch the Driver Ver-ifier Manager, click Start, Run, typeverifier into the Open field, and thenclick OK. Because this utility was de-signed to assist both end users anddevelopers, you can ignore several ofthe more advanced options.

To scan the drivers on your WinXPcomputer, click the radio button be-side Create Standard Settings andclick Next. At the Select What DriversTo Verify step, you can use the radiobuttons to select the drivers you’d liketo verify. You can verify unsigned drivers (drivers that haven’t passedWindows Logo Testing), drivers builtfor an older version of Windows, in-dividual drivers by name, or all driv-ers installed on your computer. Clickthe radio button in front of the de-sired option, and then click Next. Thefollowing screen will display the list of

drivers to verify, or, if you chose toverify individual drivers, a list of allthe drivers on your system and acheck box for each one. Once you’vemade the appropriate selections, you

can click Finish to verify your driv-ers. You’ll need to restart your

computer to enable the new set-tings. To disable the Driver

Verifier in WinXP, launch theapplication, click the DeleteExisting Settings radio but-ton, and then click Finish.

To verify drivers in Win-2000, open the Driver Veri-fier the same way you wouldin WinXP and click the Set-tings tab on the Driver Veri-fier Manager. Here you canclick radio buttons to VerifyAll Drivers or Verify SelectedDrivers. If you just want toverify a certain driver, clickVerify Selected Drivers, click

the driver’s name from the list,and then click Verify. Click

Apply and then reboot your com-puter to verify the selected drivers.

To cancel the verification, launch the Driver Verifier again, select thedriver, and then click the Don’tVerify button.

Depending on the options youchose, the Driver Verifier utility willverify your existing drivers, as well asthose you install in the future.

DIY Drivers

The Driver Verifier is a great utilityfor troubleshooting multiple drivers atonce. To troubleshoot drivers based onthe associated peripheral, however,you’ll want to check the Device Man-ager. If you have a corrupted, missing,or outdated driver, you’ll typically see ared X, yellow exclamation mark, oryellow question mark in the right paneof the Device Manager next to the de-vice associated with the driver.

Sniff ’em out. To find driver infor-mation in Windows 98/Me, click Start,Settings, and Control Panel. In theControl Panel window, double-click

FIRST TRY THIS

Drivers DIYGet Your Drivers Back On Track


the System icon and then click theDevice Manager tab from the SystemProperties dialog box. Click the ViewDevices By Type radio button if it isnot already selected and then browsethe list of device types for the deviceyou want to check.

Click the plus sign (+) next to thedevice type and then double-click thedevice you want to check. For instance,to check your video card driver, clickthe plus sign (+) in front of DisplayAdapters, and then double-click yourvideo card to display the Propertieswindow. Click the Driver tab and lookfor the Driver Date and Driver Version.

To find drivers in Win2000/XP,click Start, Settings, and Control

Panel. If you have Win2000 or areviewing WinXP’s Control Panel inClassic View, then double-click theSystem icon to open the SystemProperties dialog box. If you areviewing the Control Panel in Catego-ry View, click Printers And OtherHardware, and then click Systemunder the See Also menu on the leftside of the screen. Next, click theHardware tab and the Device Managerbutton. Click View and verify thatDevices By Type is the current view.Click this option if another view is en-abled. Click the plus sign (+) next tothe device type and then double-clickthe device you want to check. Click

the Driver tab and look for the DriverDate and Driver Version.

Reinstall it. When an error occursfor seemingly no reason, you shouldreinstall the existing driver beforetrying to install an updated driver orrolling it back to a previous driver. Ifyou have access to the peripheral’sdriver CD or floppy diskette, usethat to install the driver that origi-nally came with your device. If youdon’t have access to the originaldriver, then you may have to installthe latest driver from the manufac-turer’s Web site.

Update it. If the problem persistsafter installing the original driver oryou don’t have access to the original

driver, then you’ll need to up-date the driver. You’ll also wantto install an updated driver ifyou’re installing an older deviceon a newer system. In this in-stance, you’ll want to be able toundo the installation if the up-dated driver doesn’t resolve theproblem. Win98/Me users willneed to make a copy of the ex-isting driver. Start by right-clicking My Computer and se-lecting Properties. Next clickthe Device Manager tab andclick the device from the list inthe right pane. Click the plussign (+) to expand the appro-priate category if necessary,click the Driver tab, click Driver

File Details, and then note the loca-tion and name of the appropriatedriver. Navigate to the driver’s loca-tion and copy it to disc. Win2000/XPusers don’t need to make copies be-cause the system automatically backsup the previous drivers.

Next, download the updated driverfrom the peripheral manufacturer’sWeb site. Look for the Downloads orSupport page. You may find the ap-propriate drivers in a download sec-tion of the peripheral’s product page.If multiple drivers are available on thesite, make sure you download themost recent one that is compatiblewith your system.

Next, launch the Device Managerand double-click the device you’d liketo update. Click the Driver tab, andthen click the Update Driver button.On the Hardware Update Wizard,click the radio button beside No, NotThis Time, click Next, click the InstallFrom A List Or Specific Location(Advanced), and then click Next. Atthe following step, you can navigateto the location of the updated driv-er you downloaded and follow theprompts to install it.

If the above procedure doesn’twork, delete the existing driver bylaunching the Device Manager anddouble-clicking the device. Win98/Meusers can click Remove, and Win2000/XP users can click Uninstall. Restartthe computer and use the Found NewHardware Wizard as described aboveto install the new driver.

Roll it back. Just because a manu-facturer offers an updated driver onits Web site doesn’t mean that thenew driver is better than your oldone. If your driver woes started afterinstalling a new or updated driver,then you’ll need to roll back to yourdevice’s previous driver. WinXP fea-tures a handy tool that makes rollingback your driver as simple as clickinga button. Once you’ve accessed theDriver tab of the device’s Propertiesdialog box as described above, clickthe Roll Back Driver button. Nextyou’ll see the Are You Sure YouWould Like To Roll Back To ThePrevious Driver message. Click Yes tocontinue. Windows will restore thedriver to the previously installeddriver, or a compatible generic driver.Click Close to complete the process.Click OK on the System Properties di-alog box, and then close the DeviceManager window.

When generic and third-party driv-ers are doing their job, you won’teven know they’re there. But whensomething goes wrong and a periph-eral fails, your drivers are typicallygoing to be your prime suspect.

BBYY AANNDDRREEWW LLEEIIBBMMAANN

FIRST TRY THISCheck/Roll Back/Update Drivers

The device Properties dialog box displays the DriverDate and Driver Version.

RS


to make sure all virus definitions arecurrent, then run a scan.

For example, if you’re runningAVG Anti-Virus free edition (www.grisoft.com), launch the software byclicking the desktop shortcut icon,or by selecting it from the Startmenu. Double-click the InternalVirus Database icon to be sure thedatabase is up-to-date. If your software is not current, click TestCenter, and then select Check ForUpdates. If your software is current(updated today), then click the TestCenter icon and then click ScanComputer. If no suspect files turnup, close the program and run a sec-ondary virus protection software,just to be sure. (NOTE: If you useNorton Antivirus, you may not wantto install a second antivirus program,as Norton often conflicts with otherantivirus programs.)

If you know (or strongly suspect)that you have a specific virus, worm,or Trojan horse, but your softwaredidn’t detect it, visit the Web site ofthe company that makes your virusprotection software to see if there areany special tools you can downloadthat are specially designed to removethe offending files.

Repair/Remove. If your virus de-tection software locates one or moreviruses, it should give you the optionto repair, remove, or quarantine thevirus. A good piece of antivirus soft-ware will offer easy-to-understand in-formation to help you decide whichaction to take and will make the but-tons or menu items that initiate thosecommands easy to find.

Best Defense. The best defenseagainst viruses is common sense.You’ve heard it a hundred times, butwe’ll say it again: Don’t open any e-mail (or IM) attachments you weren’texpecting, even if they come fromsomeone you know. Don’t open mailwith fishy subject lines—misspellings,all caps, and exclamation marks arered flags. If an email seems suspiciousto you, then it probably is, so scan itwith your antivirus software before

FIRST TRY THIS

How To CheckFor & RemoveMalwareDon’t Let Digital Pests Control Your PC

Malware, pernicious soft-ware that, at the least,is a nuisance once it gets in

your PC and can even destroy asystem (or a credit report), is a con-stant threat. Even cell phones andBlackBerrys have been targeted.Unless you’re going to unplug fromthe Internet and never swap files,you’ll always be at risk. Fortunately,with some common sense and somewell-chosen security programs, youcan keep your system relatively safe.And if you find yourself stuck with abug or two (or two hundred), thereare affordable, simple-to-use remedies

that can help. To sort outthe ever-expanding mal-

ware field, we’ve broken down the of-fenders into four major categories andoffer tips on how to find, remove, andprotect against each. (For more oneach type of malware, see “The UsualSuspects” in this article.)

Viruses, Worms & Trojan Horses

To find out if your system is in-fected with a virus, worm, or Trojanhorse, close all running applicationsand launch your antivirus program.Be sure to download the latest update


you open it or its attachment. Ifit’s from someone you know,write to them and ask what theattachment is. If it’s from astranger, Google the keywordsor visit a site such as Syman-tec’s Threat Explorer (www.symantec.com) to find out ifyou’ve been sent a known virusor a known hoax. Delete chainletters and spam from youremail client’s inbox immedi-ately. Don’t leave them lyingaround on your system.

Install an antivirus programthat will actively scan yoursystem, Internet connection,and email attachments. It’s alsowise to set up a hardware fire-wall that sits between your DSL(digital subscriber line) routeror cable modem and your PC, as wellas a software firewall that runs onyour PC and can protect you fromboth inbound and outbound attacks.

Home Page Hijackers

If your home page, search engine,or other browser settings changewithout your consent, or if you can’tchange your home page setting,you’ve been hijacked. The other waysin which your system can be hijackedare more insidious and likely to be in-visible to you. To check for infection,run your antivirus program and thenrun an anti-adware/spyware program.In our tests, the software we rancaught as many as 414 pieces of mal-ware (including one Trojan horse,some adware, and several hijackers)that the initial program missed.

Repair/Remove. If your browser’sbeen hijacked, your system’s Registryhas probably been modified. Becausemessing with your Registry can causeserious problems, don’t try to fix ityourself using Registry Editor. Yourbest bet is to run your antivirus or an-tispyware program. If it isn’t able toresolve the problem for you, Micro-soft has outlined a twelve-step processfor reclaiming your home page at

its support site (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;ENUS;q320159).

Best Defense. Check your securitysoftware. Spybot Search & Destroy,for example, has a feature that willlock your home page for you. To en-able this protection, choose IETweaks from the Tools menu andthen check all three boxes: Lock HostsFile Read-only, Lock IE Start Page,and Lock IE Control Panel. Also, besure to update SpyBot regularly (setting a daily update using theScheduler feature is a smart idea) andImmunize regularly. To program theScheduler, you’ll need to chooseAdvanced mode from the Modemenu and then select Scheduler fromthe Settings menu.

Other products that enableyou to lock your home page include SpySweeper and boththe free and paid versions of ZoneAlarm.

Another simple way to safe-guard your Web browser fromhjackers is to upgrade to the latest version of InternetExplorer (or to switch to Mo-zilla’s Firefox). The sneakybackground ActiveX down-loads that are often used by hi-jack sites to install spywareshould trigger a Do You WantTo Do This? window in IE 6,and Firefox does not nativelysupport ActiveX at all.

The basic rules of thumb forwarding off (or avoiding) homepage hijackers are the same as

with viruses: Make smart choices aboutwhere you go and what you do online.Don’t click on pop-up ads, don’tdownload anything unless you are cer-tain that you want it and that it’s free ofmalware, be suspicious of freeware(read the user agreement before down-loading), and keep your browser andyour OS (operating system) updated,and make sure that your antivirus soft-ware is completely up-to-date. Be sureto schedule regular (monthly, weekly,or daily) scans of all the files on yourcomputer’s hard drive(s).

On the second Tuesday of everymonth, Microsoft releases an up-dated version of its free MaliciousSoftware Removal Tool (www.microsoft .com/security/malwareremove). The Microsoft Security site is

FIRST TRY THISOvercome Malware

Controlling your firewall settings with the free version ofZoneAlarm is as easy as choosing between the High, Medium,and Off security settings.

Spyware Doctorprovides a cleardescription of eachbit of malware itfinds, as well as arisk indicator.


also a great place to find reliable information about new threats. Youcan visit on your own, or sub-scribe to the RSS feed (www.mi-c r o s o f t . c o m / t e c h n e t / s e c u r i t y/bu lletin/notify.mspx).

Spyware & Adware

To find out if any spyware/adwarepests have made their way onto yoursystem, be sure your antispyware soft-ware is up-to-date and then conduct a

scan of your entire system. If you findnothing, run another program. AVGAnti-spyware ($39.95; www.grisoft.com), Spybot Search & Destroy, andZoneAlarm’s free firewall make a nicetrifecta of protection on your PC.

Repair/Remove. Your antispywareprogram should make it easy for youto repair or remove any spyware oradware that it finds. In Spybot, clickon the Search & Destroy icon to viewthe list of found problems and thenclick Fix Selected Problems.

Best Defense. Spybot’s downloadblocker is an excellent defense againstspyware and adware. To block thou-sands of known bad programs, justclick the Immunize button. For asecond layer of defense, click the


MMalware is an umbrella

term for any software

that is designed to damage

your system, steal informa-

tion, or hijack system re-

sources to serve someone

else’s agenda. Put simply,

malware is any software cre-

ated for the purpose of

doing harm on your PC. In

legal contexts, malware is

sometimes referred to as “a

computer contaminant.” It

is distinct from malfunc-

tioning software, software

that may slow down or

damage your system’s re-

sources unintentionally, in

that malware was created

with malicious intent. The

list of common culprits in-

cludes viruses, worms,

Trojan horses, spyware and

adware, hijackers, and

rootkits or backdoors.

VViirruusseess

A computer virus spreads

by inserting copies of itself

into the executable code of

other programs. Often, the

term “virus” is used as a

catch-all term to refer to

worms, Trojan horses, and

other types of malware.

Viruses are primarily de-

signed to cause problems on

a local system and often

spread as email attachments.

Some viruses begin wreaking

havoc immediately; others sit

dormant until a certain date

or time arrives or until the

computer user unwittingly

performs an action that will

trigger it.

Some viruses can be in-

credibly destructive. But the

vast majority of PC viruses

are mostly just a nuisance.

Perhaps the most famous

virus is “Melissa,” a macro-

virus named after a Floridian

lap dancer. The virus doesn’t

do anything really harmful to

individual computers (it in-

serts “The Simpsons” quotes

into documents and has the

potential to leak confidential

files or e-mail addresses), but

its true danger is in its ability

to spread. By using Microsoft

Word and Microsoft Outlook,

in the spring of 1999, Melissa

rapidly replicated itself on

such a massive scale that mail

servers around the globe were

overwhelmed and some were

shut down. (Melissa’s author

was sentenced to 10 years in

federal prison.)

WWoorrmmss

Worms are software pro-

grams that, unlike viruses, can

replicate themselves without

attaching to or becoming part

of another application. They

can create copies of them-

selves on the same computer

or can send the copies to

other computers via a net-

work. Worms are designed to

exploit network environments

and often spread via IRC

(Internet Relay Chat). Very

much like a biological virus, a

worm will seek out and exploit

specific vulnerabilities. Worms

are especially dangerous be-

cause they can spread without

requiring a user to perform an

action. For example, experts

estimate that the Mydoom

worm infected a quarter-mil-

lion Windows-based com-

puters in a single day in 2004.

TTrroojjaann HHoorrsseess

A Trojan horse is a com-

puter program that pretends

The Usual Suspects

Spybot’s Immunize feature allows users to beproactive and block known bad products before they can get through.


Enable Permanent Blocking Of BadAddresses In Internet Explorer box inthe Browser Helper. Another simplefix is to switch from IE to Mozilla’sFirefox 1.5 browser, which is less sus-ceptible to spyware and adware.Firefox does not natively supportActiveX, which many spyware pro-grams use to infect a browser. Firefoxalso automatically blocks pop-ups.

Rootkits & Backdoors

Rootkits and backdoors are especiallytough to find because they are designedto be undetectable. Microsoft’s Striderproject (http://research.microsoft.com/rootkit) has been working to findmethods of detecting and removingrootkits, but most of their efforts arenot directed at helping home users. Tosearch for rootkits on your homesystem, your best bet is Spyware Doctor4 ($29.95; www.pctools.com). If you

download the free trial version, you canrun a scan of your entire system. If theprogram finds anything, you’ll have topay for the one-year subscription tomake repairs, but it’s worth it.

Repair/Remove. To remove rootkitsfrom your system using SpywareDoctor 4, launch the program and runa scan by clicking either the ScanComputer Now button or the StartScan button. Once the scan is complete,review the list of found problems. Eachmalware file is annotated with a briefdescription of what it does, and ranked

from low to high in terms of its threat.Choose the items you want to removeand click the Fix and Continue button.Typically, it will take less than a minuteto remove your malware—even if hun-dreds of problems are found.

Rootkit removal is also supposed tobe part of the free Microsoft MaliciousSoftware Removal Tool (see above), al-though Microsoft’s documentation inthis area is almost as difficult to deci-pher as a rootkit itself, so we recom-mend going the Spyware Doctor route.In a worst-case scenario, taking drastic


to be something harmless,

when in fact, it has an insid-

ious purpose. Trojan horses

(also called “trojans”), differ

from worms and viruses in

that they are not self-repli-

cating. In some cases, what

started off as a benign pro-

gram is altered by someone

who inserts malicious code,

resulting in a Trojan horse. In

other cases, a file is created

to intentionally appear to be

one thing, such as a game or

image file, when in fact, it is

an application that can cor-

rupt files, erase data, or install

other forms of malware.

SSppyywwaarree && AAddwwaarree

Spyware is a type of pro-

gram that covertly gathers

information about a com-

puter, its user(s), and/or the

other computers on the

network to which it is

connected. Spyware moni-

tors computer activity and

then sends information

about that activity back to

its creator. Some spyware

tracks which Web sites a

user visits, while others

record keystrokes, which

makes it possible to inter-

cept passwords, credit card

numbers, or sensitive con-

tent such as trade secrets or

personal correspondence.

Adware is any application

with the sole purpose of im-

posing advertising material

on a computer without the

user’s consent. Advertising-

supported software or Web

sites, which defray or reduce

costs by displaying ads, are

not necessarily considered

adware because they do not

commandeer users’ com-

puter resources without

their consent.

HHiijjaacckkiinngg

Hijacking malware alters

an existing computer pro-

gram so that whenever that

program is being used, unbe-

knownst to the end user, it

performs tasks set by the

creator of the malware. One

common example is home

page hijacking, when mal-

ware changes a user’s Inter-

net Explorer home page and

then blocks the user from

changing it back.

RRoooottkkiittss && BBaacckkddoooorrss

A rootkit is a program that

is secretly installed on a com-

puter in order to provide an

intruder with access to the

root account, which then

makes it possible to control

the computer at will. Rootkits

usually are designed to hide

the traces of their penetration

and often include backdoors.

Rootkits often modify parts of

the operating system or install

themselves as drivers or kernel

modules (the core parts of the

operating system). The gen-

eral public became aware of

rootkits last year when it was

discovered that some Sony

BMG music CDs secretly in-

stalled a rootkit on Microsoft

Windows PCs.

A backdoor is any hidden

method for obtaining re-

mote access to a computer

or other system. Backdoors

typically work by enabling

intruders to use a special

password to bypass the

normal authentication pro-

cedure on a remote ma-

chine. This allows the

intruder to gain access to

the root account. Backdoors

are tough to catch because

they are carefully designed

to remain hidden. ❙

From the TestCenter page, AVGlets you scan yourcomputer, scan selected areas, orcheck for updates.


measures (nuking your hard disk andreinstalling your operating system) willalso solve the problem.

Best Defense. Running two up-to-date rootkit detectors and antivirusprograms—one as a primary and one asa secondary line of defense is the best

way to protect yourself from hackers.Coupled with standard security tools,such as a good firewall, antivirus soft-ware is the best defense against rootkits.

While the bad guys will continue tocook up new and ever more cleverways to steal your information or

damage your system with malware,some common sense and about $50 ayear will give you all the protectionyou’re likely to need.

BBYY NNAAOOMMII GGRRAAYYCCHHAASSEE


WW hen it comes to mal-

ware, the old adage

about “an ounce of preven-

tion” certainly holds true. And

if you’ve been infected, you’ll

want the most effective pound

of cure you can get. Here are

seven of the best products

(free and paid) for protecting

your system from malware,

and delousing your computer

if it’s already been infected.

ZZoonneeAAllaarrmm IInntteerrnneett SSeeccuurriittyy

SSuuiittee

www.zonealarm.com; $49.95

This excellent security

suite is a heavy-hitter that

fights the battle for user

safety on several fronts. It

includes operating system,

network, and program fire-

walls, antivirus and anti-

spyware protection, safety

measures to guard against

identity theft protection, a

game mode (which will

limit pop-ups while a user is

playing full-screen games),

IM protection, and parental

control. It protects against

intruders entering through

the Internet gateway, while

also offering safeguards at

the program level (to stop

unauthorized programs

from connecting to the

Internet), and patrolling the

operating system kernel

(where rootkits and other

malware can hide). The

built-in Help file is gen-

uinely helpful. ZoneAlarm is

also available in a free ver-

sion that functions only as

a firewall.

AAVVGG PPrrooffeessssiioonnaall 77..11..336622

www.grisoft.com; $38.95

AVG Professional includes

a tool for scanning your hard

drive and email, as well as a

real-time shield to prevent in-

fections. It also offers a top-

notch scheduling utility for

automating tasks and

checking for new definitions

as often as you’d like. Another

perk includes the ability to

run on multiple operating

systems. Should a virus create

serious system problems,

AVG creates a rescue disk to

scan your computer in MS-

DOS mode. The free version

of this program is also superb,

but the Professional edition

really is worth the price of

the upgrade.

SSppyybboott SSeeaarrcchh && DDeessttrrooyy

www.safer-networking.org;

free

Spybot Search & Destroy

offers some of the best spy-

ware/adware protection

available in a free program. Its

database of adware and other

system invaders is impressive,

and it also sports a decent in-

terface and a robust feature

set. The Immunize feature

blocks uninvited Web-borne

malware before it reaches

your computer; the Hosts File

feature blocks adware servers

from your computer; and

System Startup lets you re-

view which apps load when

you start your computer. It’s

wise to have more than one

anti-spyware application in

your arsenal, and this one is

an excellent (and affordable)

second line of defense.

SSppyywwaarree DDooccttoorr 44

www.pctools.com; $29.95

Spyware Doctor displays

scan results clearly, showing

file and registry locations,

threat level, and a clear de-

scription of the threat. It can

perform a variety of scans, in-

cluding Quick Scan, which

quickly checks common

trouble spots, such as Internet

Explorer cache files. With ef-

fective scanning and several

tools for stopping malware

before it infects your com-

puter, Spyware Doctor is a de-

pendable spyware remover.

The trial version will scan

your computer and show you

the results, but it won’t allow

you to actually fix anything.

SSppyy SSwweeeeppeerr 55..00

www.webroot.com; $29.95

This tried and true anti-

spyware program includes

protection against keyloggers

and rootkits. Its interface has

been improved since its last

release, making it less intru-

sive (fewer pop-up warnings)

and more streamlined.

Spy Sweeper detects and

removes spyware; it also

blocks new spyware threats.

It’s efficient, effective, and

highly recommended.

PPeesstt PPaattrrooll

www.pestpatrol.com; $39.95

This security suite, which

includes a firewall and antispy-

ware combo, provides a clean

and simple interface designed

to make sure users under-

stand how best to protect

themselves. Users can create

profiles for home, work, and

remote setups, and the anti-

spyware scan is relatively

speedy. The scan isolates dan-

gerous spyware components

and alerts users to programs

that could be a threat, then

lets them decide whether to

keep or delete them.

WWiinnddoowwss DDeeffeennddeerr

www.microsoft.com/athome

/security/spyware/soft

ware/default.mspx; free

This full-featured free

utility is an excellent way to

safeguard and clean up your

computer. It includes a va-

riety of scan options, as well

as a scheduler, active protec-

tion, and a useful set of ad-

vanced features. After the

wizard walks users through

the initial configuration, the

interface is a little awkward,

but the scan times are fast

and thorough, the advanced

tools are very useful, and the

price is definitely right. ❙

If You Have This, Try This . . .

RS


Over time, the Reg-istry can collect unnec-essary information. Forexample, when you un-install software, the un-install routine may not

remove all of the soft-ware’s related Registry entries.

In addition, malware (malicioussoftware, such as viruses or worms)

can invade the Registry, creating unau-thorized changes or entries.

Your computer’s Registry will in-evitably benefit from some house-cleaning. Removing unnecessaryentries makes your system run moreefficiently and reduces the risk forconfiguration and security-related is-sues. To keep your Registry tidy, youneed to know how to view it, back itup, and clean it out.

A First Look

The Registry’s contents are in adatabase form that is difficult to viewor understand without special tools.To provide some help, most versionsof Windows, including WinXP, in-clude a viewer/editing tool knownsimply as the Registry Editor. To loadthe Registry in the Registry Editor,click Start, click Run, type regedit inthe Open box, and click OK.

WinXP displays the Registry Editorwindow as a split screen that shows fivecategories on the left. The navigation

structure resembles Windows Explorer.When you click to open a series offolders on the left side, the right side ofthe split screen displays correspondingcontents or values.

Before you start to examine theRegistry, take care not to modify any ofthe Registry’s contents. To ensure thatyou don’t accidentally make a change,do not right-click or double-click thevalues on the right side of the splitscreen. Unlike most changes or edits,you cannot “undo” Registry changes.

That said, to browse the Registryand get an idea of its cryptic contents,click the plus sign to the left of theHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder. Alist of subfolders should appear, in-cluding one named Software. Click theplus (+) sign to the left of the Softwarefolder to display a list of applicationfolders. You should recognize most ofthe folder names as software applica-tions on your PC. If you drill down inthe application folders, you should seeconfiguration values on the right sideof the split screen.

As you browse through the list ofapplications in the Software sub-folder, you may notice some that youhave uninstalled from your com-puter. This is the most commonsource of obsolete Registry entries.Theoretically, you can remove obso-lete entries using regedit. However,there are probably many more en-tries related to the uninstalled soft-ware located in other categories andsubcategories of the Registry. Theprocess could require checking hun-dreds of Registry entries. Thankfully,many third-party software applica-tions are available to clean and main-tain the Registry automatically.

Before we move on to examiningthird-party programs for checkingand cleaning the Registry, it’s impor-tant to understand how to back upthe Registry.

Back Up The Registry

The Registry is by far the most cru-cial component of WinXP. Before

FIRST TRY THIS

Check & Clean TheWindows Registry

Preserve Your Registry To KeepYour PC Trouble-Free

Perhaps you’ve heard about theWindows Registry, a myste-rious, cryptic database that

holds the key to the inner workings ofyour entire computer system. Althoughit is a bit cryptic, the Registry is notsuch a deep mystery. In fact, you’veprobably made many modifications toyour computer’s Registry without real-izing it. For example, any time you ad-just an item in the Control Panel orinstall new software, you also arechanging the Registry.

Registry Housekeeping

The Windows XP Registry is asingle database that stores importantconfiguration details for your com-puter. As you use your computer,make changes to its configuration, in-stall new hardware, and add software,the Registry collects and modifies en-tries related to those activities.


cleaning it, you should back up itscontents. You may also need to backup the Registry if you are instructedto modify a Registry value. This nor-mally occurs when you are trou-bleshooting a software or systemproblem and support documentationprovides specific instructions formodifying a Registry key. Finally, youshould back up all of your data beforeyou clean or modify the Registry. Fordetails and help with backing up data,refer to our Backing Up section, be-ginning on page 42.

Check Registry-cleaning utilities.Many Registry software tools make abackup of the Registry prior tocleaning it. Depending on the tool, thebackup mechanism may be automatic

or you may need to invoke it prior torepairing the Registry. If you knowyour Registry utility makes a reliablebackup, you don’t need to run abackup with the following tools.

Microsoft Guided Help. Microsoftoffers a Registry Backup Wizardthrough its online support system. Todownload the wizard, go to MicrosoftKnowledge Base article 322756 at support.microsoft.com/kb/322756. At thetop of this page, click the link entitledGuided Help To Export Registry KeysAnd To Back Up The Registry. Makesure you are logged on using an ad-ministrator account and click theDownload Guided Help link. Double-click the 322756.exe file you down-loaded and follow the on-screeninstructions to back up the Registry.

Note that the Guided Help willprompt you to back up either subkeysor the entire Registry. Assuming youare preparing to use a Registry clean-ing utility, select the option to backup the entire Registry. After you selectthis option, the wizard prompts you

to select a backup method. The op-tions are to create the backup using aSystem Restore point or by using theWinXP Backup utility. Either methodis acceptable, but WinXP Home Edi-tion systems do not automatically in-clude the Backup utility. If you havenot installed the Backup utility fromthe WinXP Home Edition CD, selectthe System Restore option.

Back up manually. If you are pre-paring to edit a single category orsubkey in the Registry, you can man-ually back it up. To do so, click Start,click Run, type regedit, and click OK.Select the category or subkey youwant to back up. Click File, Export,and select a location to save the infor-mation in the Save In box. Enter a

name for the file in the File Name boxand click Save.

To back up the entire Registrymanually, you can use the Backuputility (if it’s installed on your com-puter) or create a System Restorepoint. (If you’re using WinXP HomeEdition and you would like to installthe Backup utility on your computerfrom the Windows CD, see the Mi-crosoft Knowledge Base article at support.microsoft.com/kb/302894.)

To use the Backup utility, click Start,All Programs, point to Accessories,point to System Tools, and clickBackup. After the utility starts, click theAdvanced Mode link and select theBackup tab. In the left pane, check theSystem State box. If you want tochange the destination folder and/orfile name, click Browse. Click StartBackup to display the Backup Job di-alog box. Confirm or modify the infor-mation displayed as appropriate andclick Start Backup again.

If you want to manually back upyour computer’s Registry using

System Restore, click Start, AllPrograms, point to Accessories, pointto System Tools, and click SystemRestore. Select Create A RestorePoint, click Next, and follow the on-screen instructions.

Restore the Registry. If you need torestore a version of the Registry youbacked up using System Restore, clickStart, Help And Support, and UndoChanges To Your Computer WithSystem Restore. Follow the on-screenprompts to select the restore date andpoint. If you used the Backup tool tomake a backup of the Registry, refer tothe Microsoft Knowledge Base articlementioned previously at support.microsoft.com/kb/322756 for informa-tion about restoring the Registry.

Registry Cleaning Tools

Unfortunately, Microsoftdoes not include a Registrycleaning utility in WinXP (or in other versions of Win-dows). You must look to

third-party vendors for Registryhousekeeping tasks, and many share-ware and freeware tools are available.To help narrow your options, we pro-vide information about three toolsyou can download. We also stepthrough using one of the tools to scanand clean the Registry.

TweakNow RegCleaner Professionalwww.tweaknow.com

30-day free trial

$26.95 to buy

TweakNow RegCleaner Profes-sional offers a thorough scanningmechanism, a Registry defragmenter,and a one-click Windows optimizer.It also automatically backs up theRegistry prior to scanning it. Thescanning feature lets you select aQuick Scan, Full Scan, or CustomScan. You can also select your level ofexpertise, either Beginner or Expert.In Beginner mode, the scan excludessensitive Registry categories. In addi-tion, the results display only itemsthat are safe to delete.

FIRST TRY THISClean The Registry

When you open the Registry with theWindows Registry Editor (regedit),

five main categories appear in aWindows Explorer-like interface.These categories are sometimes

called hives, branches, or root keys.


The results list shows the problemsfound, and you can deselect items toprevent their repair or removal. Inaddition, the results display a brief de-scription of the problem, so you knowwhy it’s included. TweakNow Reg-Cleaner also uses green (safe todelete), yellow (not fully safe todelete), and blue (unknown) icons todenote whether items are safe to re-pair or remove.

If your computer does not behaveproperly after you clean and repairthe Registry, you can click the RestoreNow button on the main TweakNowRegCleaner screen. A list of dates andactions appears. When you select anitem, it causes the system to restorethe Registry to its state prior to the as-sociated action. TweakNow Reg-Cleaner also comes in a free versionthat has fewer options and a less-thor-ough scanning mechanism.

CleanMyPC Registry Cleanerwww.registry-cleaner.net

15-day limited-version free trial

$29.95 to buy

CleanMyPC is a Registry scanner,cleaner, and defragmenter. In addi-tion, it offers optimization tools tomake fine-tuning your computer a biteasier. These tools include a StartupOrganizer (lets you manage the pro-grams to run when your PC starts),an Internet Explorer BHO (BrowserHelper Organizer, for identifyingadd-ons to Internet Explorer), and aPrivacy Eraser (lets you select variousrecent file and history lists to removefrom your computer).

The Registry portion of the pro-gram lets you select the types of prob-lems to scan for, such as missing filesand stray uninstall entries. When thescan completes, CleanMyPC displaysthe number of issues it found in eachproblem area, and you can click aDetails link to learn more. You candeselect the problem if you don’twant CleanMyPC to repair it, and youcan click the RegEdit button to openan item in the Registry Editor. UnlikeTweakNow RegCleaner, there are no

user modes to protect beginners frominadvertently removing a neededentry. The trial version of CleanMyPCRegistry Cleaner lets you repair only10 items within the Registry, regard-less of the number of items identified.

The backup feature in CleanMyPCRegistry Cleaner is not automatic. Priorto modifying the Registry, you need toclick the Backup & Restore button tocreate a backup of the Registry. To usethe program’s restore feature, click the same button, thenfollow the prompts tobrowse to and loadthe file that containsthe backup.

Eusing Free RegistryCleanerwww.eusing.com

Free

Compared to theother Registry utili-ties discussed, theEusing Free RegistryCleaner appears starkand short on features.However, it performsthe basic tasks neces-sary for backing up,restoring, scanning,and cleaning your system’s Registry—and it’s free.

The scan feature lets you choosethe Registry items to scan, similar toCleanMyPC. Upon completion of thescan, the results will include a briefdescription of the problem and therelated key value. You can deselectitems or right-click them to loadthem in the Registry Editor.

Eusing Free Registry Cleaner auto-matically backs up the Registry priorto repairing it. To restore the Reg-istry if necessary, you can click theRestore Previous Registry link on themain screen.

Perform A Registry Cleanup

To give yourself a feel for howRegistry cleaners work, we will stepthrough using TweakNow RegCleaner

Professional to scan and clean aRegistry. To obtain a trial version of the software, go to www.tweaknow.com.

After you download and install thetrial version, open TweakNow Reg-Cleaner Professional. In the ScanMode area, select Full Scan. (TheQuick Scan option scans only themost important part of the Registry.)For User Mode, select Beginner.Click the Clean Now button to start

the scan.As the scan runs,

the Scanning Statuswindow displays anyproblems found. Thescan will take sometime, but you can useyour computer forother tasks as it runs.When the ScanningStatus window dis-plays “Scan Com-plete,” click the ViewResults link to displaythe Result window.Here you can vieweach issue, deselectany that you do notwant to repair, andadd items to an exclu-

sion list so that scanner ignores themduring future scans.

Because we selected Beginnermode, all of the items found shouldbe safe to repair. Click the Deletebutton to remove the unnecessaryRegistry entries. Close the Resultwindow and close the ScanningStatus window. Close TweakNowRegCleaner Professional and restartyour computer to make sure every-thing is running correctly. If yourestart your system and problemsoccur, open TweakNow RegCleanerProfessional and select the RestoreNow button to select the previousRegistry settings.

Mystery Solved

As you’ve learned, the Registryisn’t such a mystery after all. And


Prior to cleaning the Registry,you should back it up. WindowsXP offers a number of methodsfor doing this, including theBackup utility. Most Registrycleaning utilities also include abackup feature.


The Registry is a database

or collection of configu-

ration information for

Windows. It’s been in use

since the days of Windows

95, but it has undergone

some changes over the years.

However, its overall purpose

has not. Windows relies on

the Registry for important

configuration details, in-

cluding user preferences, ap-

plication settings, and

hardware information.

RReeggiissttrryy ssttrruuccttuurree.. In

Windows XP, the Registry

consists of five main cate-

gories, also known as

branches, hives, or root keys.

Each category holds infor-

mation about a different as-

pect of your PC setup. Here

are the categories and pur-

pose of each in WinXP:

HHKKEEYY__CCUURRRREENNTT__UUSSEERR

contains profile information

for the user currently logged

in, such as screen colors,

Control Panel settings, and

the user’s Desktop.

HHKKEEYY__UUSSEERRSS contains in-

formation about all user

profiles on the computer.

HHKKEEYY__LLOOCCAALL__MMAACCHHIINNEE

contains configuration infor-

mation specific to the com-

puter and operating system,

regardless of user.

HHKKEEYY__CCLLAASSSSEESS__RROOOOTT

includes information about

file types and associated

actions. Ensures that the

correct program opens

when you open a file in

Windows Explorer.

HHKKEEYY__CCUURRRREENNTT__CCOONNFFIIGG

contains information about

the computer’s hardware pro-

file, which is used at startup.

Numerous layers of sub-

categories, called keys or sub-

keys, are located beneath

each of these main cate-

gories. The keys contain a

value, which is the informa-

tion supplied to the operat-

ing system. For example, a

value of 500 for the key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/

CONTROL PANEL/MOUSE/

DoubleClickSpeed states

that there must be at least

500 milliseconds between

two mouse clicks for WinXP

to treat them as separate

single clicks.

Many Registry settings

are affected by changes that

you make in the Windows

Control Panel and other

system-related screens. For

example, you can modify

the DoubleClickSpeed key

value on the Button tab of

the Mouse Properties di-

alog box.

SSeeccuurriittyy aanndd ootthheerr pprroobblleemmss..

As you might guess, the

Registry can be a playground

for worms, viruses, and other

harmful programs. By mak-

ing changes to the Registry,

malicious software can fool

WinXP and cause all sorts of

problems for you and your

computer. Another issue

concerns authorized soft-

ware programs that need to

write to the Registry, but

can’t do so because the user

account running the soft-

ware does not have adminis-

trator rights.

WWiinnddoowwss VViissttaa.. Users who

are not fans of the Registry

were hopeful that Windows

Vista would mean its demise.

According to what we can

glean from Microsoft and

other sources, that doesn’t

appear to be the case.

However, to help reduce the

Registry issues that can

occur, Windows Vista is

slated to offer new Registry-

related features, including:

WWiinnddoowwss RReessoouurrccee

PPrrootteeccttiioonn prevents changes

to system files by any pro-

cess other than Windows

Installer. It includes protec-

tion from accidental changes

by users and changes by

unauthorized software.

WWiinnddoowwss SSeerrvviiccee HHaarrddeenniinngg

protects against unautho-

rized Registry changes by

services, which are programs

that run automatically in

the background.

WWiinnddoowwss DDeeffeennddeerr moni-

tors system configuration

information, including por-

tions of the Registry. It can

also help detect and remove

spyware and other harmful

software by scanning critical

system components, in-

cluding the Registry.

UUsseerr AAcccceessss CCoonnttrrooll provides

non-administrator user ac-

counts with a “virtual” Reg-

istry, allowing them to run

programs that otherwise need

to modify Registry entries.

At press time, we were

unable to verify whether

plans for Windows Vista in-

clude changes to the regedit

utility or the addition of new

Registry cleaning features.

MMaacc OOSS XX.. Unlike Windows

OSes (operating systems),

Mac OS systems, such as OS

X, do not use a single Registry

database to store system

configuration information.

Each application running on

a Mac has its own set of con-

figuration files. System infor-

mation is stored in various

preference files. Similar to

Windows, users modify the

settings through dialog boxes

and graphical interfaces.

Proponents of the Mac

OS believe that the lack of a

central Registry is one of the

main reasons Mac OS sys-

tems experience fewer secu-

rity issues when compared

to Windows systems.

However, Macs are not

problem-free. If you need

help with Mac OS X issues,

refer to “Tips For Apple

Users” on page 38. ❙

Reflections On The Registry, Windows Vista & Mac OS X


unless you’re an advanced user in-terested in manually manipulatingthe Registry, you rarely, if ever,need to use regedit . By regu-lar ly running one of the many

inexpensive or free Registry clean-ers available today, you can keepthe Registry neat and tidy. Doing so makes your system run more efficiently, reduces the chance of

conflicts and problems, and keepsmalicious software at bay.

BBYY CCAARRMMEENN CCAARRMMAACCKK

RS


Linux distributions offer a widerange of tools to help recoverfrom disasters and catastro-

phes of all types and sizes. Some runautomatically when you boot, like the file system checking program fsck; some are interactive, like theQtParted partitioning tool; othersare fully-formed user-friendlyapplications with full-on GUIs(graphical user interfaces), likeWireshark (wireshark.org), a net-work protocol analyzer.

When you can’t, won’t, or justdon’t want to boot from your primaryhard drive, there’s always Knoppix(knoppix.org), a bootable CD/DVD/USB Linux distribution with the emer-gency response tools you need to doanything from booting up a full-boredatabase-backed Web server to simplyrecovering files, directories, and diskdrives, or fixing the MBR (master bootrecord, the first section of the drive that contains key information aboutbooting and partitioning), when that’sbeen munged up by a botched OS (op-erating system) install.

It’s Linux. What could go wrong?You won’t suffer the BSoD (Blue

Screen of Death) that plagues certainversions of Windows, but you’ll stillface many of the same problems en-countered with any other operatingsystems. The general rules of trou-bleshooting apply to Linux, but it

comes with a bounty of tools formonitoring, analyzing, and generalfiddling around with your system toget it running just the way you like it.

The best time to think about youremergency toolkit is before anythinggoes wrong, and the Knoppix LiveCDshould be part of everyone’s kit.Many system problems originate onthe hard drive, and no OS boots froma damaged drive—but most of thoseproblems can be fixed with up-to-date backups, and, when all else fails,recovery with Knoppix.

Some of the most common prob-lems you’ll run into with Linux includeresetting a forgotten password, recog-nizing new hardware, hard drive issues,installing software patches and securityupdates, and identifying network

problems. Solutions to some of theseare easy and straightforward; others area bit too complicated to go into detailhere. One handy thing about Knoppixis that when you run into a more complex problem, you can use a nice,familiar GUI desktop (KDE) andbrowser (Firefox or Konqueror) tosearch the Web for answers.

Your Linux Toolkit

Before you do anything else withyour PC, download and burn theKnoppix bootable CD ISO image; de-tailed help is available at the unofficialKnoppix website, knoppix.net. Besure to try Knoppix out when youdon’t need it, so you won’t panicwhen you do have to use it in an

emergency. Other things you’ll needto know, or know about, include:

Log files. Almost everythingthat happens on a Linux systemis stored in log files, so you can

often figure out what’s goingwrong by scanning these text filesstored in /var/log.

Root access. The root user, alsoknown as “superuser,” has full ac-cess to all system resources. The

user ID is “root,” and the passwordis usually set when Linux is installed.

Knowledge. You’ll need to knowhow to use these tools. “KnoppixHacks” by Kyle Rankin offers excellentrecipes for Knoppix. More advancedtexts from Bruce Perens’ Open SourceSeries are available for download asPDF files (www.phptr.com/promotions/promotion.asp?promo=1484&redir=1&rl=1). The Prentice Hall Pro-fessional Technical Reference site offers many Linux articles (www.phptr.com), as do IBM’s Linux Portal(www-1.ibm.com/linux) and Devel-operWorks/Linux (www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/linux) sites.

Google. Whatever search site youprefer can answer many questions.Just search the appropriate keywords:Linux distribution, the program that’sacting up, and your problem. For ex-ample, to recover files on an Ubuntu

Build A LinuxTroubleshootingToolkitTroubleshooting Tips For Linux Users

FIRST TRY THIS


system using a Knoppix rescue disc,search “Ubuntu Knoppix file recover”.

Use Knoppix

To run Knoppix from CD, youmust reconfigure your computer toboot from the CD-ROM drive byentering your system’s BIOS (BasicInput/Output System) configurationand changing the boot disk searchorder. Check your hardware docu-mentation for help configuring yourBIOS to boot from the CD/DVDdrive. Knoppix probes your PC’s

hardware and, to the extent possible,identifies and initializes all of itduring the boot process.

Knoppix uses the KDE desktop envi-ronment (kde.org) and includes a di-verse set of applications, utilities,diagnostics, networking and Internetclients, and even productivity applica-tions so you can get work done even ifyour system is well and truly hosed.

Knoppix recognizes system harddrives and partitions and lets you viewand browse them from the desktop.However, file systems are set to “read-only” access by default, so you can’tmess things up by mistake. If you needread/write access, right-click the driveicon on your desktop and choose“Change read/write mode.” This al-lows you to back up changes and savedata permanently; you can also storedata on USB-attached storage devices.

From there, Knoppix is just an-other Linux distribution (or “distro”).Familiarize yourself with both theKnoppix GUI desktop and the Linuxshell so you can get comfortable en-tering commands at the commandline. The shell is a command line in-terface; you get a shell session if youlog in without starting a GUI desktop,or you can open a shell window fromwithin the desktop. The shell is alsoreferred to as a terminal or consolesession; using one on a windoweddesktop makes it much easier to tryout ideas you get from the Web.

Forget YourPassword? Don’t Worry!

Passwords should be hard tofigure out, but that often meansthey’re hard to remember, too. Ifyou chose too well, or haven’t loggedin for a while, all is not lost if you’veforgotten your password. It happensto everyone!

To reset your regular user pass-word, log in as root and run thepasswd command in a shell, with theuserID of your account:

linux:~ # passwd userID

The first bit is the shell prompt: “#”indicates you have root access. PressENTER, and you’re prompted for anew password for your userID, andyou’re ready to go. Or, you can useyour Linux’s GUI user administrationtool from the desktop.

What if you don’t have the rootpassword? In that case, you can rebootinto “single-user mode” by adding theboot parameter single or init=1 to getfull access as root with no login; thenrun passwd root to reset the password.

In single-user mode, your systemgoes through the full boot process,initializing all devices, disks, networklinks, and so on. Most Linux distribu-tions also offer an “emergency” or“rescue” boot mode that initializesonly the devices and services neces-sary to run a basic shell session. Thismode can be used to troubleshoot orfix damaged or nonresponsive disks.

Another important utility is Sudo(superuser do), which lets you executea single command at a time with rootaccess. You should never log in as root(for security reasons), but rather useSudo so you can “do” one thing at atime, as superuser. You still have toenter the root password, but after thecommand is executed, you go back tobeing logged in as a regular user.

Recognize New Hardware

Bleeding-edge technology was oncenot easy to use with Linux because ittakes time to get drivers written fornew gizmos. However, things arechanging as more people use Linuxand more companies support it.

Linux distributions now recognizeand initialize even some of the latesthardware. Testing for hardware com-patibility is an important Knoppixfunction: If Knoppix boots, thesystem will run Linux; if not, you mayencounter problems.

If you’re not sure what drives andpartitions you have, log in as theroot user. This will enable you to usethe fdisk -l command in the shell tolist them all.

System Logging

As mentioned above, Linux log filesstore records of changes and error mes-sages. When your system fails to bootproperly, review the /var/log/boot.msg

FIRST TRY THISTroubleshoot Linux

Knoppix boots tothe popular and familiar KDE GUI (graphical user interface) desktop.


file to see what happened during themost recent boot process: Error mes-sages identify the device or softwarethat failed.

Other important logs include/var/log/messages, for system mes-sages, and /var/log/warn, for systemwarning messages.

Within /var/log, subdirectories con-tain more logs for application andsystem software. These can be usefulwhen you’re trying to track downproblems with those programs. Youcan browse logs at the shell with the“less” text-file browser or with a GUItext editor, or search log files for textstrings with the grep search command.

Troubleshooting Disk & BootProblems

After hardware powerup, yoursystem BIOS looks for the MBR ofyour hard drive for booting instruc-tions. The MBR points to a bootloader program such as the GRandUnified Bootloader, or GRUB (www.gnu.org/software/grub), which usu-ally gives you at least two choices:boot normally to Linux, or boot intoemergency or rescue mode. By notmounting all disk partitions or net-work links, you can mount and ana-lyze problem partitions manually.

If your system doesn’t display aboot loader screen and doesn’t boot atall, and your hardware is recognizingthe hard drive you boot from (checkthe BIOS diagnostics), your MBR maybe damaged. This sometimes happensduring multiboot installations.

This is where Knoppix shines. Ifyour system boots Knoppix, fixing theMBR is relatively easy, though firstyou’ll want to back up data files on thedamaged drive. The easiest way to dothis is to drag and drop files and direc-tories from the damaged partition toanother disk, a CD-RW drive, USB-at-tached storage, or a network file server.

Once the data is safe, there are a fewdifferent approaches to restoringGRUB by rerunning the GRUB setupprogram on the MBR of the harddrive. One method is to mount theboot partition with read/write accessand the dev option enabled, then usethe grub-install program to reinstallGRUB. Another approach is to rerunthe original Linux installer and use thepartition editor to restore the MBR.

Partitions can pose further prob-lems: one becomes full and must bemade larger, or you need a new parti-tion to install another OS.

The QtParted GUI partition editor(qtparted.sourceforge.net) runs on theKnoppix desktop (select the “K” menuicon in the lower-left corner of thedesktop, choose System and QtParted).QtParted checks, copies, formats, andresizes partitions that it detects.

The fsck is a file system checkingprogram that runs during every bootto detect disk problems. Fsck verifiesthat files and directories are intact,unfragmented, and accessible; if fileshave been improperly closed due to a hard shutdown (due to loss ofpower), fsck prevents you from usingthe drive to avoid further damage andmay stop the boot process entirely. If

the damage is to the boot disk, youneed to boot Knoppix to repair it.

Patches, I’m Depending On You

If you keep up with system softwareupdates and security patches, you canavoid many problems before theyhappen. Most user-oriented Linux dis-tributions now include utilities for au-tomatically checking for and installingsoftware and security updates (see theaccompanying chart on this page).

Check your Linux distribution’sWeb site to see how to update yours.It’s easier to automatically install allupdates, but some people prefer to doit manually to better track whatthey’re installing.

Track Network Problems

Your network can be a source of at-tacks or other unauthorized traffic,even if you’re just logging in fromhome. Knoppix comes with Wireshark(wireshark.org), professional networkcapture software (formerly known asEthereal) that can capture and filter allof your network traffic and help inter-pret the results. The latest version ofKnoppix (5.0.1) uses an older release ofWireshark that is still labeled Ethereal.

Linux is usually easy to troubleshootfor several reasons. First, the wealth ofonline resources from Linux vendors,user groups, and support providersmakes troubleshooting a snap. Second,Linux does not undergo significantchanges every few years, so skills builtup over the past three decades withUnix and related OSes can still be use-fully applied. And finally, as an openOS, Linux operation is transparent;system configurations are stored as textfiles and system procedures are all well-documented and open to anyone inter-ested. Although Linux may seem scarybecause it is different from what somany users are familiar with, it’s ofteneasier to administer and often simpler tofix when something does go wrong.

BBYY PPEETTEE LLOOSSHHIINN

FIRST TRY THISTroubleshoot Linux

DDiissttrriibbuuttiioonn

Xandros Linux

Mandriva Linux

SuSE/Novell

Red Hat

Ubuntu

User-oriented Linux distributions usually offer some form of automatic software update.

UUppddaattee PPrrooggrraamm

Xandros Networks

MandrivaUpdate

YaST Online Update

Red Hat Network

Automatix

UURRLL

www.xandros.com

www.mandriva.com

www.novell.com/products/suselinux

redhat.com

ubuntu.com

RS


FIRST TRY THIS

TroubleshootingFor The Mac OSYes, Macs Have Troubles Too

Quit and restart the application.Occasionally a command goes awryand an application gets confused.Save your work if possible, quit theprogram, and relaunch it. If it’s com-pletely unresponsive, open the Applemenu in the upper-left corner andchoose Force Quit. Select the offenderin the list of open apps and click theForce Quit button.

Log out. If that doesn’t work,choose the Log Out command underthe Apple menu. This will close yoursession and take you to the log-inscreen (which you may rarely, if ever,see if you use the auto-log-in optionon startup), where you can enter yourpassword and log back in.

Restart the computer. The Restartcommand is also under the Applemenu. If the problem has frozen yourscreen and you can’t move yourmouse, you’ll need to force a shut-down of the computer. Press and holdthe power button for a few seconds.After it’s through shutting down, youcan start all over again.

There are instances when a forcedshutdown may be unnecessary, eventhough the screen seems to be frozen.Sometimes a conflict with a USB deviceor hub can trigger an apparent freeze. Ifyour trouble arises immediately afterusing a device, attaching or detachingsomething to or from a hub, etc., thatmay be the culprit. Try unplugging thedevice or hub from the USB bus. Thismay clear the system confusion, andyou can plug it back in after a moment.

Permissive Behavior

Because Mac OS X is an account-based OS (operating system), each

Whenever partisan computerusers start firing salvos ateach other’s platform of

choice, you can predict what a coupleof them will be. Mac users tout the al-most total absence of viruses for OS X,contrasting that with the endless tideof Windows malware. Windows usersexploit whatever anecdotes they haveto deflate the myth of the Mac’s sup-posedly bulletproof reliability.

Well, there’s no such thing as abulletproof platform. Macs do de-velop problems, but they’re ofteneasier than PCs to troubleshoot be-cause one can rule out things such asviruses and a hidden plague of spy-ware bogging down the system. As

well, OS X’s Unix underpinningsprovide a solid, time-tested founda-tion that’s easy to maintain. All ofwhich may be scant comfort whensomething goes haywire: an applica-tion that won’t open, an interfacethat appears to vapor lock, or gen-eral bizarre behavior. Here are somethings to try to get your Mac up andrunning again when trouble rears its head.

First Lines Of Offense

Many problems are temporaryglitches that will go away on their own.If your Mac experiences a suddenonset of weirdness, try these steps first:

Most of yourbasic, try-these-first troubleshootingoptions areunder the Applemenu.


files, or applications in-stalled by drag-and-drop.It only applies to itemsthat use OS X’s Installerutility and that leave be-hind permissions data inthe Library folder’s Re-ceipts subfolder. Eventhen, it mainly pertains tosystem-level Apple soft-

ware, not third-party applications.However, third-party apps may needaccess to system files, and if there’s apermissions issue with a crucialsystem file, repairing it should clearup the problem.

Also, while permissions don’tchange themselves, various things canalter the settings, including corruptionin the disk directory (more on thislater), and, probably the most commonculprit, poorly written program in-stallers. For this latter reason, it’s not abad idea to repair permissions after youupgrade or install new software.

Files and folders. If the system in-forms you that you don’t have suffi-cient privileges to open or makechanges to a file or folder, someonemay have restricted its permissions.Select the item in the Finder andchoose Get Info from the File menu.At the bottom of the Info window isthe Ownership & Permissions section,where a pop-up menu controls whatyou’re currently allowed to do withthe file or folder. For full access,change the setting to Read & Write.

Preferential Treatment

If your troubles are confined to aspecific application—say, it crashes onstartup, or behaves in erratic or unex-pected ways—you can often addressthis by deleting its preference file.

A preference file retains an applica-tion’s settings. If a preference file be-comes corrupted, it can play havoc

with the program’s stability. The fix issimple: Delete the file, and the nexttime you launch the application, it willcreate a new preference file. You mayhave to restore customized settings.

Preference files are a little harderto run down in OS X than in the ear-lier days of System 9 and its predeces-sors. Instead of one consolidatedPreferences folder, there are two, andyour troublemaker could conceivablybe in either one. Follow this file pathfor the main folder:

Startup volume > Library >Preferences

The other folder is under your useraccount:

Startup volume > Users > Yourhome folder > Library > Preferences

In each location, do a thoroughsearch to make sure you don’t over-look anything. Most applications willhave only one preference file (or asubfolder of them), but there are ex-ceptions. Occasionally, an applicationmight create more than one file in thesame Preferences folder, or even createfiles in both Preferences folders.

Additional System Massages

We’re going a little deeper into OSX now, although these tricks to fixyour Mac aren’t difficult either.

Repair the directory. Each volumeon a Mac’s hard drive keeps track ofthe file structure in its directory, adatabase that tells the system what’slocated where. If the directory be-comes corrupted through a crash,power outage, etc., your data maysuddenly become inaccessible.

In addition to repairing permis-sions, Disk Utility can also fix the di-rectory. Select the appropriate volumeand click Repair Disk. However, onthe startup volume (the one with theactive system folder), you’re limited toverifying the file structure’s integrity.If there’s a problem, to fix it you’llneed to restart the machine from yoursystem installation disk. (If you need arefresher on how to do that, see thesidebar.) Once you’re running from

FIRST TRY THISTroubleshoot OS X

file and folder belongs to an accountand is subject to an associated set ofpermissions. These permissions dic-tate which users can access a file orfolder and what kind of access theyhave, thus helping to maintain secu-rity and govern file sharing. Permi-ssions affect not just your collectionof work files but also system filesyou never touch and may even be in-visible in the Finder.

Repair permissions. On a systemlevel, incorrect permissions settings cancause a wide range of problems. Youmight be unable to launch an applica-tion, use a peripheral device, and so on.

Fortunately, the fix is simple. Go tothe Applications folder, open theUtility folder, and launch Disk Utility.Select your startup drive or volume inthe left-side list. Now, under the FirstAid tab, click the Repair Disk Per-missions button. You’ll see a progressreadout as the program examines per-missions settings, and, if necessary,restores them to what the OS expectsthem to be.

Repairing permissions may well bethe most misunderstood trouble-shooting and maintenance functionin OS X, subject to a lot of misinfor-mation on the Web. Some usersherald it as a panacea for anythingshort of hard drive failure. A fewskeptics regard it as virtual snake oil,essentially useless. The truth liessomewhere in between.

Permissions repair doesn’t apply toyour documents and other personal

Mac OS X’s built-in Disk Utilityhas you covered for routine fix-it jobs, such as repairing permissions and file directories.


the CD or DVD, open the Utilitiesmenu and launch Disk Utility.

Clear the caches. Much like Webbrowsers, the system creates andstores files in a cache so it can accessneeded data more quickly. If a cachefile becomes corrupted, it may impedeor impair your system’s performance.You may be able to get rid of a peskyproblem by using a utility to clear theSystem and User caches. We’ll recom-mend one such utility momentarily.

Hardware Issues

Depending on your problem, youmay want to try some of these fixesbefore exhausting the software-related tips.

Check your RAM. If RAM goesbad, it can cause all kinds of squir-relly behavior, such as randomcrashes and freezes, startup failure,and data corruption.

For a quick check, go to the Applemenu and select About This Mac.Click the More Info button. Thislaunches the System Profiler, a pro-gram located in the Utilities folder.Under the Contents list, look underHardware and click Memory. Nowyou’ll see a list of individual RAMsticks, along with a Status column. Ifyou see a failure alert for any of them,you have your culprit.

Even if the Status reads OK, youmay want to eliminate all doubt. Ifyou’ve added extra RAM, try shuttingdown and removing the sticks one ata time, then starting again to see ifyour problem disappears. (If you’reusing a G5 or one of the new Intel-based Mac Pros, don’t forget thatRAM has to be added in matchedpairs, and should be removed thatway.) Sometimes, simply reseating theRAM or swapping chips between slotswill clear up a problem.

While you’re in there, it wouldn’thurt to use a can of compressed air toblow out dust that’s accumulated in-side the case.

Check your free hard drive space.Under Systems 8 and 9, users could

enable Virtual Memory, which wouldutilize free space on the hard drive asadditional RAM if the actual RAM wasfull. The system uses the hard drive tohold temporary files known as swap-files because their data is swapped be-tween the disk and actual RAM. In OSX, this happens automatically, withoutrequiring the user to enable it.

If you no longer have adequate spacefor these temporary files on your harddrive (or startup volume, in the case ofpartitioned drives) once your RAM ismaxed out, you’ll suffer a plunge incomputing speed, perhaps seriousenough to grind things to a standstill.

Check the amount of available harddrive space at the bottom of any Finderwindow. At a bare minimum, youshould have upwards of 1GB. Ideally,though, keep a few gigabytes free; 4 or5 wouldn’t be a bad idea if you’re in thehabit of burning CDs and DVDs.

Restarting the Mac will clear theswapfiles as well as the RAM, so youcan begin fresh, but it would bebetter to remove unneeded applica-tions, archive large files elsewhere,and so on to give your hard drive thespace it needs. Plus adding moreRAM will help.

Unplug all peripheral devices.Earlier we mentioned unpluggingUSB devices to clear a pseudo-screenfreeze. Peripherals can also generatechronic system conflicts. Unplugeverything, USB and FireWire devices

alike, except for the mouse, so youstill have basic control of your system.By plugging things back in one at atime, you may be able to pinpoint theoffender. Mix things up when you’replugging them in, too, so you can ruleout a bad cable or port.

Build Your Own Tool Chest

We’re staunch believers in preven-tative maintenance and doing ourbest to make sure small problemsdon’t turn into big ones. These aresome of the best tools for the job.

Titanium Software OnyX (free;www.titanium.free.fr). This littleutility taps into OS X’s Unix base soyou can maintain, optimize, and per-sonalize the system. In addition toclearing caches, another of its hand-iest features lets you run OS X’sscheduled maintenance scripts any-time you want. Normally, they run inthe wee hours of the morning, butonly if the Mac is on and awake.

Micromat TechTool Pro 4 ($98;www.micromat.com). This jam-packed utility inspects everything inyour Mac (hardware, drives, volumes,and files) and repairs problems when-ever possible. We like the way itgroups numerous tests into Basic,Intermediate, and Advanced suites.One of its most unique and valuablefeatures lets you create an eDrive, anemergency startup and repair parti-tion that’s invisible during normalcomputer use—a great precaution toinstall on a secondary drive.

Drive Genius ($99; www.prosofteng.com). Another utility suite, butthis one’s focus is more on hard drivemaintenance. It can handle repairs,plus some functions that TechToolPro omits, such as defragmenting avolume and repartitioning a drivewhile leaving its data intact.

Alsoft DiskWarrior 3 ($79.95;www.alsoft.com). Compared to themore comprehensive utilities, this is aone-trick pony, but it’s an excellenttrick. Rather than repair a damageddirectory, DiskWarrior rebuilds a


Titanium Software’s OnyX packs in a lot ofmaintenance and upkeep features, includingcache cleaning. And it’s free!


new one from scratch, thus elimi-nating any chance of lingering problems. Rebuilding a corrupted di-rectory can let you access data thatappeared lost; rebuilding a frag-mented directory can optimize yoursystem for a little extra speed.

Data Rescue II ($99; www.prosofteng.com). If you develop serious harddrive troubles, this will let you pro-ceed on the smartest path: recoveringas much data as possible, and writingyour data to another location, beforetrying repairs.

Data Backup ($59; www.prosofteng.com). The need for data recovery ismuch less urgent if copies of your filesalready exist on another drive. Statisticsvary, but some surveys have found thatas few as one in 20 computer users ac-tively safeguard their data with regularbackups. Come on, join that proud,protected 5%!

Finally, a warning: If you’re run-ning OS X 10.3 or later, stay awayfrom Symantec’s Norton System-Works 3 suite for Macintosh, and itsNorton Utilities 8 component, whichis also available separately. Symantechalted development in 2004, and be-cause the program hasn’t kept upwith later changes in the OS, un-aware users can do serious harm totheir systems. Although Symantec no longer lists SystemWorks andUtilities for Mac on its Web site,these programs are still available insome retail outlets, and users are still

finding out the hard way that theyshouldn’t have bought it, sustainingheavy directory damage and otherproblems with their Macs.

Call In A Pro

It ’s possible you have troublethat’s beyond your ability to solve,particularly if i t ’s hardware-re-lated—a bad logic board, for in-stance. If you’ve exhausted yourtroubleshooting options, you canfind an Apple Authorized ServiceProvider at www.apple.com/buy/locator/service.html.

If you’re fortunate enough to livenear an Apple Store, so much thebetter. You can find stores at www.apple.com/retail.

You can use the local store’s pageto set up an appointment to take your

ailing machine to the onsite GeniusBar, or just drop by and add yourname to the queue. The staff knowsits stuff, and should be able to helpyou get to the root of your problem.Talk and troubleshooting are free;you’re only looking at a bill if the ma-chine needs parts and labor.

Happiness Is A Warm Mac

Apple enjoys one of the industry’shighest rankings for customer satisfac-tion, and the position is well-deserved.With the Mac hardware and softwaredeveloped under the same roof, it’s atightly integrated system. Still, thingscan and do go wrong. In most cases,though, these problems are surprisinglyeasy to take care of.

BBYY BBRRIIAANN HHOODDGGEE


Reinstalling The Mac OS

SSometimes it just happens this way. A problem, or an entire colony of them,

refuses to be rooted out, and the only thing left to try is a reinstallation of

the OS (operating system).

You can launch the system installer one of two ways: The first option is to in-

sert the system disk and restart the computer while holding down the C key,

which forces the Mac to run off the OS on the disk. Alternatively, on newer ver-

sions, you can insert the disk and directly launch the installation program, which

has a Restart button.

Since version 10.2, Mac OS X provides three installation options: Upgrade,

Archive And Install, and Erase And Install.

UUppggrraaddee.. Ignore this option for troubleshooting.

AArrcchhiivvee AAnndd IInnssttaallll.. This replaces the current System folder with a brand new

copy, although it doesn’t delete the original. Instead, it leaves the old one on your

drive, labeled Previous System, so you can delete it whenever you’re ready. This

gives you an opportunity to drag any third-party components from the old

folder into the new one (preference panes for the System Preferences, for ex-

ample) and spare yourself some reinstallation hassles. See “Mac First Aid” on page

76 for more information on repairing Mac OS X.

If this method solves your problem, great. It’s certainly more expedient than

the third alternative.

EErraassee AAnndd IInnssttaallll.. This is the nuclear option, the one to try when all else fails. First,

though, copy your files to a backup destination so you can easily restore them.

Once Erase And Install is underway, you’ve reached the point of no return.

This option wipes your hard drive clean (or startup volume, if you’ve partitioned

the drive) and installs the OS from scratch, leaving you with a factory-fresh ma-

chine. Now comes the time-consuming chore of reinstalling applications, utilities,

device drivers, and so on. You can learn more about installing Mac OS X from

scratch on page 110, “A Fresh Apple.” ❙

Prosoft Engineering’s Drive Genius lets youtarget entire drives and individual partitionsfor maintenance and repairs, testing the integrity of system components and your drive’s data blocks, and much more.

RS


Who Has Your Back?A Guide To Backing Up & Restoring Your Data

BACKING UP

What?

Now let’s talk about what you back up. There’s afunny rule about data that some of us learn the hardway: It’s easy to overlook something. (In fact, it’seasy to overlook the one thing you need most.)

You can fight Murphy’s Law by taking a surveyof your data so you don’t miss something you’lllater need. See the “Most Common Data Types”chart for a list of the most common data types tocheck for on your hard drive. (We’ll explain whereto look for them in the next section.)

Don’t forget to include any setup files you down-load, because you’ll need them to restore your soft-ware after you restore your operating system. Ofcourse, some people back up their software and op-erating system, too, but it takes far longer thanmerely backing up data. Worse, if you have a virusor any other system problem you failed to detect,you could save italong withthe goodstuff youwant to keep.

B ackups are a bit like apples. One a daykeeps the doctor, and disaster, away.

Luckily for you, setting a backup routine is sim-ple. You just have to ask the right questions. Thesedays your data—that is, your letters, photos, bud-gets, music, and more—can be as vital as oxygen.You can rewrite a memo if you lose it, but how doyou conjure up lost photos? How do you replaceyour email? Without a backup, your data can disap-pear in the instant it takes you to spill your coffee orhit the DELETE key.

When?

Now that you know why to back up your data,the next question is when do you back it up?

The short answer is, “as often as you can.” Everyday—most often at night, when you’ve finished theday’s work—is the gold standard. But there are threefactors you need to consider. The first is the impor-tance of your data. If you do nothing but surf theWeb or play Solitaire, sending the occasional email,then backups are vital but not urgent.On the other hand, if you work fromhome or store your financial data inMoney or Quicken, you should fre-quently perform backups.

You should also consider how oftenyou change your data. After all, there’sno reason to back it up unless you’vechanged it since the last backup. Andthen there’s the cost: Tapes, CD-Rs,DVD-Rs (short for DVD-recordables,which store far more data than CDs),Zip disks (high-capacity disks that re-quire a special drive), and other mediaaren’t free. Thus you should choosea backup plan that fits yourneeds and your wallet. In the end, only you can decidehow often you will need to perform a backup.


Where?

Now that you know what to backup, where do you find it? If you’reusing Windows, most of your data willbe in the My Documents folder. Lookon your Desktop for the My Docu-ments icon and double-click it. (If youdon’t have a My Documents icon onthe Desktop, check your Start menu.)

Is all your data there? It may seemlike it, but looks can be deceiving.That’s why you should check com-mon but overlooked locations, suchas the top level of the C: drive. InWindows XP, double-click the MyComputer icon on the Desktop, thendouble-click Local Disk (C:). (If youdon’t have a My Computer icon onthe Desktop, check the Start Menu.)

Data can also hide in your soft-ware’s program folders. To viewthem, open the My Computer win-dow as described above and look inthe C: drive. Now locate a fold-er named PROGRAM FILES anddouble-click it. Double-click thefolders of software you commonlyuse. Do you see any of your datathere? While you’re at it, don’t forgetabout data you’ve stored on floppies,Zip drives, or USB drives (also calledthumb drives or microdrives).

You also need to know where youremail is stored, because it can be hardto find. For instance, if you’re usingMicrosoft Outlook, your email and allyour contacts, Calendar items, andTask lists are stored in a file with theextension .PST. To find it in WinXP,click Start, Search, and For Files OrFolders. Choose All Files Or Folders.Under All Or Part Of The File Name,type *.pst. Choose My Computerfrom the Look In menu and clickMore Advanced Options. Make surethe first three options (Search SystemFolders, Search Hidden Files AndFolders, and Search Subfolders) arechecked. Now click Search and waitfor the results. When they appear,click View, Details, and note the loca-tion of your PST file. You’ll need itwhen you start your backup.

How? (Part 1)

So how do you actually perform the backup?

First choose your weapon—yourbackup medium. You can use CD-Rs(which hold up to 700MB), DVD-Rs(which hold up to 4.7GB), USB drives(which hold up to 6GB), tapes (whichhold up to terabytes, or thousands ofgigabytes), Zip disks (which hold upto 750MB and require a special drive),external hard drives (which hold upto 400GB and connect to your systemthrough its USB port), and more.

Which is right for you? It dependson how much data you have. InWinXP, open the My Documentsfolder and click Edit, Select All to selectevery item in the window. Now right-click any item and choose Propertiesfrom the context menu. You’ll see awindow telling you the total size of allthe items you’ve se-lected, which in turndetermines the me-dia you choose. Bear in mind that manybackup programs canspan media; that is,they can start yourbackup on one disk,then continue on asecond (or third, orfourth) when spaceruns out.

Also consider thetransfer rate, whichis the speed at whichdata is transferred to disk. USB drives and external hard drives are fast; CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, and Zipdrives are fast butnot blazing; tapes areslow but hold themost data.

How? (Part 2)

Once you’ve cho-sen your medium,choose your method.

You can copy and paste the data toyour backup media, or you can usesoftware to make compressed or en-crypted backups. (Compression makesyour backups smaller; encryption en-codes them so only you can see them.)

First, copy and paste. This is thesimplest and often the least expen-sive method, because you won’tneed any software. Copying andpasting also has a hidden benefit:Because you won’t compress or encrypt data, it’s faster and, someargue, unlikely to fail. Just remem-ber the flip side of that coin: With-out compression, your backups canbe large; without encryption, theycan be read by anyone.

To copy and paste your data inWinXP, open the My Documentsfolder, click Edit, Select All. Now clickEdit, Copy, and navigate to yourbackup media, such as your USB

BACKING UPBacking Up Data Files

DDaattaa TTyyppee CCoommmmoonn CCoommmmoonn FFiillee

SSooffttwwaarree EExxtteennssiioonnss

Email Outlook, Outlook .PST, .DBX.,

Express, Eudora .MBX, .TOC

Microsoft Word, Excel, .DOC, .XLS,

Office PowerPoint, .PPT, .MDB

documents Access

Contacts, Outlook, .PST, .DAT

calendars Palm Desktop

Music Windows .MP3, .WMA,

Media Player, .M4P, .RA

iTunes, Real Player

Photos Adobe Photoshop .JPG, .TIF,

Album, Picasa .GIF, .PNG

Favorites and Internet .HTML

Bookmarks Explorer, Firefox,

Opera, Safari

Ebooks Microsoft Reader, .LIT, .PDF

Adobe Reader

PDF (Portable Adobe Reader .PDF

Document

Format) files

Most Common Data Types

HHere’s a list of the most common types of data you’ll

want to look for when backing up your PC’s files. ❙


drive or Zip disk. Click Edit, Paste.Just be sure you’ve closed any pro-grams using the data, because youcan’t copy an open file.

For larger jobs or data that de-mands compression or encryption,use backup software. There are quite afew options, from freeware to costlybut high-powered software for homeor small business use (we’ve describeda few of the best programs in the“Software You Can Use” sidebar). Butall of them use the same methods.

First, your software will promptyou to create a backup job. A job issimply a backup task for the softwareto perform; it includes definitions, orinstructions on what to back up. Forinstance, your backup job may includeall the data in your My Documentsfolder, along with your email, nomatter where it is on your hard drive.

Backup jobs come in two flavors,which your software will prompt youto choose. In a full backup, you backup all your data, no matter when it wasmodified. It’s much like the copy-and-paste procedure described above, ex-cept that it’s run by the backup soft-ware and might include compressionor encryption. In an incremental back-up, you back up only the documentsyou’ve changed since the last backup.It’s the most common option, becauseit saves times and money. Just make afull backup first, and then make incre-mental backups daily, weekly, ormonthly, based on your needs.

A Walk-Through

Ready to see how it works? Let’swalk through a backup and restoreusing WinBackup, an easy-to-use toolfrom Uniblue (www.uniblue.com).

Once you boot the software, clickCreate New Job and type the job’sname. Now click Select Files in theicon bar near the top of the window.Use the menus in the left pane to se-lect the folders you’d like to back up.You’ll notice WinBackup contains anumber of useful shortcuts to Out-look data, Outlook Express data, and

other common data stores that areburied deep within the hard drive. Itdoes not, however, contain a shortcutto the My Documents folder; inWinXP, you’ll find it in C:\DOCU-MENTS AND SETTINGS\Username,where Username is the name you useto log on to Windows.

Once you’ve chosen your data,WinBackup will estimate the job size.You’ll see a progress bar at the bottomof the window; wait for it to finish orsimply click the Save To icon near thetop of the window. Now select the loca-tion of your backup, such as your CD-ROM or USB drive. Be sure to namethe backup file and leave the Split Sizefield set to Auto (this lets WinBackupdetermine how to span your backupover several media, if needed).

Now click the Job Settings icon.Choose the backup type (Total orIncremental) and other settings(such as the Verify Type, which de-termines how WinBackup will checkyour backup for accuracy), then clickthe Run Backup icon. Click the RunBackup button in the window thatappears next. Depending on the sizeof your data, backups can be slow to complete, so many people runthem overnight.

Ready To Restore?

The restoration process is fairlysimple. Start your backup software,locate the restore feature, choose thebackup job to restore, and sit backand wait.

In WinBackup, click the Restoreicon at the top of the window. Selectthe backup job you’d like to restore;when you do, the software will auto-matically prompt you to select thefiles you’d like to restore. Use the treemenu on the left to select all the files(a complete restore) or specific files (apartial restore, if you’ve only lost partof your data). When you’re done,click the Restore To icon near the topof the window and select a place tosave your data. The default option isOriginal Location.

Click the Run Restore icon near thetop of the window and click the RunRestore button in the window thatappears next. Sit back and relax. Aswith backups, restores can take sometime, depending on how much datayou have. But once they’re com-plete—and your precious data is backon your hard drive, where it be-longs—you’ll breathe a sigh of relief.There are few things as scary as losingyour data, but there are few things asjoyful as getting it back again.

BBYY DDAAVVIIDD GGAARRRREETTTT

BACKING UPBacking Up Data Files

Software You Can Use

BBackup software runs the gamut

from built-in utilities to third-

party shareware and more pricey

commercial programs with pow-

erful features.

WindowsIn Windows 98 and Windows

2000, you’ll find a built-in backup

program by clicking Start, Programs,

Accessories, and System Tools. Add

free backup software to WinXP by

inserting the Windows CD into the

CD-ROM drive and clicking Perform

Additional Tasks on the Welcome

Screen. Click Browse This CD, then

double-click ValueAdd, Msft,

Ntbackup, Ntbackup.msi. Examples

of commercial software include

WinBackup (www.uniblue.com) and

NovaBACKUP (www.novastor.com).

MacintoshMac users can use Apple’s backup

software, aptly named Backup.

Commercial programs include

SuperDuper (www.shirt-pocket.com)

and BackJack (www.backjack.com),

an online backup service.

LinuxFdiff-backup, a simple command-

line utility, is one of the most

common backup programs for Linux,

including Fedora and Ubuntu. ❙

RS


keep in mind when getting a machineready for the task. First, and cruciallyimportant, is drive selection.

Many users simply buy two of theexact same drives from the samemanufacturer because it reduces theguesswork in making sure the drivesare compatible, but basically drivesfrom different vendors can work, aslong as they are of the same type.

Trying to create a mirror with anolder ATA drive, for example, andpairing it with a newer SATA drivewon’t work. Using drives of differentsizes, such as a 160GB drive and a120GB drive, is possible but not rec-ommended because it presents moreproblems than it’s worth to try to getthem working together. The main ar-gument against different-sized drives isthat the array will take the smallerdrive as the standard. So, if using an80GB drive with a 160GB drive, themachine will see them both as thelower-capacity version, effectively cut-ting the larger drive’s capability in half.

Second, it’s important to understandwhat type of RAID you’re creating.There are several different levels ortypes that can be used. Most commonare RAID 0, which creates a striped setin which data is split evenly across twoor more disks but doesn’t have redun-dancy, and RAID 1, which creates amirrored set, which is a copy of dataacross disks. Most users who just want adependable storage and recovery optionwill choose RAID 1 because it createsredundancy. This system creates anexact copy of data across two or moredisks, which is why it’s called a “mir-ror.” Other options include blendingboth striping and mirroring with levelssuch as RAID 0+1 and RAID 10.

By contrast, RAID 0 is good forspeeding up the process of readingand writing to disk and is often usedby those doing video-editing orgaming, but it doesn’t have the redun-dancy needed for storage. In otherwords, with a striped set, if one driveis lost, then the data goes with it. If it’sperformance enhancement that’sneeded, though, and redundancy is

BACKING UP

Drive Time:Restoring NormalcyPost-CatastropheSetting Up A RAID Can Keep Disaster At Bay

constant. But with careful planning,those problems can be more headachethan heartbreak.

One way to make sure data is storedproperly in the event of a hard drivegoing down is to set up a RAID.Known alternately as “redundant arrayof independent disks” and “redundantarray of inexpensive disks,” the strategyinvolves using multiple hard drives toshare data so if one goes down, the datais safe on the other drive(s).

At its basic level, RAID blends mul-tiple drives into a single unit. Ratherthan recognizing several differentdrives, which could lead to difficultieswith processing, the OS (operatingsystem) sees only one. Informationwritten to the drive, then, is put onhowever many drives are in the RAID.

To create a system, a user needs atleast two separate drives and a RAIDcontroller, which usually involves a logicboard, PCI (Peripheral ComponentInterconnect) expansion card, or capa-bility that’s built into the motherboard.For the purposes of this setup, we used aChaintech ZNF-250 motherboard,which has a Silicon Image built-in RAIDchipset for SATA (Serial AdvancedTechnology Attachment) drives. Also,it’s important to have the system disksavailable because the system OS has tobe reinstalled after the RAID is set up.

Getting Started

Before diving into the specifics ofRAID setup, there are a few items to

No one enjoys thinking aboutcatastrophe, but anyone whoowns even a low-end com-

puter knows that sometimes it’s neces-sary to envision disaster. With powersurges, older or faulty hardware, sput-tering software, and odd little systemquirks, the potential for problems is a


irrelevant, striping can be set up usingthe same setup screens and steps asthose used for mirroring.

Full Speed Ahead

To begin the RAID setup, the firststep is to download drivers fromwhichever manufacturer made theRAID controller. In this case, we vis-ited the Chaintech Web site and did aquick search on RAID drivers in the“Download” section, which broughtup the relevant drivers we needed.You should then put the drivers on afloppy diskette, which you can uselater during reinstallation of the oper-ating system, a necessary step in orderto set up the RAID properly.

If the drives aren’t already in thecase, now’s the time to place themthere. With the power off, find anavailable PCI slot and, if needed, re-move the slot back plate. Take twoSATA data cables, which are bundledwith the drives, and attach them to thefirst two ports on the RAID card, thenslide the card into the PCI slot on themotherboard. Put the drives into thebay available for that purpose, whichin this setup is near the front of thetower-style machine, and then plug apower connector from the powersupply into the back of the new drives.Connect the SATA cables to the drive,and you’re ready to power up the PC.

You’ll see a message indicating themotherboard recognizes there are newdrives attached to it. All motherboardsdisplay this type of message before

loading the operatingsystem. It doesn’t matterwhether the computer isusing Windows, Mac OSX, or Linux, the generalprocess will be the same—a chip on the board orPCI card recognizes the

drives and the need to manage them,and from there, creating a RAID set isonly a matter of a few steps.

The Silicon Image RAID configura-tion utility, which is sometimes builtinto the controller as firmware or is in-cluded with the drives on a setup CD,is fairly standard in terms of optionsand display, so users of other utilitiescan also expect the same choices whencreating RAIDs. The following choicesare in the main menu: Create RAIDSet, Delete RAID Set, Rebuild RAID 1Set, Resolve Conflicts, Low LevelFormat, and Logical Drive Info.

Some RAID configuration utilitieshave fewer options but the same basicchoices. For example, the Intel MatrixStorage Manager has Create RAIDVolume, Delete RAID Volume, andReset Disks to Non-RAID.

On the bottom of the screen forthe Silicon Image utility are two dif-ferent areas, one indicating the infor-mation for the physical drives and theother detailing the logical drive. Iftwo drives are used, there should be alist of two drives in the “physicaldrive” section. When the RAID set iscreated, the computer will make bothof them into a single mirror that isseen as one drive by the operatingsystem, so the “logical drive” sectionwill show only one set.

To create the RAID set, choose thatoption, and a list will appear that in-cludes RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 10, anda spare drive. Because the configura-tion is being chosen in order to allayfears of data loss (rather than boost

performance without creating redun-dancy), the most appropriate choicehere is RAID 1.

RAID 10, which gives the computerthe speed of striping as well as thebenefits of mirroring, is also an op-tion but requires four drives becausedata will be striped across one pair ofdrives and mirrored to a second pairof drives. There will be a performanceincrease, but with this option youwould need twice as many drives toequal the same storage capacity aswith a RAID 1 setup.

Once you make the choice, theutility will give two available configu-rations: auto or manual. If you puttwo new drives without data into themachine, the “auto” setting will createa RAID set without any data copying.If a drive already exists and you wantto create a RAID with a second, newdrive, the manual configuration willperform the migration. You simplyhave to choose the new drive that willbe part of the set, follow the utility’sprompts, and the set will be created.

Either way, the RAID set configura-tion is done extremely quickly, usu-ally in less than a second. Going backto the original main menu, you cantell that it’s worked by seeing if thelisting in the “logical drive” section isa single drive rather than two.

An important addendum: Whenusing an existing drive and addinganother, creating the set will effec-tively wipe out the data on the drive.Before trying to create any type ofRAID set, it’s crucial that you firstback up the data using another de-vice rather than risk losing the dataon an existing drive.

Windows Reinstallation

With the RAID properly config-ured, it’s time to reinstall the oper-ating system, which involves shut-ting the machine down, putting inthe installation disks, and firing itback up. If you’re using a version of Windows such as Windows 98,Windows 2000, or Windows XP, you

BACKING UPDisk Imaging & Drive Mirroring

The inside of a typical computer—the two drives are in the lower-right corner andconnected to the motherboardin the bottom-left side.


will see a message flash across thebottom during the initial startupscreens noting that you must “PressF6 if you need to install a 3rd partySCSI or RAID driver.”

After pressing F6 immediately afterthis message, a Windows Setup win-dow will appear, noting that theutility couldn’t determine the type ofone or more mass storage devices in-stalled in the system. The OS givestwo options: Either insert a disk withthe appropriate drivers for the storagedevices or choose not to have the de-vices recognized.

Because you have already down-loaded the drivers needed and havethem on a floppy, you can choose thefirst choice and press the S key. Win-dows will prompt you to insert the diskinto the A: drive and press ENTER.

The next Setup screen identifies theSCSI (Small Computer System Inter-face) adapter and the system. In thecase of this particular RAID set, theutility sees that it’s a Silicon ImageSATA RAID Controller, and you haveto choose whether the controller willbe used on Windows XP or WindowsNT 4.0 and 2000.

After noting that there are nomore devices requiring identification(unless you are using other storagemedia simultaneously), the Windowsinstallation will continue until theoperating system is in place. At thispoint, the RAID set should humalong happily, creating dual reposi-tories of data without further inter-vention from you.

Disaster Recovery

With the RAID in place,you can resume work, se-cure in the knowledge thatall is right in the desktopworld. But if anythingdoes happen to one of thedrives, accessing the dataand rebuilding the RAIDis fairly painless.

After turning the computer off (andunplugging it), remove the damageddrive and replace it with a new or un-damaged drive. You can usually iden-tify which drive is the bad one bylooking at its status lights. Usually, thedamaged drive will have a red oramber light, and the functional oneshould be green.

When rebooting, hold down the F4key, which will bring up the RAIDhardware menu. There will be a choiceto rebuild the RAID, and by selectingthat option, the system will automati-cally shuttle the data to the new drive.

If data needs to be accessed quicklyand another drive isn’t on hand, re-move the damaged drive and boot upnormally. Because the data has beenstored on both drives, and they wererecognized as only one drive ratherthan two, the data should appear as itdid before the drive went kaput.

Disk Imaging

For those who would rather notbuy drives but still want some redun-dancy built into their systems, diskimaging has become a dependable op-tion. With this software-based strat-egy, data can be stored on differentmedia, and many use the tactic toback up to CD/DVDs.

Unlike RAID, which depends onuser configuration through a controllerutility, disk-imaging programs basicallywalk you through the storage process.For example, products such as AcronisTrue Image, Paragon Drive Backup, or

Norton Ghost guide you through thefairly simple process of imaging a harddrive that backs up an operatingsystem, applications, user settings, andall data. All you have to do is install thesoftware and follow the prompts. Bestof all, many of these vendors offer trialversions available through their Websites, so you can see if the software iswhat you had in mind for data storage.

Some technophiles prefer to createa RAID over doing disk imaging be-cause they might gravitate towardhardware over software when it comesto data storage. But disk imaging, un-like RAID, allows you to have datastored in a location other than thecomputer, which can be useful for re-covery efforts if anything should hap-pen to the physical machine.

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BACKING UPDisk Imaging & Drive Mirroring

Restoring Data On A Mac

TT o set up a hardware RAID (Re-

dundant Array of Independent

Disks) on a Mac—in other words, us-

ing two or more drives—the process is

nearly identical to that of creating a

RAID on a PC. The only difference is

that the logic board involved must be

able to support the Mac operating

system. But because plenty of vendors

make boards that can work with Macs,

it’s usually not much of an effort to

find a suitable board.

Another option with Macs, though,

is setting up a software RAID, an op-

tion that’s included as part of Mac OS

X. To access the setup, open the

Applications folder on the hard drive

and then go into the Utilities folder.

Choose Disk Utility and then pick the

main drive. The window will show

these options: First Aid, Erase, Parti-

tion, RAID, and Restore. When RAID is

chosen, it gives you the ability to cre-

ate a mirrored RAID set simply by

dragging the disks to a list box. Once

the drives are listed, simply click Cre-

ate and the RAID set will be in place. ❙

Here is the drives’ connectionto the motherboard.

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Backing up data files on a PC is ano-brainer, but users can avoidmajor headaches when a sys-

tem failure or configuration error oc-curs by also understanding how to backup Windows XP’s Registry.

When Microsoft first introducedthe Windows 95 OS (operating sys-tem), it featured a centralized hierar-chical database in which settings forhardware, software, and system userswere stored. Known as the Registry, ithas become the core of all subsequentWindows OSes. Anytime changes aremade to a machine, whether it’s in-stalling new hardware or somethingas simple as changing the backgroundimage on the Desktop, these actionsare recorded in the Registry and thenreferenced by the operating system.

Understanding how to back up andrestore the Registry will not only saveaccurate information about the ma-chine’s core settings but also valuable

time getting the systemback up and running.

The Registry Editor

Warning: Before ac-cessing the RegistryEditor, be aware that

making errors whenediting the Registry can ren-der the computer inoper-able. By using one of theRegistry backup methodsavailable in WinXP, users

can return the system to a previousstate if changes to the Registry makethe system unstable.

Although the Registry files arestored on the computer in the systemroot directory, they are typicallyviewed and edited through the Reg-istry Editor. To open the RegistryEditor, click the Start button, choosethe Run option, type regedit, and clickOK. A new window will open with anavigation pane on the left. When anobject is highlighted in the navigationpane, the values for that object will bedisplayed in the right pane.

The WinXP Registry contains thefollowing five hives:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT: Storesthe information about the core userinterface, including file associationsand shortcuts.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER: Storespreferences and configuration for thecurrent user. When a different user

logs on to the same machine, the datain this hive changes to reflect thatparticular user’s configuration.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE: Storesthe configuration for the actual com-puter and remains static regardless ofthe user.

HKEY_USERS: Stores user infor-mation for anyone who has everlogged onto the machine as a user.

H K E Y _ C U R R E N T _ C O N F I G :Stores information about currenthardware configuration.

The next steps down in the hierarchyare keys and subkeys. Similar to foldersin Explorer, keys can contain multiplenested subkeys as well as values—whata file would be to a folder.

The terminal object in the Registryis a value. Values contain the actualdata and can be expressed in a num-ber of ways, including binary, strings,and DWORD.

If you are running the 64-bit ver-sion of WinXP, keep in mind that theRegistry is divided into 32-bit and 64-bit keys, only one of which can beopen in the Registry Editor in a singleinstance. The 64-bit keys are the de-fault when regedit is run. To open the32-bit version, first close regedit, andthrough the Run option, type %systemroot%\syswow64\regedit andclick OK.

To back up a Registry file using theRegistry Editor, go to File, Export.While that may initially appear easy,the choices you make next will signifi-cantly impact the Registry informa-tion that will be saved.

When you use the Backup Utility, itexports data from the Registry to a file;however, using the Export function inthe Registry Editor offers a number ofdifferent file choices in the Save AsType menu.

The Registration Files (.reg) is themost often-used format when manu-ally backing up the Registry. You canedit Reg files using Notepad inde-pendently of the Registry Editor.Registry Hive Files (*.*) create a bi-nary image of the selected Registry

BACKING UP

Insure YourComputer’sNervous SystemKnow How To Back Up & Restore Windows XP’s Registry


keys. Although they cannot beviewed or edited with a text editorlike .reg files, this option creates aperfect image and is the most stablefor Registry restoration. The TextFiles (*.txt) format only creates a textfile for reference and cannot be usedto restore the Registry. The Windows95/98/NT4 Registration Files (*.reg)option saves the files in a .reg formatand is only used when a WinXP keyneeds to be merged into an earlierOS version of Windows.

Once the Export Format has beendetermined, the Registry Editor letsyou choose exactly what to back up.There are options on the left of theExport Registry File window. Becauseselecting My Computer would be thesame as a total system backup, it is rec-ommended you use the Backup Utilityinstead of a manual Registry Export.

The Export range can be manuallyset to include All or a Selected branchto back up by selecting the particularbranch in the Navigation pane whenbeginning the Export. You can also se-lect branches by right-clicking andchoosing Export. This can be particu-larly useful when migrating users todifferent machines. As with backingup, there are a number of options tochoose when restoring a Registry.

You can restore backups saved as.reg files four different ways: using theImport feature in the Registry Editor;double-clicking a saved .reg file re-gardless of its location; right-clickingthe file and selecting the Merge op-tion; or right-clicking the file, se-lecting the Open File With . . . option,and choosing Registry Editor.

Be on the lookout for problemsrestoring .reg files using the Mergeoption. This method only insertschanged data into Registry files. Ifedits have been made that removevalues from keys, the data will not beremoved when merged, which can ex-acerbate OS instability.

While the Registry Hive Files formatis the most reliable and stable methodof Registry backup and restoration, it is critical prior to restoration to

navigate to the exact location in theNavigation pane where the backup fileis to be imported. Failure to do so willresult in the hive being placed into thewrong location, which will destroy ex-isting hive data and virtually guaranteethe system will not function.

You can only back up hive filesthrough the Import function. ClickFile and Import, navigate to thebackup file, and click Open. Don’t bealarmed by the ominous warning di-alog box asking for a confirmationprior to the restoration. Again, becareful to verify that you are indeedrestoring to the correct location.

Backup & Restoration Utilities In WinXP

There are also methods for backingup and restoring the Registry inWinXP without using the RegistryEditor; these methods may be lessdaunting to users nervous aboutopening the Registry itself.

The System Restore feature found inAccessories/System Tools is easy andintuitive to use. With the SystemRestore feature, users can easily create arestore point prior to making anymajor changes to the system.

Once you launch the System Re-store application, choose the Create ARestore Point option and click Next.Give the restore point a description. Adate and time are automatically added.Click Create.

To restore the Registry from thesnapshot, return to the System Restore

application and choose Restore MyComputer To An Earlier Time. Chooseeither a date on the calendar fromchoice No. 1 or a created restore pointin the list from choice No. 2. Thesystem will shut down and a SystemRestore dialog box will appear prior tothe reboot of WinXP. Upon reboot,you’ll have the option to accept thenew restoration or undo it.

The Backup Utility, also found inAccessories, lets users back up settingsstored in the Registry such as Favorites,Desktop, and cookies along with datafiles, as well as create a full systembackup including a system recoverydisk that can be used to restore WinXPin the event of a full system failure.

The Registry backup created usingthe Backup Utility can also be ac-cessed with the Recovery Consoleavailable on the WinXP Setup CD(\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons).

The existing Registry hive files aresaved to the %SystemRoot%\Repairfolder when the Backup Utility is run.To restore corrupted or missingRegistry hives, copy the files from%SystemRoot%\Repair to %SystemRoot%\System32\config.

New to WinXP is the System Restore(restorept.api), which automaticallystores multiple restore points instead ofonly the last restore point, as with pre-vious versions of the Windows OS. Thisutility is automatically installed andconfigured on WinXP and can beturned off by accessing the SystemRestore tab through Control Panel/System. Old restore points can be de-leted to free up drive space by right-clicking the drive icon in My Computer,accessing the Properties window, andunder the General tab clicking DiskCleanup. Choose More Options for theSystem Restore Cleanup button. All butthe last restore point will be deleted.

WinXP offers users a variety of waysto back up and restore the Registry.Regardless of which method youchoose, when disaster strikes, you’ll behappy you took the time to do it.

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BACKING UPBacking Up & Restoring WinXP’s Registry

If you’re not comfortable opening the operatingsystem’s Registry Editor, Windows XP offers aneasy-to-use Registry backup utility underAccessories/System Tools in the Start menu.

RS


By now you’ve rebuilt your sys-tem from scratch, formattingthe hard drive and installing a

fresh, fast copy of the OS (operatingsystem). But you’re not home yet. Youstill have to customize your computerto look and feel the way it used to, fromyour network settings to the pictureyou use on the Desktop.

But take heart. If you plan ahead,it’s not as hard as it seems. True,there are hundreds—even thou-sands—of settings to customize, andthe list of things to remember is long.(See the “Which Settings?” sidebarfor a partial list.)

And, true, you can always do it thehard way, inspecting the settings byhand and writing them down on theback of an envelope (or dozens of envelopes). But there are ways totransfer your settings quickly, too,using built-in or third-party softwareto spare you the headache of tweakingyour machine one setting at a time.

The Windows Way

Windows XP has a built-in FilesAnd Settings Transfer Wizard thatmakes quick work of moving yoursettings from one machine to an-other—or backing them up andrestoring them to the same machineafter you’ve reinstalled Windows. Italso works on all versions of Win-dows, from Windows 95 on.

And, it’s easy to use. Just run thewizard on your machine while it stillhas its old copy of Windows and all ofyour settings. The wizard gathersthose settings and backs them up to afolder on a 3.5-inch disk, CD, DVD,external hard drive, or network driveof your choice. You can also use a di-rect cable connection if you’re usingthe wizard to move settings betweentwo different machines.

Once you’ve finished this first step,format your hard drive and reinstallWindows and then run the wizard on

your fresh copy of Windows to restoreall the settings it saved. By and large,the wizard takes only a few minutes torun, as long as you’re transferring set-tings, not files. (Files are larger, andgraphics and music files can be huge,bogging down the wizard for hours.)

To start the wizard in WinXP,click Start, All Programs, Acces-sories, System Tools, and Files AndSettings Transfer Wizard. If you’renot using WinXP, you’ll need aWinXP CD to access the wizard. Justinsert it into your computer’s CD-ROM drive, choose Perform Addi-tional Tasks on the welcome screenthat appears on your Desktop, andclick Transfer Files And Settings. Ifyou’re using an older version ofWindows and don’t have access to a WinXP Setup CD, you’ll have torestore your settings by hand or use a third-party settings transfer tool, such as Computer Associates’Desktop DNA Migrator ($39.99;www.ca.com) or StompSoft’s EasyPC Transfer ($39.99; www.stompsoft.com). They work the same wayas the wizard, backing up settingsfrom your old copy of Windows andthen restoring them to your new one.

Step-By-Step

The first screen in the wizard is awelcome screen. Make sure you’veclosed all running programs becauseWindows can’t examine them andsave their settings when they’re stillopen. Then click Next.

The wizard will ask you about thecomputer you’re using. Because youneed to save the settings on your cur-rent version of Windows and then re-store them after you install a freshcopy of Windows, choose the OldComputer option and click Next.

The wizard may ask you to wait forit to prepare the rest of the process.Note that your firewall—the programthat keeps intruders off your sys-tem when you’re connected to theInternet—may display a messagesaying it’s blocked the File And

Let’s Get PersonalA Guide To Saving & Restoring Your Personal Settings

BACKING UP


Settings Transfer Wizard. That’s be-cause the wizard is trying to access theInternet, which is perfectly safe. Justinstruct the firewall to unblock theprogram. (For instance, if you’re usingWinXP’s built-in firewall, just click theUnblock button. If you don’t unblockthe wizard, it may not work properly.)

The wizard will now prompt you tochoose a way to move your settings toyour new machine. There are four op-tions, not all of which may be avail-able, depending on your system. Thefirst uses a direct cable connection.This option is only valid if you’reusing the wizard to transfer your set-tings between two different machines.The second option is similar; it relieson your network to move settingsfrom one machine to another. Be-cause you’re using the wizard to backup your current settings and then re-store them to the same machine afteryou’ve reinstalled Windows, you’llskip these options.

The third option uses a floppy driveor other removable media, such as aCD-R or DVD-R, to store your set-tings. You can use this option if youhave a CD-R or DVD-R drive, but re-member that such drives can be slow.The last option is ideal. It uses an ex-ternal hard drive or network drive tostore your settings while you reinstallWindows. Use this if you have an ex-ternal hard drive, a thumb drive, or anetwork drive where you can storeyour settings in the short term. Allthree options are faster than floppydisks, CD-Rs, and DVD-Rs, and theycan store more information, too.

When you choose youroption and click Next, you’llbe asked to specify exactlywhat you want to transfer—

settings, files, or both. Choose theSettings Only option in the upper-leftcorner of the window. On the rightside of the window you’ll see a list ofsettings the wizard will transfer. It’sextensive and may seem daunting atfirst, but note that most of the settingsare file associations—that is, the pro-grams that Windows uses to open dif-ferent file types. Other settings includeaccessibility, command prompt set-tings, mouse settings, security optionsfor Internet Explorer, and regionalsettings, such as your language andtime zone. You may also have settingsfor specific programs you’ve installed,such as Word or WS_FTP. (FTP,short for File Transfer Protocol, isused to move documents among re-mote computers, and it’s often usedfor uploading data to Web sites.)

Of course, the list you see will vary,depending on the settings you’ve cus-tomized and the programs you’ve in-stalled. You can use it as it stands, oryou can tweak it by clicking the LetMe Select A Custom List Of Files AndSettings When I Click Next (For Ad-vanced Users) checkbox. Then clickthe Next button.

If you chose to tweak the list of set-tings, you’ll see a screen that promptsyou to add or remove settings from thelist. Just click one of the buttons on theright side of the screen: Add Setting,Add Folder, Add File, Add File Type,or Remove. The Add Setting buttonlets you add a setting the wizardskipped. Use the Add Folder button ifyou need to transfer complete folders.The Add File button will add a specific

file. The Add File Type button will adda file association. The Remove buttonwill remove a setting from the list, so itwon’t be transferred.

When you’re done, click Next. Ifthe wizard picked up settings fromprograms you’ve installed, it will re-mind you to install those programson the new machine before runningthe File And Settings Transfer Wizardin its restore mode. Once you’vemade a note of those programs, clickNext to move on.

The wizard will then ask you to waitas it collects your settings. A progressbar will show you the status; it willtake several minutes if you’ve chosento transfer settings only. If you’vechosen to transfer files, too, or if yourlist of transferred settings includes theWindows Media Player (which has agreat number of settings that must beinspected, as well as licensing data foryour music), the process can take upto an hour, and in some cases more,depending on the size of the filesyou’ve told the wizard to transfer.

If the wizard finds a file it can’ttransfer, it will display an error mes-sage with the name of the file. Justclick Ignore. Once the wizard is com-plete, it will give you a complete list ofthose files, which you can transfermanually if needed. When the wizardis finished, you’ll see a screen readingCompleting The Collection Phase. Itprompts you to go to the new com-puter and run the Files And SettingsTransfer Wizard on that machine.Because you’ll be reinstalling Windowson the same machine and then re-storing your settings, simply clickFinish. Now open the My Computerwindow and navigate to the locationwhere you saved your settings. Lookfor a folder with the extension .UNC.If you don’t see the folder, there was aproblem with the wizard, and you’llhave to restart it from scratch.

Restoring Your Settings

Now you can safely remove and re-store your version of Windows. (For

BACKING UPTransferring Personal Settings

The average Windows machine hashundreds, indeed thousands, of settings, including complex network settings. To transfer themby hand, you would have to open a Network Connection Propertieswindow and painstakingly copyeach setting to paper.


BACKING UPTransferring Personal Settings

Which Settings?

TThere’s a mind-boggling array of settings you can transfer from an old system

to a new one. Some of these include:

•• User and email accounts

•• Internet connection settings, including dial-up, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line),

or cable settings

•• Favorites and bookmarks

•• Printers (including network printers)

•• Display settings, such as screen resolution, font size, and wallpaper

•• Settings for specific programs, including macros

•• Accessibility and network settings

•• Regional settings, including language and time settings

•• Windows Update settings

•• General Internet options, including privacy settings, number of days to keep

history and cache data, and default Web browsers and email programs

•• Scheduled tasks, such as ScanDisk or defragmentation

•• Firewall and other security settings

•• Mouse and keyboard settings

the transfer was a success.Click Finish. Depending onthe settings you transferred,you may be prompted to

log off. Just click Yes, and Windows willlog you off and then prompt you to logon to your system.

Do it, and you’re done! You’vetransferred your settings from your oldcopy of Windows and saved yourselfhours of painstaking tweaks.

Mac OS X

Macs with OS 10.4 and later comewith a settings transfer tool called theSetup Assistant (sometimes called theMigration Assistant). You’ll find it inthe Utilities folder. It transfers data andsettings from one Mac to another butcan’t be used to back up settings andrestore them on the same machine.

But there’s a catch. The Setup/Migration Assistant can transferyour data and settings from onevolume with OS X to another, so if

you’ve chosen that route to restoreyour OS, you can use the Assistantthe same as you would if you hadtwo different machines.

Note that unlike the Files AndSettings Transfer Wizard in Windows,the Setup Assistant/Migration Assistantwill transfer your software. To open it,open the Applications folder and thenthe Utilities folder, where you’ll see theassistant’s icon.

Follow the prompts, choosing FromAnother Volume On This Mac whenasked to move your data, settings, andsoftware from the old OS X volume tothe new. You’ll have a wide array of options in what you can transfer, in-cluding your user accounts, Applica-tions folder, network settings, and, ofcourse, your Library. (Note that youcan’t use the assistant to transfer theSystem folder.) The assistant may nottransfer your iDisk, Bluetooth, iSync,or printer settings, either, so you’llneed to configure those manually.

Don’t worry, though. By and large,the process is short because Macs canbe tweaked fairly quickly. When you’redone, you’ll have a system that’s fresh,fast, and working like it did when it wasnew. You’ll be ready for business.


information on how to perform a cleaninstallation of Windows, see “WindowsXP Home & Professional” on page 90.If you need to perform a repair installa-tion of WinXP, see “Reinstall WindowsXP Home & Professional” on page 56.)When you’re done, it’s time to run thewizard again, restoring the settings youjust backed up.

In WinXP, click Start, All Pro-grams, Accessories, System Tools, andFiles And Settings Transfer Wizard or use the WinXP CD-ROM as ex-plained earlier if you’ve got an olderversion of Windows.

When you see the wizard’s welcomescreen, click Next. Click New Com-puter and then click Next again. Nowchoose the fourth option, I Don’t NeedThe Wizard Disk. I Have AlreadyCollected My Files And Settings FromMy Old Computer, and click Next.You’ll be asked to specify the locationwhere the wizard can find your set-tings. If you put your settings on afloppy disk or other removable media,such as a CD-R, select the second op-tion. If, as discussed earlier, you usedan external hard drive or networkdrive, choose the third option, Other,and click the Browse button. (Ofcourse, if you chose a network drive,you’ll have to reconnect your computerto the network before you can accessthis option.) Navigate to the locationwhere you saved your settings and se-lect the folder with the .UNC exten-sion. Click OK and then Next.

Once again you’ll see a screen with aprogress bar, under which you’ll see aseries of updates on the wizard’s pro-gress. When the wizard is done, you’llsee a confirmation screen telling you

Windows also stores programsettings in hidden systemfolders, such as this one, calledApplication Data. Its exact location varies, depending onyour version of Windows.

RS


Hypothetically speaking, whatwould happen if your com-puter refused to boot some-

day? Would you know what to do? Ifnot, would you panic and call a com-puter techie friend to help? If you’re acasual computer user, you might try afew general things—reboot, makesure there are no strange discs in anyof the drives, double-check cable con-nections, etc. If those things don’t re-solve the issue, you’d probably feellost and helpless.

Unfortunately, this hypotheticalquestion could become a real-life situa-tion. Although we can generally counton our computers to work withoutproblems, there’s always a chancesomething could go wrong. Still, hoperemains: There are ways to rescue yourcomputer when it won’t boot.

One of the key tools you’ll need totest and repair your computer is a bootdiskette. Boot diskettes are sometimesreferred to as a startup disk or an emer-gency boot disk. Regardless of whatyou call it, a boot diskette can give youaccess to your system and the ability torepair problems. If you’re already

having problems with your computer,it’s generally too late to recognize thatyou need a boot diskette because youmust create this diskette from withinWindows (although there are a few al-ternatives; see the “When It’s AlreadyToo Late” sidebar). As a result, youshould create a boot diskette whenyour computer is working fine, andyou have no indications that you’ll everneed the boot diskette. After all, it’sbetter to be safe than sorry.

To get started creating a boot dis-kette, first make sure you have a few3.5-inch diskettes and a floppy diskettedrive. Make sure that these diskettes areblank or can be reformatted, as theprocess of creating a boot diskette willerase all data on the diskette. Becausefloppy diskettes can go bad over time,it’s a good idea to create more than oneboot diskette and to test them regularlyto ensure they operate properly.

Boot Diskettes vs. MS-DOS Diskettes

If you’re familiar with Windowsand with formatting floppy disk-ettes, you may have noticed an

Create A BootDiskette Be Prepared When Murphy’s Law Strikes

BACKING UP

Create a Windows 9x/Me startupdisk to help your computer boot,run diagnostic programs, or fixproblems in times of need.

option to format a disk as an MS-DOS startup diskette. Although thisoption does create a diskette thatyou can boot to, an MS-DOS startupdiskette differs from the boot dis-kettes we’ll create in this article. Inthis article, we’ll refer to a bootdiskette as a diskette that you canuse to repair your computer shouldthe crucial boot files of Windows become damaged or otherwise inop-erable. In contrast, an MS-DOSstartup diskette runs DOS from thefloppy diskette. DOS allows you touse basic commands to navigate thesystem and recover data but doesnot give you a straightforward wayof repairing your PC.

Windows 9x/Me

The process for creating a bootdiskette is the same in Windows95/98/98SE/Me. First, click the Startmenu, select Settings, and then clickControl Panel. Next, open Add/Remove Programs and navigate to theStartup Disk tab. On this tab, click theCreate Disk button. Insert a disketteinto the floppy drive and click OK.You’ll see a progress bar while yourcomputer is writing to the diskette.

Once your boot diskette is com-plete, you’ll return to the Startup Diskscreen. Click OK and remove thediskette from your computer. Although


the process for creating a boot dis-kette in Win95/Me is the same asWin98/98SE machines, you will likelyneed your Win95 CD or WinMe CD.Your computer will ask you to insertthe CD when necessary to proceedwith the boot diskette creation.

To use a Win9x/Me startup diskette,insert it into your floppy drive beforeyou start up your computer. Assumingyour computer is set to boot from afloppy drive before booting from ahard drive or CD-ROM drive, yourcomputer will read the diskette andboot with a display that lets you selectwhether you want to Start Your Com-puter With CD-ROM Support, StartYour Computer Without CD-ROMSupport, or View A Help File. InWinMe, you’ll also have the option toselect Minimal Boot.

Win98/98SE/Me boot diskettes au-tomatically include drivers for yourCD-ROM; Win95 boot diskettes donot. If you require a Win95 bootdiskette with CD-ROM support,you’ll need to add driver files foryour CD-ROM drive to the bootdiskette manually.

To add the appropriate drivers toyour boot diskette in Win95, you’llneed to locate and copy your CD-ROM driver from your CD-ROMdrive’s setup diskette to your emer-gency boot diskette. This file typi-cally has a .SYS file extension. Tocopy a file to diskette, highlight itand then select Edit and Copy. Next,navigate to your floppy diskette andselect Edit and Paste.

BACKING UPCreate A Book Diskette

HELP! My Windows XP Computer Doesn’t Have A 3.5-inch Floppy Diskette Drive

AAnother way to repair Windows XP is to use your WinXP CD. This option is es-

pecially helpful if your computer does not have a floppy diskette drive or if you

lack a boot diskette for WinXP. If your WinXP machine won’t boot, pop in the in-

stallation CD and boot to it instead of using a boot diskette. Many computers will

display a message that asks you to press a key to boot from CD. Press any key on

your keyboard when this message displays in order to boot from CD.

Once your computer displays the main setup screen, you should see an option

to enter the Recovery Console by pressing the R key on your keyboard. Once

you’re in the Recovery Console, select the Windows installation you want to re-

pair. You’ll then need to enter the Administrator password. The Administrator

password is the password you chose when you created the Administrator ac-

count while setting up or installing Windows for the first time. If your

Administrator account doesn’t have a password, press ENTER to proceed. When

you receive a command prompt that displays C:\Windows>, type hheellpp and press

ENTER to view a list of all available commands. One command in particular that

may be helpful is the fixmbr command that repairs the master boot record. After

you’ve finished repairing Windows, remove the CD and press CTRL-ALT-DELETE

to restart your computer. ❙

You will also need to copy theMscdex.exe and Himem.sys files fromC:\WINDOWS to the emergencyboot diskette. After this, edit yourdiskette’s Config.sys file to tell yourcomputer how to use the files you justadded to your boot diskette. UseNotepad to open the Config.sys fileon your boot diskette. Next, enter thefollowing, where yourdriver.sys is thename of your CD-ROM driver foundon the setup diskette:

dos=highdevice=himem.sysdevice=yourdriver.sys /d:mscd001

After you enter this information inthe Config.sys file, save the changesand open the Autoexec.bat file onyour boot diskette. Add mscdex/d:mscd001 /M: 10 /l:yourdrive to thefile, where yourdrive is the letter cor-responding to your CD-ROM drive.

Windows 2000

The procedure for creating a bootdiskette in Windows 2000 is a bit different from other OSes. Whereasother OSes require only one diskette,Win2000 requires four diskettes. Still,

the process of creating the boot dis-kettes is relatively straightforward.

First, find your Win2000 CD, asyou’ll need it to create the boot dis-kettes. Once you’ve found the Win2000 CD and four diskettes, insert theCD and one diskette into the appro-priate drives. Next, click Start and thenclick Run. In the Open dialog box, typedrive:\bootdisk\makeboot floppy:,changing drive to the letter of your CD-ROM drive and floppy to the letter ofyour floppy drive. After pressingENTER, a window will appear to walkyou through the process of creating theboot diskettes. Proceed with the on-screen instructions for when to inserteach diskette.

To use the Win2000 boot diskettes,insert the first disk into Windows before it boots. Windows will thenprompt you to insert the other disk-ettes in order, as they are needed. Onceyour computer loads all the informa-tion from the four diskettes, you’ll seeoptions to repair or install Win2000.

Windows XP

Because Microsoft has begun tophase out bootable floppy diskettes in

Making an Emergency Repair Disk forWindows 2000 can help you repair yoursystem if it will not boot.


boot diskette, yourcomputer will use thefiles on your diskette to

load Windows instead of using thefiles located on your hard drive.

Now that you have created yourWinXP boot diskette, it’s a good ideato reverse the file settings we changedin previous steps. By hiding these files,you’ll protect important operatingsystem files from accidental deletionand other harm. You’ll also removethese files from sight so that they won’tbecome a distraction when you arelooking at other files on your harddrive. Back in My Computer, navigateto Tools and select Folder Options.Select the View tab and click the radiobutton next to Do Not Show HiddenFiles And Folders. Also, click the check-boxes next to Hide Extensions ForKnown File Types and Hide Protect-ed Operating System Files (Recom-mended). Finally, click Apply and OKto exit the Folder Options dialog box.

Give It The Boot

To test or to use you new boot disk-ette, close all programs and restart yourcomputer with the boot diskette in thefloppy drive. Many computers searchfor a bootable floppy diskette beforethey attempt to boot from the harddrive. However, if your computerboots as normal and skips the floppydiskette, you’ll need to change set-tings in your computer’s BIOS (BasicInput/Output System). The BIOS is acollection of hardwired instructions in-side your computer that controls thestartup routine. It identifies the pro-cessor, tests hardware components toensure they’re working properly, andlaunches the operating system.

To access the BIOS, press a functionkey such as F2, F10, or DELETE as

BACKING UPCreate A Boot Diskette

When It’s AlreadyToo Late

WWhether a disaster has caught

you unprepared or you’ve

tucked the boot diskette you created

somewhere even you can’t find, don’t

despair. There are still a few options

left. In fact, you may be able to down-

load the information you need to

create a boot diskette using a friend’s

computer. AllBootDisks.com (www

.allbootdisks.com) and Bootdisk.com

(www.bootdisk.com) have links to

download boot diskettes for all of

the most popular operating systems.

Look for a link corresponding to your

operating system, and you’ll be on

your way to getting your computer

booting again. ❙

The makeboot.exe programcreates the emergency repairdisks for Windows 2000. Whilecreating the disks, you’ll see ascreen similar to this one thatwalks you through the process.

favor of bootable CDs, there isn’t aneasy method to create a boot diskettein Windows XP. However, you canstill create a boot diskette manually inWinXP. To create a boot diskette, in-sert a diskette into your floppy drive,open My Computer, right-click thefloppy drive, and select Format. Makesure the checkbox next to Create AnMS-DOS startup disk is uncheckedand press Start to format the disk.

Once you’ve formatted the diskette,close the Format dialog box. Youshould return to the My Computerwindow. Next, select Tools and thenFolder Options. Navigate to the Viewtab and click the radio button next toShow Hidden Files And Folders. Also,uncheck the boxes next to Hide Exten-sions For Known File Types and HideProtected Operating System Files (Rec-ommended). When you uncheck thesecond box, you’ll see a warning mes-sage; click Yes to allow Windows toshow you these files. Finally, clickApply and OK to exit the FolderOptions dialog box.

You can now copy the necessary filesto your boot diskette. In My Com-puter, navigate to the hard drive whereWindows is installed (typically C:).Next, hold down the CTRL key onyour keyboard and click the followingfiles to highlight them: boot.ini, ntldr,and NTDETECT.COM. Once you’veselected the files, release the CTRL keyand open the Edit menu. Select Copyand then navigate to your floppydiskette. Open the Edit menu againand this time select Paste to add thefiles to your diskette.

Finally, label your diskette as aWinXP boot diskette and place it in asafe location. When you use a WinXP

your computer first starts up. Differentcomputers use different function keysto access the BIOS, so look for an on-screen prompt to guide you to the cor-rect key. Once you’re in the BIOS, lookfor the boot sequence settings. Here,change the order of devices your com-puter looks to for booting. Set the firstboot device to the floppy diskette driveand set the second to either the CD-ROM drive or hard drive. If you set thesecond boot device to the CD-ROMdrive, set the third to the hard drive.Once you’re finished modifying theorder, save your settings and exit theBIOS. In most cases, you’ll use the F10key to save your settings and exit. To besure, look for the legend that describesvarious key commands on any screenof the BIOS. After saving your changesand exiting, your computer will at-tempt to read a diskette in the floppydrive before it boots to your hard drive.

We hope that you’ll never need touse your boot diskettes. Still, we all re-alize that things happen from time totime and having a backup plan is nec-essary. With a boot diskette at hand,you’ll be ready the next time your com-puter gives you grief about booting.

BBYY JJEENNNNIIFFEERR JJOOHHNNSSOONN

RS


numbers and letters), you can perform the In-PlaceUpgrade. This product key is critical, as Windows re-quires the key during the repair. If you don’t have thekey, don’t attempt either the In-Place Upgrade or acomplete reinstallation.

Some computer manufacturers package customrescue disks with systems instead of Windows CDs.Other builders put the rescue features right on thePC’s hard drive. These rescue features sometimesdon’t include all of the same features you’d find ona WinXP CD, such as the In-Place Upgrade option.We’ll assume for this article that you have a fullWinXP Home or Professional CD.

Use the In-Place Upgrade if WinXP won’t boot inSafe Mode, or if you need to fix a damaged Registry.You can also use it to fix problems with WindowsUpdates. But keep in mind that the In-PlaceUpgrade can’t fix certain computer problems. Forone thing, the repair doesn’t affect third-party pro-grams. If you’re having trouble with a video gameor your banking software, you’ll need to fix or rein-stall the ailing application. Likewise, the In-PlaceUpgrade can’t fix driver problems. It also won’t re-solve Windows user account issues.

Before You Repair

If you can enter Windows, we recommendbacking up all important files before you attempt anIn-Place Upgrade. Although the repair probablywon’t erase any files, you risk losing everything ifproblems arise during the repair. For more informa-tion about properly backing up your files, see ourBacking Up section starting on page 42. Keep inmind that the In-Place Upgrade will completely re-move all Windows System Restore points from yourcomputer. Use the In-Place upgrade as a last resort.

The Windows CD offers two In-Place Upgrade re-pair options: You can start your computer with theIn-Place Upgrade, or (if you can start Windows) you

Reinstall Windows XPHome & ProfessionalRepair Windows Woes

STEP-BY-STEP REINSTALLING TUTORIALS

Although Windows XP is a significantlybetter operating system than its predeces-sors, it isn’t invulnerable. Sooner or later,you may find yourself staring at an OS

(operating system) that has serious problems. Beforeyou perform a clean WinXP installation (a processthat will fix your OS-related problems, but will alsoerase all of your programs, documents, videos, andmusic files), consider the In-Place Upgrade, a toolthat replaces many Windows files without wipingyour system. It can’t solve every problem, but ifyou’re at the end of your rope, it’s worth a try.

The Windows XP (Home or Pro) installation CDincludes the In-Place Upgrade repair tool. In fact, ifWindows is so badly damaged that it can’t start, you’llneed to start the Windows installation process so youcan access the In-Place Upgrade tool. This means thatif your computer doesn’t include a WinXP CD, youwon’t be able to take advantage of this feature. If youhave the original WinXP CD and the WindowsProduct Key (a 25-character code that includes


can access the CD from Windows.Unless you can’t start Windows at all,we recommend this second method,as it requires less preparation. We’llwalk you through both methods.

If Windows Does Not Start

Don’t despair if you can’t startWindows. The In-Place Upgrade maystill be able to resolve your WinXPproblems. You may need to prepare aSATA (Serial Advanced TechnologyAttachment) driver floppy diskette andyou’ll need to adjust your computer’sboot device sequence (explained be-low) to successfully run this repair.

SATA drivers. Your Windows in-stallation CD has most of the files itneeds to put WinXP on your com-puter, but it doesn’t have the files thatit needs to communicate with some ofthe newer hard drives that entered themarket in the past few years. If youhave this new hard drive type, which isknown as SATA, you’ll need to put thefiles (known as drivers) onto a floppydiskette and then use the floppy toload the drivers onto your computerduring the Windows installation.

First, determine whether your com-puter has a SATA hard drive or theolder PATA (Parallel Attached Tech-nology Attachment) type. If your com-puter still successfully boots Windowsand connects to the Internet, right-click My Computer and then clickProperties. When the System Proper-ties window appears, click the Hard-ware tab and then click DeviceManager. The Device Manager dis-plays a list of your computer’s compo-nents. Browse this list for the DiskDrives label and then double-click it.Your hard drive’s model number nowappears below Disk Drives. Writedown the model number and thenenter it into your favorite Internetsearch engine, such as Google, to findinformation about the hard drive.

You can also determine your harddrive type without booting Windows.If your PC can’t start the OS, you’llneed to find your hard drive type by

looking at the cable that transfers databetween the drive and your mother-board inside your computer. If thecable is about two inches wide andvery flat, you have an ATA hard drive(this cable is commonly referred to asa ribbon cable). A very thin andnarrow cable means your PC has aSATA hard drive.

If your computer has an ATA harddrive, you’re home free: You can skipthese instructions and head straight tothe Boot Order section. Ignore any ref-erences we make to a driver floppy. If,on the other hand, your PC has a SATAhard drive, it’s time to find the SATAdrivers and put them onto a floppy.

Although you’re looking for harddrive-related drivers, you won’t findthem in your hard drive’s packaging.Your motherboard’s driver CD hasthe drivers, as they affect your moth-erboard’s hard drive controllers.Many PC builders ship the mother-board manual and CD with cus-tomers’ systems, so check yourcomputer’s materials for both.

Read your motherboard manual’sdriver floppy instructions. (It may referto the driver as a RAID [redundantarray of independent disks] driverfloppy.) Some driver CDs have pro-grams that find the files and move themto your floppy, while others simplystore the necessary files in a folder.Your manual tells you where to findthese files on the CD and how to movethem to your floppy diskette. Once youfinish creating the SATA driver floppy,keep it handy. We’ll tell you when toload the drivers onto your computer.

Boot order. When your computerpowers on, it searches your drives forthe operating system. The order inwhich it searches these drives is oftenreferred to as the boot order or bootsequence. Chances are, your com-puter first searches your floppy driveand then searches your hard drive.You’ll need to move your opticaldrive (your CD or DVD drive) to thefront of this sequence list so that yourcomputer will boot from the Win-dows XP CD instead of trying to boot

STEP-BY-STEP REINSTALLING TUTORIALS Reinstall WinXP

You’ll need to plumb the depths of your computer’s BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) if you wantyour computer to boot from the Windows installation CD. The good news is that cautious usersstand little chance of accidentally hurting their systems while poking around down here.


from the hard drive. Because you canstart the Windows installation (whichincludes the In-Place Upgrade tool)from the CD, you can perform thisrepair even if Windows is too badlydamaged to start.

To adjust your PC’s boot order set-tings, shut down your PC and thenpower it back on. Your computer willstart its POST (power on self-test),which makes sure important compo-nents are in working order beforeloading Windows. During POST,you’ll see several brief messages flashacross your screen. One of these mes-sages will be Press Delete To EnterSetup (or a similar message). In thiscase, Setup refers to your computer’sBIOS (Basic Input/Output System),so go ahead and press the indicatedkey. Feel free to press it a few times ifyou want to make sure the computergets the message.

If the computer tries to start Win-dows, you didn’t press the key intime. Shut down your PC and then

start over. In some cases, you may notsee a POST screen or a message thattells you which key to press to enterthe BIOS. If that’s the case, checkyour motherboard’s manual, or, ifyour computer has one, your com-puter’s manual. The DELETE keydoes the trick with most computers.

When the BIOS menu appears (itis often a blue screen that has yellow,white, or black characters), browsethe categories for a Boot Order orBoot Menu section. Navigate theBIOS by pressing the arrow keys andopen categories by pressing theENTER key. In some cases, you’llfind that the BIOS has its own cate-gory; in others, you’ll need to openseveral categories before you spot theboot order settings.

Once you find the boot settings,move the CD-ROM to the top of thelist. Be careful not to knock yourhard drive off the boot order—yourPC will need to boot from the harddrive later. Chances are, your BIOS

allows for at least three boot devices.Now you’ll need to save your settingsand exit the BIOS. Your BIOS mayhave instructions near the bottom ofthe screen: You can exit most BIOSmenus by pressing the F10 key. PressY if a warning message asks whetheryou want to save the changes. (If youthink you’ve changed the wrong set-ting and want to back out of theBIOS without saving any changes,press the ESC key.)

Repair Windows. Once you saveyour changes and exit the BIOS, yourcomputer will restart. Watch the mes-sages again: Your computer may startthe Windows installation after it com-pletes the POST, but it will probablyinstead display a message, such asPress Any Key To Boot From CD(some messages simply say Boot FromCD). When you see this message,press a keyboard key to start the Win-dows installation.

If you don’t need to install SATAdrivers from a floppy disk, skip thisparagraph: You won’t need to fran-tically press F6 as soon as the Win-dows installation starts. If, on theother hand, you do need to installSATA drivers, place your finger overthe F6 key and watch the instruc-tions at the bottom of the screenclosely. Shortly after the installationbegins, you’ll see a message that saysPress F6 If You Need To Install AThird Party SCSI or RAID Driver.Press F6 immediately. (If your key-board has an F Lock button, pressF6, then press F Lock, and thenpress F6 again to make sure the keygives Windows the appropriatecommand.) You won’t see any mes-sages that indicate Windows re-ceived the command.

The installation will load files for afew minutes. Next, the installationwill display a Windows Setup pagethat indicates the installation can’tfind your hard drive (Mass StorageDevices). Press the S key and then putyour floppy into the floppy drive.Press the ENTER key when the instal-lation asks you to insert the floppy.


Change Your PC’s Boot Order The Easy Way

IIn some cases, you may see Press F11 To Enter Boot Menu (or a similar phrase)

near the Press Delete To Enter Setup message when your computer starts. This

feature lets you change the boot menu without entering the BIOS (Basic Input/

Output System), which saves you the trouble of poking around BIOS menus.

If you see this instruction, press the key that it suggests, such as F11. Keep in

mind that many new keyboards have an F Lock button that toggles the F keys’

functions. If your keyboard has an F Lock feature, press the suggested F key, then

press F Lock and press the F again. This ensures that you give the F key’s command.

When the boot menu appears, follow any instructions that appear to move your

CD-ROM drive (it will likely refer to any optical drive as a CD-ROM, even if you have

a DVD burner) to the front of the

line. When you accept the changes,

your computer will restart and then

start the Windows installation from

your Windows CD (so you can use

the installation’s Repair feature). ❙

Some motherboard manufacturers adda special feature that lets you adjustyour PC’s boot device order withouteven entering the BIOS (BasicInput/Output System).


The next page displays all of thedrivers from the floppy: You may seeonly one driver or you may see sev-eral. Chances are, you’ll be able tospot your driver right away (its namemay include “XP,” for example,which indicates it’s for WindowsXP). If you see it, use the arrow keysto highlight that driver and thenpress the ENTER key. If you’re notsure which driver is the appropriatedriver, load all of them, one at atime. Select the first driver, pressENTER, and then press the S keywhen the Setup Will Load SupportFor The Following Mass StorageDevices screen appears. Next, thescreen that asks you to insert yourfloppy appears again. Your floppy isalready in the drive, so simply pressENTER to scan the floppy again.Select the next driver and then pressENTER again. As you load eachdriver, the Setup Will Load SupportFor The Following Mass StorageDevices screen will list all of the driv-ers that you’ve selected.

Once you’ve installed the appro-priate drivers, press ENTER at theSetup Will Load Support page. Win-dows loads several more files and thendisplays the Windows XP Home Edi-tion Setup screen. The page offers threeoptions, including To Repair AWindows XP Installation Using Re-covery Console, Press R. Don’t choosethis option, as we’re planning to usethe In-Place Upgrade feature, whichwe’ll find later in the installation.Instead, press ENTER, which continuesthe installation. The next page displaysthe Windows XP Licensing Agreement.If you agree, press the F8 key.

Now it’s time to repair Windows.The next page offers two options: Youcan perform a regular installation(which will destroy all of the data onyour hard drive and install a cleancopy of Windows) or you can repairWindows. Make sure the drive thathouses Windows (usually the C:drive) is highlighted and then pressthe R key (To Repair The SelectedWindows XP Installation, Press R).

Windows Setup now copies files toyour PC. You’ll find that the repairprocess doesn’t appear any differentthan a regular installation—you’llsee the same screens and have thesame choices.

After copying the necessary files,Windows will automatically rebootyour system. At this point, you’ll see acolor setup screen that offers descrip-tions of features and an estimate ofthe remaining time for your installa-tion. The installation also asks foryour Windows Product Key. You’llfind that Windows won’t start upquickly, but don’t assume that thesystem has frozen if it takes longerthan usual to load Windows. Theslow startup isn’t a permanent pro-blem. Once you’ve completed the repair, your computer will load Win-dows at its normal speed.

Once Windows opens to the Desk-top, you should see that your iconsand all of your documents and otherfiles remain intact. Your programs arealso in place: Try opening your appli-cations on your system to make surethey function properly. Congratula-tions, you’ve just completed the In-Place Upgrade.

If Windows Starts

Although many users won’t resortto the In-Place Upgrade until they arenot able to start Windows at all, youmay not want to wait until you reachthis crisis point. If your system ex-hibits problems and you haven’tfound any solutions, consider runningthe In-Place Upgrade by accessing the Windows installation CD via the Windows Desktop. This processlets you skip some time-consumingsteps (such as installing SATA driversand changing your PC’s BIOS set-tings). Only attempt this repair if youhave your 25-character WinXP Pro-duct Key.

You’ll also want to determinewhether your WinXP CD includesSP2 (Service Pack 2). If the disk hasSP2, you’ll see Service Pack 2 on the


The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) lets you move your optical drive to the top of the bootorder. When you restart the computer, it will open the Windows installation CD instead of yourhard drive’s ailing Windows copy.


top of the disk. If your CD has SP2,you’re ready to start the In-PlaceUpgrade. If, however, you have anolder WinXP disk, you’ll need tocreate a new installation disk that in-cludes your WinXP disk’s files and theSP2 files. To learn more about thisprocess, which is also known as slip-streaming, read our “Update On-The-Fly” article on page 141.

Put your WinXP SP2 CD into youroptical drive. The Welcome To Win-dows XP screen will open automati-cally. The Welcome To Windows XPpage offers several options, includingInstall Windows XP. Click InstallWindows XP and then select Upgrade(Recommended) from the InstallationType field on the next page.

When you click the Next button,the WinXP License Agreement willappear. If you agree, select the IAccept This Agreement radio buttonand then click Next. (The Next buttonisn’t active until you agree to the li-cense.) Enter the WinXP Product Keyand then click Next again. The fol-lowing page lets you choose whetherWindows will connect to the Internetto search for updated setup files. Ifyou have an Internet connection,click the Yes, Download The UpdatedSetup Files (Recommended) radiobutton. You can skip this process ifyour computer isn’t connected to theInternet or if you don’t want to waitfor Windows to find and download

new files, but we recommend gettingthe new files to ensure that your re-pair is as problem-free as possible.

The WinXP In-Place Upgrade willcopy some installation files and thenrestart your computer. After yourcomputer completes its POST, it willdisplay a page that asks you tochoose an operating system. Useyour keyboard’s arrow keys to selectMicrosoft Windows XP Setup andthen press ENTER. The installa-tion/upgrade will track your progressby placing bullets next to the instal-lation steps, such as Preparing In-stallation, Installing Windows, andFinalizing Windows.

The installation will restart yourPC several times before displayingthe Welcome To Microsoft Win-dows page. Click the Next buttonand then indicate whether you’d liketo enable Automatic Updates. ClickFinish when the Thank You! pageappears. Windows will start. Con-gratulations, you’ve just completedthe In-Place Upgrade.

Clean Up

Although the In-Place upgradewon’t remove your applications orfiles, it may remove some Windowsicons from the Desktop, such as theMy Computer icon. To replace theMy Computer icon, click the Startbutton and then right-click My

Computer. Select Show On Desktop(near the bottom of the menu). Youcan repeat this procedure for your MyDocuments icon.

Windows no longer has any of theWindows Updates you’ve installedover the years: The repair erasesthem. You must now connect to theInternet and install all of the updates.If you repaired your system with aWinXP CD that doesn’t have SP2,you’ll need to download and installthis service pack as well. To get SP2,run Windows Update’s Express fea-ture several times. (Express installsthe most important updates.) Be sureto update your PC quickly and installa software firewall (if you own one),as the computer is vulnerable to ma-licious users until you’ve installedthe updates, which include impor-tant security patches. The In-PlaceUpgrade wipes your PC’s SystemRestore points, so be sure to set newrestore points before you install anyother programs.

When The In-Place Upgrade Doesn’t Solve The Problem

The Windows In-Place Upgradefixes some Windows glitches, but itcan’t cure all of the maladies that cancripple your operating system. If yourPC still exhibits the problems you facedbefore you attempted this repair, con-sider reinstalling Windows. A clean in-stallation wipes all of the data fromyour hard drive; all Windows files andany other files, including music, docu-ments, and photos. Unless the PC’shardware is the source of your comput-er’s problems, a clean installation willerase any system problems and put ahealthy copy of Windows on your harddrive. Of course, that means you’ll alsoneed to reinstall the programs you useand load your documents and otherfiles back onto your system after thenew installation completes. If this is thebest option for you, see “Windows XPHome & Professional” on page 90.

BBYY JJOOSSHHUUAA GGUULLIICCKK


You’ll see this message shortlyafter your PC beginsthe Windows installation. If youneed to install SATA(Serial AdvancedTechnologyAttachment) drivers,press the F6 key a few times and then wait. The installation willprompt you for thedrivers later.

RS


When Windows goes critical, it’s time to takeaction. But you don’t nec-

essarily need to reformat your comput-er’s hard drive and install a fresh copyof Windows 2000—and in the processwipe out all of your files, documents,and settings—just because you’re en-countering problems. Microsoft cre-ated the In-Place Upgrade for timeswhen your Win2000 installation isplagued by errors, but you’d rather notlose all your stuff.

If you can’t boot into Windows andyou can’t access Safe Mode, then an In-Place Upgrade may be your best chanceto recover your system in a reasonablyrecognizable state. If you suspect that adamaged Registry or Windows Updatehas derailed your system, then re-pairing your computer using thismethod may put you back on track.

The In-Place Upgrade won’t workall of the time, and your computer

ReinstallWindows 2000Repair Your System & Keep Your Stuff


ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) hard drives, like this, don’t need SCSI (Small ComputerSystems Interface) or RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) drivers.

isn’t guaranteed to retain your dataif you attempt one. Also, if the In-Place Upgrade fails or doesn’t solve

your problem, you cannot use a re-store point to fix your computer.Driver and user account issues alsowon’t be affected. If possible, youneed to back up all of your data be-fore attempting the In-Place Upgrade.For more information of how to backup your files, see the Backing Up sec-tion, starting on page 42.

When To Perform An In-Place Upgrade

Installing a fresh copy of Win2000over your flawed copy sounds like amiracle fix, but you should considersome of the In-Place Upgrade’s limita-tions before you decide to performone whenever you encounter an error.

What will I lose? When you per-form Win2000’s In-Place Upgrade,you are essentially rolling your cur-rent version of Win2000 back to the

version on your Win2000 installa-tion disc. This means that

every Windows hotfix, servicepack, update, and upgrade will

be lost. Your Internet Explorer version will also be reset. You can al-ways download these updates fromMicrosoft’s Web site, but doing socan be tedious and time consuming.The In-Place Upgrade also cleans upyour Registry and restores your de-


fault Registry settings. If you madeany customizations to your Registry,then expect to lose these when the In-Place Upgrade completes. The processalso restores the security settings totheir defaults.

During the In-Place Upgrade, thesystem reassigns drive letters to yourcomputer’s fixed hard drives, start-ing with the first primary partition itencounters. It labels this drive as theC: drive and labels each successivepartition or hard drive with D, E, F,and so on. Next, the system assignsdrive letters to your removablemedia devices and other logicaldrives. Any floppy drives are as-signed starting with the letter A andCD-ROM drives are assigned thenext available letter starting with D.If you made a habit of installing ap-plications on a hard drive or parti-tion other than your primary C:drive, then the reassignment of driveletters may make these applicationsincapable of running properly.

The In-Place Upgrade also makessome changes you may not notice.These include reregistering a couple ofWindows software items, such asComponent Object Model (Micro-soft’s binary code model designed toaid software developers) components,and Windows File Protection (autility that automatically repairsdeleted, replaced, or renamed systemfiles vital to your computer) files. Ifyou use any Plug-and-Play devices,they’ll be reconfigured once you per-form the In-Place Upgrade, but theyshould still work properly.

The In-Place Upgrade process willalso ask you to configure a few set-tings such as your regional and lan-guage settings and your workgroupand domain name. Leaving the re-gional and language settings at the de-fault is OK, but you may need to writedown your workgroup or domain set-tings before you start the In-PlaceUpgrade. To find these settings, clickStart, Settings, Control Panel, andthen double-click the System icon.Select the Network Identification tab

and then click the Pro-perties button.

What will I keep?When you perform anIn-Place Upgrade, youcan expect to find yourinstalled componentsand applications un-changed. Your pass-words will remain thesame. Although the In-Place Upgrade cleansyour Registry and re-stores your Registrysettings, it doesn’tchange the third-partyRegistry entries. Thisensures your applications will loadnormally after the upgrade. If yourcomputer is connected to a server,the In-Place Upgrade should main-tain your PC’s role in the network. Ifthe computer is the domain con-troller for the server, transfer thatrole to a different computer to makesure no conflicts arise during or as aresult of the In-Place Upgrade.

Notice that the In-Place Upgradedoesn’t affect your third-party appli-cations. If one of these programs iscausing your errors, then the In-PlaceUpgrade won’t resolve the problem.

Repair Options

The first thing you’ll need to deter-mine is whether or not you need to in-stall SCSI (Small Computer SystemsInterface) or RAID (Redundant Arrayof Independent Disks) drivers prior toperforming the In-Place Upgrade. Todo this, make sure the computer isshut down and unplugged from thewall outlet. Although you shouldn’tneed to touch any of the internal com-ponents to perform this check, youshould always dissipate any static elec-tricity. Before touching anything else,open the computer’s case and touch agrounded piece of metal, such as theinterior of the case frame. Next, locatethe hard drive.

There are generally two types ofhard drives that you may have installed

in your computer. The older type ofhard drive features an ATA (AdvancedTechnology Attachment) interface,which uses a wide, flat ribbon cable toconnect to an IDE (Integrated DriveElectronics) port on your mother-board. Newer hard drives feature aSerial ATA interface, which uses amuch narrower cable to connect to aSATA port on your motherboard.Look at the cable attached to your harddrive and determine which type youhave. If your computer has more thanone hard drive, make sure you’re in-specting the hard drive upon whichWin2000 is currently installed.

ATA hard drives don’t requirethird-party SCSI or RAID drivers,while Serial ATA hard drives do. Ifyou have the latter hard drive type,then you’ll need to press F6 whenprompted to install SCSI or RAIDdrivers. These drivers can typically befound on the driver disc that camewith your motherboard or computeror on the motherboard or computermanufacturer’s Web site. You mayneed to refer to your computer ormotherboard manual for instructionon how to load the appropriate dri-vers onto a floppy diskette.

STEP-BY-STEP REINSTALLING TUTORIALS Reinstall Win2000

SATA (Serial Advanced TechnologyAttachment) hard drives need SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) or RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) drivers.


How Bad Is It, Doc?

In Win2000, there are two ways toperform the In-Place Upgrade, de-pending on your PC’s ability to loadWindows. Both methods require theWindows 2000 installation CD and the25-character alphanumeric productkey. If your PC only came with re-covery or restore CDs, you may not beable to perform an In-Place Upgrade. Ifyou can’t get your computer to boot toWindows, then continue with the fol-lowing section. If you can boot toWindows, then skip the following sec-tion and read the In-Place UpgradeFrom Within Windows section.

In-Place Upgrade From Startup

To perform an In-Place Upgradeusing the Startup method, you’ll haveto boot from the Win2000 installationCD. To do this, begin by restartingyour PC and accessing the BIOS (BasicInput/Output System) setup utility tochange the boot device priority. To dothis, press a key immediately after yoursystem begins to boot. The key that letsyou access the BIOS setup utility variesfrom system to system, so you mightneed to consult your PC or mother-board manual for information aboutwhich key to press. Sometimes the key

you’ll need to press appears on-screenduring the boot process. If pressing thedesignated key doesn’t grant you accessto the BIOS, you may have missed yourchance. Restart the PC and try again.Many system manufacturers use theDELETE, ESC, F1, or F2 keys. Makesure the F LOCK key is enabled ifyou’re required to press a function keyto enter the BIOS setup utility.

When you have access to the BIOS,you’ll need to change the boot prioritysettings to make your computer bootfrom the CD drive before any other de-vice. The options and menus that ap-pear in the BIOS setup utility varygreatly from computer to computer,but the boot priority settings can typi-cally be found under Advanced BIOSFeatures, Boot Priority, Boot Sequence,or First and Second Boot Device. Saveyour new settings and exit the BIOSsetup utility by pressing the designatedSave And Exit key. Instructions forsaving your settings and exiting theBIOS setup utility typically appear atthe bottom of the screen.

When the PC reboots, wait for thePress Any Key To Boot From CDprompt and press a key. Next, you’llsee the Setup Is Inspecting YourComputer’s Hardware Configurationmessage. The Win2000 setup continueson a blue screen while several items are

loaded from the Win2000 disc. As soonas this blue screen appears, there will bea Press F6 If You Need To Install AThird-Party SCSI Or RAID Driverprompt. Press F6 now if you’rerestoring Windows on a SATA harddrive. If you’re using an ATA harddrive, then you can let the prompt passwithout pressing anything. The F6prompt disappears quickly, so you mayneed to reboot your computer if youhave a SATA hard drive and youmissed the prompt. Whether youpressed F6 or not, Setup will spend thenext several minutes loading the bootfiles from the Win2000 Setup CD.

Load SATA drivers. If you’re usingan ATA hard drive, then you can skipto the Welcome To Setup sectionbelow and proceed with the installa-tion. If you pressed F6 in the previousstep to load SCSI or RAID drivers, thenyou’ll be prompted to press S to specifyan adapter or press ENTER to return tothe Setup process without specifying anadapter. Press S to advance to the nextscreen. Insert the SCSI or RAID driverdiskette into your floppy drive andthen press ENTER to continue.

The following screen displays a list ofall the drivers on the floppy diskette. Ifyou encounter errors, or no drivers ap-pear, then you may need to load a dif-ferent set of drivers. Consult yourcomputer or motherboard manual formore information about which driversto load. Some SATA controllers (thechip on the motherboard that handlesyour SATA hard drives) require you toload only the driver that was designedfor your operating system or for the in-dividual controller to which your harddrive is connected (when there aremore than one SATA controllers onyour motherboard). If this is the case,then the drivers will include the nameof the operating system or controller.Use the Up and Down arrows to selectthe appropriate driver and pressENTER. Some SATA controllers re-quire you to load multiple drivers atthis stage. Press S again, highlight thenext driver, and press ENTER to loadit. Repeat this process for each driver


If you need to load third-party SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) or RAID(Redundant Array of Independent Disks) drivers, press S at this screen.


until all necessary drivers are loaded.From the Load Support For TheFollowing Mass Storage Devices screen,click ENTER to continue. Setup willcontinue to load several files from theWin2000 install CD.

Welcome To Setup. At the WelcomeTo Setup screen, you have the optionto press ENTER to set up Win2000,press R to repair Win2000, or press F3to quit Setup without installingWin2000. Next, press ENTER, andthen press F8 to agree to the End-UserLicense Agreement. Setup will thensearch for your current copy of Win-2000 and prompt you to press R toRepair The Selected Windows 2000Installation or press ESC to ContinueInstalling A Fresh Copy Of Windows2000 Without Repairing.

If Setup was unable to detect yourcurrent copy of Win2000, then youmay be not be able to salvage your cur-rent installation. If this is the case, youshould proceed to install a fresh copyof Win2000. For more information onhow to do this, see “Begin Again” onpage 95. Highlight the installationupon which you want to perform theIn-Place Upgrade (if you encountermore than one) and then press R.Setup will proceed to check your C:drive, delete the existing operatingsystem files, and then copy files to theWin2000 installation folders. This maytake several minutes. The followingscreen prompts you to Wait WhileSetup Initializes Your Windows 2000Configuration. The next screen in-forms you that Setup has finished theinitial stage of the In-Place Upgrade. Ifyou still have a disk in the floppy drive,remove it now, and wait 15 seconds forthe automatic restart or press ENTERto restart your computer right away.

When the screen goes black andyour computer begins to reboot, press the designated key to re-enter the BIOS setup utility (such asDELETE, ESC, F1, or F2). Once here,you’ll need to change the boot devicepriority. Change the boot sequence toboot from your hard drive first and CDdrive second. If you missed your

opportunity to get into the BIOS, that’sOK; you can simply ignore the PressAny Key To Boot From CD message.The computer will automatically bootfrom the hard drive after a few seconds.The next time your computer restarts,though, remember to change the bootsequence to prevent the system fromdisplaying the Press Any Key To BootFrom CD message during each startup.

As the PC boots, you’ll see a blackStarting Windows screen followed bythe Windows 2000 logo screen. Next,you’ll encounter the Welcome To TheWindows 2000 Setup Wizard. Use theleft mouse button to click Next. TheSetup Wizard will continue the processof installing devices, such as your key-board, mouse, and display adapters.This portion of the In-Place Upgradeusually takes several minutes.

At this stage, the screen may flickerperiodically, but this is normal. If youencounter dialog boxes requestingdrivers, you can insert the appro-priate disk and load the drivers now,or you can click Cancel and load thedrivers after the In-Place Upgradecompletes. You may also encounterDigital Signature Not Found dialogboxes asking whether or not youwant to install software that doesn’tinclude a digital signature fromMicrosoft. This message often ap-pears when installing legitimate soft-ware, so click Yes to continue.

Regional Settings. The Windows2000 Upgrade dialog box next displaysthe Regional Settings screen. Here you

can change system and user locale, lan-guage, and keyboard layout. Typically,you’ll want to use the default layout,locale, and language settings, which areset to English and United States. If youwant to change something, click theCustomize buttons and change theGeneral, Numbers, Currency, Time,Date, and Input Locales preferences.Click Next to continue.

The next section asks you to inputyour 25-character product key. Makesure you type the key correctly or youwill be unable to complete the In-PlaceUpgrade. Click Next to continue. Thisportion lets you click radio buttons tomake the computer a member of aworkgroup or domain. If this com-puter is connected to a network, makesure you enter the former workgroupor domain settings you wrote downbefore starting the In-Palace Upgrade.Click Next to continue.

End in sight. At this point, the In-Place Upgrade informs you that Setupis installing various Windows compo-nents. The next screen lists a series offinal tasks that Setup is performing,such as installing the Startup Menuitems, registering components, savingsettings, and removing any leftovertemporary files. After these steps arecomplete, you’ll be prompted to re-move the Win2000 Setup CD from theCD drive and click Finish to restart thePC. Do so to continue.

Because the In-Place Upgradedoesn’t affect your user profiles,Windows will start normally and


Setup will start bydeleting your oldoperating systemfiles and copyingnew ones from theinstallation disc.


prompt you to enter your usernameand password (if you have one en-abled). After you’ve entered the appro-priate information, click OK to loadWindows. With the exception of theGetting Started With Windows 2000dialog box, you should see your fa-miliar Windows Desktop icons andbackground image exactly as you leftthem. You may notice, however, thatyour display settings may have reset to800 x 600. To correct this, right-clickthe Desktop and click Properties. Clickthe Settings tab from the DisplayProperties dialog box and then useyour mouse to adjust the Screen Areasetting. Click Apply, click OK, and thenclick Yes to keep your new settings.

The Getting Started dialog box fea-tures three options, including RegisterNow, Discover Windows, and Con-nect To The Internet. You’ll need toreregister your installation after the In-Place Upgrade, but you don’tneed to do it right away. For more in-formation about Registering andReactivating, see “Windows Powers,Activate!” on page 144.

In-Place Upgrade From WithinWindows

Performing the In-Place Upgradefrom within Windows is definitely theeasier of the two options. Whenstarting from Windows, some steps inthe In-Place Upgrade vary from thoseof the In-Place Upgrade performed atstartup. For instance, when installingusing this method, Windows won’tprompt you to configure your RegionalSettings, or your workgroup and do-main settings. Other steps will appearout of order. For instance, when up-grading from within Windows, you’llbe prompted to enter your Win2000Product Key before the system reboots.Despite these differences, the end resultfor both methods is exactly the same.

To run an In-Place Upgrade fromWindows, start by turning on your PC.Make sure no other programs are run-ning and that Windows is stable. Insertthe Win2000 installation CD into your

CD drive. If the Win2000 menu doesn’tlaunch automatically, navigate to yourCD drive, right-click it, and clickAutoPlay. Click Install Windows 2000and then click the radio button in frontof Upgrade To Windows 2000. ClickNext to continue.

On the License Agreement screen,click the radio button in front of IAccept This Agreement, and then clickNext. On the Your Product Key screen,enter the 25-character product key.Make sure you entered the code cor-rectly and then click Next. The Win-dows 2000 Setup wizard will loadseveral files and restart your PC.

As the PC reboots, you can press F6to load third-party SCSI or RAID dri-vers, if necessary. Whether you pressedF6 or not, the Setup will delete the op-erating system files from your harddrive and copy the new files from theWin2000 disc.

If you didn’t press F6, Setup willcontinue and eventually restart yourcomputer. If you did press F6 thenyou’ll be prompted to specify anadapter. Press S to continue. Insertthe SCSI or RAID driver disk intoyour floppy drive and then pressENTER to continue. The next screendisplays a list of all the drivers on thefloppy disk. Highlight the appro-priate driver with the Up and Downarrows and press ENTER. If yourSATA controller requires you to loadmultiple drivers, press S again, high-light the next driver, and pressENTER to load it. Repeat this processfor each driver. When you’re fin-ished, press ENTER from the LoadSupport For The Following MassStorage Devices screen. Setup willcontinue to load several files from theWin2000 install CD.

When the PC restarts, you’ll see theWindows 2000 Upgrade wizard, whichwill walk you through the final stagesof the In-Place Upgrade. Click Yes onany Digital Signature Not Found di-alog boxes that appear. If you’reprompted to install drivers, you canclick Cancel or install them from afloppy diskette now.

Setup will continue installing items.The next screen informs you that Setupis installing the Startup Menu items,registering components, saving set-tings, and removing temporary files.When this box disappears, you’ll beprompted to restart your PC or wait 15seconds and let Windows restart thePC for you. Click Restart Now to con-tinue. When you’re back in Windows,you can adjust your display settings byright-clicking anywhere on the Desk-top and clicking Properties. Click theSettings tab from the Display Proper-ties dialog box and adjust the ScreenArea setting to your desired resolution.Click Apply, click OK, and then clickYes to enable your new settings.

Upgrade Wrap-Up

Congratulations, you’ve just per-formed an In-Place Upgrade on yourailing PC. Now all you need to do is in-stall Microsoft’s updates, fixes, andpatches. For more information aboutthat subject, see “Install Updates &Patches” on page 145. The In-PlaceUpgrade isn’t a fix-all solution, butwhen it works, it’s like getting a newsystem decked out with your favoritesoftware, preloaded with all your filesand documents, and customized justfor you. How can you afford your rockand roll lifestyle?



When performing the In-Place Upgrade fromwithin Windows, select the first option on theMicrosoft Windows 2000 CD menu.

RS


Your PC arrived at your homein peak condition: The com-ponents were brand-new, the

OS (operating system) wasfresh, and gunk hadn’t yetbuilt up under your key-board’s keys. But that wasyears ago; if you’re runninga Windows Me computerand you haven’t reinstalledthe OS since you firstbought it, your PC almostcertainly isn’t performing aswell as it once did. You’veinstalled and uninstalledprograms, customizedWinMe’s features, andbattled off viruses, so it’snot surprising that your OShas developed annoying quirks or iseven experiencing serious problems.

A clean installation (one that wipesall data from your hard drive and theninstalls WinMe again) is a powerful fixthat can save your computer from trulydire situations, but you have an alter-native if you don’t want to spend hoursreinstalling programs and loading filesback onto your computer. WinMe’sSetup tool can reinstall the operatingsystem’s files over your existing copy ofWinMe without destroying your otherfiles and applications.

This nondestructive reinstallationcan’t solve all problems (it won’t getrid of viruses that are still bouncingaround in your PC), but it can clear upproblems that stem from damagedWindows files. We’ll walk you throughthe steps of reinstalling WinMe.

Prepare For The Reinstallation

You can save yourself some timeand frustration by collecting certainitems and making a few preparationsbefore you reinstall WinMe.

Back up. Although the WinMereinstallation probably won’tdamage your system, you’retaking an unnecessary risk if youdon’t back up your data to a sepa-rate location before you reinstall.We offer some backup tips in theBacking Up section, starting onpage 42.

Create a Startup Disk. Win-Me’s Startup Disk floppy has sev-eral utilities (such as Fdisk) andcan boot your computer whenWinMe isn’t loading properly.Whether the Setup method you

choose (described later on in this ar-ticle) requires a Startup Disk or not,the disk is worth the five minutesyou’ll spend making it. Check out thisarticle’s “Startup Disk” sidebar beforeyou start the reinstallation process.

Disable antivirus tools. Disableyour antivirus software, as it can pre-vent WinMe from reinstalling. You’llalso want to disable the system’s BIOS(Basic Input/Output System) an-tivirus settings, if it has any. We showyou how to navigate the BIOS in thisarticle’s “Prepare The BIOS” sidebar.

Find your CD and product key.You won’t need your CDif you reinstall WinMefrom the files already onyour hard drive, but you’llneed the product key forthat CD regardless of theSetup method you choose.

Start The WinMeReinstallation

WinMe has a simple Setupwizard that guides you throughthe process of reinstalling theWinMe files over your existingcopy. When it comes to startingthe Setup wizard, you have afew options: You can reinstall

right from your files on your harddrive (without using the CD at all),you can start the reinstallation fromthe CD just as you would start anyother software on CD, or you can boot

ReinstallWindows MeHow To Fix Windows Me When It Breaks


You can start the Windows Me reinstallation processby double-clicking the WinMe CD’s Setup file. The CDwill run an installation that replaces only WinMefiles, preserving your documents, pictures, and music.


Startup Disk

TThe Startup Disk is a floppy

diskette that helps you access

the Windows Me CD without first

loading WinMe. It also has Fdisk, a

hard drive management utility

that helps you prepare your hard

drive for a clean installation. You

won’t use Fdisk during the rein-

stallation process and you may not

use the Startup Disk at all, as only

one of the reinstallation methods

that this article describes requires

the Startup Disk. However, you’ll

want to create one whether you

plan to use it now or not: If your

WinMe crashes at any point and refuses to boot, you’ll need to

use this disk to repair or replace the operating system.

FFoorrmmaatt tthhee ffllooppppyy.. Before you run WinMe’s Startup Disk

utility, you’ll need to clear any files stored on your floppy

diskette. You can open the floppy drive in My Computer and

then delete the files, but we recommend formatting the

floppy, as the format process can also check your diskette for

damage. Your PC won’t be able to create a new Startup Disk if

it crashes, so you may save yourself some frustration later by

making sure the diskette is healthy now.

Open My Computer, right-click your floppy’s icon, and then

select Format. Unless you have an unformatted floppy, choose

the Quick (Erase) format type. You can also name your disk in

the Label section. However, this label won’t appear in the My

Computer window; you’ll only see the label when you check

the floppy’s Properties window.

Check the Display Summary When

Finished box and then click the

Start button.

Once the format completes,

the Format Results window will

appear. Make sure that the Bytes

Used By System Files and the Bytes

In Bad Sectors sections both dis-

play 0. Otherwise, your floppy may

not have enough space for the

Startup Disk files. The Bytes Total

Disk Space will probably have a

number close to 1,457,664.

If your floppy has bytes in bad

sectors, you’ll need to get a different floppy and then

format it. If your floppy is healthy, click the Close button on

the Format Results window and the Close button on the

Format window.

CCrreeaattee tthhee SSttaarrttuupp DDiisskk.. Once you format the floppy, you

can load the Startup Disk files. Open the Control Panel and

then click Add/Remove Programs. Click the Startup Disk tab

and then click the Create Disk button. When the Insert Disk

window appears, click OK (and put your floppy into the

floppy drive, if it’s not already there). The Startup Disk tool

will then display a progress bar as it loads all the files onto

your disk. Click the OK button on the Add/Remove Programs

Properties window when the Startup Disk tool completes.

Remove your new Startup Disk and then label it so you’ll be

able to find the floppy when you need it again later. ❙

your PC off a floppy diskette and useit to start a reinstallation from the CD.We’ll walk you through all three ofthese methods. Follow our instruc-tions and then skip to our WinMeSetup Wizard instructions.

Reinstall from the CD (Desktop).This method requires your WinMe CDand WinMe product key. If you canreach the Desktop, you can reinstallWinMe without the Startup Diskfloppy. Start by putting your WinMeinstallation CD into your CD-ROMdrive. When the Windows MillenniumCD-ROM window appears, clickBrowse This CD. Windows Explorerwill display the CD’s contents. Ifthe Windows Millennium CD-ROM doesn’t start automatically,

open My Computer, right-click the CD-ROM icon, and then clickExplore. To start the reinstallation,double-click the Setup icon.

Reinstall from the Windows folder.This method requires only the WinMeproduct key because it uses the instal-lation files that WinMe deposited onyour hard drive when it was first in-stalled. Open My Computer anddouble-click Local Disk (C:). The leftside of the window will display yourhard drive’s capacity and used storagespace, but the right side will be blank.Click View The Entire Contents OfThis Drive, which appears on the left

side of the window. The window nowdisplays several folders. Open theWindows folder and (if necessary)click View The Entire Contents OfThis Folder again. Open the Optionsfolder and then open the Install folder.To start the reinstallation, double-click the Setup icon.

Reinstall from the CD (Boot). Thismethod requires your WinMe CD,the WinMe product key, and theStartup Disk. If your current WinMeinstallation is in such bad shape that itcrashes before WinMe displays theDesktop, you can use this method tostart the reinstallation process. Grab

your Startup Disk floppy disketteand put it into the floppy drivebefore you power on your PC.

STEP-BY-STEP REINSTALLING TUTORIALS Reinstall WinMe

Unless your PC has serious problems, you probablywon’t use the Startup Disk during the reinstallationprocess. Even so, consider creating one before you reinstall Windows Me—if you run into any complications,you’ll be glad to have this diskette on hand.


Next, power on your computer andput the CD into your optical drive.

The system will scan the floppy andthen display the Microsoft WindowsMillennium Startup Menu, which hasfour options. If you don’t choose anoption within 30 seconds, the menuwill automatically choose the Help op-tion. Use the arrow keys to select op-tion 2 (Start Computer With CD-ROMSupport) and then press ENTER.

Next, your system displays the A>prompt, which lets you access files onyour floppy. You want to open theSetup file from the CD, which meansyou’ll need to switch to the CD-ROMdrive using the command line. A mes-sage on the screen will tell you whatletter your CD-ROM has. To switch,type the drive letter (probably E: orF:) and then press ENTER. You’ll seethat the A> prompt is now an E> (orF>) prompt, meaning that your com-mands will now affect the CD.

Next, type SETUP and then pressENTER. When Setup displays theSetup Is Now Going To Perform ARoutine Check On Your System mes-sage, press ENTER again. AfterMicrosoft ScanDisk completes, youcan begin the reinstallation bypressing the X key.

WinMe Setup Wizard

Once you start WinMe’s Setupwizard, it will immediately run a few

automated tasks. Take a look at theinformation on the left side of thescreen. This area lists the steps yoursystem follows during the reinstalla-tion process (such as the CollectingInformation About Your Computerand Copying Windows Files To YourComputer steps). You’ll also see anEstimated Time Remaining message.Later, this area will display a progressbar that you’ll find particularly handywhen you start to wonder whether ornot your PC has frozen (occasionallyyour PC will pause for several secondsduring the installation).

Welcome To Windows Me Setup.When the Welcome To WindowsSetup window appears on the rightside of the screen, you’re ready tostart the installation. You’ll find a

brief description of the installationprocess here. Click the Next buttonnear the bottom of the window.

License Agreement. As with mostsoftware, WinMe includes a lengthylicense agreement. You’ll find thatthis window’s Next button isn’t activeuntil you click the I Accept TheAgreement button: You can’t skipover the license agreement.

Windows Product Key. Enter your25-character product key here. If you’dprefer to use your mouse instead of thekeyboard, click the Help button, checkthe Use Keyboard Helper box, andthen click OK. A small on-screen key-board will appear under the productkey field. Click the keys to enter yourcode and then click Next.

Select Directory. Your PC’s manu-facturer almost certainly installedWinMe in the Windows folder onyour C: drive, so unless you previouslyinstalled WinMe to a different folder,you’ll want to choose the C:\WIN-DOWS (Recommended) folder. If youinstalled WinMe to a different folder,click the Other Directory button andthen enter the path to the folder thathouses WinMe.

Save System Files. Setup can copyyour current WinMe files in case youdecide later that you’d like to returnto the version that you’re about tooverwrite. This feature eats up about175MB of your hard drive, but werecommend that you use it if your


If you’d rather use themouse than your keyboard to select yourproduct key characters,click the Help buttonduring the installation.Setup can display asmall, on-screen keyboard that includesthe numbers and letters you’ll need toenter the code.

If you’re worried that the reinstallation mightmake your system’s problems worse thanthey already are, choosethe Save System Files settings during the reinstallation. It will putimportant system fileson your hard drive andlet you uninstall thenew copy of WindowsMe later.


drive has enough space. Although thereinstallation is more likely to healyour PC than to hurt it, this featureensures that you can return to yourcurrent OS in the unlikely event thatyour computer has more problemsafter the reinstallation. If your PC has

multiple partitions or hard drives, aSelect Drive window will appear. Youcan use the drop-down menu tochoose the drive in which you’d liketo store the files. The drop-downmenu also lets you know how muchfree space is available on each drive.

Setup Options. This window letsyou choose from some basic installa-tion styles. If your PC is low on drivespace, you may want to choose theCompact option, which will leave outsome WinMe components. The pagealso has a notebook installation op-tion. We recommend the Typical in-stallation, which will install commoncomponents but let you add (or re-move) components, as well.

User Information. You don’t have toenter a name in the Company field, butSetup won’t proceed until you enteryour name in the Name field. Don’tenter a name for a computer; you’llname your PC later in the installation.Because you’re reinstalling WinMe, itwill display the name that the com-puter manufacturer entered when it in-stalled the OS.

Windows Components. When youclick the Display The List Of Com-ponents So I Can Choose The Ones IWant To Install radio button andthen click the Next button, you’ll seea list of componentcategories (such asAccessibility, Com-munications, DesktopThemes, and so on).By default, WinMehas already markedcertain componentsfor installation. Youcan deselect any itemsthat you don’t want toinstall, or check theboxes of any itemsthat you’d like to haveWinMe install. Keepin mind that you caninstall any of thesecomponents later (inthe Control Panel’sAdd/Remove Pro-grams feature).

The Select Components windowtracks your hard drive’s space andlets you see how much space your se-lected components will require. Thisis particularly helpful if you have alow-capacity hard drive. To see theindividual components in a category,simply click it and then click Details.A new window will list the compo-nents. When you click a component,a brief description will appear on theright side of the window. The Resetbutton removes your choices and se-lects only the components WinMeinstalls by default.

Startup Disk. If you already createda Startup Disk, click the Cancel buttonon the Insert Disk window and thenclick Finish. If you haven’t yet createdone, you can now by popping a floppydiskette into your PC and clicking OK.

Once you click the Finish button,Setup starts copying files to your harddrive. At this point, the File CopyProgress bar will appear on the leftside of the screen and the right sidewill display information aboutWinMe’s new (well, new when Win-Me launched) features. Setup willcontinue the installation process forseveral minutes and will restart yourcomputer automatically multipletimes (if you used a Startup Disk


Uninstall Windows Me

AAlthough you probably won’t

want to return to your original

copy of Windows Me (after all, you

reinstalled WinMe because you were

having problems with it), you can—if

you chose to save backup files at the

Save System Files page during the re-

installation. To uninstall your new

copy of WinMe, open the Control

Panel and click Add/Remove

Programs. Select Uninstall Windows

Millennium and then click the

Add/Remove button. Click Yes when

the Windows Millennium Edition

Uninstall window appears and then

click Yes again when a new window

tells you that WinMe will check

your hard drive for errors before re-

moving itself.

Once ScanDisk completes, the

uninstallation utility asks if you’d like

to continue uninstalling WinMe.

When you click Yes, your computer

will restart and you’ll see this mes-

sage: Windows Millennium Edition

Will Now Be Completely Removed

From Your Computer. Are You Sure

You Want To Continue? Type Y and

then press ENTER. At this point, you

can kick back and relax. The unin-

stallation process won’t require your

attention again for several minutes.

When the uninstall utility com-

pletes, it asks you to press the ENTER

key. The utility then restarts WinMe.

You’ll find that your PC is now run-

ning your previous copy of WinMe:

any applications you installed or

changes you made after reinstalling

are removed or reversed. ❙

The Windows Me reinstallation will install the same optionalWinMe components that your system had originally, but you canadd more components to your copy of Windows during the reinstallation. Keep in mind that you can install these components again any time after you finish the reinstallation.


Prepare The BIOS

SSome motherboards have built-in an-

tivirus features (separate from any

antivirus software you installed on

Windows Me) that can cause errors

during the reinstallation process. If you

have the motherboard manual handy,

you can check it to determine whether

your PC’s motherboard has antivirus

protection. Otherwise, you’ll need to

enter the BIOS (Basic Input/Output

System) and check for antivirus soft-

ware. Don’t worry about damaging the

PC while in the BIOS; it’s much less

fragile than the Windows Registry. We’ll

show you how to jump into the

BIOS, find the setting, and then

exit without causing any harm.

To enter the BIOS, start your

PC and then press the DELETE

key a few times as it POSTs

(power on self-tests). Instead of

attempting to load WinMe,

your computer will open the

main BIOS menu. At this point,

you can’t use the mouse to nav-

igate the menus; you’ll need to

use the arrow keys. Press the

ENTER key to enter the main

menu’s first category and then

browse the list of options for an

antivirus feature. If you don’t

see one, press the ESC key to

get back to the main menu and

then enter the next category.

Follow this process until you’ve

searched all of the BIOS’ categories or

until you find an antivirus feature. If

you find an antivirus feature, use the

arrow keys to highlight it, press ENTER,

and then choose the option that dis-

ables the feature.

The BIOS also includes the boot pri-

ority list, which determines what order

your PC searches your floppy, optical,

and hard drives for boot files. If you plan

to use the Startup Disk, you’ll need to

make sure that your computer is config-

ured to search the floppy drive. Browse

the categories again for a boot priority

list and then use the arrow and ENTER

keys to move your floppy drive to the

top of the list. Be sure not to remove

the hard drive from this list, as your

computer will need to access the hard

drive later in the reinstallation process.

When you’re ready to leave the

BIOS, press F10, press the Y key, and

then press ENTER (this saves the

changes you just made and exits the

BIOS). When your computer restarts,

you’re ready to begin your WinMe re-

installation on your system. ❙

during installation, remove the floppybefore the computer restarts; other-wise, the PC will boot from the floppyagain). When Setup reaches theSetting Up Hardware And FinalizingSettings step, it will display a list ofthe features it is installing, includingthe Control Panel, the Start menu,and the Windows Help file.

Next, your computer will restartagain and then start WinMe. TheWelcome To Windows video, whichwalks you through some of WinMe’snew features, will appear. Once youexit the video, you’ll see the WinMeDesktop, complete with all of your

Desktop shortcuts, your applications,and your media files. You’ve com-pleted the WinMe reinstallation, socongratulations—if WinMe isn’t stillsuffering the trouble that promptedall of this work. If the reinstallationdidn’t do the trick, it’s time to con-sider formatting your hard drive andinstalling a fresh copy of WinMe.

Clean Up

Although WinMe’s reinstallationprocess doesn’t delete files or applica-tions, it wipes out any Windows up-dates you’ve installed, includingService Pack 1 and Internet Explorer.Luckily, although Microsoft no longeroffers new updates or other support

for Windows 98/Me (Microsoft endedsupport in July of 2006), it still letsusers download all WinMe updates.These updates include important se-curity fixes and application enhance-ments, so be sure to install them rightaway. To download and reinstall theseupdates, connect to the Internet, click

the Start button, and then clickWindows Update. Be sure to re-enableany antivirus and firewall applicationsyou have (including, if applicable, theBIOS’s antivirus feature) before youconnect to the Internet.



Make sure your PC’s floppy drive is at the top of theBIOS’ (Basic Input/Output System’s) boot order so thesystem can find your Startup Disk when you power it on.

Use the Windows Me installation CD’s mainmenu to access the CD’s extra support documents or to open the CD in a WindowsExplorer window. You’ll find that theInteractive CD Sampler is outdated: It displays information about old versions ofMicrosoft applications.

RS


Windows 98 (and its evenmore capable follow-up,Windows 98 SE) was ar-

guably the most capable consumer OS(operating system) Microsoft releasedbefore the introduction of WindowsXP, so it’s not surprising that a lot ofpeople still use it. The problem is thatif you use any operating system toolong, even Win98, it tends to accumu-late problems to the point whereWindows no longer boots or isn’t re-liable when it does. The absolute bestsolution in these circumstances is towipe the hard drive clean and reinstallthe operating system from scratch,but that leaves you with an operatingsystem and nothing else.

A potentially easier way to fix theproblem is to install Win98 over thetop of itself, cleaning up OS messes

while leaving data such as documents,emails, spreadsheets, presentations,and other user-created files intact onthe hard drive. This doesn’t solve all OSproblems, and making data backups isstill an important part of the process,but the difference between this methodand reinstalling from scratch is that ifthings go well, you’ll never need totouch those backups.

Reinstallation Considerations

Several things happen when you re-install Win98. The most

important of thesec h a n g e stake place

in the Windows Registry, which is alarge database containing all of thesettings used by Windows and mostother applications. When you set aDesktop background color, tell a pro-gram to load when Win98 boots,change the resolution of the WindowsDesktop, configure toolbars, or makejust about any other adjustments toWindows or other programs, all ofthose settings are saved in the Registryso Windows can easily retrieve them.

When you completely reinstallWin98 from scratch, the Registry is re-turned to a pristine state. On onehand, this is beneficial because somany stability and other Windowsproblems are due to improper, out-dated, or extraneous Registry entries.On the other hand, Windows forgetseverything you’ve told it since the OSwas first installed on the computer. Itdoesn’t remember that any of the pro-grams you installed are there anymore,it doesn’t keep any of your Windowssettings, and it doesn’t know whathardware your computer uses. Re-training the Registry and getting yoursoftware running after a complete re-install is a pain that most users won’twant to deal with (especially if they’veused the software for years and madehundreds of preference adjustments).

Fortunately there is a way to enjoymost of the benefits of a completeWin98 reinstall without having to dealwith any of the downsides, and that isto install a fresh copy of the operatingsystem over the top of the existing OSon your PC. This method makes few tono Registry adjustments, meaning thatafter Win98 is reinstalled, it still knowswhere your software is, remembers any

preferences you’ve established(such as your Desktopresolution), and doesn’tlose track of any of your

PC’s hardware.Reinstalling in this way

doesn’t take much time, andyou can save even more time by

not having to readjust or recon-figure anything after the process is

complete, but there are drawbacks.

ReinstallWindows 98A Classic Comeback



Reinstalling Win98 on top of itselfisn’t likely to solve serious problemsthat arise from improper software in-stallation, spyware or malware infil-trating your computer, or broken oroutdated hardware drivers (you canlearn more about drivers later in thisarticle). In rare circumstances, rein-stalling Win98 on top of itself actuallycan create even more problems, espe-cially if a Windows file that is replacedduring a reinstall is older than a ver-sion already installed on the PC. Ifthese things happen or if the reinstallfails to complete for some reason, youmay be left in a situation that only acomplete OS wipeand reinstallation canfix, so be prepared.

Also note that if youare experiencing se-vere problems such asWindows not bootingat all, crashing con-stantly, or reportinghard drive errors, thenreinstalling Windowsover your existing ver-sion won’t do anygood. In these situa-tions it’s often neces-sary to reformat thehard drive and rein-stall everything fromscratch. You may evenconsider replacing the hard drive be-fore it dies and installing a fresh copy ofWin98 on the new drive.

Gather Your Tools

The main thing you need to reinstallWin98 is the Win98 installation CDthat came with the computer, but sadlythese are not all created alike. Some arerestore CDs specially prepared by thecomputer’s manufacturer to restore thecomputer to the exact state it was in theday you bought it. Other restore CDswork just like a standard Windows 98installation CD, only they come withdrivers for the hardware that the com-puter came with. Drivers are softwarethat hardware uses to communicate

with Windows, and if you’ve upgradedparticular components between thetime you purchased the PC and thetime you are performing the reinstall,the drivers for your previous compo-nents will no longer apply. It is also im-portant to keep hardware driversupdated whenever the manufacturerreleases a new version for your oper-ating system, so restoring the computerto its original state often results in a“downgrade” that must be fixed bydownloading and reinstalling all of thelatest drivers for your equipment.

Note that the tips and techniquesin this article only apply if you have

a Win98 or Win98SEinstallation disc, andnot if you have asystem restore disc.Some manufacturersadd their own auto-mated instal lationroutine to a standardWin98 or Win98SEinstallation CD, mak-ing the process eveneasier than what isdescribed here, butbear in mind that if what we say in this article doesn’tmatch up with whatyou see on the mon-itor, then you wil l

need to contact the manufacturer todetermine the best way to installWin98 on top of itself, assumingthat is possible.

Every copy of Win98 is associatedwith a unique 25-character productkey, which you must enter when rein-stalling the operating system or theprocedure will fail. Typically this key isprinted on a sticker that is applied tothe case that the Win98 CD comes in,but if you’ve lost the key, don’t panicbecause it’s stored in the Registry.

To access the key, click Start, clickRun, type Regedit, and click OK. Thislaunches the Registry Editor, a tool thatlets you view and modify Registry en-tries, and you need to be extremelycareful when using it. Edits are applied

immediately and can cause Windowsto not function properly (or at all) ifyou don’t know what you are doing, sobe sure not to make changes acciden-tally. In the left-hand pane, click thebox with a plus symbol next to theHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE entry toexpand it. Expand SOFTWARE, ex-pand Microsoft, expand Windows, andclick the CurrentVersion folder. Lookin the Name list in the right-hand panefor the ProductKey entry, and thenwrite down the string of characters thatappears in the Data column next to it.

Get all of your program installationCDs and diskettes and make sure youhave the serial numbers for each one ifnecessary, because if something goeswrong (or you accidentally use a re-store disc instead of reinstalling) youmay need to reinstall an application. Ifyou have any downloaded software in-stalled on your computer, be sure todownload a fresh copy now while yourInternet access is working, make a listof all serial numbers or registrationcodes associated with your downloadedsoftware, and copy all of the downloadsto a CD or DVD if possible so they’ll beready to go should you temporarilylose Internet access after the reinstall.

Drivers are other good candidatesto put on that CD or DVD. New driv-ers fix bugs, improve efficiency, andsometimes even add cool new featuresto your existing hardware, and theyare always provided free of charge.Download the most recent drivers foryour video card, sound card, monitor,optical (CD or DVD) drive, externalperipherals such as keyboards andmice, printer, scanner, and anythingelse you can think of. Hard drives,RAM (Random Access Memory), andCPUs (Central Processing Units)don’t require drivers, and make sureany drivers you do download are de-signed to work with Win98. If you re-install Win98 on top of itself, yourhardware drivers should remain intactand everything should work properlywhen the system restarts, but it won’thurt to upgrade your drivers immedi-ately after you reinstall the operating

STEP-BY-STEP REINSTALLING TUTORIALS Reinstall Windows 98

Access your computer’s NetworkProperties so you can adjust them ifnecessary after Win98 is reinstalled


system so everything is as up-to-dateas possible. Many hardware compa-nies have come and gone since the in-troduction of Win98, so if you can’tfind drivers for your particular hard-ware, visit www.bootdisk.com andcheck out the links in the Drivers sec-tion to find a number of Web sitesthat archive legacy drivers.

Take Notes

There are many important networksettings you should write down beforereinstalling Win98, just in case some-thing happens that makes you lose ac-cess to the network or the Internet. Toaccess your network settings, clickStart, expand Settings, click ControlPanel, and double-click Network.Generally the settings you need tonote are in the TCP/IP section. Clickthat entry (don’t use the TCP/IP Dial-Up Adapter entry if that is displayed.Use the other TCP/IP entry instead),click Properties, and select the IPAddress tab. If Obtain An IP AddressAutomatically is se-lected, you don’t needto do anything, but ifSpecify An IP Addressis selected and thereare values typed inthe IP Address andSubnet Mask areas,you need to writethose down. Next se-lect the WINS Con-figuration tab, and if the Enable WINSResolution button isselected, write downany information thatappears in the WINSServer Search orderbox and Scope IDbox. Also note if the Use DHCP ForWINS Resolution radio button ischecked, and write it down, as youmust use a matching setting shouldthe reinstall fail to work.

Click the Gateway tab and writedown any data in the Installed Gate-ways box (if any), and then click the

DNS Configuration taband see if Enable DNS is selected. If so, writedown the Host name,Domain name, and thevalues in the DNS Serv-er Search Order andDomain Suffix SearchOrder boxes.

Back Up

Although your per-sonal files should remainintact if Win98 is copiedover itself, it’s always agood idea to back up asmuch data as possible in case some-thing goes wrong. This is especiallytrue if you have a restore CD fromyour computer manufacturer becausethere’s a good chance the CD is de-signed to erase the entire hard drivebefore reinstalling Win98.

The best and fastest way to createbackups is to purchase and install asecond hard drive and simply copy all

of your importantstuff to it. Most PCscan accommodatemore than one harddrive, or you canpurchase an exter-nal drive such as the160GB Western Dig-ital NetCenter Net-work Drive ($199.99;www.westerndigital.com) that connectsto one of the com-puter’s USB ports ordirectly to a network.Many external drivesdon’t work well withWin98 (the NetCen-ter drive, for ex-

ample, works with Win98SE but notwith Win98), but you can downloadgeneric drivers that support most ex-ternal hard drives at www.technicalassistance.co.uk/kb/usbmsd98.php. Besure to install the drivers and rebootthe PC before attaching the drive tothe USB port.

If you have an extra hard drive at-tached to or installed inside of yourcomputer, you can copy files directly toit by double-clicking My Computer,double-clicking the icon for the harddrive, and then dragging and droppingfiles from the original drive to the newone. If you would rather use backupsoftware, there are plenty of goodbackup tools designed to work withWin98, including Cobian Backup (free;www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/index.htm). If you have a recordable CD orDVD drive, it likely came with backupsoftware you can use. And becausemost Win98 machines have floppydiskette drives, backing up to those isalways an option, albeit a tedious one.

Reinstall Windows

Once you’ve backed up all yourdata, reboot the computer and pressCTRL-ALT-DELETE simultaneouslyto bring up the Close Program box.The goal is to shut down as manythings as possible so they won’t inter-fere with the reinstallation process. Todo this, click an entry to highlight itand then click the End Task button.Repeat this until everything is closedexcept for EXPLORER and SYSTRAY,which Win98 requires.

If there are any icons in the SystemTray, which is the box to the right ofthe Toolbar at the bottom of thescreen, right-click each one and click


If your computer uses a fixed IP address, be sure to write it down before reinstalling

If this menu appears after youinsert the Win98 CD, clickBrowse This CD, followed bySetup.exe


Close, Shut Down, Stop, or anythingelse on the menu that looks like it willkill the program. Sometimes it’s neces-sary to double-click a System Tray iconand use the program’s main interfaceto turn off the software, and don’tworry if you can’t get rid of them allbecause the likelihood that they willmess up the reinstall is very low. Buttry to close as many as you can to min-imize the potential for problems.

Now it’s time to reinstall. Insert theinstallation CD in your computer’sCD or DVD drive, wait for the Win-dows 98 CD-ROM screen to appear,and click Browse This CD. If thescreen doesn’t appear, then double-click My Computer, right-click theicon for the drive where the CD wasinserted (it should be labeled Win-dows 98), and click Open.

Look in the window for an icon la-beled Setup.exe and double click it.This opens the Windows 98 Setupscreen, and you can click Continue toproceed or click Exit Setup if youaren’t ready to reinstall yet. If youclick Continue, the program checksall of your installed hard drives. If youleft any programs running beforestarting the reinstall, a warning boxpops up urging you to press Alt-Tabto switch back to the Desktop andshut them down before proceeding.Do so if necessary and then click OK.

Choose the I Accept The Agreementradio button and click Next. Now typein the 25-character product key that isprinted on the Win98 CD case (or thatyou retrieved from the Registry earlier).Click Next, wait for Win98 to runsome checks, and then click your loca-tion on the list to highlight it and clickNext. Insert a blank floppy diskette intothe computer’s diskette drive and clickNext to create a Startup Disk that canbe used to access Windows should dis-aster strike. If you don’t want to make aStartup Disk at this time (althoughdoing so is highly recommended), clickNext, wait for the warning box to ap-pear, and click Cancel.

Click Next and the rest of the setupprocess is pretty much automated.

The Win98 files copy over to the harddrive, the computer reboots, and asplash screen appears saying Windowsis getting ready to run for the firsttime. After Win98 finishes booting upand establishing settings, you can clickthe Restart Now button or simply waitfor the computer to reboot automati-cally, at which time the OS will detectyour system’s hardware and install thedrivers. After that, you can click Re-start Now or wait again and the com-puter reboots one last time.

If you established a Windows pass-word before Win98 was reinstalled,you’ll be asked to enter it as usual (itdoesn’t change during the installation).Windows will finish booting and willspend a minute or two building adriver information database, afterwhich it presents you with a WelcomeTo Windows 98 box. Remove thecheck from the Show This Screen EachTime Windows 98 Starts box, close thewindow, and that’s it; Win98 is rein-stalled and your files and programsshould remain just as you left them.

Reconfigure

When Win98 boots, check theDesktop to see if it matches the old res-olution setting you established, and if itdoes everything likely went OK. If not,right-click the Desktop, click Proper-ties, and select the Settings tab. Use theslider in the Screen Area box to selectthe proper resolution and click Apply.Also use the Colors drop-down box toselect 32-bit if it isn’t already selected.

You can customize the Toolbar set-tings by right-clicking the Toolbar andclicking Properties. You can alsochange Internet Explorer settings bylaunching the software, expanding theView menu, and clicking InternetOptions. You can adjust Network set-tings using the same procedure youused to write them down earlier.

If your computer lost access to thenetwork or your broadband Internetaccount after the reinstall, it’s likely thatWindows set up improper network settings during the reinstallation, so

you’ll need to use the information yougathered earlier on to adjust them. IfSpecify An IP Address was selectedprior to reinstalling Win98 and it isn’tnow, select that radio button and enterthe IP Address and Subnet Mask


Repair Or Reinstall?

RReinstalling Windows 98 is not a

trivial task, and often it’s easier to

repair existing problems instead of

dealing with a complicated reinstall.

In most cases, Win98 problems are

caused by the Registry, a vital data-

base containing all settings for

Windows and most software installed

on the computer. As settings are

changed, software is added and re-

moved, and other operations are per-

formed on the computer, the Registry

becomes bloated with outdated, in-

correct, or extraneous entries that af-

fect the stability of Win98 and other

programs. You should use a good

hard drive and Registry cleaner such

as CCleaner (free; www.ccleaner.com)

that can purge Registry entries and

useless files that hamper performance

or even cause instability.

Many Registry problems stem from

spyware infiltrating the computer, so

you should run a comprehensive spy-

ware scan using multiple antispyware

utilities. Recommendations that work

with Win98 include Spybot Search &

Destroy (free; www.safer-networking

.org/en/index.html) and Ad-Aware SE

Personal (free; www.lavasoftusa.com

/software/adaware).

You also should install, update,

and run an antivirus utility such as

Avast 4 Home (free; www.avast

.com). Just be sure the program is

completely up-to-date before begin-

ning a scan (there usually is an op-

tion to do this automatically), and

never install more than one anti-

virus program on your computer at

once because they can interfere with

one another and may even prevent

Windows from booting. ❙


you wrote down previously before clicking Apply.

If Enable WINS Resolution was se-lected before the reinstall, click theWINS Configuration tab, click Add,and enter the value that you wrotedown along with any text that was inthe Scope ID box. Also select the UseDCHP for WINS Resolution radiobutton if that was selected in the ini-tial configuration and click Apply.

If you wrote down any gateways,click the Gateways tab, click Add, andenter the first value you wrote down.Do this as many times as necessary toadd all of the gateways that were listedwhen you took your notes and thenclick Apply.

Finally, if Enable DNS was selectedin the initial configuration, click theDNS Configuration tab, select theEnable DNS radio button, enter theproper Host and Domain names, andthen click Add in the DNS ServerSearch Order and Doming SuffixSearch Order areas to add those entries.

Hardware & Software Check

Check to see that all of the hard-ware installed on the computer worksproperly and update the drivers for

each piece of equipment if necessary.Only install drivers one at a time, re-booting the computer after each in-stallation and checking for problemsbefore installing drivers for a differentpiece of hardware.

Also open and briefly test everyprogram installed on the computer tomake sure it still works properly andretain all of the configuration changesyou made to it before the Win98 rein-stall. If something is amiss with one ofthe programs, it’s best to completelyuninstall and reinstall the software in-stead of trying to install the softwareon top of itself. First click Start, ex-pand Programs, and expand the foldercontaining the software you want touninstall to look for an Uninstall orRemove icon. If one exists, click it andfollow the prompts to uninstall thesoftware. If that option doesn’t exist,click Start, expand Settings, clickControl Panel, and double-clickAdd/Remove Programs. Select theInstall/Uninstall tab, click the entryfor the software you want to remove,click Add/Remove, and then click OK.

You can also add or remove Win98programs that may have been added,lost, or damaged during the reinstall.Use the same procedure outlined for

removing software but select theWindows Setup tab instead of theInstall/Uninstall tab. Click a category tohighlight it and then click Details to seeprograms and utilities within that cate-gory. You can add applications bychecking the box next to them andclicking Apply, or remove them by re-moving the check in the box next tothem and clicking Apply. For example,to add the Windows Calculator, clickAccessories, click Details, put a check-mark in the box next to Calculator, andclick OK. You may need your Win98install CD to complete this process.

Time To Upgrade?

Although you now know how to re-install Win98, you probably shouldn’tunless you have a very good reason, asWindows XP is a vastly superior oper-ating system. If your computer meetsWinXP’s recommended minimumhardware requirements (300MHz pro-cessor speed, 128MB of RAM, and1.5GB of hard drive space), you’ll findthat it has much better support forhardware and is much more stable thanWin98. If you’re worried that your soft-ware designed specifically for Win98won’t run on WinXP, bear in mind thatWinXP comes with a backwards-com-patibility mode that works much of thetime, and that you can probably find asuperior replacement application de-signed to work with XP.

BBYY TTRRAACCYY BBAAKKEERR


Click Continue when the Windows 98 Setup screen appears, and most of your work is already done

Remove the check from the Welcome screenand it won’t bother you anymore

RS


As an Apple user, you may be-lieve that your system is in-vincible or that you will never

need to reinstall your operatingsystem, but the truth is there’s a goodchance that at some time you mayneed to reinstall OS X. For instance,recently we reinstalled OS X on a 12-inch PowerBook G4 that was stillquite functional but was running ex-ceptionally slow and occasionally hadapplications such as Safari or iPhotoquit unexpectedly. If you do experi-ence problems with your Mac, a repairinstallation may be exactly what yoursystem needs to fix whatever ailmentsit has. Luckily, Apple makes thisprocess fairly straightforward, and youwon’t need to do very much to make arepair installation of OS X happen.

As of this writing, the most recentrelease of Apple’s OS is Mac OS X

10.4.x, so we’ll walk through the stepsinvolved in repairing a v.10.4.x instal-lation. However, even if you’re usinga different version of OS X, you’ll findthat the steps to perform a repair in-stallation are strikingly similar.

Prepare To Reinstall

Throughout this article, we’ll usethe standard OS X notation forfilepaths. We’ll start any filepath thatyou can follow by first double-clicking the hard drive icon on yourDesktop with a slash (/), such as/ A p p l i c a t i o n s / U t i l i t i e s / D i s kUtility.app, which you would find bydouble-clicking the hard drive iconon the Desktop and then double-clicking Applications and Utilities.Then you’d browse for the file DiskUtility.app.

We’ll start any filepath that starts inyour home directory with ~/. For ex-ample, to find your Pictures folder,you’d look in ~/Pictures/. To find thisfolder, you’d double-click the harddrive icon on the Desktop, thendouble-click Users and your ownhome directory (which has a houseicon). Then you’d locate the Picturesfolder within your home directory.

To perform a repair installation ofOS X, you use the installer’s ArchiveAnd Install feature, which will createbackup copies of your System filesand OS X-installed applications. TheArchive And Install option also leavesyour non-OS X-installed programs(including all third-party applica-tions) and files in place. In otherwords, your programs, files, and set-tings should still be on your systemand operational after you reinstallusing Archive And Install.

However, as any of us know whohave ever had an OS installation gowrong, you can’t necessarily dependupon the installation occurring with-out any problems. If your system hasimportant data or configurations, it’simportant that you back up these filesbefore you start. You shouldn’t needthem, but you can consider thesebackup copies as valuable insurance.We’ll cover the full Archive And Installprocess in more detail later in this ar-ticle, but for now the important mes-sage is, “Back up, back up, back up!”

.Mac Backup or third-party soft-ware. If you have a .Mac account(www.mac.com), you can use Apple’sBackup 3 utility to copy your impor-tant files. To download Backup 3, goto the .Mac site, log in to your .Macaccount, and click Backup. The link islocated under the calendar on the leftside of the screen. Then click theDownload Backup 3 link and followthe instructions on-screen to down-load and install the utility.

With Backup, you can choose howfrequently to back up your Home directory, your iLife files, your personal files, and your PurchasedMusic playlist (which is automatically

Mac First AidRepair OS X With An Archive & Install Installation



created by iTunes and contains all ofthe tracks you bought at the iTunesMusic Store). You can also choosewhere to save the backup copies. Youcan choose from an external harddrive, a CD or DVD, your online .MaciDisk, or even your iPod. You can also

program Backup 3 to perform incre-mental and scheduled backups. If youchoose incremental backups, theutility will only back up those files thathave changed since your last backupprocedure. You should considerscheduling backups so that they occurautomatically and you don’t have tospend time backing up files the nexttime you need to upgrade or reinstallyour OS.

You may also choose to use third-party backup software. You’ll need toverify that the software is compatiblewith the version of OS X that youhave installed and that you under-stand the program’s backup configu-rations and procedures. Spend sometime with the users manual to ensurethat you know how to back up all ofthe files you’ll need.

Back up the files yourself. You mayprefer to back up your Mac’s filesyourself, either to save money on abackup utility or for the peace of mindof personally checking that every es-sential file was copied. Of course,

you’ll want to back up your importantpersonal files, such as text documents,digital photos, and your MP3 andAAC (Advanced Audio Coding) files.For help backing up data such asMail’s messages and settings, iCalevents, and Safari bookmarks, see the

Back Up Your Files section of “AFresh Apple” on page 110.

It’s up to you if you save your files toCD-Rs, DVD+/-Rs, an external harddrive, Web-based storage, an iPod, oranother storage medium. You mayeven back up your files to your .MaciDisk, even if you don’t use the Backuputility. Just go to your system’s Finderand click Go, iDisk, and My iDisk.

Wait a moment for your computerto connect to the .Mac server. Thenyou’ll see a Finder window with the

contents of your iDisk. Your iDiskcontains several folders, which mayinclude Backup, Documents, Library,Movies, Music, Pictures, Public, Sites,Software, iWeb, and Groups. To savea copy of a file to your iDisk, just dragit from its location on your Mac anddrop it in the appropriate folder inyour iDisk.

The folder titled Backup is for usewith .Mac’s software, so you shouldsave any of the files you back up manu-ally to the Documents folder. You maychoose to back up your QuickTimemovies to either the Documents folderor the Movies folder. If you save yourmovies to the Movies folder, they willbe available for you to use with .Mac’sHomepage (a Web-based Web designtool, which you can access at homepage.mac.com). The same is true foryour digital images and music files.You may save images in the Docu-ments folder, but save them to thePhotos folder if you want them to beavailable to Homepage, or if you wantto use them to create your own iCard(icard.mac.com). If you save digitalmusic files to the Music folder, you canuse these music files with Homepage. Ifyou save them to the Documentsfolder, you’ll just create a simplebackup copy of the files.

Your iDisk should be secure, butkeep in mind that any informationyou store online is more vulnerable

STEP-BY-STEP REINSTALLING TUTORIALS Reinstall OS X

If you want to back up any files to your iDisk,you can easily do so by clicking the Go menu,iDisk, and My iDisk.

After your computer restarts, the Installer will automatically load,and you’ll see a welcome screen.


than the data that you save on an external drive or other physical media.Therefore, you may wish tosave sensitive files such asyour financial data, medicalinformation, or tax returnsto an external hard drive,CD-R, or DVD+/-R insteadof to your iDisk. When youare done backing up files toyour iDisk, click the iDiskicon on your Desktop anddrag it to the Trash (lo-cated in the Dock at thebottom of the screen). Thiswill “eject” your iDisk. Inother words, it will discon-nect your computer fromthe .Mac server.

Repair OS X

Performing a repair installation ofOS X is a fairly simple process. First,find your OS X installation disc andinsert it in your CD/DVD drive. Wait

for the disc’s icon to appear on theDesktop. If a window for the installa-tion disc doesn’t automatically ap-pear, double-click the disc icon on theDesktop. Then double-click theInstall Mac OS X icon. A dialog boxwill appear and prompt you to restart

your computer. Click theRestart button.

After your computerrestarts, the installer willreappear and guide youthrough all of the steps inthe repair process. The firstthing you’ll see when youstart the installer is a list ofthe system requirementsand some other importantinformation about in-stalling OS X. It’s a goodidea to read this informa-tion before you continue.

Next, you’ll need to readthe EULA (End User Li-cense Agreement). Whenyou click the Continuebutton, a dialog box will ap-

pear and warn you that you must ac-cept the license agreement to continue.Click Yes to accept the agreement andbegin the reinstallation process.

Under Select A Destination, youwill see icons for each of the availabledrives to which you may install OS X.


Before You Reinstall

TThere are many benefits to reinstalling your OS (operating

system) when your system is displaying odd quirks or not

operating properly. However, often you don’t need to resort

to such drastic measures as reinstalling OS X. If you’re having

problems with your Mac, check the things below before as-

suming that you must reinstall the OS.

RReessttaarrtt yyoouurr ccoommppuutteerr.. If you haven’t already done so,

restart your computer. Sometimes this is all it takes to resolve

a computer problem. Of course, if the problem persists after

restarting, you’ll need to continue troubleshooting.

RReeppaaiirr ppeerrmmiissssiioonnss.. This is something that often fixes prob-

lems that occur on OS X systems. Yet, few Mac users are

aware of the importance of permissions. To repair permis-

sions, quit all running applications, double-click the hard

drive icon on your Desktop, and then double-click

Applications, Utilities, and Disk Utility. In the resulting Disk

Utility window, click the icon for your hard drive from the left

pane, then click the Repair Disk Permissions button.

UUppddaattee yyoouurr ssyysstteemm.. Often, problems are related to soft-

ware bugs or applications that you need to update. To check

for updates for OS X and for other Apple software, click the

Apple menu and Software Update.

TTeesstt yyoouurr MMaacc’’ss hhaarrddwwaarree.. The install disc that came with

your Mac contains a utility for checking hardware compo-

nents, such as the logic board, memory, and hard drive. To

use this, place the appropriate disc in your system. Older

Macs came with a separate Apple Hardware Test CD. Most

newer Macs include the Hardware Test utility as part of the

Software Install And Restore DVD. Place the appropriate disc

for your Mac in the CD or DVD drive and restart the system.

If you have a PowerPC-based Mac with a separate

Hardware Test CD, press and hold the C key while your com-

puter starts up. When you see the Loading message on the

screen, release the C key. If you have a PowerPC-based Mac

with the Hardware Test utility included on the Software

Install And Restore DVD, press and hold the Option key while

your computer starts up. When a list of bootable devices ap-

pears, release the Option key. Finally, if you have an Intel-

based Mac, press and hold the D key while your system starts

up. Release the D key when you see a list of bootable devices.

From this point, just follow the instructions on the screen to

test your Mac’s hardware. For more Mac troubleshooting tips,

see “Troubleshooting For The Mac OS” on page 38. ❙

After you accept the EULA (End User License Agreement), the Installer willprompt you to select a volume on which to install the OS (operating system).Click the Options button to select the Archive And Install option.


Click to select the drive on which theOS is currently installed and that onwhich you want to perform a repairinstallation. The icon will probablyhave a yellow triangle with an excla-mation point next to it. This indicatesthat you cannot reinstall OS X usingthe installer’s default set-tings. This is OK. What itusually means is that thedefault setting for the in-staller is to perform anupgrade. Your systemprobably has a newer re-lease of OS X than thatwhich is on the installa-tion disc. For example, if the installation disccontains OS X 10.4.0, ifyou’ve kept up with yourupdates, you probablyhave at least OS X 10.4.7(the most recent releaseas of press time).

The installer recog-nizes if you have a newerversion installed thanthat which it will install.When you click to selectyour hard drive, you willsee a message that youcannot perform the in-stallation on that drivewithout first changingthe installation settings.Click the Options buttonto do this.

If the installer detectedthat you had a more re-cent version of OS X in-stalled than the one whichis on the installation disc, it will automatically select the Archive AndInstall radio button in the resulting window. AnArchive And Install instal-lation will preserve yoursystem’s files, applications, and settingsand will only reinstall the OS itself.However, because you had a later ver-sion of the OS installed, the installationdisc will automatically create a backupof the system files on your drive. This

includes OS-installed applications suchas Mail, Safari, and Address Book. Italso includes some other files, such asthose in the /System/Library/ and/Library/ directories.

The installer will save these currentsystem files to a new folder on your

hard drive titled Previous Systems.Because the installer must save copiesof these files to your hard drive, theArchive And Install option will re-quire more disk space than an EraseAnd Install installation. (For more

details about using OS X’s Erase AndInstall procedure, see “A Fresh Apple”on page 110.)

Verify that the Archive And Installradio button is selected. If you wantto leave all of the user accounts andsettings (such as user documents,

browser bookmarks, andnetwork configurations)intact, also make surethat the Preserve UsersAnd Network Settingscheckbox is selected.Click OK and then Con-tinue to proceed.

Along the bottom ofthe Install Mac OS Xwindow, you’ll see aCustomize button. Inmost cases, we suggestthat you don’t click theCustomize button andinstead perform the de-fault installation. How-ever, if you’d like to havea little bit more controlover which items are in-stalled, click Customize.On the following screen,you’ll be able to choosewhich printer drivers,language files, and otheroptional items you wishto install. If you changeyour mind and want toreturn to the default settings, simply click the Easy Install button(which is located wherethe Customize buttonwas earlier). When youhave the installation set-tings the way that youwant them, click theUpgrade button.

At this point, all youhave to do is sit back andwait. A progress bar will

show how much of the installation iscomplete. You won’t have to do any-thing else. When the reinstallation iscomplete, your computer will auto-matically restart. After your computerrestarts, the Mac OS X Setup Assistant


To see which version of OS X is currently installed on your system, click the Applemenu and then click About This Mac.

During the Archive And Install procedure, a dialog box will describe what the installer is doing. A progress bar shows how much of the installation is complete.


will appear, accompanied by a fanfareof music and the word “Welcome”dancing across the screen in a varietyof languages. Once this flashy intro isover, the wizard can walk you throughthe process of setting up your Mac, in-cluding creating user accounts andconfiguring Internet and email set-tings. However, if you preserved theuser and network settings, you won’tneed to do any of this. You can simplypress Command-Q to exit the Mac OSX Setup Assistant. Don’t worry,though. If you try to use the setupwizard when you don’t need to, thewizard will warn you that you do notneed to complete the Mac OS X SetupAssistant. If you see this message, justclick OK and then press Command-Q.The Archive And Install procedure iscomplete, and you’ve successfully re-installed OS X.

After The Repair Installation

There are a few things you’ll need todo to get your Mac in top shape afterreinstalling OS X. The first thing thatyou should do is repair permissionson your system. This is a good thingto do after you install any software,not just the OS. To repair permissions,make sure that you’ve closed all otherprograms. Then double-click the harddrive icon on your Desktop. Next,

double-click Applications, Utilities,and Disk Utility.

When Disk Utility loads, click thename of your hard drive from the leftpane, then click the Repair DiskPermissions button. This will prob-ably take a few minutes as Disk Utilityscans the contents ofyour system. After thescan is complete andDisk Utility reads Per-missions Repair Com-plete in the reportfield, click the DiskUtility menu and QuitDisk Utility.

Don’t forget to up-date. One of the thingsthat’s easy to forget isupdating your system.Remember that whenyou reinstalled the OS,you reverted to the firstrelease of the currentOS. You’ll need todownload and installall updates and patches to get yoursystem back to its proper state.

To check for available updates, clickthe Apple menu and Software Update.You’ll see a progress bar and the mes-sage Checking For New Software. IfSoftware Update finds any updates orpatches that you may need to down-load, it will list them in the Software

Update window. Software Updateplaces checkmarks in the checkboxes ofeach update that it determines is im-portant for your system. To downloadand install the files, click Install andfollow the instructions on the screen.

By default, Software Update down-loads and installs the files that you se-lect. If you prefer to download thefiles first and then install it yourselflater, select the updates you want andthen click the Update menu andDownload Only. If you want SoftwareUpdate to install the updates for youbut save a copy of the installers (sothat you can revert to earlier installa-tions later), click the Update menuand Install And Keep Package.

After you install the updates, launchDisk Utility again, repair the permis-sions, and then restart your computer.Run Software Update again to makesure that there aren’t updates for any ofthe updates that you just installed.Repeat the above process until there areno longer any updates you need listed

in Software Update.

OS X, Reinstalled

Once you’ve followedthe procedures outlinedin this article, your OSshould be reinstalled onyour Mac, and every-thing should still be op-erational. Even mostthird-party software willstill work after you rein-stall OS X. However, ifyou have any problemswith third-party soft-ware, just retrieve yourinstallation discs and re-install those programs.

If reinstalling using Archive AndInstall didn’t resolve your computer’sproblems, you may need to completelyreinstall OS X. However, in most cases,performing a repair installation usingArchive And Install will leave a Macwith improved performance.

BBYY KKYYLLEEEE DDIICCKKEEYY


After you reinstall OS X,it’s a good idea to repairpermissions on yourhard drive using OS X’sbuilt-in application Disk Utility.

To check for and install updatesto make your system currentagain, click the Apple menu andAbout This Mac. Then click theSoftware Update button.

RS


Linux, by all ac-counts, is an ex-tremely reliable,

rock-solid OS (operatingsystem) with scores of sat-isfied devotees singing itspraises. But OSes—andsoftware in general—arecomplex creations, andcomplex creations tend tobreak from time to time.An OS such as Linux,which seems to be infi-nitely customizable andoh-so-tweakable, can bebroken when, for example,less-than-expert handsmake changes or attemptto configure Linux to their liking.

A malfunctioning OS can be a har-rowing experience, especially whenthe health of lots of data hangs in thebalance. Luckily, most Linux distribu-tions (distros) have safeguards inplace allowing you to recover yourenvironment and restore things tosome semblance of normalcy. Howmuch data you lose in the process de-pends on your ability to remain calmin the face of disaster, methodicallyassess the situation, and take the rightsteps. Read on to learn more aboutrestoring a balky Linux Fedora Coreinstallation back to normal.

Before Recovery Begins

It’s important to keep in mind thatrecovering from a malfunctioning OS

may require you to reformat yourLinux partition, wipe out all the dataresiding on it, and install a “clean” OS(see “Install Linux” on page 115 formore information about this). So, ifthere is data you value present in thispartition (and who doesn’t have datathey value?), you must take steps toback up your important files to a safelocation before beginning your re-covery efforts.

The best policy, obviously, is to re-cover and restore your environmentwithout losing data, but sometimes aninstallation is so thoroughly messedup that there is no alternative otherthan reinstalling Linux on a clean harddrive. And a clean hard drive trans-lates to creating a whole new Linuxpartition to replace your old one.

But if you’re lucky enough to befaced with a situation where all that’srequired is some tweaking of the OSor a reinstallation of OS files, then re-covering Linux without sacrificingdata is entirely possible.

If your Linux installation, in spiteof whatever issues you’re facing, stillboots normally, the simplest way toback up your data is to copy your im-portant files to removable media, toan external hard disk, or to anotherpartition on your hard disk. You canmove data manually or use backup

software to relocate yourimportant files out ofthe line of fire.

Speaking of backupsoftware: One of the firstprograms you should in-stall to a freshly mintedLinux installation, what-ever your distro happensto be, is a data backupapplication. There are anumber of backup pro-grams written for Linux,but there is one caveat:Much of the backup soft-ware written for Linux isdesigned for corporate,networked environments,so it may be unneces-

sarily complex for home Linux users. Speaking of data: It’s good practice

to store your data on a hard drive orpartition separate from the partitionor hard disk that contains your OSfiles. This segregation allows you tomake any changes you might need toyour OS without compromising yourdata. If you wreck your Linux installa-tion and need to reinstall, for example,you can make whatever changes arenecessary without worrying aboutnuking your data in the process.

This strategy applies for applicationssuch as email programs and Webbrowsers, as well, which by default storetheir data in the program files folders. Ifpossible, configure these programs sothe necessary data they generate and useis stored in a separate data partition and not the same partition containing

ReinstallLinuxRescuing The Penguin



your OS files. This goes for any otherprogram that generates data you fre-quently use and value. Give this somethought: There is nothing more frus-trating than taking the time to back upmost of your data, only to findout that all your bookmarks andemail messages are lost whendisaster strikes.

If your Linux installation isnot booting at all, you may needto boot your computer usingyour Linux OS install media ora rescue disk and move files toanother partition or to remov-able media or storage using theLinux text shell. Most backupand recovery software gives youthe option of creating rescuedisks to be used in case of cata-strophe. If you have one ofthose handy, now’s the time touse it.

Now, let’s take a look at thespecific steps to take to recoverand repair a Linux Fedora Core install.

Fixing Fedora

The easiest cure for a broken FedoraCore installation is to “upgrade” theOS. Even though upgrading suggestsinstalling a new version of Fedora overthe existing one, you can use the up-grade process to reinstall your FedoraCore 5 files. Reinstalling the FedoraCore 5 files will not affect any data youhave stored within the Linux partition.It will simply replace the Linux OS fileswith a fresh install, and may just solveyour problem.

To do this, you must boot yoursystem using your Fedora Core 5 in-stallation CD (CD No. 1) or your in-stallation DVD. Before you do this,modify the boot order in your comput-er’s BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)so that the computer looks for bootablemedia in your CD/DVD drive first.

Most BIOSes today have a specificmenu to set the boot order, usuallycalled “Boot.” In a typical PhoenixBIOS, the boot order menu displaysthe current order of devices where the

BIOS will search for bootable media.As a default, this order starts with re-movable devices, such as floppydrives. If no bootable media is foundin the floppy drive, the BIOS searches

in the hard drive next for a bootabledrive (a drive containing an MBR, orMaster Boot Record).

The BIOS boot menu allows you tochange the order of these devices. Toboot from the CD/DVD drive, makethat device the first in the list, followedby the hard drive. Your system BIOS

may be set up differently, so be sure toconsult your computer or BIOS in-structions for the exact way to do this.

A New Fedora

Once you change the bootorder, insert your Fedora Coreinstallation CD No. 1 (or theDVD) in your CD/DVD driveand restart your system. Clickthe “Next” button at the initialFedora Core 5 window tobegin the reinstall process.This is the same window thatappears when you installedFedora Core for the first time,but don’t be alarmed by this.

The next two windows askyou to choose the language forthe installation and to choosethe keyboard for your system(likely you’ll choose U.S.English). Click the Next but-ton to proceed once you finish

entering these choices.Next, the install routine will detect

that you have an existing Fedora Coreinstallation and display a window pre-senting you with two choices: You cando a fresh install of Fedora Core 5 oryou can upgrade (and thus reinstall)the existing installation. These two

STEP-BY-STEP REINSTALLING TUTORIALS Reinstall Linux

To change the boot order for your PC, enter your BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) and find the item that lets you change the order.Typically, the order can be changed under an item called “Boot.”

The initial window in the Fedora install routine, when it detects an existing install, allows you to either upgrade the installation or completely redo it.


choices are critical: If you choose to doa fresh install of the system, the existingsoftware and data on the partition maybe overwritten, depending on the con-figuration choices that you make. Thefresh installation is a brand new installof Fedora Core, which may require thatyou completely erase all existing Linuxpartitions and create a new one.

If you choose to go this route, it iscritical that you back up any data youwant to save before proceeding. Seepage 115, “Install Linux,” for moreabout performing a clean installationof Linux.

Choosing to upgrade the existinginstallation does just that: YourFedora Core files are updated but anydata saved on your Linux partition ispreserved. In a recovery or repair sit-uation, it’s best to try this option first.That way, you have the distinct possi-bility of fixing what’s ailing yoursystem without taking the radical stepof creating a whole new Fedora parti-tion. After making your choice here,click the Next button to continue.

Grab The GRUB

Next, the installation routine willlook for the GRUB boot loader that isinstalled in your existing Fedora Core5 partition (typically called /dev/hda).

The GRUB (GRand Unified Boot-loader) is a software application gen-erally called a “boot loader” that isstored in the computer’s MBR and al-lows you to choose from multipleOSes to launch at boot-time. A defaultFedora Core installation uses GRUB asits boot loader, so if you initially in-stalled Fedora with all the default op-tions, GRUB is the boot loader youhave installed.

Once GRUB is detected, you arepresented with three choices: updatethe boot loader configuration, skipthe boot loader updating, or create anew boot loader configuration.

Updating the boot loader configu-ration is the default choice and theone recommended by the installationroutine. This option ensures that anyproblems with your existing GRUBinstallation are corrected and is theway to go if you want to stay withGRUB as your boot loader.

Skipping the boot loader updating isrecommended if you have anotherboot loader besides GRUB installed;this choice makes no changes to yourexisting boot loader configuration.Again, if you accepted all the defaultoptions during your initial FedoraCore 5 install, GRUB is the boot loaderthat is installed with your system, sodon’t choose to skip the boot loader.

The third option allows you to com-pletely change your boot loader con-figuration and can be used if you wantto go with a different boot loader thanGRUB. Make the appropriate choiceand click the Next button to continue.

Next, the installation program willretrieve installation information forthe next few seconds. Once that’sdone, a window advising you thatthe Fedora Core upgrade is ready togo is displayed. The window alsodisplays information about the up-grade log, which is stored in a filecalled Upgrade.log in your root di-rectory (/root/upgrade.log). ClickNext to continue.

Commence Installation

When the upgrade process begins,the installation program transfers theinstall image to the hard drive (thisshould take a few minutes, dependingon the speed of your CD/DVD driveand/or your hard drive) and installsthe boot loader (if you chose this op-tion). After a few minutes, a windowappears advising you that the installa-tion is complete.

At this time, remove the CD or DVDfrom your drive and click the Rebootbutton to restart your system. If allwent well, you should now have an up-graded and operational Fedora installa-tion without the loss of any data.

When Your MBR Is DOA

One of the more common Linuxmishaps is the loss of the MBR onyour Linux partition. This is espe-cially troublesome if, as most Linuxusers, you are booting multiple OSesand need a boot-loader, such asGRUB, to choose which OS to bootfirst. When this happens, the abilityto boot into Linux is lost; in a dual-boot situation, your system will bootinto Windows, but if Linux is theonly OS installed, your system won’tboot at all.

For example, in a dual-boot config-uration, Windows or another OS


In most cases, it’s safe to go with the Update Boot Loader Configuration optionto simply write over your existing GRUB (GRand Unified Bootloader) install.


could accidentally overwritethe MBR in your Linux parti-tion. Also, a boot sector viruscould have infected your Linuxpartition and wrecked yourMBR. Whatever the cause, theissue is that now you are un-able to boot your Linux system.The cure to this problem is toreinstall the GRUB boot loader.

As you saw previously, youcan reinstall GRUB by simplyperforming an upgrade installon your system. Choosing toupdate the boot loader configu-ration will result in GRUB get-ting reinstalled; you’ll have toconfigure your options again,but at least GRUB will be restored toyour MBR, which should get you backin business.

As with most things Linux, there ismore than one way to skin this cat. Ifyou don’t want to go through thetrouble of performing an upgrade in-stallation, you can manually restoreGRUB to a corrupted MBR and getyour system back to normal.

Manual Restore

To begin a manual restore of GRUB,boot your PC from your Fedora instal-lation CD No. 1 or DVD. At the initialscreen of the installation program, youare presented with a text shell (theboot> prompt) and a number of op-tions that can be activated using yourcomputer’s function keys. One of theseoptions is Rescue; pressing the F5 keydisplays information about the Rescueoption and how to activate it: typelinux rescue at the boot prompt.

Next, the anaconda install routineasks you to choose the language for theinstallation process and the type of key-board (U.S.) you are using. Then, youare asked whether or not you want tostart the system network interfaces(translation: do you want to have net-working capabilities during the in-stall?). If you press the Yes button, you are then presented with a networkconfiguration screen, where you can

choose the default settings (configureusing DHCP [Dynamic Host Config-uration Protocol]) or enter your net-work settings (IP [Internet Protocol]address and Netmask) manually. Gowith the default option and press theOK button to continue the install.

The next window informs you thatthe installation routine will look foryour Linux installation and attempt tomount it under the directory/mnt/sysimage. In Linux parlance, mountingmeans taking a file system residing onanother device, such as a CD, andmaking it accessible via the current filesystem. So, in this case all you’re doing

is making your Linux system ac-cessible within the currentlyloaded command shell.

This allows you to make anychanges you require to yourLinux installation using thecommand shell. You can alsopress the Read Only button tomount your file systems asread-only instead of read-write(this won’t help if you need tomake changes to Linux, how-ever), or you can choose to skipthis step altogether and go di-rectly to the command shell.Press the Continue button tomount your Linux install under/mnt/sysimage and proceed.

When you click Continue, the ana-conda installation routine searches forFedora Core installation files and thendisplays a window that tells you thesystem has been mounted under/mnt/sysimage. Also, you are told toenter the command chroot/mnt/sysimage to make your Linux systemthe root environment. The chrootcommand changes the root directoryof your current environment to what-ever you specify. So here, you aremaking the image of your Linuxsystem the root environment.

When you are finally at a shellprompt, enter the chroot/mnt/sys


Pressing F5 at the Fedora Install boot prompt displays informationabout the Fedora Rescue Mode for recovering an install.

Clicking Next at the GRUB boot loader install window starts the reinstallation routine.


image command to make your Linuxsystem the root environment. Oncethat’s done, enter grub-install/dev/hda to install GRUB back to yourMBR. If all goes well, you should get a

message telling you InstallationFinished . . . No Error Reported. Andthat should do it. Now exit the shelland reboot your computer by pressingCTRL-ALT-DELETE.

Booting into the Linux shell withinrescue mode does not limit you to re-installing the boot loader. If you knowyour way around Linux without theassistance of a graphical environment,there are a number of things you cando to restore your system to workingorder from the command shell. The

rescue environment includes a varietyof utilities you can use to troubleshootand/or restore your system, such as“fdisk” (for viewing and managingpartitions), “chroot” (change the rootdirectory), “chmode” (change accesspermissions for files), “cp” (copyfiles), “mount” (to mount a differentfile structure), etc.

It’s important that you clearly un-derstand how commands work be-fore you use them in the commandshell. Misuse of a command could re-sult in worse problems, but theproper use of a Linux commandcould restore your system back tohealth or at least allow you to movedata files to a different partition or toremovable media. For example, you

can use the “cp” command to copyfiles to another directory. Once youmove the data you need, you canthen proceed to repair your system.

Penguin Rescue

Linux is a great operating system:It’s reliable and secure, and the newgraphical desktops, such as KDE orGnome, give Windows a run for itsmoney. But this doesn’t mean Linux iscompletely foolproof; problems are

especially likely to occur in dual-bootsituations when there is a danger thatanother OS, such as Windows, will ac-cidentally overwrite sections of yourhard disk Linux needs to function.

Luckily, there are a number of waysto rescue and repair a Linux FedoraCore installation. It’s important tokeep in mind, especially when all iswell and things are working normally,to frequently back up your importantdata and files. OSes such as FedoraCore are fairly straightforward to re-store when something goes awry; it’snot so easy to restore your preciousdata if it’s lost during the process ofrestoring your system.

BBYY SSIIXXTTOO OORRTTIIZZ,, JJRR..


Ubuntu

UUbuntu is a free Linux distro

available for a variety of plat-

forms, including x86, AMD64, Sun

Sparc, and PowerPC. As with most

other Linux distros, Ubuntu comes

with a wide variety of software, in-

cluding OpenOffice, Firefox, etc.

A rescue or repair of an Ubuntu

installation begins by booting your

system using the Ubuntu installa-

tion CD and then choosing one of

the five options presented at the ini-

tial installation window (see the

“Ubuntu Linux” sidebar in the

“Install Linux” article on page 115).

Choosing the Start Or Install

Ubuntu option launches the instal-

lation routine for Ubuntu. Strangely,

there is no option for choosing be-

tween simply upgrading the oper-

ating system files or repartitioning

your existing Ubuntu install. As be-

fore, the install routine launches the

live CD environment with the Install

icon on the desktop; to begin the in-

stall, double-click the icon.

The installation program does not

look for pre-existing Linux partitions

nor offer to simply upgrade the OS

files in those partitions. The only op-

tions are to erase the existing parti-

tion the installer finds or manually

configure the partitions.

One of the advantages of the

Ubuntu install routine is its ease of

use. But, this ease of use also means

that the options for performing a

rescue install of your Ubuntu envi-

ronment are limited to nuking your

existing partition and performing a

fresh Ubuntu reinstall. Unfortunately,

this means data loss, so it is impor-

tant to frequently back up your im-

portant data if you use Ubuntu. ❙

If you must perform a brand-new install for Fedora Core, you have a numberof options for the creation of a new Fedora Core partition.

RS


means you need to back up everything you want tosave. You don’t have to worry about backing up ap-plications you’ve installed because you can simplyreinstall them (as long as you have the discs). Butyou do need to back up files you’ve created, down-loaded, and placed on your computer: office docu-ments, photos and video, emails saved to yoursystem, etc. Unless you perform regular backups,you’ll want to take some time to find any irreplace-able files on your system and back them up.

One common way to back up files is to copy theminto a single folder and then transfer them to a USBflash memory drive or burn them to CD or DVD.But there are other options, including online storagesites such as Streamload (www.streamload.com) thatallow you to upload your files for safekeeping andthen download them whenyou need them.

Many new computers ship with an OS(operating system) stored on a spe-cial recovery CD that can reinstallthe OS to factory defaults at the click

of a button or two. But other PCs include full ver-sions of Microsoft Windows (or another OS) on aCD. In this case, if you want to reinstall a clean ver-sion of your operating system, not just overwrite it,you may have to format or create a new partition onyour hard drive.

You might also want to partition and format asecond hard drive after you connect it to your system.This is a much easier process than reinstalling an OSas it can be done from within the operating system it-self. We’ll walk you through the steps involved in for-matting and partitioning your primary or secondaryhard drive, so you have a clean and segregated driveon which to reinstall your operating system or create awell-organized space on a second drive.

Backup, Backup, Backup

Formatting prepares a hard drive to accept data. Italso erases all data on a hard drive and puts a filesystem on a drive that determines how thedrive will store data. Common file systemsare FAT32 and NTFS (FAT stands for“File Allocation Table,” a system thatOSes use to store and organize dataon a hard drive). FAT32 was usedmainly with Windows operatingsystems up to Windows ME. NTFS(NT File System) is the file systemfor the current generation of Win-dows operating systems, including theupcoming Windows Vista.

Formatting your hard drive is se-rious business. There’s no going backonce you’ve formatted a drive. That

Format & PartitionHard Drives: A PrimerClear The Slate For A Freshly Installed Operating System

CLEAN INSTALLATION TUTORIALS


Boot ‘Em Up

After you’ve created a backup of allyour personal data, you can begin theformat process.

If you’re running an earlier versionof Windows, such as Windows 98 orWinME, you’ll want to create a startupdisk. To do so, click Start, Settings, andthen select Control Panel. Double-clickthe Add/Remove Programs icon, thenclick the Startup Disk tab and click theCreate Disk button. Windows will giveyou an Insert Diskprompt, so insert ablank floppy disketteinto your diskettedrive. Make sure youuse a blank diskette,or one that stores filesyou don’t need tosave, as any datastored on the diskettewill be erased whenit’s turned into astartup disk. ClickOK, and your computer will create thestartup disk.

With newer versions of Windows,such as Windows 2000 or XP, and anewer computer, you’ll be able tostart up your PC (after you’ve for-matted the hard drive) from yoursetup CD. But you need to make surethat your BIOS, the Basic Input/Out-put System checklist that your com-puter goes through when it’s turnedon, is set to boot from a CD-ROMdrive. You can simply put in yourWindows setup CD and see if you geta different menu when you reboot oryou can enter the BIOS and check for yourself.

Entering the BIOS usually in-volves pressing the DELETE key orone of the Function keys duringbootup. In your BIOS menu, searchfor a Boot or Boot Priority option(you’ll have to use your arrow keysas your mouse won’t function in theBIOS menus) and make sure that thefirst boot device is set to CD-ROM.Save your settings when you exit bypressing the F10 key. Now your

computer is ready to boot up fromyour Windows CD.

If you’re running Win2000 andyour system is too old to boot fromCD, you can create boot floppy disksfor this operating system. You’ll needfour blank floppies (or ones with data you don’t mind losing) and the Win2000 CD-ROM. Insert theWin2000 CD into your CD drive,click Start, and then click Run. In theOpen box, type D:\BOOTDISK\makeboot a: and press ENTER.

(NOTE: “D” is theletter of your opticaldrive, so change it toE or whatever letterrepresents your op-tical drive on yoursystem if it ’s not D:. Also, you don’t have to be runningWin2000 to createthese boot disks. Youcan perform this taskon any system with a

CD drive and a floppy drive.)

Format A Startup Disk

If you’re trying to format a Win98or WinMe PC (or an oldersystem running Win2000),insert your startup diskinto the floppy drive andrestart your system. It willeventually load up to aDOS prompt, a letter foryour floppy drive (usuallyA:) with a blinking cursorbehind it. Formatting yourdrive from this point on ispretty simple. Just typeFORMAT C: \S at theprompt (the “S” adds the main sys-tem files to the drive after format-ting). You’ll get a warning that alldata on this nonremovable drive willbe lost. If you’re ready to format,press Y for yes and press ENTER.

When the process is complete, you’llbe asked if you want to enter a volumelabel for your drive. It’s not necessary,so you can just press ENTER. Next,

you’ll need to tell your computer toswitch over to your optical drive soyou can install your operating system.The details of the OS installationprocess are covered in other articles inthis section, but to switch to your op-tical drive, you can simply type theletter of the drive you want to move tofollowed by a colon. Your optical driveis most likely E:, so simply type E: andpress ENTER to move to that drive.Typing Setup after E: will usually startthe OS install process.

Format A Boot CD

If you’re running Win2000 orWinXP, you’ll be able to boot directlyto your operating system CD withoutcreating a startup floppy disk. Youmight need to make those BIOSchanges we mentioned above to makesure your CD drive boots first. Youmight have to press a key during theboot-up process to boot from CD, sokeep an eye on your screen.

Formatting your hard drive ispart of the Win2000 and WinXPsetup process, which will begin au-tomatically after your system bootsfrom your Windows CD. You’ll be

shown a blue screen with an optionthat says To set up Windows 2000(or XP) now, press Enter. Go aheadand press ENTER and then agree tothe license agreement by pressingF8. (NOTE: If you don’t get a re-sponse from your function keys, checkto see if your keyboard has an F Lockkey and press that key first.) If youalready have Windows installed on

CLEAN INSTALLATION TUTORIALSFormat A Hard Drive

Newer systems running Windows 2000can boot from a CD-ROM, but some oldersystems may require the creation ofboot floppy diskettes.

A common way to format hard drives on PCs with older operating systems is to use the Format command at the DOS prompt.


your hard drive, Setup will ask ifyou want to repair it. Press the ESCkey to skip this option.

The next screen gives you the op-tion to start installing Windows,create a new partition, or delete a par-tition. A partition is simply a sectionof a hard drive. A hard drive thathasn’t been divided into sections issaid to have just one partition, butyou can have several partitions on asingle drive.

At the bottom of the screen you’llsee your current partition or parti-tions, as well as the unpartitionedspace (if there is any). To format apartition, delete it and then re-createit. Highlight the partition you want toformat and then press D. If there’s justone partition on your drive, you’ll begiven a warning that you’re trying todelete the system partition. PressENTER if you still want to format thatpartition. You’ll be given one morechance to change your mind. If you’restill ready to delete, press L.

You’ll be taken back to the harddrive setup screen. To format a driveor partition, press ENTER to start theOS installation process. You’ll have tochoose between the NTFS and FAT32file formats for the format of yourhard drive. There are many reasons tochoose one over the other, but if youhave a large hard drive with a neweroperating system, such as WinXP, gowith NTFS. If you have an older OSand smaller hard drive, you shoulduse FAT 32.

After you’ve formatted your harddrive, the operating system installprocess will start.

Partition Your Hard Drive

As we mentioned, youcan separate a hard driveinto multiple sections calledpartitions. Why would youwant to partition a harddrive, you ask? Well, thereare lots of reasons. You maywant to run multiple oper-ating systems on a singlePC. You can have one parti-

tion dedicated to WinXP and anotherto Linux, for example.

If you’re not interested in anygoals that lofty, you might still wantto partition your hard drive forbackup and reinstalling purposes.Having several partitions on yourhard drive can make it much easierto format and reinstall your oper-ating system. You can keep all yoursensitive data, such as documents,emails, photos, etc., on a non-systempartition. Then, you can formatyour main C: partition and reinstallyour operating system, and you havea cleanly installed OS. You’ll need toreinstall applications even if you in-stalled them on a non-system parti-tion, as there are a lot of files in theWindows folder for your programs,but it saves you a lot of time if youwipe your system clean occasionally.

If you have a second hard drive,you can set up a partition on thatdrive to be a mirror of your data onyour original hard drive. That way,you have a good backup in case your

main hard drive crashes. See thesidebar “Format & Partition A SecondHard Drive” on page 89 for the stepsinvolved in adding a second harddrive to your system.

Partition With Fdisk

If you’re running Win98 or WinME,you’ll need to use the Fdisk tool topartition your hard drive. Normally,this is done prior to formatting, sohopefully you’re giving this article afull read-through before heading off to the DOS command prompt.Reboot your PC with the startupfloppy diskette installed. After youboot up to the DOS prompt, typeFDISK and press ENTER.

Fdisk will open and ask you if youwant to enable large drive support.Press Y for yes. Highlight your newdrive from the list that appears andpress 1 for the option Create DOSPartition Or Logical DOS Drive.Press 1 again for Create PrimaryDOS Partition.

Now you need to make a choice. Ifyou want your drive to have a singlepartition, you can simply click Y touse the maximum available size for aprimary DOS partition and automati-cally make it active (so you can installan operating system on it). AfterFdisk has finished, you can rebootwith your startup disk and thenformat your new drive.

But because you’re using Fdisk, youprobably want to make more than


Older operating systems such as Windows 98 and Windows MEcontain the Fdisk tool for managing your hard drive partitions.

The WindowsXP DiskManagementtool makes iteasy to createpartitions on asecond harddrive fromwithinWindows.


one partition. Press N when asked ifyou want to use the maximum avail-able size for a DOS partition andenter the size that you want to use foryour primary DOS partition inmegabytes (MB) or percent of overallspace. This is where you’ll install yourmain operating system, so you want agood amount of space.

Partition sizes are up to you. If youhave a 100GB drive, you can divide itinto two 50GB partitions, four 25GBpartitions, one 50GB and two 25GBpartitions, etc. Just make sure thatthere’s enough room in your primarypartition for your operating system, atleast. A good rule of thumb is to pro-vide at least 10 percent of your overallhard drive space for the primary C par-tition. Some users like to have a parti-tion just for multimedia files or one fora backup. Think about what types ofdata you want to store in your parti-tions and how much space you’d like ineach partition before you set them.

After Fdisk creates the primaryDOS partition, press the ESC key toreturn to the Options menu. Tocreate more partitions, press 2 forCreate Extended DOS Partition. Fdiskwill show you the maximum sizeavailable. You can use all of this spacefor a second partition, or enter theamount of space you want to use andcreate several partitions by repeatingthese steps until all the space is allo-cated. Press ESC to return to the mainOptions menu.

Now, you need to set the primarypartition to active, so press 2 for SetActive Partition and then press 1 toactivate your primary partition andthen press ESC. You can now formatyour partitions.

Partition With A Windows Setup CD

If you’re running a newer oper-ating system such as WinXP, you can partition your main hard drivewith Windows Setup. Follow thesteps above to boot from CD-ROM,agree to the license agreement, andskip the Repair Windows step. You’ll

be shown your hard drive(s) and alltheir partitions.

If you only have one main partitionand you want to split it into multiplepartitions, you’ll have to delete the par-tition first. Highlight the partition withthe arrow keys and then press D todelete it. You’ll have to press ENTERand then L to confirm this command ifit’s the main system partition.

After you’ve freed up space foryour new partitions, press C in themain menu to create a new partitionin the unpartitioned space. Enter thesize of the partition in megabytes andpress ENTER. Repeat these steps tocreate more partitions.

Note that Windows can’t adjust thesize of partitions without first deletingthem, but some third-party applica-tions such as Norton PartitionMagic8.0 ($69.95; www.symantec.com) allowyou to resize partitions on the fly.

Formatting and partitioning yourhard drive is a necessary step alongthe path to reinstalling your oper-ating system. It helps you create aclean and streamlined system thatwill run much more smoothly than asystem that’s been bloated with un-used files and other junk over thepast several months.

BBYY JJOOEELL SSTTRRAAUUCCHH


Format & Partition A Second Hard Drive

AAdding another hard drive to your system is an easy way to boost the amount

of storage you have. It’s also a lot easier to format and partition a second

drive, as you don’t have your Windows or other OS (operating system) files in-

stalled on it.

With Windows ME and earlier OSes, you need to use the Fdisk tool to partition

your new hard drive, but you can run it from within Windows. It’s easier to parti-

tion the drive first before you format the partitions, so if you want it separated

into sections, click Start and then Run, type ffddiisskk, and click OK. Fdisk will open in

a DOS window. Then follow the steps detailed in the main article to partition and

format your new hard drive, making sure you’re working with the newly attached

drive. (NOTE: the new drive won’t be your C: drive [it will probably be E: or F:, de-

pending on your drive setup], so you might want to check Windows Explorer or your

My Computer window to take note of your new drive letter before you start parti-

tioning and formatting.)

With newer versions of Windows, you can use the Disk Management tool to

create partitions. An easy way to open this tool is to right-click your My

Computer icon (either on the desktop or in the Start menu) and select Manage.

Then choose Disk Management under Storage.

The bottom right-hand pane will show your hard drive(s) and existing parti-

tions, as well as unpartitioned space. The new drive should show up as unparti-

tioned space. To create a new partition, right-click the unpartitioned space of the

new drive and select New Partition from the pop-up menu. This will open up the

New Partition Wizard.

Click Next in the first screen and then select the type of partition you want to

create. If this is a second hard drive, you probably want to create extended parti-

tions. Enter the size of the partition in the Partition Size In MB box and then click

Next. The next screen lets you choose your own drive letter, lets the wizard do it

for you, or skips having a letter for this partition.

Finally, the last screen lets you format your new partition, choosing the type of

file system and entering a name for the partition in the Volume label box. After

you click Finish, the new partition is created. Repeat these steps to create addi-

tional partitions on this hard drive. ❙

RS


Most of us are willing to putup with the quirks our com-puters develop as they age,

but when your PC’s misbehavior pre-vents you from working, surfing theInternet, or checking your email, you’llfind yourself wishing you could magi-cally return your computer to theclean, efficient PC it was when you firstbought it. As it turns out, you can give

your PC a personality refresh, butthere’s nothing magical about this fix:The process requires at least an hour ofspare time (probably several hours)and destroys all of your computer’sfiles, including the files you’d like tokeep. This fix for your PC’s woes is aclean installation of Windows XP.We’ll show you how to replace your existing Windows XP Home or

Professional OS (operating system)with a clean installation.

Before You Take The Plunge

A clean installation of WinXPerases every last bit of informationfrom your PC. It completely wipesyour hard drive and then installsWindows again. If you’re unwilling tolose all of your files and customizedWindows settings, consider trying adifferent fix before you perform aclean installation: a reinstallation.WinXP’s In-Place Upgrade featurelets you reinstall important Windowsfiles without wiping the hard drive. Areinstallation isn’t a quick fix—it re-quires many of the same steps that aclean installation demands. It alsocan’t cure all ills (it probably won’trid your PC of a virus, for example),but if you shudder at the thought ofreinstalling all of your programs andfiles, it may be the way to go. Youmight also want to give the reinstalla-tion a whirl if your computer won’tstart WinXP and the PC has impor-tant files that you haven’t yet backedup. Read more about the WinXP re-installation in “Reinstall Windows XPHome & Professional” on page 56.

Keep in mind that the WinXP cleaninstallation instructions in this articleapply to a computer that includes anoriginal WinXP Home or Pro installa-tion CD. If you bought your computerfrom a large computer manufacturer,your computer may not include aWinXP disc. Instead, it may have acustom rescue disc that can reinstallWinXP. If your computer didn’t in-clude any discs, you’ll probably findthat the manufacturer installed an OSrescue feature on the computer’s harddrive. Follow the manufacturer’s in-structions to reinstall WinXP.

Installation Preparation

Although WinXP has a much easierinstallation process than its predeces-sors, it requires lots of time and somesignificant preparation. Take these

Windows XPHome &Professional Start Over With A Clean Windows XP Installation



steps to make your installation assmooth as possible.

Back up. How much time youspend on the preparation dependslargely on whether you regularlyback up your most important filesto media other than your harddrive. If your PC has the onlycopies of files you don’t want tolose, you’ll need to back them upbefore you install WinXP. Be sureto check out our Backing Up sec-tion starting on page 42 for articlesthat will help you find and backup your most important files.

Collect your program discs.You’ll need to reinstall all ofyour programs after you com-plete the WinXP installation, sograb your program installationdiscs now and burn the setupfiles for any downloaded pro-grams to a CD. Although youcan hunt for your CDs just aseasily after the WinXP installa-tion as before, it’s worth it tolook for them now. If you’ve lostyour banking software’s installa-tion CD, you may want to post-pone the WinXP installationuntil you can buy a new disc.

Create a driver floppy. If youhave a SATA (Serial AdvancedTechnology Attachment) harddrive, you’ll probably need toload SATA drivers onto a floppydiskette before you begin the in-stallation. See the “SATA DriverFloppy” sidebar to learn moreabout finding the files.

Download drivers. Once you com-plete the Windows installation, you’llneed to install several drivers, in-cluding motherboard chipset andgraphics card drivers. Chances areyou already have CDs that includemany of these drivers. However,check before the installation to makesure you have the Ethernet controllerdrivers (which may be part of themotherboard chipset package), asyour PC most likely won’t be able toconnect to the Internet until you’veinstalled this driver.

Locate your product key. Don’tperform a clean installation or a rein-stallation repair without first makingsure that you have the 25-characterproduct key that accompanied yourWinXP disc. The installation requiresthe product key, and you won’t beable to continue with the installationuntil you enter it. If you’ve lost theproduct key, you may be able to get a replacement product key fromMicrosoft; visit support.microsoft.com and then click the Con-tactMicrosoft link to see Microsoft’s con-tact options.

Change Your PC’s Boot Order

The Windows installationruns from your CD as soon asyour computer powers on, be-fore the computer gets a chanceto load Windows from your harddrive. However, your computerprobably doesn’t check your op-tical drive for usable files when itpowers on. It may glance at thefloppy drive, but it then headsstraight for your hard drive. Thisworks well when your OS func-tions properly, but it doesn’thelp when you need to installWinXP from the CD. To thatend, you’ll need to change thecomputer’s boot order (some-times referred to as a boot se-quence), which is the order inwhich it checks possible boot de-vices for an operating system.

The motherboard’s BIOS (Ba-sic Input/Output System) con-trols the PC’s boot order, soyou’ll need to make a quick sidetrip into the BIOS before you canstart the installation. Don’t wor-ry: You can easily navigate theBIOS without causing any dam-age to your system. You’ll pop in-side, make this basic change, andthen pop back out again in five to 10 minutes.

To open the BIOS, start yourcomputer and then watch thescreen for instructions. You’llsoon see a message that tells you

to press a key (usually DELETE) toenter the BIOS. Once you press thekey, the system will open the BIOS.BIOS menus vary from one mother-board model to the next, but youprobably won’t have much troublefinding the boot order; if it doesn’t ap-pear on the main menu, it’s probablyjust inside one of the categories thatappear on the main menu. Use thearrow keys to move from one categorytitle to the next and use the ENTERkey to enter a category.

Once you find the boot order, movethe optical drive (BIOSes often refer to

CLEAN INSTALLATION TUTORIALSInstall Windows XP

Your PC probably doesn’t automatically check your DVDdrive for a bootable file when it starts, so you’ll need toconfigure it to do this. The BIOS (Basic Input/OutputSystem) has a setting that lets you choose which devicesyour computer searches as it starts up.

If your computer has a SATA (Serial Advanced TechnologyAttachment) hard drive, you may need to load certain drivers onto your PC during the Windows installation.Setup searches your floppy and then displays all of thedisk’s SATA drivers. When in doubt, load all of the drivers.


this as a CD-ROM, even if it is a DVDdrive) to the top of the list. If the bootorder has numbers, make sure theCD-ROM is at the first slot. Next,move the hard drive to the second slotin the sequence so the computer willlook to your hard drive next. Thissetup lets you begin the OS installa-tion from the CD, but lets the com-puter access the OS on your harddrive once the installation movesfrom the CD to the hard drive.

Finally, save your changes andexit the BIOS. In most cases, youcan do this by pressing the F10key and then pressing the ENTERkey when a message appearsasking if you’d like to save thechanges and exit. Once you exitthe BIOS, your computer willrestart. Watch the screen, as itmay display a message that asksyou to press a key if you want toboot from the CD-ROM. If yourcomputer displays this message, itwon’t look at your CD-ROM un-less you press the key right away.If you don’t press a key (in gen-eral, any key will do), restart thecomputer and try again. Youwon’t need to re-enter the BIOSas its settings don’t change, evenwhen you power off the com-puter. If you haven’t yet put yourWinXP installation CD into yourcomputer, pop it in now.

Install Windows. You’ll see aSetup Is Inspecting Your Com-puter’s Hardware Configurationmessage at the top of an other-wise black screen when the win-dows installation begins. The nextscreen has a blue background anda gray bar at the bottom. If youdon’t need to install SATA driversfor your hard drive, skip the restof this and the next two para-graphs. Otherwise, watch thisgray bar closely. Shortly after thescreen appears, you’ll see a PressF6 If You Need To Install A ThirdParty SCSI Or RAID Driver mes-sage. Press F6 right away. If yourkeyboard has an F LOCK key

(which generally sits to the right ofthe F keys), press the F LOCK key andthen press F6.

Windows Setup doesn’t give any in-dication that it recognizes your F6command. Instead, messages in thegray bar list the files that your systemloads from the CD for several seconds.Next, you’ll see a Windows Setup

message that indicates the installationcouldn’t find your Mass Storage De-vices (your hard drive or drives). Pressthe S key. Push the floppy into yourPC’s floppy drive and then press theENTER key when the Please Insert TheDisk Labeled Manufacturer-SuppliedHardware Support Disk Into Drive Amessage appears. The next window dis-

plays any drivers that Setup foundon the floppy diskette. Use thearrow keys to select the driver andthen press ENTER.

When Setup loads the driver, itdisplays a Setup Will Load Sup-port For The Following MassStorage Devices message that liststhe driver you just selected. Ifyou’re not sure whether you load-ed the right driver (some driverfloppies have multiple drivers),simply press the S key again andthen load the next driver. TheSetup Will Load Support For TheFollowing Mass Storage Devicespage will appear each time youload a driver and will display thenew driver in the list of loaded drivers. Windows Setup will usethe appropriate driver during theinstallation. Press the ENTER keyagain to continue the installation.

The next screen offers you threeoptions: You can set up WinXP,start the Recovery Console, or quitWinXP Setup. Press the ENTERkey to move to the next step in theinstallation, which is the End-User License Agreement. Press thePAGE DOWN and PAGE UP keys(which are between the characterkeys and the number pad on theright side of your keyboard) toscroll through the license agree-ment’s text. If you agree with the li-cense agreement’s terms and wantto accept it (you’ll need to acceptthe license agreement to continuethe installation), press the F8 key. Ifthe F8 key doesn’t work, press the FLOCK key and then press F8 again.

The following screen showsyour partition options. You havethree options: install WinXP over


Motherboard manufacturers let users download driversfrom their Web sites. If you don’t have your motherboarddriver CD, visit the manufacturer’s Web site and searchfor your board’s drivers. MSI’s easy-to-navigate site lets users easily locate the drivers they need to create a SATA floppy.

You’ll see this message shortly after Setup starts. If youdon’t need to install SATA drivers you can ignore the mes-sage and let the Windows installation continue, but ifyou have a SATA driver floppy, you’ll need to press the F6right away.


your current WinXP installation,delete the partition that hasWinXP, or create a new partitionin any unused hard drive space.Don’t select the first option,which would install WinXP di-rectly into the partition that al-ready has WinXP (if you do, amessage warns that your new in-stallation may not “functionproperly”). Instead, you’ll wantto delete your C: partition so youcan install WinXP on a clean harddrive. Make sure that the C: parti-tion is highlighted and then pressthe D key. When the The Par-tition You Tried To Delete Is ASystem Partition screen appears,confirm that you really want todelete the partition (erase all ofthe files on the partition, in-cluding Windows files, programfiles, and any files you created) bypressing the ENTER key. Setupwarns you that you’re about todelete the partition and asks youto confirm again. When you pressthe L key to confirm that youwant to delete the partition,Setup returns you to the partitionlist, which should now displayonly an unpartitioned space.

To dedicate all of the hard driveto a single WinXP partition, pressENTER and then select the Stan-dard or Quick version of the NTfile system format (the Quick ver-sion is significantly faster). Setup mea-sures the format with a horizontalyellow bar and displays the names offiles that it copies to your newly for-matted hard drive.

Finish The Installation

Congratulations—you’re on thehome stretch. Once Setup finishescopying files to your drive, it asks youto remove the floppy diskette and thenrestarts your computer. Don’t pressthe keyboard’s keys when the PressAny Key To Boot From CD messageappears. The PC completes POST(power on self test) and then continues

the installation. However, you’ll find amuch more aesthetically pleasing in-terface than the plain blue-and-graytheme that Setup sported earlier. Thenew interface also lets you use yourmouse. As Setup installs Windows, itkeeps track of its progress on the leftside of the window: You’ll see that ithas already completed the CollectingInformation, Dynamic Update, andPreparing Installation steps and is nowon the Installing Windows step.

After a few minutes, Setup displays afamiliar wizard-like gray Regional AndLanguage Options window. By de-fault, Setup chooses United States andEnglish settings. Click the Customize

or Details button if you’d like tochange either of these options.Otherwise, click Next.

The Personalize Your Softwarepage requests your name andyour organization or business’name. You don’t need to enter aname in the Organization field,but you’ll need to enter a name inthe Name field (it won’t acceptAdministrator or Guest, as Win-dows uses those two names forother purposes, but all othernames are fair game). Once youclick next, you’ll face the YourProduct Key page. Enter yourproduct key. The key appears ona sticker that accompanies yourWinXP CD’s packaging. If youbought your computer from amanufacturer, you may find thissticker on the side or back of yourPC or on the inside of one of thesystem’s side panels.

Next, you’ll need to choose aname for your computer. Unlikethe previous Name field, this fieldhouses the name that will appearon your home network. Choose aname that will help other usersidentify your computer on thenetwork (WinXP Pro also letsyou enter an Administrator pass-word here).

The next page is the Date AndTime Settings page. Double-checkthe date and time information to

make sure it’s correct. Also, check theTime Zone field to make sure Win-dows knows what time zone it’s in.

Unless you are aware of special fea-tures and settings you’ll need to installor configure for your network (andwant to configure them now, ratherthan after the Windows installationcompletes), choose the Typical Set-tings radio button when the Net-working Settings page appears. Thisoption installs the most importantnetwork features so you can connectto the Internet and share files andprinters over your home network.

If you have WinXP Pro, anotherpage appears: the Workgroup Or


Make sure you have your Windows XP product key beforeyou wipe your hard drive, as you’ll need to enter the keyto complete the installation. You’ll probably find theproduct key sticker on your installation CD’s packaging.

Setup automatically creates a network name for yourcomputer, but you can change it during the installation.Select a name that will help other users identify yourcomputer on the network.


Computer Domain page. Unless yournetwork administrator instructs youotherwise, select the No, This Com-puter Is Not On A Network, Or Is OnA Network Without A Domain. If youhave a home network, enter yourWorkgroup name here (you selected aWorkgroup name when you createdyour home network).

After several minutes, Setup restartsyour PC and then displays the DisplaySettings box. Click OK and then clickOK again if you like the new monitorresolution after Setup resizes thegraphics. Next, you’ll see the WelcomeTo Microsoft Windows page. Click theNext button. If your CD includes SP2(Service Pack 2), the Help Protect YourPC page will appear, which lets you en-able Automatic Updates.

The next page lets you choosenames for the accounts you’d like to

create on this computer. Keep in mindthat the first account (in the YourName field) is an administrator ac-count. Click Finish to boot Windowsfor the first time. Congratulations!You’ve just installed WinXP.

Wrap Things Up

If you haven’t installed WinXP be-fore, you might be surprised to knowthat the My Computer and My Docu-ments icons aren’t on the Desktop bydefault. You can find them in the Startmenu, but don’t drag them onto theDesktop. If you create a standardshortcut from the My Computer icon,it doesn’t display the System Propertieswindow when you right-click it andthen click Properties. You can solve theproblem easily enough: Right-click theMy Computer or My Documents icon

and then click Show On Desktop. Thiscopies the icon to the Desktop withoutremoving any of its special properties.

Now it’s time to install your hard-ware drivers. Grab your pile of driverCDs. Most driver installation softwareincludes easy-to-understand instruc-tions, but if you run into a driver thatisn’t installing correctly, check out“Drivers DIY” on page 24. You’ll alsoneed to activate WinXP. We walk youthrough this (usually) painless processin “Windows, Powers Activate!” onpage 144. Finally, check out “InstallUpdates & Patches” on page 145,which shows you how to install Win-dows updates. Once you’ve updatedyour PC, you’re ready to surf the Inter-net, check email, and work with yourfavorite programs again.



SATA Driver Floppy

YY our Windows installa-

tion CD has most of

the files it needs put to

Windows XP on your com-

puter, but it doesn’t have

the files that it needs to

communicate with some of

the newer hard drives that

entered the market in the

past few years. If you have

this new hard drive type,

which is known as SATA

(Serial Advanced Tech-

nology Attachment), you’ll

need to put the files (known

as drivers) onto a floppy

and then use the floppy to

load the drivers onto your

computer during the Win-

dows installation.

First, determine whether

your computer has a SATA

hard drive or the older ATA

(Advanced Technology

Attachment) type. If your

computer still successful-

ly boots Windows and

connects to the Internet,

right-click My Computer

and then click Properties.

When the System Properties

window appears, click the

Hardware tab and then click

Device Manager. The Device

Manager displays a list of

your computer’s compo-

nents. Browse this list for the

Disk Drives label and then

double-click it. Your hard

drive’s model number now

appears below Disk Drives.

Write down the model

number and then enter it

into your favorite Internet

search engine, such as

Google, to find information

about the hard drive.

You can also determine

your hard drive type with-

out booting Windows. If

your PC can’t start the OS,

you’ll need to find your hard

drive type by looking at

the cable that transfers data

between the drive and your

motherboard inside your

computer. If the cable is

about two inches wide and

very flat, you have an ATA

hard drive (this cable is com-

monly referred to as a

ribbon cable). A thin cable

means your PC has a SATA

hard drive.

If your computer has an

ATA hard drive, you’re

home free: You can skip

these instructions and head

straight to the Boot Order

section. Ignore any refer-

ences we make to a driver

floppy. If, on the other hand,

your PC has a SATA hard

drive, it’s time to find the

SATA drivers and put them

onto a floppy.

Although you’re looking

for hard drive-related drivers,

you won’t find them in your

hard drive’s packaging. Your

motherboard’s driver CD has

the drivers, as they affect your

motherboard’s hard drive

controllers. Many PC builders

ship the motherboard manual

and CD with customers sys-

tems, so check your comput-

er’s materials for both.

Read your motherboard

manual’s driver floppy in-

structions (it may refer to

the driver as a RAID [redun-

dant array of independent

disks] driver floppy). Some

driver CDs have programs

that find the files and then

move them to your floppy,

while others simply store

the necessary files in a

folder. Your manual tells

you where to find these

files on the CD and how to

move them to your floppy.

Once you finish creating

the SATA driver floppy,

keep it handy. We’ll tell you

when to load the drivers

onto your computer. ❙

RS


If you’re reading this article,then you’ve probably decided toexercise the nuclear option on

your PC. Reinstalling Windows 2000may sound like a daunting task, butanybody can do it. This article willhelp you reformat your hard driveand start fresh with a clean versionof Win2000.

Prep Work

Before we embark on installing afresh copy of Win2000, there’re a fewthings you’ll want to do first. Theprocess described here will completely

erase everything that currently existson your hard drive, including all ofyour personal files and data, all ofyour applications, Desktop settings,Web favorites and bookmarks, emailfolders, network settings, and evenyour hardware drivers. If you stillhave access to these files, back themup wherever possible. For more infor-mation about how to back up yourpersonal files, see “Who Has YourBack?” on page 42.

If your computer or the individualhardware components in your com-puter came with driver discs, findthem and have them ready. If you

don’t have these crucial drivers, youcould encounter poor video perfor-mance, no sound, hardware errors,and a very unresponsive printer. Mosthardware manufacturers let youdownload drivers from their Websites. If you have access to the Inter-net, visit these sites, download thelatest Win2000-compatible drivers,and save them to disc. The video card,sound card, network adapter, andchipset drivers are the most impor-tant drivers to have on hand once youget your new Win2000 computer upand running.

Also make sure to gather any soft-ware applications you’ll want to rein-stall, along with the correspondingproduct keys and registration codes.

Finally, make sure to copy downyour Internet connection informationso you can immediately connect tothe Internet once your reinstall is fin-ished and your drivers are installed.To find this information, click Start,Settings, Network And Dial-up Con-nections, right-click Local Area Con-nection, and then click Properties. Onthe General tab of the Local AreaConnections Properties dialog box,click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), andthen click the Properties button. If theresulting dialog box displays an IPAddress, Subnet Mask, Default Gate-way, and a Preferred and AlternateDNS (Domain Name Server), thencopy down this information.

What You Need

To follow along with this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll need a computerwith a reformatted hard drive (youcan reformat the hard drive duringthe installation process if necessary)and a licensed copy of Win2000.You’ll also want an active Internetconnection to download servicepacks, updates, or critical fixes thataren’t included on your Win2000Setup CD. These instructions specif-ically apply to retail box and OEM(original equipment manufacturer)versions of Win2000. If your PC

Begin AgainHow To Install A Fresh Copy Of Windows 2000



only includes restore discs froma brand-name manufacturersuch as Dell, HP, Compaq, orGateway, then the instructionsfor reinstalling Win2000 mayvary. In these instances, consultthe documentation that camewith your computer or visit themanufacturer’s Web site formore information.

What You Might Need

If you’re installing Win2000on a SATA (Serial AdvancedTechnology Attachment) harddrive (distinguished by a narrow,flat cable running between thehard drive and a SATA port onthe motherboard), then you’llprobably need SCSI (Small Com-puter System Interface) or RAID(Redundant Array of Indepen-dent Disks) drivers on a floppydiskette. You can usually findthese drivers on the driver discthat came with your mother-board or computer or on themotherboard/computer manu-facturer’s Web site. If you’re in-stalling Win2000 on an IDE(Integrated Drive Electronics)hard drive (distinguished by thewide, flat ribbon cable running fromthe hard drive to an IDE port on themotherboard) then you won’t needthe driver disc.

If you’ve graduated from the oldschool of OS (operating system) in-stalls, then you’re probably familiarwith the ever-indispensable setupboot diskettes. These floppy diskettesinclude all of the files and instructionsnecessary to start your computer andprepare the hard drive for your cleancopy of Windows. Both Windows XPand Win2000, however, include thesetup boot data on the Setup CDs,which generally saves you fromhaving to juggle a handful of floppieswhen you want to perform a reinstall.The one instance in which you’d haveto create setup boot disks to installWin2000 or WinXP is when your

computer won’t let you boot from theCD drive. If this is the case, then skipdown to the “How To Perform AClean Win2K Install Using SetupBoot Disks” sidebar.

Step-By-Step Install

With your computer on, insert theWin2000 Setup CD into your com-puter’s primary optical drive andthen shut down the system. In orderto configure your computer to bootfrom the CD, you’ll need to enter theBIOS (Basic Input/Output System)setup utility and change the boot de-vice priority. To access the BIOSsetup utility, you’ll need to press akey immediately after you turn onyour system. This key varies fromsystem to system, so check your PC

or motherboard manual for in-formation about which key topress. If you don’t have a man-ual, pay careful attention to theinstructions that flash on-screenas the computer boots for anyhint about which key grants youaccess to the BIOS. Some keysthat commonly let you access theBIOS are DELETE, ESC, F1, orF2. If you’re required to press afunction key, make sure youdon’t have F LOCK enabled onyour keyboard. Pressing the keyrepeatedly until you enter theBIOS setup utility is OK.

Once you’re in the BIOS setuputility, access the boot priorityoptions and change the settingsso that the computer boots fromthe optical drive first and thehard drive second. You can com-monly find this option underAdvanced BIOS Features, BootPriority, Boot Sequence, or Firstand Second Boot Device. Next,save your settings and restartyour computer by pressing thedesignated Save And Exit key.Check the bottom of the BIOSsetup utility for instructions asto which key to press. F10 is oneof the most common Save And

Exit keys. After the computer restarts, you’ll

be prompted to Press Any Key ToBoot From CD. Quickly press anykey. The system will perform a shortscan of your computer and thenprompt you to press F6 if you need toinstall a SCSI or RAID driver. Youdon’t have a lot of time to press F6, soyou may have to restart and try againif you missed the prompt. Regardlessof whether you pressed F6, your com-puter will proceed to load the startupboot files from the Win2000 SetupCD. This may take several minutes.

Load SATA drivers. If you aren’tusing a SATA hard drive, skip to theWelcome To Setup section and con-tinue the installation. If you pressedF6 to load SCSI or RAID drivers,you’ll have to load them before the

CLEAN INSTALLATION TUTORIALSInstall Windows 2000

The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) setup utility letsyou adjust how your computer boots.

You can change the computer’s boot device sequencefrom the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System).


installation process can continue. Onthis screen, you should see a messageindicating that you have chosen tomanually specify an adapter. Press Sto specify an additional device. Thefollowing page will instruct you toInsert The Disk Labeled Manufac-turer-Supplied Hardware SupportDisk Into Drive A. Insert the SCSI orRAID driver diskette into the floppydrive and press ENTER.

If the drivers loaded properly, youshould see the list of drivers containedon the diskette. If you see an error, orno drivers appear, then you may needto load a different set of drivers. Somemotherboards include multiple SATAcontrollers, each requiring a differentdriver. Check the computer or moth-erboard manufacturer’s Web site foralternative SATA or RAID dri-vers. Sometimes the drivers areOS-specific, meaning you’ll needto load different drivers de-pending on the OS you’re in-stalling. If this is the case, eachdriver in the list will include thename of the OS for which theywere created. Make sure to high-light the Win2000-compatibledriver and press ENTER to loadthe driver. You may need to loadmore than one driver to get Setupto recognize your SATA harddrive. Press S again and repeatthis process as many times as isnecessary to load all of the appro-priate drivers. When you’re backat the Load Support For TheFollowing Mass Storage Devicesscreen, press ENTER to continue.

Welcome To Setup. At thisscreen, you’re given the optionto press ENTER to set up Win-2000, press R to repair Win2000,or press F3 to quit the Setupwithout installing Win2000. Forthe purposes of this tutorial,press ENTER.

The following screen displaysthe EULA (End-User LicenseAgreement). Navigate throughthe EULA by pressing the PAGEDOWN key and then press F8 to

agree to the terms. You must agree tocontinue with the installation. On thefollowing screen, use the Up andDown arrows again to select the parti-tion upon which you want to installWin2000. You can also create a newpartition by pressing C and delete aselected partition by pressing D. PressENTER to continue.

FAT or NTFS. This portion of theWin2000 installation process letsyou choose to format the partitionusing either the FAT (File AllocationTable) or NTFS (New TechnologyFile System) file systems. Unless youplan to install multiple operatingsystems on this hard drive, useNTFS. Select Format The PartitionUsing The NTFS File System andthen press ENTER. Press F to format

the partition. Depending on the sizeof the partition, this process maytake some time.

Once the format is complete, Setupcopies files to the Win2000 installa-tion folders. After this, your computerwill automatically reboot. When itdoes, you’ll need to re-enter the BIOSsetup utility and change the boot de-vice priority. Immediately press thedesignated key that lets you access theBIOS, such as DELETE, ESC, F1, orF2. Change the boot sequence to bootfrom your hard drive first and CDdrive second. If you missed your op-portunity to get into the BIOS, simplyignore the Press Any Key To BootFrom CD message and let the systemboot from the hard drive. The nexttime your computer restarts, though,

remember to change the boot se-quence to prevent the systemfrom displaying the Press AnyKey To Boot From CD messageduring each startup.

Next, you’ll encounter a blackStarting Windows screen fol-lowed by the Windows 2000 logoscreen. From here on out, you’llbe able to use the keyboard andmouse to input data and click onbuttons. Click Next to continuethe setup process. The on-screendialog box will inform you thatWindows is installing devices,such as your keyboard, mouse,and display adapters. You maynotice the screen flicker, but thisis normal. Expect this process totake a several minutes.

Who, Where & When?

Next, Setup lets you configureyour regional settings, includingyour system and user locale, lan-guage, and keyboard layout. Ifyou want to change the settings,click the Customize buttons onthis screen to adjust the General,Numbers, Currency, Time, Date,and Input Locales settings. By de-fault, your locale and languagesettings are both set to English


Press F6 if you need to install third-party SCSI (SmallComputer System Interface) drivers.

You may need to load more than one SCSI (SmallComputer System Interface) driver to get Setup to recognize your hard drive.


(United States). Click Next to con-tinue with the setup process.

The following screen lets you cus-tomize your Win2000 installation byentering your name and organization.Filling out the organization field isoptional; however, the installationprocess will not continue until youenter a name. Click Next to continue.

Enter the Win2000 product key.This screen asks for your 25-characteralphanumeric product key. ClickNext to advance to the ComputerName and Administrator Passwordscreen. Enter a name for the com-puter in the first field. Make sure youenter a unique name if you plan toadd this computer to a network. Limit

your computer name to 15 charactersor less or it will be truncated. You canuse letters, numbers, and hyphens,but spaces and periods aren’t allowed.This screen lets you enable an admin-istrator username and password to restrict access to your computer’s crit-ical settings. You can also leave theusername and password fields blank if


How To Perform A Clean Win2000 Install Using Setup Boot Disks

II f you’ve attempted to

boot from the Windows

2000 installation disc but

your computer doesn’t

prompt you to press a key to

boot from the CD, nor

does it let you change the

boot order in the BIOS

(Basic Input/Output

System) to boot from the

CD drive, then you’ll need

to create setup boot disks.

To create the setup

boot disks for Win2000,

find a working computer

that has a CD drive, a

floppy drive, and runs

Windows 98, Windows

Me, Win2000, or Windows

XP. You’ll also need four

blank and formatted

floppy diskettes. Turn on

this computer. Insert the

Win2000 Setup CD and ex-

plore it by right-clicking

the appropriate CD drive

in My Computer and

clicking Explore. You should

see a folder titled BOOT-

DISK. Double-click this

folder to display its contents.

Double-click the MAKE-

BOOT.exe file to launch the

disk-creating utility. The

utility will ask you to specify

the floppy drive to which

the setup boot data will be

copied. Typically the floppy

drive is the A drive. Press A

and then press ENTER. If the

floppy drive of the com-

puter you’re using has been

assigned a different drive

letter, type that letter and

press ENTER. Follow the

on-screen prompts to create

four setup boot disks. Make

sure to label each diskette.

Take your four setup boot

disks back to the computer

upon which you plan to in-

stall Win2000 and insert the

first diskette into the floppy

drive. Turn on the computer.

Next, you’ll see the blue

Windows 2000 Setup screen.

Now is a good time to open

your CD drive and insert the

Win2000 Setup CD.

The computer will per-

form a short scan of your

system and then prompt you

to press F6 if you need to in-

stall a SCSI (Small Computer

System Interface) or RAID

(Redundant Array of

Independent Disks) driver.

Don’t eject the floppy yet.

The Setup files will need to

load from each of the four

Setup Disks before you can

insert a floppy disk to load

your SCSI or RAID drivers.

When you see the Insert

Setup Disk #2 prompt, eject

the first setup boot diskette,

and replace it with the

second one. Press ENTER to

continue. You’ll repeat the

process until you’ve loaded

all four setup boot disks and

are prompted to choose to

set up Win2000, repair

Win2000, or quit without

installing. Press ENTER to

continue. The following

screen displays the EULA

(End-User License Agree-

ment). Press F8 to con-

tinue. Next, use the Up

and Down arrows to select

the partition upon which

you want to install

Win2000. You can also

create a new partition by

pressing C or delete a se-

lected partition by press-

ing D. Press ENTER to

continue. Again, use the

Up and Down arrows to

select the Format The

Partition Using The NTFS

File System and then press

ENTER. Press F to format

the partition. This process

may take a while, especially if

the partition is large.

Once the format is com-

plete, the Setup will begin

to copy files from the

Win2000 Setup CD to the

Win2000 installation

folders. When this is com-

plete, the computer will re-

boot. Immediately eject the

final setup boot disk and

perform the installation as

described above. ❙

Make sure to insert the setup boot disks as prompted during theWindows 2000 installation process.


you don’t want to limit access. ClickNext to move on.

Set the date and time. This stage ofthe Win2000 setup process lets youconfigure your computer’s date, time,and time zone information. Use thedrop-down arrows to select the date,use the Up and Down arrows to adjustthe time, and use the drop-down arrowto display the time zones. Scrollthrough the list and select the appro-priate time zone for your location. Thisscreen also features a checkbox that letsyour computer recognize daylight sav-ings time changes. Click it or leave itblank and then click Next to continue.

The following screen will informyou that Setup is installing variousWindows components. After a shortwait, you’ll see the Performing FinalTasks page. At this stage, Setup in-stalls the Startup Menu items, regis-ters components, saves settings, andremoves any leftover temporary files.This process may take a few minutes.When the process is complete, re-move the Win2000 Setup CD fromthe CD drive and click Finish torestart the computer.

The Network Identification Wiz-ard. When the computer restarts,you’ll see the Win2000 logo screen,immediately followed by the Net-work Identification Wizard welcomescreen. Click Next to proceed to theuser profiles screen. If you’d preferto allow other users to access yourcomputer with a username and pass-word, click the top radio button andclick Next. If you would like to grantadministrative rights to everyonewho logs on to the computer, clickthe bottom radio button, type yourpassword, and then confirm thepassword. You can also leave thepassword fields blank if you don’twant to have to enter a passwordeach time you or another user logson. Press Next to move on. ClickFinish to exit the wizard.

Getting started. The next thingyou should see is the Getting StartedWith Windows 2000 dialog box. Thethree options include Register Now,

Discover Windows, and Connect ToThe Internet. The dialog box also in-cludes a checkbox that lets you pre-vent this message from appearingeach time you log on. Click theRegister Now option to launch theMicrosoft Windows 2000 Registra-tion Wizard. It’s a good idea to reg-ister your newly installed Win2000computer to make sure you have ac-cess to the latest patches and fixes.For more information about regis-tering and reactivating, see “Win-dows Powers, Activate!” on page 144.If you’d like a graphical step-by-steptour of some of Win2000’s features,click Discover Windows. ClickConnect To The Internet to launchthe Internet Connection Wizard,which walks you through the processof getting your system online.

What’s Next?

Congratulations! Once you haveaccess to the familiar Windows in-terface, you’ve successfully rein-stalled Win2000 on your PC. Butyour work’s not done yet. You stillneed to install your chipset, videocard, sound card, network adapter,and other hardware drivers.

Get drivers. If your computer camewith a Driver Recovery CD, put itinto your CD drive and follow the in-structions for loading your hardwaredrivers. If you created discs with yoursound, video, chipset, and networkadapter drivers on it, insert that discnow and install those drivers. Youmay be asked to restart your com-puter a number of times before all ofthe drivers are installed.

Get online. If you installed any-thing but the latest drivers from themanufacturer’s Web site, you may notexperience optimal performance. Toget the latest drivers, set up yourInternet connection and downloadthe most current Win2000-compat-ible drivers from the manufacturer’sWeb site. Sometimes Windows 2000can automatically configure yourInternet connection (assuming your

network adapter driver is installedand working properly). To check yourInternet connection, launch InternetExplorer and attempt to visit a Webpage. If a page loads, then you’reready to go. If you see the PageCannot Be Displayed error, then youwill need to manually configure yourInternet connection.

Click Connect To The Internet fromthe Getting Started dialog box. If youclosed the Getting Started dialog boxor clicked the checkbox to keep it fromlaunching each time you log on, youcan still access the Internet ConnectionWizard. First, launch Internet Ex-plorer, click Tools, click InternetOptions, click the Connections tab,and then click the Setup button at thetop of the dialog box. This wizard willhelp you sign up for a new Internet ac-count, transfer your existing Internetaccount to this computer, or set upyour Internet connection through aLAN (local-area network). Click theappropriate radio button and clickNext. Follow the instructions for set-ting up your Internet connection. Youmay have to consult your ISP (Internetservice provider) for informationabout how to get online.

Now you just need to install theupdates, fixes, and patches fromMicrosoft’s Web site. See “InstallUpdates & Patches” on page 145 formore information about installingupdates and patches.

Win2000 Wrap Up

As you stare at your pristinedesktop, it’s easy to see why they callit a “clean” install. We recommendinstalling antivirus and firewall appli-cations before you get online and dotoo much heavy-duty downloading.After that, all you have to do is installyour applications, customize yourother Windows settings, and copyyour archived data back onto yourfresh system. It practically smells likelemons, doesn’t it?



RS


Although Windows Millen-nium Edition developed areputation for being one of

Microsoft’s most problem-prone op-erating systems, it isn’t entirely unus-able; many users still run the agingOS (operating system) on their sys-tems. We’ve talked to several WinMeusers who point out that they haven’tupgraded to a newer OS becauseWinMe runs all of the applicationsthey need. If you nodded your headwhen you read the previous sentence,this article is for you.

If you haven’t reinstalled Windowsin the past few years, your OS is prob-ably threatening to collapse under itsown weight. Programs left files be-hind as you installed and removedthem, and your Internet surfing hasprobably resulted in more files beingdownloaded to your computer thanyou know. More likely than not, yourcomputer runs slower than it didwhen it was brand new.

Whether your WinMe is slow or sobadly damaged that it can’t even start,we’ll show you how to clean off yourhard drive and put a fresh installationof WinMe on your PC. In an hour ortwo, you’ll be looking at a gleamingcopy of WinMe that looks as goodnow as it did when you first boughtthe computer.

Fork In The Road

WinMe offers two reinstall types: arescue reinstallation and a clean (full)installation. The rescue reinstallationinstalls WinMe’s most important filesover the OS’ existing files without

touching any of the files you created,such as picture, music, and text files.If WinMe has developed some quirks,you can probably get rid of theseproblems by performing the reinstal-lation. However, the reinstallationwon’t remove viruses, spyware, pro-gram remnants, or any other PCclutter. If you want to return yourcomputer to its original good health,you’ll need to perform a clean instal-lation, which will completely wipe alldata (including those pictures andtext documents) from your hard

drive. To learn more about the rein-stallation process, check out “Rein-stall Windows Me” on page 66. Toperform a clean installation, read on.

Installation Preparation

You can help ensure a smooth in-stallation by taking a few momentsto collect some items and prepareyour computer.

Back up. We can’t emphasize thisenough: A clean installation destroysevery last file on your PC. Move yourpictures, music, video, and docu-ments to another location before youstart this installation. You’ll findbackup tips in our Backing Up sec-tion, which starts on page 42.

Find WinMe. You’ll need yourWinMe installation CD, of course,but also make sure you have its 25-character product key. Don’t for-mat your hard drive if you don’t have the Windows Me Product Key,as you won’t be able to complete the

Install Windows MeStart Over With A Clean Installation



WinMe installation withoutit. Grab the Startup Disk ifyou have it, but don’t worryif you don’t have a StartupDisk; we’ll tell you how tomake a new one. Keep inmind that you’l l need agenuine Microsoft Win-dows Millennium EditionCD to follow this article’sinstructions. If you have thecomputer manufacturer’scustom rescue disc, you’llneed to follow the instruc-tions that originally camewith your system.

Collect your system driv-ers. Make sure you have anydriver CDs that came withyour system, as well as driv-ers for any hardware that you addedafter you bought the PC. Chances areyour system includes the mother-board driver CD. The drivers foryour modem or Ethernet port areparticularly important; you may findthe Ethernet port drivers on yourmotherboard CD. Also, make sureyou still have the CDs for your fa-vorite programs and security soft-ware so you can install them againafter the installation.

Prepare the BIOS. Your mother-board has a built-in system called aBIOS (Basic Input/Output System)that lets your computer performsome basic functions before it loadsWindows. Some BIOSes include an-tivirus settings that can prevent theWinMe installation from complet-ing, so make sure your BIOS’ an-tivirus settings (if it has them) aredisabled before you start the installa-tion. You can enter the BIOS even ifWinMe can’t boot because the BIOSdoesn’t rely on the Windows oper-ating system.

Start your computer and thenwatch the bottom of the screen for amessage that instructs you to press akeyboard key (usually the DELETEkey) to enter the BIOS (also referredto as Setup). When the BIOS appears,use the arrow keys to browse the

menu’s categories. If you find anti-virus (or similar) settings, use theENTER and arrow keys to disablethem. To save your settings and exitthe BIOS, press the F10 key, press Y,and then press the ENTER key. Yoursystem will restart and is now readyfor the installation.

Create A Startup Disk

Unlike the Windows 98 installationCD, the Windows Me installation CDwon’t boot your PC automatically—you can’t simply pop it into your CD-ROM drive to start the installation.Instead, you’ll need the WinMe Start-up Disk, which is a floppy that has thenecessary boot files and a hard driveutility, Fdisk, which formats yourhard drive for WinMe.

Your WinMe computer may in-clude the Startup Disk. If it doesn’t,you’ll need to make a new floppywith WinMe’s Startup Disk creationtool. Rustle up a standard 1.44MBfloppy and then start WinMe—if youcan. You’ll need to find a friend whohas a WinMe computer if your com-puter can’t boot. Note that you canalso use Win98 to create a StartupDisk in a pinch.

Format The Floppy. Before youmake the Startup Disk, it’s a good

idea to format your floppydiskette. You can erase filesfrom your floppy easilyenough by selecting anddeleting them, but the for-matting process offers an-other important benefit: It checks your floppy dis-kette’s health. If you won’thave access to a workingWinMe computer whileyou perform the installa-tion, you’ll want to makesure that your floppy won’tdie during the process.

To format the floppy, putit into the floppy drive andthen double-click My Com-puter. Right-click the 3-1/2Floppy (A:) icon and then

click Format. When the Format 3-1/2Floppy (A:) window appears, checkthe Capacity section to make sure itdisplays 1.44MB (3.5”). If it displays adifferent floppy capacity, open thesection’s drop-down menu and selectthe 1.44MB (3.5”) option.

The Format Type requires you tochoose between the Quick (Erase)and Full format types. Unless yourfloppy diskette isn’t formatted, youcan use the Quick (Erase) formattype, which is much faster. Also, ifyou’ve used the floppy with a Win-dows OS before, it’s formatted anddoesn’t require another Full format;choose the Quick (Erase) radio but-ton. Be sure to check the DisplaySummary When Finished box beforeyou press the Start button. If theFormat Results window indicates thatyour floppy has bad bytes in bad sec-tors, find a new, healthy diskette.

Load the Startup Disk files. Now thatyour floppy is clean, it’s time to add theStartup Disk files. Click the Start buttonand then click Settings and ControlPanel. Double-click the Add/RemovePrograms icon. By default, the Add/Remove Programs Properties windowdisplays the Install/Uninstall tab. Clickthe Startup Disk tab and then click theCreate Disk button. (WinMe may re-quest the WinMe installation CD at this

CLEAN INSTALLATION TUTORIALSInstall WinMe

Format your floppy to make sure it doesn’t have any stray files thatmight interfere with the Startup Disk files. The format process alsoalerts you if your floppy is damaged.


point so it can install the Startup Diskfeature. Many WinMe PCs already havethis feature.)

When the Insert Disk window ap-pears, push your floppy into the PC’sfloppy drive and then click the OKbutton. The Startup Disk featuretransfers the necessary files to yourfolder and displays a progress bar.Expect this process to take about twominutes. When the transfer com-pletes, click OK in the Add/RemoveProperties window and then return tothe 3-1/2 Floppy (A:) icon in the MyComputer window. Double-click thefloppy icon and make sure the filestransferred. It should have 27 files, in-cluding FDISK.EXE (if you haven’tconfigured Windows Explorer to dis-play system files, you’ll see only 24files on the floppy; the other three are there but they’re hidden). YourStartup Disk is ready for action.Remove it from your computer.

Now that you’ve completed theStartup Disk, be sure to label it soyou’ll be able to find it again in thefuture. Keep it even after you com-plete the WinMe installation, becauseit has utilities that may help you getyour system up and running if itcrashes and refuses to boot Windows.

Prepare Your Hard Drive

Your hard drive isn’t ready for aclean installation yet: It still has theslow or damaged copy that you’veused until now. You need to formatyour drive. Formatting is a processthat erases all of the files on the harddrive and prepares it for the type offile system your OS will use, which isFAT32 (32-bit file allocation table).

Use your new WinMe Startup Diskto remove your old hard drive parti-tions and start the formatting process,which we’ll explain momentarily. Pushthe diskette into the floppy drive andthen power on the computer. Your PCwill start and then scan your StartupDisk. It opens the Microsoft WindowsMil-lennium Startup Menu. Press 2 toselect Start Computer With CD-ROMSupport and then press ENTER.

When the A> prompt appears (youwill see A:\> and a flashing cursor),it’s time to start the Fdisk utility,which will format your hard drive.Type FDISK and then press theENTER key.

The next window explains thatyour hard drive has a capacity ofmore than 512MB, which means itcan support the FAT32 file system’sfeatures, such as support for parti-tions larger than 2GB (older file sys-tems, such as FAT16, can’t supportsuch large partitions). Unless youplan to install Windows 95 or Win-dows NT (in addition to WinMe aspart of a multiboot system), enter Yin the Do You Wish To Enable LargeDisk Support field and then press theENTER key.

The next screen is the Fdisk Op-tions menu. This menu lets you man-age your hard drive’s partitions,which are separate spaces on yourhard drive (think of partitions aspieces of a pie). You can configureyour hard drive to have a single parti-tion, in which case your entire harddrive is dedicated to WinMe and yourprograms and files, or you can createmultiple partitions and then installWinMe in the primary partition.

Delete Partitions . Before youcreate a partition, you’ll need to re-move any partitions already on yourhard drive. To see the drive’s parti-tions, select option 4 (Display Par-tition Information) and then pressENTER. This screen displays yourpartition and assigns numbers tothem. It also displays each partition’ssize and the percentage of the harddrive it uses. Whether you have oneor several partitions, you’ll want todelete all of them (you’ll be creatingfresh partitions in a few minutes).Press the ESC key to return to theFdisk Options menu.

Next, select option 3 (Delete Par-tition Or Logical DOS Drive) andpress ENTER. The Delete DOS Par-tition Or Logical DOS Drive screenoffers several partition deletion op-tions. Start the process by deleting thePrimary DOS Partition (which is thepartition that has the old copy ofWinMe). To delete the primary parti-tion, press 1 and then press ENTER.

When the Delete Primary DOSPartition screen appears, press thenumber that corresponds with thepartition you want to delete (you’llsee a list of partitions on this screen)and then press ENTER. When theEnter Volume Label message appears,look at the Volume Label columnnear the top of the screen. If a labelappears here, type it in and then pressENTER. If no label appears, simplypress ENTER.

Press Y when the Are You Sure?question appears and then pressENTER. Press ESC when the PrimaryDOS Partition Deleted message ap-pears. You’ll find that you’re back atthe Fdisk Options menu. If your harddrive has any other partitions thatyou haven’t yet deleted, choose op-tion 3 (Delete Partition Or LogicalDOS Drive) and repeat the processagain, selecting the appropriate parti-tion and then deleting it.

Create A Partition. Once you’vedeleted all of the drive’s old parti-tions, you’re ready to create a newpartition. We’ll show you how to


Windows Me’s Add/Remove ProgramsProperties window has a tool that will locatethe Startup Disk utilities on your hard driveand then copy them to a floppy diskette.


create a single partition that includesall of your hard drive’s storage space.This is the most common hard drivesetup and is probably the setup yourcomputer used originally.

From the Fdisk Options menu, se-lect option 1 (Create DOS Partition OrLogical DOS Drive) and press ENTER.When the Create DOS Partition OrLogical Drive screen appears, chooseoption 1 (Create Primary DOS Par-tition) and press ENTER again. Theutility runs a drive integrity check andthen asks you if you want thepartition to encompass thewhole hard drive. It also asksif you want to activate the par-tition. WinMe can install onlyon an active primary parti-tion, so press Y and then pressENTER. Fdisk runs anotherintegrity check and then asksyou to restart your computer.Press ESC and shut downyour computer (manuallypower off the system if thisdoesn’t occur when you shutdown Windows).

Format The Hard Drive.At this point, you’re readyto format your hard drive’ssingle partition and installWindows Me on it. Poweron your computer (leave theStartup Disk in the system’s floppydrive) and select option 2 (StartComputer With CD-ROM Support)when the main menu appears. When the A> prompt appears, typeFORMAT C: (C: is the new name foryour primary partition and is thedrive letter that wil l appear inWinMe when the installation com-pletes) and then press ENTER. PressY and ENTER when the warningmessage appears (it warns you thatformatting will destroy any data onthe system’s drive). The utility willformat your drive, which will takeseveral minutes.

Once the format completes, theutility asks you for an optionalVolume Label. Press ENTER to skipthe Volume Label. When the A>

prompt appears, you’re ready to in-stall WinMe.

Install Windows Me

Now that you’ve removed yourhard drive’s old partitions, created anew partition, and formatted the par-tition, your PC is ready to installWinMe from the installation CD.

You’re at the A> prompt, which isthe drive prompt for your floppydiskette drive. You’ll need to point the

command line towards the CD-ROMdrive to run setup. To that end, type E:and tpress ENTER. You’ll see that theA> command line switches to the E>command line (E: is your CD-ROM’sdrive letter). Type SETUP and thenpress ENTER.

When the Setup Is Now Going To Perform A Routine Check On Your System message appears, pressENTER. After the scan completes,press the X key.

The next screen you’ll see is theWindows Millennium Edition SetupWizard. The left side of the page hasan Estimated Time Remaining mes-sage and lists the tasks Setup needsto perform. The wizard’s main pageoffers some basic information aboutthe installation. You’ll find that

you can now use your mouse. Re-move the Startup Disk from thefloppy drive and click the wizard’sNext button.

License Agreement. If you agree tothe WinMe product license, click theappropriate radio button and clickNext. You won’t be able to continuewith the installation unless you acceptthe agreement.

Windows Product Key. This page’sNext button is grayed out until youenter your 25-character Windows

Product Key. Skip the key’sdashes, as the wizard sup-plies these by default.

Select Directory. At thispoint, you can choose wheth-er you prefer to instal l WinMe in the default C:\WINDOWS directory or ina different folder. Makesure the C:\WINDOWS ra-dio button is selected andclick the Next button.

Setup Options . Unlessyour PC’s hard drive doesn’thave much storage space oryou have a notebook, you’llprobably want to choose theTypical installation. Chancesare this is the type of installa-tion your PC previously in-cluded. If you’re short on

space, choose the Compact Setup. Werecommend the Typical installationbecause it installs the most commonfeatures. It also lets you choose cer-tain components later.

User Information. This page re-quests your name and companyname. Make sure you enter your ownname instead of a name for yourcomputer; you’ll be able to give yourPC its own name later on (which willhelp network users identify it). Theinstallation won’t continue until youenter text in the Name field, but youcan skip the Company field.

Windows Components . If youchoose the Display The List Of Com-ponents So I Can Choose The Ones IWant To Install option, you’ll see alist of optional components and short


Once the Windows Me Startup Disk process completes, you’ll findseveral files on your floppy diskette. Your floppy is now ready toprepare your hard drive for the clean WinMe installation.


component descriptions. Use thecheckboxes to indicate which com-ponents you’d like to install. TheSelect Components page will displaythe amount of storage space eachcomponent requires. It also displaysyour hard drive’s remaining storagespace. Keep in mind that you canalso install the optional WinMe com-ponents anytime after the WinMe in-stallation completes (you’ll find thecomponents in the Add/RemovePrograms utility).

Country/Region . Setup selectsUnited States by default. Click Next.

Establishing Your Time Zone. Usethis section to specify your region andto set WinMe’s clock to accommodatedaylight savings.

Startup Disk. Setup lets you createa Startup Disk during the installation.If you want another Startup Disk(you already have the one you usedto format your hard drive), pop aclean floppy into the drive and clickOK. If you don’t want a secondStartup Disk, simply press the Cancelbutton on the Insert Disk box andthen click OK when the Remove TheDisk And Then Click OK To Con-tinue Setup window appears.

Ready To Begin Copying Files.You’ve made all the adjustmentsSetup needs at the moment, so clickFinish and then sit back while Setupinstalls the system files. You’ll see aFile Copy Progress bar that appearson the left side of the screen. Setupdisplays information about WinMe’sfeatures as the installation progresses.

When Setup finishes copying thefiles, it restarts your computer andWinMe starts for the first time.However, you’ll need to make a fewmore adjustments before WinMe dis-plays the Desktop.

You’ll probably encounter theNetwork window, in which case you’llneed to choose a name for your com-puter, as well as a network workgroup(the Computer Description field isoptional). If you connect your com-puter to a network later, this is thename that will appear when otherusers view the network. You canchange the computer name any timeafter the installation completes.WinMe may restart after you enterthis information.

When the Enter Windows Passwordwindow appears, create a username.You can also create a password if you

want to prevent people from usingyour user account without your per-mission. If you enter a password, awindow that requests your usernameand password will appear every timeyou start WinMe. If you leave the pass-word area blank, you won’t see thismessage again. Next, WinMe loads theDesktop, completing the installation.

Clean Up

Now that WinMe is up and run-ning, it’s time to install the softwareyou collected before you began the in-stallation. Start by installing the driv-ers, which will increase your PC’sperformance and help certain compo-nents (such as your modem, soundcard, and Ethernet adapter) commu-nicate with your computer. You canread more about system drivers in“Drivers DIY” on page 24.

Next, install any security softwareyou have, such as software firewallsand antivirus and antispyware pro-grams. Be sure to install these pro-grams before you connect to theInternet—your PC doesn’t yet havethe Microsoft Windows Updates,which are patches for your OS that fixvulnerabilities. There are plenty ofmalicious users and programs on theInternet, so don’t connect withoutprotection. Once you connect to theInternet, be sure to download any up-dates and virus definitions that areavailable for your security software.

Once your security programs areready, you’ll need to download theWindows Updates from Microsoft’sWindows Update site. Microsoftstopped support for Win98/Me inJuly 2006, but it still lets users down-load all of the WinMe updates. To in-stall Windows Updates, connect tothe Internet, click Start, and clickWindows Update.

Finally, install any other applica-tions. Congratulations! Your WinMecomputer is ready for action.



Windows Me System Requirements

BB efore you reinstall Windows Me, make sure your computer’s hardware isn’t

causing any problems. If you upgraded to WinMe from a Windows 98 PC,

you may have installed WinMe on a system that didn’t have the power to

handle the newer OS (operating system). Check your system’s specifications

against the minimum system requirements for Windows Me PCs. A PC that

doesn’t meet these requirements won’t run WinMe well (the system will run

slowly and may have frequent errors). A system that meets the Recommended

System Requirements should be able to run WinMe without any trouble at all.

Monitor

CPU

Memory

Free Hard Drive Space

Optical Drive

Modem

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VGA (video graphics

array)

150MHz

32MB

295MB

CD-ROM

28.8Kbps (Kilobits per

second)

RReeccoommmmeennddeedd SSyysstteemm

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SVGA (super video

graphics array)

300MHz

64MB

2GB

CD-ROM

56Kbps (Kilobits per

second)

RS


D id Windows Crash?For many of us, it’s an all-too-com-

mon occurrence. Unlike other, newerversions of Windows, Windows 98 is prone to sudden and seeminglyrandom failures, a flaw people broodover in chat rooms and support calls.Most of the time, you just reboot thesystem and within a few minutesyou’re back to normal. It’s annoying,but it’s not the end of the world.

Sometimes, of course, Win98 doesmore than hiccup. It coughs, sputters,or keels over dead, and when it does,you might have to format your harddrive and reinstall Windows fromscratch. It’s biting the bullet, but itcan fix nearly any problem you have.In fact, the only problems that tend tosurvive a format and restore, as it’scommonly known, are severe prob-lems that stem from faulty hardware.If you need to format your hard driveand reinstall Win98, we’ll show youhow to do so step-by-step.

Why Reinstall?

There are two reasons to formatand restore: because you have to, andbecause you want to.

First, let’s look at situations in whichyou have to reinstall. Win98, as we saidabove, can die. The system won’t startWindows at all, or it does start but yousee the dreaded Blue Screen of Death.(In more technical terms, this is calleda GPF, or General Protection Fault, an

error so grave that Windows, and yoursystem as a whole, shuts down.)

Sometimes Windows works butlimps along, hobbling your produc-tivity. The problem could be a virus oradware. Adware is a form of mal-ware—that is, bad software—that dis-plays ads when you least expect them,often when you’re viewing the Web orsimply typing a letter. You get adwarethrough spam (unwanted or maliciousemail), shady Web sites, or low-end

shareware you’ve installed on yourcomputer. A single piece of adware candownload more adware until you haveso much that it clogs up Windows likesludge in a drain. And because it’s hardto remove (even the best adware detec-tors may not get it all), it can be easierto format your drive and reinstallWindows. Certainly there are otherWindows problems that can hamperyour system’s performance; rein-stalling the OS may be the best way tofix those problems, rather than trou-bleshoot every performance glitchyour system is experiencing.

But there’s another, less commonreason to perform a format and re-store, and that’s because you want to.It’s a drastic measure, but it’s one thatsome experts recommend for mainte-nance. Computers, after all, are likecars: the more you run them, the morework they need. And some parts needmore than a little work; they need tobe replaced. When you format and re-store your system, you replace your

How To ReinstallWindows 98A Step-By-Step Guide To Resolve One Of Windows’Difficult Headaches



old copy of Windows with brand-newparts, including the all-importantRegistry. (The Registry is Windows’master database of configuration set-tings; in short, it tells Windows how to run.) It’s a bit like replacing yourtransmission: When you’re done, thesystem runs smoother and faster.You’ll see a difference in the length oftime it takes Windows to boot andopen programs. For this alone,some people reinstall Windowsyearly, like spring cleaning. Andsome die-hards do it every sixmonths to keep their systems intip-top condition.

The Prepwork

Before you get started, let’stake a few steps that can save youhours (and no small amount ofheadache) when you reinstallWin98. First, if your system is stillrunning well enough to back upyour data, do it. You can replaceyour software and settings, butyou can’t replace your work, all ofwhich you’ll erase when you formatyour hard drive.

Most of your data will probably bestored in your My Documents folder,which is commonly found as a folderin the top level of your C: drive. Theremay also be data elsewhere on yourmachine. Check the common loca-tions, such as C:\PROGRAM FILES,where most software is stored. Someprograms store data there, too. Use the Windows Explorer (click Start,Programs, Windows Explorer) to copyand paste the data to a floppy diskette,CD-ROM, or DVD-R. You can alsorely on your favorite backup program,but if your system is unstable, the copyand paste method may be a faster,quicker, and safer way to back up.

If you can’t back up your data ordon’t have a recent backup to rely on,don’t format your hard drive and re-install Windows just yet. Instead, takethe machine to a specialist and see ifyou can have the data backed up.Experts often have access to tools and

techniques you don’t, and they maysalvage your data even if your systemis corrupt. (There’s little they can do,however, if you format your harddrive and reinstall Windows.)

Once you’ve dealt with your data,it’s time to deal with your software.Make an inventory of programs you’llreinstall after you reinstall Windows,then collect their CDs so you don’t

have to hunt them down later. (Hunt-ing for missing discs is frustrating,and the last thing you need whenyour system has crashed is a freshdose of frustration.) In addition, col-lect the setup discs for any devices,such as printers, scanners, or digitalcameras, that you plan to install.

And while you’re at it, don’t forgetto record the network settings you’llneed when you’re done with theformat and restore. These include thebasic network settings you’ll find byclicking Start, Settings, Control Panel,then double clicking the Networkicon. They also include your emailsettings (your username, password,and mail servers) as well your Internetconnection settings (your DSL, cablemodem, or dial-up settings). Thesesettings vary from system to system,so check user guides and other docu-mentation to find them.

Last, run ScanDisk (if possible) tofix any errors on your hard drive.Click Start, Programs, Accessories,

System Tools, and ScanDisk andfollow the prompts from there. Besure to run a complete surface scan;although Windows runs ScanDisk asa routine part of installations, it won’trun the deep scans you need to fix allpotential errors.

Format Your Drive

At last you’re ready to start. Ifyour computer came with a re-store CD, now is the time to useit. A restore CD includes not onlyyour copy of Windows, but all thesoftware and drivers that camewith your computer. (A driver is asmall program that lets Windowsconnect to peripherals and systemcomponents, such as printers orsound cards.) Just slip the restoreCD into the CD-ROM drive andfollow the prompts. The exactprocess varies from system tosystem, but it’s often easy.

If you don’t have a restore CD,you’ll have to go the long way,using a full version of a Win98

system disc. First you’ll format yoursystem, then reinstall Windows, thenreinstall your software and peripherals.

Formatting your hard drive willerase it, preparing it for a fresh copyof Windows. If Windows is still upand running, use it to make a startupdisk to help you through the formatprocess. Click Start, Settings, andControl Panel, then double-clickAdd/Remove Programs. Select theStartup Disk tab. Click the CreateDisk button and follow the prompts,inserting a blank floppy diskette intothe drive when suggested, and re-moving it when complete. Then, turnoff your computer, disconnect yourprinter and all other peripherals, in-sert the startup disk into the drive,and turn the computer back on.

You’ll see a black screen with the words Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu at the top. Choose the second option, Start Computer With CD-ROM Support, and press ENTER. When you arrive at a DOS

CLEAN INSTALLATION TUTORIALSReinstall Windows 98

When you arrive at a DOS prompt such as the one shownabove, you’re ready to start the Windows setup program.


prompt (such as A>), type for-mat C: and press ENTER. You’llsee this message:

WARNING, ALL DATA ONNON-REMOVABLE DISK DRIVEC: WILL BE LOST!

Proceed with Format (Y/N)?Press the Y key and wait as

your drive is formatted. Whenthe process is over, you’ll see asecond message:

Volume label (11 characters,ENTER for none)?

This is optional; if you like,name your volume (that is, yourcomputer’s hard drive) andpress ENTER. Use no more than11 letters or numbers and avoidspecial characters.

If you don’t have access to your CD-ROM drive, or if your computer startsyour old, damaged copy of Windowseven when you boot it with the StartupCD, then you’ll need a Windows 98Startup Disk to solve the problem. AStartup Disk is just a floppy diskettewith a special set of drivers (includingCD-ROM drivers) and utilities de-signed for issues like this one.

If you still have a functioning version of Windows, you can make a Startup Disk by clicking Start,Settings, and Control Panel, thendouble-clicking Add/Remove Pro-grams. Select the Startup Disk tab,then click the Create Disk button and follow the prompts, inserting a blank floppy into the drive whenprompted and removing it when com-plete. Now turn off your computer,disconnect your printer and all otherperipherals, insert the Startup Diskinto the drive, and turn the computerback on. When you’re prompted tochoose a startup option, choose thesecond one, Start Computer WithCD-ROM Support. Last, type formatC: when you arrive at a DOS promptand follow the procedure outlinedabove to format your hard drive. Ifyou don’t have CD-ROM support andcan’t make a Windows 98 StartupDisk, you can make one from any ma-chine running Win98.

If you inserted your CD into theCD-ROM drive, turned on the com-puter, yet saw nothing happen, or ifyour system continued to boot to anold, damaged copy of Windows onyour hard drive, then your system didnot boot from the CD-ROM drive. Tofix this you’ll have to alter your com-puter’s BIOS, short for Basic Input/Output System, which determines theorder in which your computer exam-ines your drives to find a boot source.By default, most computers boot fromthe hard drive; you’ll need to changeyours to boot from the CD-ROM. It’snot hard, but the exact procedurevaries from system to system, so con-sult your computer’s user guide for directions. For instance, you may be instructed to reboot your compu-ter and press a certain key during theboot process (such as F3, F8, or theDELETE key) until you hear a beep.Next you’ll see a BIOS setup screen, inwhich you’ll navigate to a sectionnamed Boot Order, Boot Sequence, or something similar. There, you’llspecify the sequence in which yourcomputer checks its drives for a bootsource. Often the A: drive is first, fol-lowed by the hard drive, followed bythe CD-ROM drive. Once you’vespecified the new order, you’ll exit theBIOS and save changes. Your systemwill then reboot.

Of course, there are ways toformat your hard drive withoutusing a Startup Disk or the Win98CD-ROM. But they’re best left toadvanced users or professionals, asthey tend to remove the CD-ROMdrivers from your computer. Youwill have to restore them beforeyou can use the Win98 CD-ROMand thus reinstall Windows, andthat’s a tricky job at best.

At Last: Ready For Windows

By now you’ve formatted yourhard drive and you’re ready to reinstall Windows. If your Win-dows CD is not in the CD-ROM

drive, insert it now. At a DOS prompt(such as A> or C>), type X>SETUP,where X is the letter of your CD-ROM drive. Once again you’ll see a black screen titled Microsoft Win-dows 98 Startup Menu. This time,choose the first option, Start Win-dows 98 Setup From CD-ROM.

In short order you’ll see a bluescreen with the words Welcome ToSetup at the top, which prompts youto press Enter to continue, F1 formore information or F3 to exit. PressENTER. You’ll see a second bluescreen informing you that Setup ischecking your system, and then athird screen that informs you thatSetup is running ScanDisk. Thisscreen has a progress bar to show howmuch of ScanDisk is completed. Let itrun to completion, at which pointyou’ll return to a black screen with abrief message that Setup is initializing.Depending on your PC’s speed, thiscould take a few minutes.

When it’s done you’ll see a newscreen called a GUI, short for Graph-ical User Interface (and pronouncedgooey). GUIs let you use the mouse,not just the keyboard, to enter com-mands and interact with the system.In this GUI you’ll see two sections. On the left is a black bar with instal-lation steps. On the right is a largeswath of blue. Here you’ll see a dialogbox prompting you to continue or


Pictured above is the Microsoft Windows 98 StartupMenu, which appears when you run the Windows setupprogram. Choose the first option, Start Computer WithCD-ROM Support, so you can access your CD-ROM drive.


exit Setup. Choose Continue to startthe setup wizard.

Now you’ll see a dialog box tellingyou that Setup is preparing the direc-tory (a folder on your hard drive),after which you’ll be asked to select adirectory in which Setup will installWindows. Choose the default option,C:\WINDOWS, and click Next.

Windows will now check for com-ponents, installing those it needs, as a progress bar apprises you of the wizard’s status. When it’s done, thewizard will check your hard drive tosee if you have enough free spaceto install Windows. Once again,you’ll see a progress bar. ClickNext when it’s complete.

You’ll see a dialog box namedSetup Options prompting you tochoose the type of installationyou’d like to perform. ChooseTypical and click Next. The wizardnow displays a dialog box namedWindows Components. ChooseInstall The Most Common Com-ponents (Recommended) andclick Next. If Setup detects a net-work adapter (the device that con-nects your computer to your smallor home office network), it willprompt you to enter some networksettings, including your computer’sname, your workgroup’s name, and adescription of the PC. Give your com-puter a name and enter the workgroupname, as well. If this computer is partof a network, you must type the work-group name exactly as it appears onother computers on the network, oryou won’t be able to access the net-work later. The Computer Descriptionfield is optional, so you can leave itblank if you like.

When you’re done, click Next andthe wizard will prompt you to specifyyour country. (If you don’t have anetwork adapter, the wizard will skipahead to this point.) Choose thecountry from the list and click Next.The wizard may also prompt you tomake a new Startup Disk. If it does,follow the prompts until you have afreshly-minted Startup Disk in hand.

You’ve now completed the first partof the wizard.

Now it’s time to copy the bulk of Win98’s files to your computer.You’ll see a message that says PleaseSit Back And Relax While Windows98 Installs On Your Computer. That’sgood advice, as this process can takeup to 30 minutes, depending on thespeed of your computer. As long asyour hard drive keeps running, you’refine (check the hard drive light onyour computer’s chassis, or listen forthe whirring noise your hard drive

makes when it’s reading or writingdata). That means that Windows isworking and simply needs time to geteverything done.

If for some reason you have a longstretch of inactivity (say, 10 minutesor more), then you may have a prob-lem. If a new screen doesn’t appear,reboot your machine by pressingCTRL-ALT-DEL or by turning it offcompletely. Be sure to remove theWindows 98 Setup CD or StartupDisk from the drive. If Windows picksup where it left off and continuessetup to completion, you’re fine. Ifnot, you may have to start again fromscratch, using the process outlined inthe section above.

During this phase of the installa-tion process you’ll be asked to restartyour computer. Click Restart Now; if you don’t, Windows will simplyrestart for you. After a minute or two

you’ll see the Win98 boot screen forthe first time. This is the screen yousee every time Win98 starts. It has the Windows logo on a light blue cloudscape. (Note: you may beprompted to select a boot option whenWindows restarts, just before you seethe Windows boot screen. If so, selectthe first option, Boot From Hard Disk,and press ENTER.)

After a few moments, the wizardwill prompt you for some informa-tion. First you’ll enter your name andcompany; fill them in and click Next.

Now the wizard will prompt youto accept the EULA, or End UserLicense Agreement. Choose IAccept The Agreement and clickthe Next button. (If you don’t,Setup will terminate.)

Now you’ll be asked for yourproduct key. This is a seeminglyrandom set of 25 numbers andletters used by Microsoft to fightsoftware piracy. Look for it on theback of your Win98 CD sleeve oron the front of your Windowsuser guide. If you don’t find itthere, check the rest of the docu-ments that came with your copyof Windows or check the com-

puter itself. Sometimes the productkey is on a label on the side of thechassis. If all else fails, call your com-puter’s manufacturer (if your versionof Windows came with the computer)or Microsoft (if you bought Windowsseparately) and ask for a new productkey. If they can verify your rightfulownership of the software, they maygive you a new product key by phone.

When you’ve entered the productkey, click Next. Windows will check itand prompt you to retype it if there’sa problem. If not, simply click Finishwhen prompted to move to the nextsection of the Setup program.

In this phase, Windows sets upyour hardware and other system set-tings. It starts by setting up your Plugand Play hardware. When Win98 is done with that, it installs the re-maining hardware it has drivers for,and when complete, it prompts you


ScanDisk will check your hard drive for common errorsthat can prevent Windows from installing.


to restart. Click Restart Now. Onceagain you’ll see the Windows bootscreen. (NOTE: you may see a menu ofboot options again; if so, choose the firstas before, and press ENTER.) After afew seconds, the boot screen willvanish, and you’ll return to thewizard, where Windows will con-tinue to install your hardware.

When it’s done, Windows willprompt you to set the date, time,and time zone. Do so, and thenclick Apply and OK. Windowswill keep setting up your system,adding items in the Controlpanel, programs on the StartMenu, and so forth. When you’reprompted to restart, click RestartNow. Once again you’ll see theWindows boot screen. This time,however, you’ll see a secondscreen with a teal backgroundand a small dialog box that readsUpdating System Settings. The pro-gress bar will show you the status.

When that’s done, you’ll arrive, atlong last, at the Windows Desktop,the screen with your Start Menu andcommon program icons. You’ve nowreinstalled Windows.

Post-Installation

Now that you have a fresh copy ofWindows installed, and now that yoursystem is running smoothly, you needto restore it to full working order.That means reinstalling all your soft-ware and tweaking the settings youneed to return your system to its priorstate. But first you have to finish somechores, and they’re important.

Before you do anything else, installyour antivirus and firewall programs.They exist to protect you from someof the problems that cause Windowsto crash in the first place. Once you’veinstalled them, set up your Internetaccess and visit the antivirus vendor’sWeb site to download the latest virusdefinitions. This is vital. If your virusdefinitions are out of date, you’ll beexposed to the latest threats, and youcould unleash a problem that brings

Windows to its knees, forcing you tostart over again.

If for some reason you don’t havean antivirus program or a firewall,now is the time to invest in one. Ifyou suspect that adware is what got

your copy of Windows into trouble,it’s also wise to install an adware de-tection and removal program now.LavaSoft (www.lavasoft.com), Sy-mantec (www.symantec.com), andMcAfee (www.mcafee.com) all makewell-respected adware removal toolsfor the home user.

While you’re online, update Win-dows with the latest patches. A Win-dows patch is a system update releasedby Microsoft to fix problems, guardagainst known attacks, and sometimesadd new features to Windows. Up-dating may seem like a hassle, but it’scrucial; in fact, it’s one of the firstlines of defense against the problemsthat might have caused your systemto crash in the first place, so it’s smartto update Windows at least once amonth (and more, if you have thetime and inclination). Just open yourWeb browser and visit windowsupdate.microsoft.com. Then follow theprompts to download new updatesthat will self-install.

Add Software & Devices

Now it’s time to install your soft-ware. Start working your way through

the stack of CDs you laid aside beforeyou reinstalled Windows. Just slipthem into the CD-ROM drive andfollow the prompts. While they’re in-stalling, you can make a list of all theproduct IDs, CD keys, and other in-

stallation data you’ll need if youever have to reinstall the software.(And you can put the list in a safeplace for that rainy day.)

With your software installed,it’s time to add your peripheralsand other devices. These includeyour printers, scanners, digitalcameras, MP3 players, and soon. (Of course, if you have spe-cial graphics or sound cards,you may want to install themright after you complete theWindows reinstall.)

Refer to the user guides, floppydiskettes, and CD-ROMs thatcame with your devices. If you’ve

lost a floppy or CD with a driver youneed, you can try to download thedriver from the Web. Search the ven-dors’ Web sites—and, above all, theirsupport sections—for drivers or setupprograms. And bear in mind thatyour downloads may be more currentthan drivers on old floppies or CD-ROMs, which can help your systemrun more smoothly. (For this reason,some people opt to avoid their olddrivers completely, downloading thelatest and greatest from the Web toensure they have software that, atleast in theory, is bug-free.)

Finally, tweak your network andpersonal settings. These include yourInternet start page, Desktop theme,mouse pointers, sounds, and soforth. After that, it’s time for a well-earned break. Kick back, get some-thing to drink, and look on yourwork with satisfaction. You’ve justfinished one of the hardest tasks thatany PC user can do. It was tough, to be sure, but it should give youmonths of worry-free computing.



Once the setup program begins in earnest, you’ll see aGUI—a Graphical User Interface—like the one above.

RS


One of the most daunting tasksfor any Mac owner is com-pletely reformatting a drive

and reinstalling OS X. There are times,of course, when this is the best courseof action, and the key is to be pre-pared, have your files backed up, andhave everything you need to reinstallsoftware and files when you’re done.We’ll walk you through the process ofbacking up your files, using OS X’sErase And Install option, and restoringfiles to your system afterwards.

As of press time, the most recent re-lease of Apple’s OS is Mac OS X 10.4.x(Tiger). We’ll use the original Tigerinstallation discs in our descriptions of

the processes in this article, but even ifyou’re using an earlier version of OSX, such as 10.2.x Jaguar or 10.3.xPanther, you should find that the stepsyou’ll take are almost identical to theones that we outline for reinstallingTiger. Make sure you read the “HowTo Read OS X File Paths” sidebar inthis article so you know how to locatethe files we reference in this article.

Things To Check Before You Start

If you haven’t already explored theoption of using an Archive And Installprocedure instead of an Erase AndInstall, make sure you take a moment

to read “Mac First Aid” on page 76. Inmany cases, you can fix problems onyour Mac by repairing the installationwith Archive And Install rather thancompletely wiping the hard drive andstarting over. However, if an ArchiveAnd Install either didn’t work or isn’tthe right option for you, you canchoose Erase And Install to perform aclean installation of OS X on yourMac. In our “Mac First Aid” article,you will also find a list of trou-bleshooting steps to take before rein-stalling the OS.

If you’re going to erase the contentsof your hard drive, the most importantthing you can do is make sure that youhave all of your important files backedup. You will also need the installationdiscs for all of your third-party soft-ware so that you can reinstall your pro-grams. Boxed copies should have theregistration or installation keys printedon the box or the jewel case or disc en-velope. However, if you have softwarethat you purchased and downloadedfrom the Web, you may not have anycopy of the registration key except thatwhich is on your system. If your Mac isstill useable before you reinstall OS X,make sure you jot down the installationkeys. You can often find this infor-mation by clicking the Apple menu and viewing About (Name Of TheProgram). If you have trouble locatingthe installation key, call the softwarepublisher for assistance.

Back Up Your Files

Of course, before you format yourhard drive, you’ll need to create abackup of all of your files that youdon’t want to lose. You have severalways to do this. Some Mac userschoose to use .Mac Backup. You canread more about using .Mac Backup in“Mac First Aid” on page 76. You mayalso use third-party backup software oryou can back up files manually. Finally,you can use OS X’s Disk Utility tocreate a disk image of your drive.

We’ll cover the process of backingup manually and of creating a disk

A Fresh AppleReformat & Reinstall OS X



image with Disk Utility. You canchoose the type of media to whichyou save the backup, but a good op-tion is an external Hi-Speed USBdrive or an external FireWire drive.

Manual backup. You can, of course,back up your files manually. The ad-vantage to taking this approach is thatyou can personally verify that youhave backed up everything you need.The disadvantage to this approach isthat you are responsible for the entirebackup, so you need to be careful notto forget any important files. Some ofthe most important files include thosein your Documents, Movies, Music,and Pictures folders in your home di-rectory. Most of your personal filesshould be located in these home direc-tory subfolders. However, you willalso need to back up other files as well,such as your messages in Mail, yourSafari bookmarks, your Address Bookcontacts, and your iCal events.

To back up your Mail messages anddata, make sure Mail isn’t running.Then make a backup copy of thefolder ~/Library/Mail/.

You’ll also need to back up yourMail Preferences, Rules, Mailboxes,and Signatures. To do this, create a newfolder with a unique name, such as“Mail Backup Date” in your backup

location. Next, copy ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist to thebackup folder that you just created bypressing and holding the OPTION keywhile you drag the file to the backupfolder. Next, OPTION-drag ~Library/Mail/MessageRules.plist, ~/Library/Mail/SmartMailboxes.plist, and theentire folder ~/Library/Mail/Signatures/ to the backup folder.

Next, if you have Safari bookmarksthat you want to move to your newsystem, make sure Safari isn’t run-ning, and then make a backup of theBookmarks.plist file, which is locatedin ~/Library/Safari/.

It is very simple to create a backup ofyour iCal data or your Address Bookcontacts. Both applications have a sim-ilar process for creating a backup file.First, launch the program for whichyou want to create a backup data file.Then click File and either Back UpDatabase (in iCal) or Back Up AddressBook (for Address Book). Type a namefor the backup file, select a location towhich your computer can save the file,and then click the Save button.

If you have installed third-partyfonts, you’ll need to back these files upas well. This is a small detail that manypeople forget. You can locate the fontsthat are available to all users of your

computer in the /Library/Fonts/ folder,and you can find the fonts that areavailable only to you in the ~/Library/Fonts/ folder. Create backups of thesetwo folders so that you can restore yourthird-party fonts after you reinstall OSX. Incidentally, there is also anotherfont directory located at ~System/Library/Fonts/. Leave this directoryalone. It contains the fonts that are au-tomatically installed with OS X. If youalter the contents of the ~/System/Library/Fonts/ directory, some pro-grams may stop working properly. Youwon’t need a back up of these fontsanyway, because your installation discwill automatically reinstall them whenyou reinstall the OS.

Finally, you may wish to create abackup of your Keychain so that youcan gain instant access to password-protected resources after you reinstallOS X. First, you should run KeychainFirst Aid to correct any problems withthe Keychain files before you make thebackup. To do this, launch the programnamed Keychain Access, which is lo-cated in /Applications/Utilities/. OnceKeychain Access loads, click theKeychain Access menu and KeychainFirst Aid. The Keychain First Aid dialogbox will prompt you for your password.Type it in the Password field, make surethe Verify radio button is selected, andclick Start. If the program finds anyproblems with your Keychain, select theRepair radio button and click Start.

Once you’ve verified (and, if neces-sary, repaired) your Keychain, you cancreate a backup of your Keychain. Todo so, OPTION-drag each of the filesin the folder ~/Library/Keychains/ toyour backup location.

Use Disk Utility to make a bootablebackup. One of the simplest ways forMac users to create a backup of theirfiles before formatting a hard drive andreinstalling OS X is to use Disk Utilityto create a bootable backup of yourdrive. You’ll need an external drivethat you can dedicate to creatingbackups of your drive. PowerPC-basedMacs will only boot from a FireWiredrive and do not support booting from

CLEAN INSTALLATION TUTORIALSInstall OS X

The com.apple.mail.plist file is one that you’ll want to back up before you reformat your drive. Thisfile contains your customized settings for Mail.


USB devices. The newer Intel-basedMacs should be able to boot from ei-ther FireWire or USB drives.

First, make sure the external drive isturned on and connected to your Mac.Then launch Disk Utility, which youcan find in /Applications/Utilities/. Inthe left pane, you’ll see a list of avail-able drives. Click to select your Mac’sinternal hard drive. (If you have morethan one internal drive, select the onefrom which you boot your system.)Then click the Restore tab. Drag yourboot volume (the disk with OS X in-stalled) to the Source field. Then dragyour external hard drive to theDestination field. Click the Restorebutton, and Disk Utility will create abootable copy of your system on theexternal drive.

Once Disk Utility finishes thebackup process, you’ll need to verifythat your external drive is bootable. Todo this, first change the default bootvolume to your external drive inSystem Preferences. Click the Applemenu, System Preferences, and theStartup Disk icon. Click to select theexternal hard drive. Then click the

Restart button. If your system success-fully restarts from the external drive,you have a good bootable copy of yoursystem in case of failure. You shouldalso be able to access the files on yourexternal drive to copy them back toyour internal hard drive after you rein-stall OS X. After you’ve verified thatyou can boot from the external drive,open System Preferences and changethe Startup Disk back to your internalhard drive. Then click Restart.

If you ever can’t boot from your de-fault boot disk, you can boot from yourexternal drive. Just press and hold theOPTION key while your computer isstarting. When prompted, click to se-lect your external drive as the boot de-vice. You can copy the bootable driveback to the other drive by opening Disk Utility, clicking the Restore tab,choosing the external drive as theSource and the internal drive as theDestination, and clicking Restore. (Thiswill delete all data on your internaldrive, so you don’t want to restore thisway unless you really can’t access thecontents of the drive.) However, it doesprovide you with an emergency meansof making your system bootable againin case of an extreme failure.

Use Carbon Copy Cloner. One ofthe most popular third-party tools forcreating backups and bootable drivesis Mike Bombich’s donation-wareCarbon Copy Cloner (www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html). One of theadvantages of using Carbon CopyCloner is that you don’t have to rein-stall all of your software. CarbonCopy Cloner will preserve not onlyyour files but also your applications,file permissions for those applica-tions, and your preferences.

Before you download Carbon CopyCloner, check the system require-ments to make sure that you down-load the version that is compatiblewith your version of OS X. For in-stance, if you have OS X 10.1.2 to10.1.5, you will need to use CarbonCopy Cloner 1.3.1 instead of the mostrecent version, which, as of presstime, is v.2.3.

After you install Carbon CopyCloner, connect your FireWire or Hi-Speed USB drive to your Mac. (Wementioned it before, but if you have aPowerPC-based Mac, make sure youuse a FireWire drive, because OS Xdidn’t support bootable USB drivesuntil it released the Intel Macs.) Readthe documentation for Carbon CopyCloner and follow the instructionswith your Mac’s internal hard driveserving as the Source and the externalhard drive serving as the Target. Makesure you verify that your bootableclone works before you format yourhard drive and reinstall OS X.

If you need to restore your systemfrom the clone later, just make surethat your external hard drive is turnedon and connected to your Mac. Thenpress and hold the OPTION key whileyour computer starts up. Whenprompted, choose to boot from the ex-ternal drive. You may then run CarbonCopy Cloner and choose the externaldrive as the Source and your comput-er’s internal hard drive as the Target.

Erase & Install

Once you have all of your filesbacked up to a drive from which youcan restore them, you’re ready to re-format the drive and reinstall OS X.Disconnect your external drives fromyour Mac and insert the OS X instal-lation disc in your CD/DVD drive.After the disc’s icon appears on theDesktop, if the installation disc’sFinder window doesn’t automaticallyappear, double-click the install-ation disc’s icon. Next, double-click the Install Mac OS X icon. Whenprompted, click the Restart button.

After your computer restarts, the OSX installer will walk you through rein-stalling your OS. First, you’ll see a listof system requirements and other notesabout installing OS X. After you’veread through the information, clickContinue and read the EULA (EndUser License Agreement). Click theContinue button and when prompted,click Agree to accept the EULA.


How To Read OS X File Paths

TT he way of noting Mac OS X

file paths is a little bit dif-

ferent than for Windows. Any file

path that starts with a slash (//) is

located in the main directory of

your hard drive. Just double-click

the hard drive icon on your

Desktop and then follow the rest

of the file path. A file path that

starts with ~~// is located in your

home directory. You can find your

home directory by double-clicking

the hard drive icon on the

Desktop and then Users. Your

home directory has the same

name as the account you are cur-

rently using. The home directory

also has a house icon. ❙


The next screen will list availabledrives to which you may install OS X.If you have a newer version of OS Xinstalled on your drive than is on theinstallation disc, you’ll see a yellowtriangle with an exclamation pointnext to the drive’s icon. That’s OK.Click to select the drive. If OS Xwarns you that you cannot performthe installation withoutfirst changing the instal-lation settings, click OK.

Next, click the Optionsbutton. Click to select theErase And Install radiobutton. Click OK. Whenprompted if you’re surethat you want to erase thecontents of the drive,click Yes. (If you want totry repairing your OS be-fore completely erasingthe drive, you may selectthe Archive And Installradio button instead ofthe Erase And Installradio button. For moreinformation about theArchive And Install op-tion, see “Mac First Aid”on page 76.)

It will be fine to use the default EasyInstall. However, if you want to havemore control over which componentsare installed, you may click theCustomize button and make selec-tions, such as which printer drivers,language files, and other optionalitems you install. To switch back to thedefault installation options, just clickthe Easy Install button. Finally, clickthe Install button to start the installa-tion process.

You’ll see a series of progress barsas the installation progresses. You’llbe able to see the progress as the driveis formatted, as the installer checksthe installation DVD, as the softwareis installed, and as your system is veri-fied at the end of the installation.When the installer is finished, yourcomputer will restart automatically.

Migration Assistant. Beginning withOS X 10.4, Apple decided to include

the Migration Assistant with its OS in-stallation discs. This handy tool canhelp you move files, programs, user ac-counts, and other data from anothersystem to your new OS X installation.To use the Migration Assistant, you’llneed to transfer data from a systemthat has OS X 10.1 or later, and you’llalso need a FireWire cable to connect

the two systems using FireWire TDM(Target Disk Mode). If you havebackup copies of your files on anotherMac system, you may wish to use theMigration Assistant to transfer files toyour system with the newly-installedcopy of OS X.

After you finish reinstalling OS Xand your computer restarts, you’ll seea screen that says Do You AlreadyOwn A Mac? You may select TransferMy Information From Another Mac,Transfer My Information FromAnother Partition On This Mac, orDo Not Transfer My Information.After you make your selection, clickthe Continue button. Don’t feel pres-sured to use the Migration Assistantimmediately. You don’t need to mi-grate your files during this initialsetup process. You can select the DoNot Transfer My Information radiobutton for now. If you want to run

the Migration Assistant in the future,you can launch it from /Applications/Utilities/Migration Assistant.app.

We won’t go into more detailabout the Migration Assistant be-cause in most cases if you have per-formed an Erase And Install, you willrestore your files from a backupdrive rather than from a complete

Mac system. However, ifyou use the MigrationAssistant, you’ll f indthat it explains whatyou need to do duringeach step of the process.It’s a fairly straightfor-ward procedure.

Mac OS X SetupAssistant. After yourcomputer restarts andyou select whether youwant to transfer filesfrom another Mac, theSetup Assistant will start.Follow the steps on thescreen to set up yourMac. This is a relativelyshort and simple process,and when you’re fin-ished, your Mac shouldbe connected to the In-

ternet, have your email configured,and be ready to use.

First, click to select a keyboardlayout and then click Continue. Next,the Setup Assistant will prompt youfor your Apple ID and Password. Ifyou have a .Mac account, your AppleID and password are the same as foryour .Mac account. If you’ve boughtmusic in the iTunes Music Store, yourApple ID and password are the sameas those you’ve used to purchasemusic. If you don’t know your AppleID and password or if you don’t havean Apple ID, just leave the fields blankand click Continue.

The Setup Assistant will also promptyou to create a username and pass-word. These are for your administratoraccount and are what you’ll use to loginto your computer, access administra-tive tools, and make changes to yoursystem. The Setup Assistant also


To create a backup of your calendars and other important data in iCal, click theFile menu and then Back Up Database.


prompts you for infor-mation about yourInternet connection andemail accounts. If youhave this information,type it in the providedfields, and when you’refinished with the SetupAssistant, your Internet-enabled applications willalready be configured foryou. For instance, thefirst time you open Mail,it should start down-loading your email mes-sages right away. Youwon’t need to configureanything first. When youreach the end of the Set-up Assistant, a screen willappear that says Thank You. Your MacIs Set Up And Ready So You Can . . .,followed by a list of things you can doby using OS X’s features. Click OK toexit the Setup Assistant.

Software Considerations

After you finish installing OS X,you’ll need to run Software Update toensure that you’re running the mostcurrent releases of OS X as well as itsassociated software. To access Soft-ware Update, click the Apple menuand Software Update.

After you’ve installed all of theupdates for your system, you shouldrepair the permissions on yourdrive. This will ensure that the in-stallers have set file permissions forapplications properly. To do this, goto /Applications/Utilit ies/ anddouble-click Disk Utility. Then clickto select your hard drive’s icon onthe left side of the window. Next,click the Repair Permissions button.When Disk Utility has finished re-pairing the permissions, press COM-MAND-Q to close the program.

Next, you’ll need to reinstall yourthird-party software on your com-puter. Follow the software publish-er’s instructions for each program.After you install each application,

it’s a good idea to repair permissionsagain to ensure that the programswill run properly.

Restore Important Files

Finally, you’ll need to restore anyimportant files that you saved to abackup disk before you reformattedyour hard drive. To reinstall yourMail folders, drag the backup copyyou made of the folder Mail to~Library/ . To restore your MailPreferences, drag the backup ofcom.apple.mail.plist to ~Library/Preferences/. Restore your emailRules by dragging the backup ofMessageRules.plist to ~Library/Mail/MessageRules.plist. Then restore yourMailboxes by dragging the backup ofSmartMailboxes.plist to ~Library/Mail/SmartMailboxes.plist. Finally,finish restoring your Mail files bydragging the backup of the Signaturesfolder to ~/Library/Mail/.

There are still several files you mayneed to restore. If you had a backup of your Safari bookmarks, you can restore those by dragging the backup folder you made (named Safari) to~/Library/. You can import your oldiCal and Address Book data. In iCal,click File and Revert To DatabaseBackup. Then browse to and select the

.ICBU (iCal Back Up) fileyou made before refor-matting the hard drive.In Address Book, you canrestore your contacts byclicking File, Revert ToAddress Book Backup,and selecting the .ABBU(Address Book Back Up)file you made earlier.

To add third-partyfonts back to your collection, either dragthem to /Library/Fonts/(to make them avail-able to all users) or to~/Library/Fonts/ (tomake them availableonly to yourself). Thenlaunch the Font Book

application (in /Applications/) andadd the fonts back to your collectionof activated fonts.

Finally, you can restore yourKeychain file by dragging the backupKeychain files to ~/Library/Keychains/.Then launch Keychain access (locatedin /Applications/Utilities/), click Edit,and click Keychain List. Make sure thatall of the Keychains you just copied tothe Keychains folder are selected andclick OK. Then exit Keychain Access bypressing COMMAND-Q.

Finishing Touches

Finally, you’ll need to restore anydata files that you saved to an ex-ternal drive. Most of these files, suchas Word documents, don’t have a re-quired location, so you’ll just needto drag them to a folder where youcan find them later. Once you’ve fin-ished reinstalling your software,checking for and installing softwareupdates, and copying important filesback to your hard drive, your Macshould be running much betterthanks to the Erase And Install in-stallation of OS X.

BBYY KKYYLLEEEE DDIICCKKEEYY


You can use Disk Utility’s Restore tab to create a disk i8mage (and even abootable disk image) of your system.

RS


Anyone who hasn’t heard ofLinux has probably beenasleep during the past few

years. Linux, an OS (operating system)similar to Unix, has been steadilygaining a devoted following. In fact,many businesses are already usingLinux in their IT operations, thanks toits rock-solid reliability and its cheap(in some cases, free) licensing costs. Inmany IT shops, Linux is givingMicrosoft a run for its money and rele-gating Unix to the dustbin of com-puting history.

But is Linux ready for an assault onconsumer PCs, traditionally a bastionof Microsoft Windows? Microsoft hasalways promoted Windows as an

easy-to-use, consumer-friendly OSthat anyone can install and use. Butmany PC users have grown disen-chanted with Windows’ reliabilityand security issues and would love tohave a viable alternative. Apple is al-ways there, but that means com-pletely changing hardware (althoughthat situation is changing now thatApple is using Intel chips to buildsome of its machines).

Even though Linux is growing upand slowly shedding its reputation asa tinkerer’s toolkit, the fact remainsthat the OS is still a fairly complexbeast to install and configure. Butprogress is being made with Linuxdistributions that are fairly easy for

most folks, even casual users, to in-stall and configure.

Linux devotees enjoy the reliabilityand strong security of this OS. Butthere are times when even the bestsoftware will give you problems, andthere are times when the problemsare so major that the only way out isto completely reinstall Linux. So, ifyour Linux installation is DOA,here’s how to perform a clean installand start fresh.

Preparing Your Hard DiskFor Installation

OK, you’ve downloaded the ISOimages, burned them to CD or DVD,and now have a hot little disc loadedwith Linux goodness and ready to go.Before you start, there are a fewthings to think about before you feedyour newly-minted installationmedia to your disc drive. A little bitof patience right now will save youtons of grief later on.

First, consider the amount of diskspace you will need. According tothe Fedora Core documentation,you will need a minimum of 700MBof space for a command line systemversion of Linux and at least 3GB fora desktop system with the defaultapplications installed on it. Theseare certainly not unreasonable re-quirements, given today’s monsterhard drives. But be sure to allocateplenty of space to accommodatethese requirements, plus extra spacefor new applications and, of course,your data.

In most cases, you will want theFedora Core installation program toset up your new Linux partition. Butbe mindful of the fact that creating anew partition where one already ex-ists means wiping out the existingpartition, as well as all the data in it.So, take a step back and figure outyour strategy before you begin. Ifyou choose to use an existing parti-tion for your new Linux install, besure to back up any data in that par-tition that you want to keep.

Install LinuxThe Penguin Marches On



Also, be sure to have acopy of the Fedora Coredocumentation handy.This document containsvaluable informationabout the installationand configuration pro-cess and should be atyour disposal throughoutthe install. To get it, goto fedora.redhat.com/docs and click on theInstallation Guide link.You can then browsethrough the HTML (Hy-pertext Markup Lan-guage) document in yourbrowser or download acompressed archive con-taining the HTML files.

Strangely enough, Fe-dora does not make thisdocument available in a“ready to print” format,such as PDF (PortableDocument Format). So, toprint the document youmust click and print everypage individually, whichmakes this a bit of a chore.Memo to the Fedora Pro-ject Board: Turn this babyinto a PDF.

Now you’re f inallyready to install FedoraCore onto your system.

Install Fedora

To begin the Linux installationprocess, insert the first installation CDor the DVD into your computer’sCD/DVD drive and restart your com-puter. The first window you’ll see givesyou three choices: install or upgrade ingraphical mode, install or upgrade intext mode, or use the function keys toreview a variety of other options. Ifyou wish to install in text mode, youmust type linux text at the boot:prompt at the bottom of this window.If you want to install using the graph-ical interface, which we highly recom-mend, simply press ENTER.

Before installation begins in earnest,the Fedora install sequence gives youthe option of checking your installa-tion media (CDs or DVDs) before theinstallation proceeds. This checkdoesn’t take very long (roughly fiveminutes on a DVD) but may be wellworth your time to ensure there are noerrors in the media you created whenyou downloaded and burned the ISOimages from the Fedora Web site.

If all is well with this check, the in-stallation program, called anaconda,reports that the media passes thecheck for the image and it’s OK toproceed with the installation. But,there is one caveat: Anaconda is notsmart enough to differentiate between

a DVD and a CD. So,when you check a DVD,instead of advancingwith the installation atthe end of the check,anaconda asks you to in-sert another CD to checkit. Simply reinsert yourDVD in the drive and se-lect Continue to proceedwith the install and skipthis unnecessary step.

Now, if something goeswrong and the install se-quence reports an errorwith your CD or DVD,don’t panic. To abort theinstallation for that or anyother reason, press CTRL-ALT-DEL or power offthe computer. Anacondadoes not make any chan-ges to the computer untilfurther along the installa-tion process, so you won’twreck your computer byaborting at this earlystage. Unfortunately,you’ll have to rewriteFedora to fresh CDs or toa fresh DVD.

anaconda Squeeze

After your media passthe check and you click

Continue, the anaconda programsearches your system for a video cardand monitor type and then launchesthe Linux native X server (the graph-ical user interface).

Once the graphical interface laun-ches, a window prominently dis-playing the Fedora logo appears. Ifyou want to review the Fedora Corerelease notes, click the Release Notesbutton on this window. Otherwise,click Next to continue with the install.

At the next window, you are askedto choose the language to use duringthe install process and are presentedwith a rather lengthy list of languages.Choose English and click Next tocontinue, unless you want to truly live

CLEAN INSTALLATION TUTORIALSInstall Linux

The anaconda install program provides you with a convenient way to checkyour media before proceeding with the installation.

Before removing all Linux partitions and substituting them with the defaultFedora Core configuration, the install program asks you to confirm that action.


life on the edge and try the installa-tion in Estonian.

Now you’re ready to do some hard-core computing: The next windowasks you to tell the installation pro-gram how Fedora Core will be in-stalled to your hard drive. Thiswindow also shows you the harddrives detected by anaconda and dis-plays a checkbox next to each harddrive shown.

By default, all harddrives in your system areselected here (if there ismore than one hard drive;if not, only one hard driveis displayed and the entryis grayed out). If you don’twant a particular harddrive to be used for the in-stallation, click the check-box to the left of the entryto uncheck it.

The default choice at thiswindow is Remove LinuxPartitions On SelectedDrives And Create DefaultLayout. This means thatany existing Linux parti-tions will be removed andthe default partitions forFedora Core will be cre-ated. This will also create the defaultFedora Core layout. Don’t choose thisoption unless you are absolutely surethat you want to nuke everything elseon your hard drive. Another choice isUse Free Space On Selected DrivesAnd Create Default Layout. If youhave free space on your hard drive andwish to use that for your Linux install,choose this option. Finally, for those ofyou who like to customize, there is aCreate Custom Layout option for ulti-mate control of partitions.

If you want to see the partitioninglayout you have set up, check ReviewAnd Modify Partitioning Layout andclick Next to continue. After you clickNext, a warning pop-up window ap-pears, advising you that all Linux par-titions and the data on them will beremoved on the selected drives. Clickthe Yes button on this window to

continue if you wish to remove allLinux partitions at this point.

If you chose the Review option, thenext window displays the Linux LVM(Logical Volume Manager) volumegroups (volume groups are logicalgroupings for partitions) and the twopartitions that will be created. So, thedefault installation will show a volumegroup and two partitions underneath

that volume group. The first partitionis a partition of type Swap (all Linuxinstalls have a swap partition, used forvirtual memory), and the second par-tition is the Linux extended (ext3)partition where the OS and its fileswill reside. Click the Next button onthis window to continue the install.

The next window informs you thatthe GRUB (GRand Unified Boot-loader) will be installed on the selectedhard drive. GRUB is the boot loaderused with Red Hat; the boot loader is aprogram that resides on the MasterBoot Record of the hard drive andcopies the system OS to memoryshortly after the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) passes control of thePC to the boot loader. A boot loaderalso gives you the option to boot otheroperating systems besides Linux at boottime. For example, if you plan to

dual-boot Windows XP and Fedora,GRUB will launch at boot time and giveyou the option to launch either OS.

In this window, the installationprogram displays the various OSes itdetects; a checkbox to the left of anOS entry on the list indicates that it isthe OS that will boot by default. Ofcourse, if Fedora Core is the only OSthat will be installed and there are no

other OSes already in-stalled on the hard drive,Fedora is the only entrydisplayed. If there is an OSinstalled that you want tohave the option of bootingbut is not displayed, clickthe Add button to add itto the list.

You can also create aboot loader password toprevent others from boot-ing into a different OSthan the default, con-figure other advancedboot loader options, orchoose not to install aboot loader to the harddrive at all. When you’refinished configuring thevarious options to yourliking, click the Next but-

ton to continue the install.

Customize The Installation

The next window displays the var-ious network devices in your system,such as Ethernet cards, and allowsyou to set up the system hostname (IP[Internet Protocol] address). In mostcases, choosing Automatically ViaDHCP for setting the hostname willwork. But, if you need to manually setany network settings, such as yourgateway IP address or your primaryand secondary DNS (Domain NameSystem) servers, this is the place to doit. When done, click Next to continuethe installation.

The next window looks typical;you’re presented with a world mapand are asked to select the time zoneyou are in. Click on the map or select


Want to dual-boot your computer? At this window, you can configure theLinux GRUB (GRand Unified Bootloader) to enable the booting of variousOSes (operating systems).


the correct location from the list andclick Next when done.

You are then asked, in the nextwindow, to set up a username andpassword for the root account. In theLinux world, root means all-powerfuland god-like. An individual with rootprivileges can do just about anythingto a Linux system, so it is critical thatyou choose a reasonably strong pass-word to ensure no one but you canlog in and futz with your Linux install(after all, you want the privilege to ir-reparably damage your system all toyourself, don’t you?). In fact, ifyou try to skip this step, ana-conda won’t let you loose; youmust choose a root username andpassword. Click Next when done.

OK, you’re almost done. Next,the installation program will askyou to customize your default in-stallation of Fedora Core. You arepresented with three generalchoices in this screen: Office AndProductivity, Software Develop-ment, and Web Server. By default,Office And Productivity is se-lected. If you wish to also do soft-ware development and/or useyour Linux box as a Web server,click the checkboxes for each ofthose two choices to select them.Doing so will ensure these specific ap-plications are installed.

Examples of applications you can install include Sendmail, SpamAssassin, the KDE desktop environ-ment, GnuCash (a personal financeprogram), Open Office, the ApacheWeb server, the Eclipse IntegratedDevelopment Environment, Perl,Python, and many others.

You can also choose to further cus-tomize the software packages that willbe installed. Click the radio button tothe left of Customize Now and clickthe Next button to proceed. The nextwindow looks very much like theMicrosoft Windows Add/RemovePrograms application. You are pre-sented with a series of categories onthe menu list on the left, such asDesktop Environments or Servers;

selecting one of these presents youwith specific programs on the menulist on the right that perform that spe-cific function. Clicking a programentry highlights it and presents youwith information about the programin the text box below. To install a pro-gram, click the checkbox to the left ofan entry to select it. When finishedcustomizing your program selections,click Next to continue.

At this time, you will get a messagetelling you that anaconda is checkingdependencies for the packages you

selected for installation. In Linux par-lance, dependencies are required filesthat are shared between Linux soft-ware packages. In some cases, apackage may need to be installed onyour system before a new package canbe installed. The Linux RPM (RPMProgram Manager) is the Linuxsystem app that checks all this for you.

And now—drum roll, please—ana-conda is ready to perform the actualinstallation and start copying files toyour computer. The next window dis-plays a message advising you that theinstallation of Fedora Core is about tobegin. Also, you are told that a log ofthe installation will be created andsaved in the file /root/install.log,which will be available after rebootingyour system. This is handy in case youhave to troubleshoot your systemshould something go awry.

Also, you are advised that a kickstartfile containing all of your configurationselections will be created and stored inthe file /root/anaconda-ks.cfg. A kick-start file, in Linux terminology, is aconfiguration file that stores all of yoursettings and which can be used to auto-matically install this same configura-tion on another computer.

Click Next to continue. Now ana-conda will format the file and boot sys-tems, transfer the install image to yourhard disk, and begin the installation inearnest. Sit back, relax, and let ana-

conda work its magic. When theinstall is complete, you’ll get awindow advising you to removethe media used from your CD/DVD drive and press Reboot torestart your system. And now,your Linux journey is set to begin!

Finish Up

At boot time, your computerwill look rather busy as FedoraCore boots up and launches thevarious system files Linux needs torun. You will see a list of programs,with names like kernel logger,smartd, cups, and others, scrollrapidly down your screen. An OK

to the right of each entry indicates theprogram launched successfully.

The first time you boot FedoraCore, you will see a welcome screenwhen the boot process is finished thatasks you to perform a few final steps.Here, you’ll accept the License Agree-ment (yes, there is one), configurethe Linux firewall, and configureyour SELinux (Security EnhancedLinux) settings.

SELinux is a set of security controlsabove and beyond what vanilla Linuxprovides; you can configure SELinuxto remain in a fully active state (thedefault) or to only warn you when thesystem denies a request, or you candisable it. For best security, leave thedefault options and proceed.

Finally, you are asked to set the dateand time for your system, configure theresolution and color depth, set up a


Fedora offers you an opportunity to customize the software packages that will be installed.


system user, and verify that your soundcard is working by playing a test sound.

A word on system users: The instal-lation routine recommends that youcreate a system user who will be able tolog into the system but will not enjoythe all-powerful, potentially system-wrecking capabilities of a root user.This is a good practice to put in place ifother users are going to be logging intoyour system but you don’t want themto inadvertently wreck it. In fact, if youtry to skip this test, anaconda launchesa window strongly advising you tocreate the system user.

Once you’re finished with thesesteps, Linux will finish booting. Login with your username and pass-word—root or system—to completethe process and launch the desktopenvironment on your PC.

The March Of The Penguin

By and large, the installation andconfiguration of the Fedora Core distrois pretty straightforward. It is evidentthat Red Hat, along with its Fedora col-laborators, has taken great pains tocreate an installation routine that’s

almost—gasp!—Windows-like in itsease of use. So, it’s pretty straightfor-ward to reinstall Fedora and get abrand new, “clean” install up and run-ning quickly.

Is Linux getting so easy that it willeventually overtake Windows on thedesktop? That’s debatable . . . but aneasy-to-use install/reinstall routine iscertainly promising and will come as apleasant surprise to those who want tospend more time doing useful thingswith Linux and less time repairing it.

BBYY SSIIXXTTOO OORRTTIIZZ JJRR..


OO K, so what exactly does

“Ubuntu” mean?

According to the Ubuntu

Web site (www.ubuntu.com),

Ubuntu is an African word

meaning “humanity to

others” or “I am what I am be-

cause of who we all are.” In

other words, Ubuntu pro-

motes openness and wide-

open sharing. Rather appro-

priate for a Linux distro that is

free, open, and developed by

a large community of users

and developers working to

continuously improve the OS

(operating system).

The Ubuntu distro, ac-

cording to the Web site, is

designed for ease of installa-

tion and use. One of the nice

things about Ubuntu is that

the entire OS, including the

graphical Desktop and all

the applications, fits on one

CD . . . nice. Also, Ubuntu is

packaged in a Live CD con-

figuration, which runs a

“live” Desktop environment

from the CD. The idea here

is to give you a flavor for the

environment before you de-

cide to plunge ahead with

the full Ubuntu installation.

To perform a clean

Ubuntu install, insert your

Ubuntu installation CD into

your CD/DVD drive and

restart your computer. Be-

fore restarting, configure

your BIOS (Basic Input/

Output System) boot order

so the computer looks for a

bootable disk from your

CD/DVD drive first.

As soon as the CD or DVD

boots, the install routine

launches an initial window

with a menu of five choices:

Start Or Install Ubuntu, Start

Ubuntu In Safe Graphics

Mode, Check CD For De-

fects, Memory Test, and

Boot From First Hard Disk.

To begin the installation, se-

lect Start Or Install Ubuntu

and press ENTER.

The install routine loads

the Linux kernel and even-

tually launches the Live CD

environment, which is a

complete Ubuntu graphical

Desktop with a single Install

icon on the Desktop.

Double-clicking this icon

starts the installation; next,

you need to select the lan-

guage for the install, your

time zone, and your key-

board layout. Click For-

ward to advance past

each window.

Next, the installer asks

you to enter your name, a

username to log in to Linux,

a password, and a name for

your computer. Click For-

ward to advance; at the next

window, you are asked to

select a hard drive (in most

cases, there will be one ap-

plicable hard drive) where

Ubuntu will be installed.

Clicking Forward starts the

Ubuntu partitioner, which

analyzes your hard drive and

asks you to select a parti-

tioning method: You can ei-

ther erase the entire disk or

manually edit the partition

table. Unless you wish to

customize the partitions

yourself, select the first

option and click Forward

to continue.

At this time, the installa-

tion program computes the

new partitions and presents

you with a summary of the

settings that will be used to

install Ubuntu. Click the

Install button to begin

installing Ubuntu. From

start to finish, the installa-

tion takes about 30 minutes.

At the end of the install, a

message box advises you the

installation is complete. You

can choose to continue

using the Live CD or remove

the CD and restart your

computer. To begin using

your freshly installed

Ubuntu environment, re-

move the CD from your disc

drive and restart your com-

puter. Ubuntu is ready to go!

The standard Ubuntu in-

stall comes with a number of

applications, including the

Firefox browser, the

OpenOffice 2.0 productivity

suite, the venerable Gimp

application for image-

editing, and the Evolution

email and calendaring appli-

cation. Other apps include

the Rhythmbox Media

Player and the Totem video

player. Installing other appli-

cations is as easy as down-

loading them from the

Ubuntu Web site; installa-

tion is straightforward. ❙

Ubuntu Linux

RS


Assuming that checks out, you should map out howmuch drive space to devote to each OS, depending onits requirements and how you’ll be using it. You mayalso have to decide a specific order for OSes. For in-stance, a good rule of thumb for Microsoft OSes is toposition and install them oldest first.

Finally, you’ll have to prepare the hard drive so eachOS has its own discrete disk space, as in most cases dif-ferent operating systems cannot reside on the samevolume. As such, you’ll need to use a partitioningutility to subdivide the drive into separate volumes.For more on this topic, see “Format & Partition HardDrives: A Primer” on page 86. Be sure to back up all ofyour files before you begin so you don’t lose any work.

Possible Issues

Even if your OS installations go smoothly, that’s noguarantee that the overall system will perform withoutthe occasional hitch. A faulty setup might cause systeminstability, or hardware devices to behave incorrectly.

For instance, there may be file system conflicts;there are four file systems under the Microsoft um-brella (FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS), but onlyWindows 2000 and Windows XP recognize them all.

System resources can also be problematic. One usernewly juggling three OSes found that the oldest hadeither network access or audio, but never both, andthe OS that had previously booted determined whichfunction was active. Diagnosis: The other OSes hadcaused an IRQ (interrupt request line) conflict af-fecting the sound and network cards, which was fixedby changing one card’s IRQ number.

In most cases, a dual-boot system, with two OSes,shouldn’t present many problems, but the headachescan multiply exponentially the more systems you add.

In the next few articles, we’ll explain how to keepthings running smoothly with various OS pairings.

BBYY BBRRIIAANN HHOODDGGEE

For most computer users, a single OS (operatingsystem) is sufficient, but some intrepid soulsneed to keep a selection of systems ready to

launch for some very practical reasons:1. They need to use more than one OS. Some users

have productivity needs that go beyond the Windowsworld and its different versions and extend to DOS,Linux, Solaris, and others. Also, now that Apple hasmade the switch to Intel processors, even Mac andWindows systems can coexist on the same machine—as long as it’s an Intel Mac.

2. They upgrade to a new OS but need to ensurethey can continue using existing applications. Fewsurprises cause more headaches than crippling a crit-ical program that’s not compatible with your new OS.

3. They want to experiment with a new OS withoutlosing the use of their old one. This is especially im-portant when trying a potentially buggy beta version.

4. They do most of their work in one system butprefer to use another when security is a concern. Forinstance, some users work in Windows but opt forLinux for Web surfing and email.

In these scenarios it would be ideal to have a sepa-rate computer for each OS, but not everybody has theroom or budget for that. A more economical alterna-tive, both in space and dollars, is using separate harddrives in the same computer, with a drive allocated toeach OS, but that isn’t always practical, either.Obviously it’s not an option on notebook computers.

Barring these, the only solution is setting up amultiboot system in which multiple OSes coexist onthe same hard drive.

Minimum Requirements

A multiboot system requires careful preliminaryplanning. First, you’ll need to ascertain that yourcomputer meets (and preferably exceeds) the systems’basic requirements for processor speed, as well as thetotal hard drive space needed for the combined OSes.

MULTIBOOT SYSTEMS

Saving Your Old Operating SystemsIs A Multiboot System The Answer?

RS


Windows may have a lock onconsumer operating sys-tems for the moment, but

the open-source Linux operatingsystem has evolved into a viable alter-native over the years. The mainproblem is that Linux is available in astaggering array of versions (called dis-tributions) that can be bewildering forthose who are used to Windows.

If you’ve ever wanted to test outLinux but it’s never been convenientenough, consider using the FedoraCore distribution (www.fedoraproject.com), which is designed to make iteasy for first-time users to jump in andsee what Linux has to offer. Althoughexperts can customize it any way theylike, Fedora comes preconfigured witha graphical user interface and loads offree software tools that are available the

moment you install the operatingsystem. Fedora Core is also easy to in-stall in a dual-boot configuration,where you run Windows XP Pro-fessional and Fedora Core on the samemachine, choosing which operatingsystem you want to load each time thecomputer boots, and this article willteach you how to put Fedora Core 5 onyour WinXP Pro system.

Hardware Considerations

One problem with running Linux,including Fedora Core, on the samecomputer as WinXP Pro is that the twooperating systems use completely dif-ferent file systems. A file system is thebasic structure the operating systemuses to organize, store, and retrieve datastored on your hard drive. WinXP Pro

uses NTFS (NT File System) or FAT32(File Allocation Table 32-bit), whileFedora Core uses any of a number offile systems designed for Linux, in-cluding Ext2, Ext3, and ReiserFS.

The solution is to use partitioningsoftware that can chop up a hard driveinto several individual segments, eachof which can then use a different filesystem and drive letter. Always installWinXP to the C: partition (ideally for-matted using NTFS, but FAT32 is OK,too), and then install Fedora Core toits own partition formatted to use afile system such as Ext3.

Because of this limitation, it is idealto get a very large single drive that canaccommodate both operating systemsalong with all of their separate pro-gram files. Even if you have a programsuch as the Firefox Web browser in-stalled in WinXP you’ll have to installa separate version of Firefox for FedoraCore, so the more room the better.Another option is to install a secondhard drive, leaving WinXP on the firstdrive and then installing Fedora Coreon the second, but for the followingexamples we’ll assume you have acomputer with a single hard drive thatalready has WinXP installed. Youshould also consider purchasing andinstalling a DVD recorder if your com-puter doesn’t already have one becausethis provides the most convenient in-stallation method.

Fedora Core works with most hard-ware designed for use with Windows,and automatically comes with the soft-ware drivers needed to use nearly everytype of hardware, so don’t worry abouthaving to get a separate mouse, key-board, monitor, sound card, or justabout anything else.

Gather Your Tools

Setting up Fedora in a dual-bootconfiguration requires several soft-ware tools, and it is best to download,install, and test them out before youeven download Fedora Core.

The installation file is very large, somake sure you download it using a

MULTIBOOT SYSTEMS

Fedora Core 5 ToWindows XP ProCan’t We All Just Get Along?


download manager pro-gram (for example, FreeDownload Manager;freedownloadmanager.org) that can resumeyour download fromwhere it left off if yoursystem loses its connec-tion partway throughthe transfer. The installa-tion file comes in theISO file format, used tocreate optical discs suchas CDs and DVDs, soyou’ll need recordingsoftware that knows howto handle an ISO file. Ifyour recording softwarehas no provision for ISO files then downloadDeepBurner (free; www.astonsoft.com) and choose Full during the in-stallation process to guarantee accessto all of its features.

Finally, you’ll need partition soft-ware to create and format a FedoraCore partition. We recommend using aquality commercial tool such asAcronis Disk Director Suite 10 ($49.99;www.acronis.com) for ease of use andsafety reasons.

Download & Burn Fedora

The installation file you need to in-stall Fedora Core is located at theFedora Project site (fedora.redhat.com). Fedora Core comes in three ver-sions designed to work with differentCPU types. The i386 version is the onemost likely to be compatible with yourcomputer as it supports the Pentium,Celeron, Athlon, Athlon XP, Duron,and Sempron CPUs that are insidemost consumer PCs. If you have a 64-bit processor, such as the Athlon 64,Turion 64, or EM64T, you’ll need thex86_64 version.

Use your download manager tograb the appropriate installation fileand then insert a blank DVD into yourcomputer’s DVD recorder. LaunchDeepBurner and when the SelectProject Type dialog box appears, click

the Burn ISO Image radio button andclick Next. Click the ellipse buttonnext to the Image File box, navigate tothe ISO file you downloaded (it mostlikely is named FC-F-i386-DVD.iso),click it, and click Open. If you havemultiple DVD drives, make sure theproper one is selected in the Drive boxand leave the Write Speed on Max ifyou’ve never had any trouble withyour drive. (Turn the speed down ifyou’ve encountered recording errorsin the past.) Make sure the Writecheckbox is selected and click BurnISO to create the install DVD.

Prep The Hard Drive

The most confusing part about in-stalling Fedora Core and WinXP on thesame computer is partitioning the harddrive, unless you have a tool like DiskDirector 10. The first thing to do ismake sure you have enough free spaceon the hard drive to accommodate bothoperating systems. Click Start, click MyComputer (or simply double-click theMy Computer icon on your Desktop ifyou have one), click the icon for the C:drive, and look for the Free Space entryin the Details box in the window’s leftmargin. We recommend you leave theWinXP partition with at least 10GB offree space, and recommend a minimum

MULTIBOOT SYSTEMSWindows XP Pro/Fedora Core 5

of 20GB for Fedora Core,so you’ll want a bareminimum of 30GB freeon the hard drive. If youhave less free space you’llneed to uninstall pro-grams, install a largerdrive, or install a seconddrive to set up an effi-cient dual-boot system.

Back up all your im-portant files, launch DiskDirector 10, and selectAutomatic mode. ClickCreate Partition, click theicon for the C: drive, andclick Next. Use the sliderto make the new parti-tion larger or smaller(leave 2 to 5GB of space

free to create an additional partitionlater, and make sure to leave the WinXPpartition with at least 10GB of freespace) and click Next. Select thePrimary radio button, click Next, andselect Ext3 in the drop-down menu thatappears. Click Next, select the Yes IWant To Assign A Logical Drive LetterTo The Partition radio button, andchoose a letter in the drop-down menu(we selected L: to indicate it was a Linuxdrive). Click Next, enter a label for thepartition if you want to, click Next, andclick Finish.

Expand the Operations menu, clickCommit, and click Proceed. DiskDirector will ask you to reboot thecomputer so it can finalize the partition,and make sure the computer doesn’tlose power, get reset, or get shut downbefore the operation is complete.

The partition you just created is theone you’ll use to install Fedora Core,but it also is helpful to create a swappartition that Fedora Core can use asvirtual memory, dramatically en-hancing software performance. To dothat repeat the steps above, but onlymake the partition 2 to 5GB in size(whatever is left after creating the firstpartition), select the Logical radiobutton instead of the Primary radiobutton, and select Linux Swap insteadof Ext3 in the drop-down menu. Once

The Fedora installation file is huge, so get a download manager such as FreeDownload Manager before grabbing it.


the partitions are ready you can beginyour Fedora installation.

Install Fedora Core

Installing Fedora Core requiresbooting from the CD or DVD drive instead of from the hard drive.Unfortunately this procedure variesfrom computer to computer, and ofteninvolves changing a setting in the BIOS(Basic Input/Output System) setupscreen. In many cases, users can accesstheir BIOS settings by pressing the F2key (possibly a few times) right afterthe computer is powered up, but thisstep differs among various makes andmodels. On the Dell system that servedas our main test machine, we had topress F12 before WinXP began loadingto access the Boot Menu and then se-lect the CD/DVD option on the bootmenu to fire up the Fedora Core instal-lation DVD.

As long as you created your parti-tions ahead of time, the installationprocedure is fairly straightforward.When the first Fedora screen appears,press ENTER and then use the arrowkeys to select OK and press ENTER ifyou want to make sure the DVD re-corded properly, or selectSkip and press ENTER if youwant to forget about that testbecause it takes a long time.

Click Next and if youwant the default language tobe English, click Next again.Click Next if you use a stan-dard keyboard layout (or se-lect yours from the list), andclick Next.

The next step divides thepartition you created earlierinto the separate partitionsFedora needs. Make sure theRemove Linux Partitions OnSelected Drives And CreateDefault Layout option is se-lected, click Next, and thenclick Yes.

The default settings onthe Network Devices pageshould be fine for most users

(and you can always change themlater), so click Next.

Click the map to select the locationclosest to you for time zone purposes,click Next, and enter a password thatwill let you access the root account,which grants total access to the oper-ating system for advanced administra-tion purposes. This password must beat least six characters long. Click Nextwhen you’re finished.

The next screen has checkboxes thatlet you determine what software pack-ages to install. Most home users shouldselect the Office And Productivity box,select the Customize Later radio button,and click Next. Click Next to begin theinstallation, wait for Fedora Core to in-stall itself, remove the DVD from thetray when it automatically opens, andclick Reboot to launch Fedora Core.

Configure Fedora Core

When Fedora Core boots the firsttime, a Welcome screen appears andyou can begin the initial configura-tion of the operating system. ClickForward, select the Yes I Agree ToThe License Agreement radio button,and click Forward.

Like WinXP Pro, Fedora comes withan integrated firewall that monitorsyour Internet connection to make surethat you specifically requested every-thing coming in and that everythinggoing out is leaving with your explicitpermission. Most home users will wantto stick with the firewall’s default set-tings, where only SSH (secure shell) isselected in the Trusted Services list.Click Forward and leave the SELinux(Security Enhanced Linux) Setting onits default level of Enforcing.

Click Forward to access the DateAnd Time settings, which are self-ex-planatory with a calendar on the leftand a clock on the right. If the com-puter you installed Fedora Core onhas Internet access, you can saveyourself some trouble by selecting theNetwork Time Protocol tab andchecking the Enable Network TimeProtocol checkbox. Click Forwardand wait for the Contacting NTPServer message to disappear.

Next up is the Display screen, whereyou adjust monitor settings. If the cor-rect model name of your monitor doesnot appear here, click Configure, clickthe name of your monitor to highlightit, and click OK. If your monitor’s

name isn’t among the avail-able selections, select GenericCRT Display if you have atube-based CRT (cathode-ray tube) monitor or GenericLCD Display if you have a flat-panel LCD (liquid-crystal display). Click theResolution box and select aresolution your monitor sup-ports that you find comfort-able. Finally, click the ColorDepth box and select Mil-lions Of Colors if that optionis available (or Thousands OfColors if it isn’t) beforeclicking Forward.

The System User screenlets you establish a user-name and password to usewhen booting into FedoraCore, and if the networkyou are on requires network


DeepBurner is a free tool that makes it easy to put the Fedora ISOfile you downloaded on a DVD.


authentication for enhanced security,be sure to click the Use Network Log-in button and then enable the appro-priate settings.

Click Forward to get to the SoundCard page and make sure yoursound hardware works properly.Make sure your speakers are turnedon and the volume is turned up,then click the arrow button next toRepeat to play the test sound. If youhear guitar chords you’l l knoweverything is set up properly. If not,you may need to click the DefaultPCM Device box to expand it, selecta different device, and play thesound again. For best audio quality,leave the Dynamic Keys For Soft-ware Mixer checkbox selected anddon’t select the Disable SoftwareMixing checkbox.

Click Finish and in a few seconds theFedora login screen should appear.Enter your username, press ENTER,type your password, press ENTER, andFedora finishes booting. If you forgotto create a username, you’ll need totype root in the username box and theroot password you established duringinstallation in the password box.

Assuming you have Internet accessafter installing the operating system,the first thing you should do is expandthe Applications menu, expand SystemTools, and click Package Updater. Thisutility scans all of the software and op-erating system files currently installed,compares them against a Web databaseto make sure they are as up-to-date aspossible, and then lets you apply anyavailable updates with a click. You canget more information about any entry

by clicking it and clicking UpdateDetails, and you can deny updates byremoving the check mark from thecheckbox next to any entry. ClickApply Updates and Fedora downloadsand installs everything, and you’reready to go.

Name Your Poison

Fedora Core installs a utility calledGRUB (GRand Unified Bootloader)that lets you switch between bootingWinXP and Fedora Core each timeyou power up the computer. If youfollowed all of the above steps, FedoraCore will load by default unless youpress a key within two seconds of theGRUB window appearing. Then youcan use the arrow keys to select Other,press ENTER, and WinXP boots. This


II f you decide Fedora Core

just isn’t working out for

you, reverting back to your

original configuration is pos-

sible. If you have any data in

Fedora Core that you want

to save, back it up to a CD or

DVD, or upload it to a Web

backup service, such as

AMD’s Live Media Vault

(amd.streamload.com),

which gives you 25GB of on-

line storage space for free or

more space for a monthly

fee. You’ll also need the ad-

ministrator password you

established when you first

installed Windows XP. If you

didn’t create a password,

you’re good to go, but if you

created one and can’t re-

member it, you’ll need to

use a tool like Login Recov-

ery (free; www.loginrecov

ery.com) to retrieve the

password in the safest pos-

sible way. Be aware, however,

that it may take several days

for the program to extract

the password from its en-

crypted file. (You can pay

about $25 to have the com-

pany use its powerful com-

puters to crack the password

in an average of 10 minutes

or less.) Without an admin-

istrator password, you’ll

need to reinstall WinXP

from scratch, you will lose

all of your settings, and

you’ll have to reinstall all of

the programs on your com-

puter (along with hardware

drivers), although files re-

main intact.

Once you are certain you

have your password, insert

the WinXP installation CD

into the computer’s CD or

DVD drive, reboot the ma-

chine, and tell the computer

to boot from the CD instead

of from the hard drive. This

procedure varies from PC to

PC and may require editing

the BIOS (Basic Input/Out-

put System), so you may

need to refer back to the

documentation that came

with your computer. The

procedure for entering the

BIOS setup screen on our test

PC included pressing the F12

key immediately after pow-

ering up the PC, causing a

boot menu to appear that

gave us the option to boot

from the CD, bypassing our

Windows installation.

When the Setup menu

appears, press the R key to

load the Recovery Console.

A command prompt ap-

pears, so type 11, press

ENTER, type your adminis-

trator password, press

ENTER, and when the com-

mand prompt appears again

type ccdd .... (that’s two periods,

with a space between the D

and the first period) to get

to the root C: directory.

Type ffiixxbboooott CC::, press

ENTER, press Y, and press

ENTER. When that process is

complete and you are back

at the command line, type

ffiixxmmbbrr, press ENTER, and

press Y. Now type bboooottccffgg

//rreebbuuiilldd, press ENTER, and

wait until the disk scan com-

pletes (it may take a long

time). Press Y and press

ENTER when the first mes-

sage appears. When the

Enter Load Identifier ap-

pears, type MMiiccrroossoofftt

WWiinnddoowwss XXPP PPrrooffeessssiioonnaall if

you have WinXP Pro or

MMiiccrroossoofftt WWiinnddoowwss XXPP

HHoommee EEddiittiioonn if you have

that version and press

ENTER. When the Enter OS

Load Options menu appears,

type //ffaassttddeetteecctt and press

ENTER. Type EExxiitt, press

ENTER, and the computer

will reboot.

A boot menu will likely

appear, so select the entry

you created in the previous

step. If everything went well

you’ll load directly into

Windows, but it’s likely the

CHKDSK utility will appear,

check the integrity of your

Get Rid Of Fedora Core


is not ideal, as most people will wantto load WinXP by default, but aminor configuration change willremedy the situation.

Load Fedora Core, double-clickComputer, double-click Filesystem,double-click Boot, double-clickGrub, and double-click Grub.conf.Scroll down until you see the line“default=0” and change it to “de-fault=1.” Click Save, reboot the com-puter, and now WinXP will load bydefault unless you press a key whenGRUB appears and select FedoraCore instead. Now you have access tothe best of both worlds, withouthaving to put up with much in theway of compromise.



hard drive, and update all of

your files to reflect the new

boot information. This may

take anywhere from a few

minutes to several hours, de-

pending on how full the

hard drive is, and you

shouldn’t turn off or try to

reboot the computer until

this process is complete and

WinXP loads.

Getting rid of the boot

menu requires editing the

Boot.ini file, which is invisible

by default. Click Start, click

My Computer, and double-

click the icon for the C: drive.

Open the Tools menu, click

Folder Options, and select

the View tab. Select the Show

Hidden Files And Folders

radio button, remove the

check mark from Hide

Extensions For Known File

Types, and remove the check

mark from Hide Protected

Operating System Files.

Click Apply, go back to

the C: window, right-click a

newly-revealed Boot.ini file,

and click Properties. Re-

move the check mark from

the Attributes checkbox,

click Apply, and then click

OK. Double-click Boot.ini

to open it in Notepad and

look for an Operating

Systems section. Leave the

first entry that begins with

multi(0) under Operating

Systems intact but delete

all of the other entries that

begin with multi(0). Click

File, click Save, and reboot

your PC. WinXP should

now load without pre-

senting a boot menu. If

something goes wrong you

can use the Recovery Con-

sole to repeat the previous

steps and reset everything.

You can now use Acronis

Disk Director Suite 10

($49.99; www.acronis.com)

to reformat the Linux parti-

tions using NTFS (NT File

System) so WinXP treats

them as separate hard

drives. Launch Disk Direct-

or, expand the View menu,

click Manual Mode, and

look for any partitions that

have Ext3 or 0x8E (Linux

LVM) labels in the Type

column. These are your

Fedora Core partitions, so

right-click one of them, ex-

pand the Advanced menu,

and click Convert. Use the

drop-down menus to select

NTFS and Primary Partition,

expand the Operations

menu, click Commit, and

click Proceed. Repeat this

process for all other Linux

partitions you create.

You can leave them all like

that and WinXP will be able

to access them like they are

separate hard drives. You can

also merge them all and then

merge that larger partition

into the WinXP partition to

go back to having one big C:

drive if you like. To do this,

look for the newly converted

partition that is labeled with

a drive letter and merge all of

the other converted parti-

tions into that one first by

right-clicking one of the con-

verted partitions and clicking

Merge. Click the partition la-

beled with a drive letter to

establish it as a target, ignore

the folder selection options,

and click OK. Expand the

Operations menu, click

Commit, click Proceed, and

repeat this process with the

other converted partition if

necessary. Once everything is

merged into the partition

with a drive letter right-click

the entry for that partition,

click Merge, and click the C:

partition to select it as a

target before clicking OK.

Expand Operations, click

Commit, click Proceed, re-

boot the computer, and

everything should be re-

verted back to the state it

was in before you installed

Fedora Core. ❙

Linux uses a completely different file system than Windows XP, so you’ll need to have partitioningsoftware, such as Acronis Disk Director Suite 10, at your disposal.

RS


Mac users have all the luxu-ries: an operating systemthat has a cool-looking

graphical interface and operates effi-ciently; smartly designed computersthat look akin to sports cars; and apowerful Intel dual-core processor for3D imaging, video editing, and otherartistic endeavors.

Now, there’s yet another perk.With Apple Boot Camp software, youcan boot into either OS X or Win-dows XP just by selecting a menu op-tion. It means you get the best ofboth worlds. OS X is well-suited tographic design and creative arts,while the PC is arguably better-suitedto the business world and MicrosoftOffice 2003 programs such as Exceland PowerPoint. (Of course, you canrun those applications on a Mac

without Boot Camp, but sharing fileswith PC users is sometimes a chore.)WinXP also has a much, much widerselection of games that support theOS (operating system). And, there’salways the slew of applications thatcome out (at least at first) as PC-only, such as Corel’s Snapfire.

Boot Camp allows you to switch al-most effortlessly between operatingsystems. You can do most of youremail and Web browsing on OS X,switch over to WinXP to play a gameor run a music service like RealRhapsody (which does not have a fullMac client), and then end the day bylistening to music in Apple iTunes 7(in either operating system!).

The only challenges initially are un-derstanding how to install Boot Campand knowing some of the trade-offs

and caveats, such as running the BootCamp program even though it is inbeta (prerelease). Before you run BootCamp, you’ll need to know if your Macsupports the tool and whether youhave the correct version of WinXP.Also, you’ll need to upgrade your Macfor Boot Camp. All of these steps willhelp you get Boot Camp, and WinXP,running as quickly as possible.

Step One: Gather Resources

The Mac is amazingly easy to use,but installing Boot Camp and run-ning WinXP introduces some newvariables that might surprise you. Forexample, if you’re used to the Macautomatically handling drivers andfirmware updates (firmware consistsof the deeper-level drivers that con-trol your internal computer hard-ware), you’ll have to make sure youhave loaded them manually beforerunning boot camp. And once WinXPis running, there are a few morethings to learn, such as what a virtual-ization partition is. We’ll explain whatthese mean as we go along, but this isjust a mild warning: Some of the stepsbelow are a little complex.

The first step before you load BootCamp is to determine whether yourMac supports the program. Only anewer Mac with an Intel processorcan run Boot Camp. To find out ifyour Mac uses an Intel processor, goto the Apple menu, select About ThisMac, and note whether it reads Intelnext to the Processor line.

Next, you’ll need to download BootCamp. Just go to Apple’s Boot CampWeb page at www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp and click the DownloadNow link. This will download the186MB file as a DMG installer image.

The last step in gathering resourcesis to have your WinXP Home SP2(Service Pack 2) or WinXP Profes-sional SP2 installation discs ready.Older copies of WinXP did not comewith the service pack, which is an ex-tensive array of new driver updatesand a whole new wireless networking

Windows XP To Mac OS XBoot Either One With Boot Camp

MULTIBOOT SYSTEMS


client. SP2 is normally availablefor any WinXP user as a down-load. However, Boot Camp re-quires that you use a newerversion of WinXP Home or Prothat has SP2 built in. And, yourcopy must be the full installation, not an upgrade or the MediaCenter Edition, or one of themultidisc network-install packs.Apple also recommends that you print out the Boot Camp installa-tion instructions, available here:

images.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/pdf/Boot_Camp_Beta_Setup_Guide.pdf

We’re covering most of thesesteps in this tutorial, but it’s alsogood to have the official docu-mentation handy. That’s it;you’re ready to start getting yourMac ready.

Step Two: Prepare Your Mac

After you have downloadedBoot Camp and obtained thecorrect version of WinXP Homeor Professional, you’ll next wantto prepare your Mac for the in-stallation. It’s important not todive into Boot Camp before youhave performed some basicmaintenance. The Mac normally up-dates itself using the Software Updateprogram, but if you skipped a down-load or a new driver or firmware up-dated failed during install, your Macmight not be up-to-date. Go to docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303880 to see the current list offirmware updates. Now, to see if yourMac is up-to-date, go to the Applemenu, About This Mac. Click MoreInfo. Under Content, click Hardware.Note the Boot ROM version and SMCVersion. Compare your Boot ROMand SMC to the version numbers atthe firmware site.

If the numbers do not match, go tothe Apple Downloads site at www.apple.com/support/downloads. PressCOMMAND-F to perform a search,type firmware, and click OK. This is a

quick way to scan through the list andfind firmware updates. If you find anew update for your specific Macmodel, download it. Be sure to clickthrough the additional pages ofdownloads at the bottom of thescreen if you can’t find the latestfirmware update for your Mac. It’simportant that you install the firm-ware update for your specific Macmodel. For example, if you have aMacBook Pro, make sure you don’tuse a Mac Mini firmware patch,which won’t work for your computer.

Installing a firmware patch is a littleconvoluted. First, you run the installerprogram you downloaded. After theinstaller runs, the Mac will prompt youthat the firmware patch will run,which may or may not happen de-pending on your Mac. (On our Mac

Mini Solo, the firmware update didnot run automatically.) If you needto run the firmware update pro-gram, it’s located in the APPLICA-TIONS\UTILITIES folder. Justlook for Firmware Updater andrun it. First you will click Shut-down and wait for your Mac toshut down completely. Now pressand hold the power button untilyou see the light flash repeatedlyon your Mac. After that, releasethe power button. OS X will applythe firmware patch and rebootyour computer once. Double-check your ROM and SMC num-bers. To do this, go to the Applemenu and select About This Macand click More Info. UnderContent, click Hardware. Note theBoot ROM version and SMCVersion to make sure they matchthe required numbers for BootCamp on the Mac OS X: FirmwareUpdates For Intel-Based MacsWeb page mentioned earlier(docs. info.apple.com/artic le.html?artnum=303880).

For some Mac models, such asthe Mac Mini, you may need botha ROM firmware update and anSMC firmware update. Both arerequired. As a shortcut to finding

these updates, you can do a Googlesearch. For example, if you search for“Mac Mini SMC update” you will seethe direct link to the Apple Supportsite for the download. Make sure theURL says www.apple.com so youavoid downloading a program froman unauthorized site. Note that theSMC firmware update just runs as aninstaller. After it runs, you just haveto click Restart to apply the update.

You’ll also need the latest OS Xversion (Mac OS X 10.4.6). Fortu-nately, the latest version is alwayslisted at the top of the www.apple.com/support/downloads Web pageby the big black X. If your Mac is notup-to-date, download and install thelatest OS X version.

Boot Camp also requires at least10GB of space, so make sure you have

MULTIBOOT SYSTEMSWindows XP/Mac OS X

The Boot Camp Assistant allows you to configure yourMac for Boot Camp and install Windows XP or delete anexisting Windows XP partition and just boot into OS X.

Burning Mac drivers for Windows XP is a critical step because it will help Windows XP to run smoothly and not crash as often and adds support for Bluetooth.


freed up enough space by deleting un-wanted files. Your Mac also must beusing just one partition. If you’re anexpert user and you partitioned yourMac with several drives (say, onevolume for applications and onevolume for documents), you’ll needto repartition the drive to onevolume. For most Mac users, the onlycritical step is just to make sure youhave 10GB or more of free space.

Step Three: Install Boot Camp

After you make sure you have thelatest version of OS X, the latestfirmware patches, and enough freehard drive space, it’s time to start in-stalling Boot Camp. Double-click theDMG file you downloaded fromwww.apple.com/macosx/bootcampand follow the steps indicated on-screen. This will install the necessary

files for Boot Camp and place a BootCamp Assistant utility inside yourAPPLICATIONS\UTILITIES folder.Double-click that file to start the BootCamp configuration.

The first step is to burn a Macin-tosh drivers CD. Insert a blankrecordable CD or DVD in your Macand follow the on-screen instructionsto burn one. Wait until the Macburns the disc and ejects it, and click


OOpinions vary about

why Apple released

Boot Camp, but it certainly

has been an interesting

story. As soon as Apple re-

leased Mac models using the

Intel processor, magazines

and Web sites started of-

fering a “bounty” reward for

anyone who could get

Windows XP to run on Mac

hardware. Apple seemed to

take note to all of this grass-

roots interest and respond

by releasing Boot Camp. As

we’ve explained, the pro-

gram allows you to boot

into either Mac OS X or

WinXP. It’s also possible to

boot into Windows Vista;

for more information you

can read the Web-only ar-

ticle, “Vista Beta To Mac OS”

at www.smartcomputing

.com/r1006/vistamac. A

menu appears when you

turn on your Mac where you

can easily select either OS

(operating system).

It’s perfectly legal to use

Boot Camp because you own

a Mac (and therefore OS X)

and you are using your own

copy of WinXP. Yet, with all

the Apple-vs.-PC TV ads and

a general tone from Apple

that suggests the PC is infe-

rior, you might wonder why

the company decided to

offer a dual-boot Mac-and-

WinXP option. The answer is

probably just to make the

Mac more attractive to more

users, and to quell the grass-

roots tinkerers who were de-

veloping their own custom

solutions, something that

could infringe on Apple

patents. Boot Camp is tech-

nically a beta product, but

like other technology com-

panies (notably Google,

Yahoo!, and others), Apple

releases sometimes stay in

beta for long periods—up to

a year or more. Apple had no

official comment on when

Boot Camp would become a

commercial product.

So now it’s time to load all

of the Mac drivers—those

on the disc you burned ear-

lier. Even if you’re eager to

test out WinXP first, loading

the Mac drivers will help

minimize any problems or

incompatibilities. Go to the

Start menu and select My

Computer. Select the CD

drive, click File, and select

Eject to eject the WinXP

disc. Now insert the Mac

drivers disc. WinXP will run

the installer automatically,

but if you have turned off

the Autoplay option in

Windows you can just

double-click the disk icon in

the My Computer window.

Select your language and

then follow the prompts to

install the Mac drivers. You’ll

be installing drivers for

graphics, networking, audio,

wireless, Bluetooth (if you

are installing on a MacBook

or MacBook Pro), brightness

control (for built-in dis-

plays), and the EJECT key

(commonly found on Apple

keyboards). The EJECT key

will be especially helpful if

you are using an Apple

mouse with no right-click

capability because WinXP

typically assumes you will

right-click a CD or DVD and

select Eject to remove discs.

Click Next at the prompts

to install the Mac drivers.

The installer takes a few

minutes to complete its

tasks. Your screen may

flicker off for a moment

during the installation

process as new graphics

drivers are loaded. You’ll also

see a few prompts that a

driver has not passed

Windows Logo testing. Click

Continue Anyway. This only

means is that the drivers

might not be certified by

Microsoft, but does not

imply that they will crash

your system or cause other

problems. When the installer

is done, the installer will

prompt you to restart. Click

Yes and then click Finish.

Your Mac will restart and

you may see additional

prompts to load new soft-

ware. This might involve a

New Found Hardware

Wizard. Whether this in-

staller appears depends on

your Mac model; follow

whatever on-screen instruc-

tions appear.

After WinXP is completely

installed, you can restart the

computer and go back to OS

X. When the computer boots,

just press and hold the

OPTION key until you see a

prompt to select Mac OS X or

Windows. Select the one you

want using the arrow keys and

press ENTER. For those with a

non-Apple keyboard, use the

ALT key when your Mac

boots up to select the desired

operating system.

Notes For Mac UsersNew To Windows

For long-time Mac users

who have never used WinXP,

here are a few quick tips.

One is that WinXP does rely

Boot Camp Basics


Next. Now you’ll create a partitionfor WinXP. This step is simple inconcept, but a bit more complex inpractice. You can drag the slider tothe left or right to create a segment(or partition) of your hard drive thatis the same size, bigger, or smallerthan the one you will use for yourMac operating system. The size youpick depends on how you will use thecomputer. If you intend to install

many games and applications forWindows, but use OS X primarily forWeb and word processing, youmight make the WinXP partitionquite large—as high as 100GB ormore. However, if you are a graphicartist who creates complex AdobePhotoshop CS 2 documents andworks with high-resolution videofiles, you might make the WinXPpartition quite small—as low as 5GB.

Now, it’s also worth noting that youcan delete the WinXP partition en-tirely using the Boot Camp Assistant,which effectively removes WinXPand the Boot Camp dual-boot fea-ture altogether.

The complexity comes in laterwhen you install WinXP, which usesits own partitioning process. You can“partition the partition,” so to speak.Think of your hard drive as an apple


on the right mouse button

quite often, and there’s no

standard modifier key like

there is on a Mac to hold

down to see a right-mouse

button menu. (On a Mac,

you can press CTRL and left-

mouse to see the right-

mouse menu.) One option is

just to buy a PC mouse for

your computer that will

work for both OS X and

WinXP. Otherwise, you can

usually find the options you

want in the menus without

having to use right-click.

If you’re planning to use

WinXP applications that you

have already used on a Mac,

they will be remarkably sim-

ilar. Two of the more ob-

vious issues that most Mac

users find in WinXP as far as

understanding what to do

involve networking and file

searches. On a Mac, when

you click on the Network

icon, you’ll see all of the net-

works. In WinXP, you can

click Start, then My Network

Places to see other com-

puters and file networks.

However, to see the same

network drive every time

you use WinXP, you’ll need

to map the drive to a drive

letter. Select the network

drive in My Network Places,

then go to Tools and select

Map Network Drive. Select a

drive letter and type a name,

then click OK. Now, when

you go to Start, My Com-

puter, you’ll see that net-

work drive each time

without having to search

through My Network Places.

After you install WinXP,

you’ll find that there’s no

equivalent to Spotlight where

you can quickly search for

programs and files. Microsoft

does offer MSN Desktop

Search, a program that pro-

vides similar functionality.

You can find out more about

it and download the program

at www.microsoft.com/win

dows/desktopsearch. Of

course, there are many other

options available for Desktop

search as well, such as Google

Desktop, available for down-

load at desktop.google.com.

Words Of Warning

Now, a few words of

warning when using WinXP

on a Mac. It’s a good idea to

avoid brand new beta pro-

grams and game demos for

WinXP. These applications,

such as Microsoft Office

2007 or the latest version of

Call of Duty, might require

additional software in

WinXP that could cause

problems running on Mac

hardware. For example,

brand new games might use

an updated version of

DirectX that only works on

PCs with brand new video

cards, such as the ATI X1950,

and could cause graphical

glitches on a Mac.

In addition, you might

wonder if you can use your

WinXP license on a PC now

that you have installed it on a

Mac. If you decide to use OS

X, it might seem as though

you should be able to use

WinXP on a PC at the same

time. Microsoft is clear about

the license agreement: You

can only install your copy of

WinXP on one computer at a

time, even if you are not using

both computers at the same

time. To use WinXP on a PC,

you would need to first unin-

stall it from your Mac by

deleting the partition (see the

“Removing Boot Camp”

sidebar). Otherwise, it is a

software license copyright

infringement.

The beauty of using a dual-

boot Mac is that you can

enjoy the best of both oper-

ating systems. It’s worth men-

tioning, though, that there

are situations where using a

dual-boot Mac is not as easy

as just having a PC available.

The boot-up process for

WinXP, for example, can take

a few minutes more on a Mac

than on some newer PCs, es-

pecially laptops. Also, having

a dual-boot Mac means you

have all of your work on one

computer. If you use a Mac

for graphics work and nor-

mally use a PC for your home

budget, as an example, you

run the risk of losing data for

both activities when you use

one Mac for both. There’s

also something to be said for

the speed of using two com-

puters for two different

computing tasks, if possible.

Ultimate Benefits

Ultimately, Boot Camp’s

greatest benefit is cost. It’s

a free beta download, and

it means you can just use

one computer for all of

your work (and play). Of

course, it’s also a conve-

nience and space issue: one

hard drive to back-up, one

keyboard and mouse, one

monitor. Surprisingly,

WinXP seems to run quite

fast on a Mac as well. It’s

the best of both worlds. ❙


pie for a moment. Partitioning justcuts the pie into pieces. There’s onepiece for the Mac, and one piece forWinXP. The pieces can be just aboutany size. During the Boot Camp par-tition, you created a slice of your harddrive for WinXP. When you installWinXP in a moment, you’ll need touse that slice, even though the WinXPsetup process will actually let youcreate a new partition, or even installWindows on the Mac partition. Thecritical point to remember is this:Only install WinXP on the C: parti-tion, which is the portion that theMac prepared especially for WinXP.

After you set the partition size,click Partition. This creates the C:partition you’l l need to instal lWinXP. Note that, after you parti-tion your drive, you then we’ll see anoption to either Restart Mac OX S orStart Installation. This means youcould reboot and keep using yourMac and instal l WinXP withouthaving to repartition.We’l l continue on, sofirst insert your WinXPdisc and click Start In-stal lation, which wil lstart the install processfor WinXP.

Step Four: InstallWindows XP

The Mac will rebootafter examining your discto see if it is the correctversion. Remember thatyou’ll need WinXP Homeor Professional, and thatyour version must have aclear label on the coverthat says it includes SP2.There was an older versionof WinXP that includedService Pack 1, and an original version.Newer copies that have the SP2 labelcame out earlier in 2006; the other ver-sions will not work with Boot Camp.

When your Mac boots up again,you’ll first see a text interface for theinstaller and a prompt to select your

partition. Use the arrow keys (vintage1985!) to select C: Partition. PressENTER. Next, you’ll see a Formatscreen. Use the arrow keys to select

the top option to format your parti-tion as an NTFS File System (Quick)and press ENTER. The WinXP instal-lation process will start. Dependingon the speed of your Mac, this cantake about 30 minutes or so. Justfollow the prompts that appear. You

will be prompted to select your re-gion, type in your name, enter yourWinXP serial number (it’s shown inthe folder that came with the oper-

ating system), give yourcomputer a name andpassword, and select yourtime zone. After anotherfew minutes, you’ll beprompted to configure thenetwork settings. Just se-lect the default option.Click Next. Then, type aname for your WinXPnetwork. Click Next.

After the installer fin-ishes copying files, yourMac will restart and theWinXP installer will start.Click OK at the prompt toadjust your screen resolu-tion, and then click OKagain to confirm it. You’llthen see the WinXP logo,probably for the first timeever on a Mac! Click Next

at the welcome prompt. Select the op-tion to protect your computer andclick Next. Type your name, clickNext, and click Finish. You’ll see theWelcome screen for WinXP.

BBYY JJOOHHNN BBRRAANNDDOONN


Removing Boot Camp

RRemoving Boot

Camp, or at least

removing Windows XP

from your Mac com-

puter, is a simple process

of running the Boot

Camp Assistant again

(found in APPLICA-

TIONS\UTILITIES) and

selecting the option to

Restore The Start-Up

Disk To A Single

Volume, which deletes

the Windows XP partition, and therefore WinXP itself. Just select the option

and click Continue. That’s all you have to do. ❙

Firmware updates available at apple.com/support/downloads make surethat your Mac is ready for Boot Camp.

RS


If you are still running Windows98, either because you neverbothered (or were hesitant) to

upgrade or because you like the simpleinterface of Win98, you’re likely dis-covering that fewer programs will runon the operating system. You may alsohave learned that Win98 lacks manyof the security features Windows XPHome Edition now sports, or thatMicrosoft stopped supporting it ear-lier this year. Whatever the reason,you are now considering WinXP butyou’re not quite ready to give up yourold pal, Win98.

Don’t worry. You can run bothOSes (operating systems) side byside. However, you will need torestart your PC each time you switch

operating environments because youcan’t access both at once. Neverthe-less, unlike Windows 95 and Win98,which share the same boot file anddon’t play nice together, Win98 andWinXP Home can coexist. Whatyou’ll be creating is called a dual-boot system, meaning you can bootinto either of two OSes. We’ll tell youhow to do this and show you how toundo the process if you decide you’vemade an error in judgment.

Fork In The Road

Before you rush off to become adual-booter, consider a few issues.First, if your PC was built around or shortly after the time Microsoft

released Win98, it may not runWinXP. The WinXP Setup programprovides a handy compatibility checkcalled Upgrade Advisor, which exam-ines your PC’s hardware and softwarefor potential problems with WinXP.However, it’s a good idea to compareyour PC against WinXP’s system re-quirements before you start thesetup. If your computer doesn’t makethe grade, you’ll have to abort thesetup anyway. For more on systemrequirements, refer to the “RequiredReading” sidebar.

Second, although we focus on in-stalling WinXP Home in tandemwith a Win98 OS, there are users forwhom Windows XP Professional maybe the better choice. WinXP Pro of-fers several benefits over WinXPHome, including stouter security andthe ability to join large networks. Formore on the features of each, visitwww.microsoft.com/windowsxp/evaluation/compare.mspx.

Finally, if you want to run any pro-grams under both OSes, you’ll have toinstall them twice: while booted ineach system. Although a program in-stalled under one OS sometimes willrun under another OS, it will likelybecome corrupt eventually as the twoOSes move files around during opera-tion. Allow enough room for dupli-cate program installation in your harddrive calculations.

Drive Time

In order to run two OSes on a singlePC, each must operate in its own parti-tion. (It’s possible to run multiple OSeson the same partition, but it is aproblem-laden solution you shouldavoid.) Partitions are the usable areasof a drive. You can format a drive withsingle partitions, or you can formatmultiple partitions—as many as fourwith Windows. Then, each partitionacts as a separate drive (you can furtherpartition nonsystem partitions intomultiple logical drives, if you wish).

Think of partitions as the usableinterior space of a house. A house can

MULTIBOOT SYSTEMS

Add WindowsXP Home To AWindows 98 PCBe Prepared For Some Work


drive size. If there is a considerablediscrepancy, at least 1.5GB (3 to 4GBis ideal), you may have enough unpar-titioned space to install WinXP Home.If that is the case (or if you know yourdrive is already divided into multiplepartitions and you can rearrange yourdata to clear a sufficiently large parti-tion completely), proceed to the “AllSystems Go” section.

If you have a single partition, eval-uate your current hard drive to see if you have enough free space thatyou don’t need for data or other pro-grams. In your calculations, considerwhether you use Win98 DriveSpaceto compress your current drive. If so,and you want to access those filesfrom WinXP Home, allow room forthe uncompressed files or decom-press them before you install WinXP.(WinXP does not support DriveSpaceand cannot open its files.)

If your current drive has less than1.8GB of space (the minimum neces-sary to run Win98 and WinXP), youmust purchase a new internal driveand move your Win98 installation toit. If you are uncomfortable workinginside your computer and have aprofessional handle the installation,ask him to leave unpartitioned spacefor the WinXP installation.

A new configuration. With sufficientpartitioned space to add asecond partition, you havetwo choices. The easiest (yetmore expensive) option is adrive utility such as Syman-tec’s Norton PartitionMagic($69.95; www.symantec.com)or VCOM’s Partition Com-mander ($49.95; www.v-com.com). These utilities takeempty space in an existingpartition and carve new par-titions from it. Programssuch as these often have wiz-ards that walk you throughthe process.

MULTIBOOT SYSTEMSWindows 98/XP Home Edition

Required Reading

TThe requirements for Windows XP Home Edition are much more robust

than those for Windows 98. Furthermore, if you plan to work with multiple

files at once or want to install many WinXP programs, err on the side of caution

and use the recommended requirements as your guide.

WinXP Home Edition Requirements:

• 300MHz or higher processor

• 128MB of memory recommended; 64MB minimum supported but may limit

performance and some features (realistically, WinXP runs best on at least a

1GHz processor with 512MB of RAM)

• 1.5GB of available hard drive space; 4GB is more realistic, especially if you

want to upgrade to Service Pack 2

• Super VGA (800 × 600) or higher resolution video adapter and monitor

• CD-ROM or DVD drive

• Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device

If you compare these requirements to Win98’s, you’ll notice WinXP

requires eight to 12 times the speed and power needed by Win98. If your

system doesn’t meet these requirements, you can upgrade. However, if you

need a new processor (which may also mean a new motherboard), more

memory, and a new drive, you might consider purchasing a second PC and

runing the two systems separately.

Also, consider checking your hardware at Microsoft’s Hardware Catalog site

(www.windowsmarketplace.com). Hardware from major manufacturers that is

still in operation has a better chance of moving from Win98 to WinXP without

incident. Even if you think your hardware makes the cut, check the Web sites of

your hardware vendors and download the latest WinXP drivers. However, do

not install them on your current system.

Finally, if you can’t maintain a connection to the Internet during Setup,

download and run Upgrade Advisor (www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home

/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp).

You’ll need a high-speed connection

to handle the 50MB file. ❙

Programs such as Partition Magiccan repartition an existing drive togive you room for Windows XP.

have four interior walls and one largeroom (one partition), or additionalinterior walls can divide the homeinto additional rooms (multiple par-titions and logical drives). Unfortu-nately, Windows can only create newpartitions from unpartitioned space(the unfinished, undivided areas ofthe house).

At the time of Win98’s release, mostusers formatted their drives with asingle partition, using all the availablespace for the main partition. If you arenot sure, compare the amount ofspace Win98 reports with the actual


A more complicated optionis to format your existing drive(which will erase all existingdata) and restructure it intotwo or more partitions. If yourWin98 installation has becomeunwieldy and would benefitfrom a refresh, then you mightwant to reformat and reparti-tion. Because we assume mostusers wil l choose an easierroute, we won’t discuss thatoption at this time. However, ifyou want to reformat andrepartition your existing drive,refer to the “Wipe It Clean”section for further assistance.

Add on. If you don’t have enoughdrive space for WinXP Home, you’llwant to add a second drive. Even ifyou do this, you’ll need to do sometweaking on your main drive (as we mentioned previously) becauseWinXP may not boot from a seconddrive natively. That’s because yoursystem’s BIOS (Basic Input/OutputSystem) settings determine this. (If you want to try it first or tinkerwith the BIOS so it can boot from asecond [slave] drive, feel free. How-ever, these operations are beyondthe scope of this article.)

An external drive is by far the eas-iest drive to install, but it shouldn’t bea system drive for two reasons. First,you’ll get poor system performance;external drives are slower than in-ternal drives, especially if you have aUSB 1.0 connection. Second, WinXPHome won’t boot from an externaldrive—even if you adjust the BIOS—unless you perform special proce-dures at setup.

Consequently, we recommendmoving your data files to the newdrive. You can also install and runprograms on the second drive. If yoursecond drive is external, performancemay suffer. As a third option, you canput your paging file (hard drive spaceWinXP uses as temporary memory)and any other virtual memory drivesyour programs create on the seconddrive to save space on the main drive.

To move the paging file aftersetup, right-click My Computer onthe Start menu, select Properties, andclick the Advanced tab. Under Per-formance, click Settings and then se-lect the Advanced tab. Under VirtualMemory, click Change. Select thedrive with the paging file and clickNo Paging File and Set. Next, selectthe second drive, click Custom Size,set the paging file to be the same or

slightly larger than the old one,click Set, and restart your com-puter. (If your system is tight onthe memory allocation, click theVisual Effects tab and selectAdjust For Best Performance.)

Prep Party

If you purchase a drive utility,the program will perform for-matting and partitioning basedon your instructions. If you pur-chase a new drive, it will likelycome with drive utilities that act in the same manner. Don’t

worry if you aren’t sure how to parti-tion a new drive. You can partitionunallocated space later using WinXP’sDisk Management utility. To openDisk Management, right-click the MyComputer icon on the Start Menuand select Manage. Click Disk Man-agement in the left pane and locate adrive or partition in the right.

No matter which route you taketo achieve new partitions, you’ll


Make It Disappear

II f you purchased a drive utility, you may be able to use it to revert to your

previous installation. (If you have an old backup, you may even be able to

revert completely.) Other than that, removing Windows XP Home Edition

from a dual-boot installation with Windows 98 is fairly easy. To be safe, how-

ever, back up important data before you proceed. If you installed WinXP and

Win98 programs into a common Programs folder on the WinXP drive, unin-

stall all WinXP programs (from within WinXP) before you proceed or you’ll

be wasting space after WinXP removal.

Use the Win98 startup diskette to boot your PC. At the A> prompt, type

FFDDIISSKK //MMBBRR and press ENTER. Type SSYYSS CC:: and press ENTER. This command

hands control of the boot process over to Win98, and you will see a message

confirming this. Remove the Startup diskette and reboot the computer, which

will boot to Win98 automatically.

Use Windows Explorer to locate and delete the following files (if present)

from the C: drive: Boot.ini, Bootsect.dos, Hiberfil.sys, Ntbootdd.sys, Ntde-

tect.com, Ntldr, and Pagefile.sys. (If the files are not visible, select Folder

Options from the Tools menu, click the View tab, and make sure Show Hidden

Files And Folders is selected and Hide Protected Operating System Files

[Recommended] is not.)

Delete these folders from the WinXP drive: Windows, Documents And

Settings, System Volume Info, Recycler, and MSO Cache. If you did not install

Win98 programs to this drive, you can remove the Programs folder, as well. ❙

Partition Commander and its peers offer graphics displaysthat help make sense of the repartitioning process.


need to select a f i le system (thescheme that determines how the OSstores and accesses file fragments) touse for the new partitions. For helpmaking the right choice, see “FileIt.” Before you install WinXP, it’s agood idea to back up all importantdata on your Win98 drive.

All Systems Go

Whether you created a new par-tition or are waiting to make a newone until setup, you can now installWinXP. You want to first connect tothe Internet and maintain the con-nection during setup. You can bootand run Windows Setup straight

from the Windows XP Home CD,but you’ll deal with more text-basedscreens, which are not as user-friendly. It’s just as easy to run Setupfrom within Windows 98. The in-structions that follow assume youclick OK, Next, or Finish as appro-priate at each screen.

Invoke the wizard. With Win98 upand running, insert the WinXP in-stallation CD. When the Welcomescreen appears, select Check SystemCompatibility and then select CheckMy System Automatically. UpgradeAdvisor will download any neededfiles (which may include driversavailable on the Microsoft Web site)and then issue an Upgrade Report.

During this process, setup mayseem to hang and may repeat itself;just accept any prompts you see.Review the Upgrade Report, disre-garding any comments about soft-ware and leftover Recycle Bin filesbecause neither of these applies toyour new partition. Because you al-ready checked and upgraded yourhardware, you shouldn’t experienceany major problems. If UpgradeAdvisor finds remaining hardware is-sues, you can still proceed; the worstthing that will happen is you won’t beable to boot WinXP. However, print acopy of the Upgrade Report for refer-ence if problems arise. Click Finish.

Windows will next open Setup anddisplay a dialog box enabling you to select the installation type. Don’t acceptthe default, Upgrade (Recommended),or you will lose your Win98 installa-tion. Instead, select New Installation(Advanced) from the drop-downmenu. Setup will prompt you to acceptthe End User License Agreement andask for the product key.

When the Setup Options dialog box appears, click the Advanced Op-tions button and select the I Want ToChoose The Installation Drive LetterAnd Partition During Setup checkbox.Setup will then go online to updatethe Setup files and copy them to yourPC. After this portion of Setup con-cludes, it will restart the computer andbegin the text-based segment.

Read Some Text

When the Windows Setup screenappears, Setup will download files andthen prompt you to accept the EndUser License Agreement again. Whenthe Windows XP Home Edition Setupscreen appears, you’ll see a list of op-tions; press the ENTER key and Setupwill examine your system’s drives. Itwill return a list showing all the ex-isting partitions on your drives, in ad-dition to any unpartitioned space. Ifyou already created a partition forWinXP, use the Down arrow key tohighlight the partition. If not, scroll to


Wipe It Clean

TTo start with a

fresh slate

(which means you

will reinstall Win-

dows 98 and then

install Windows XP

Home Edition),

you can use the

Fdisk utility, pre-

sent in Win98, to

format and parti-

tion your drive.

Microsoft’s Knowl-

edge Base (support

.microsoft.com)

contains complete

instructions on using Fdisk (search for article 255867). You probably won’t

be able to format and prepare your NTFS (NT file system) partitions using

Fdisk, but you can reformat the drive and create a new, smaller boot parti-

tion for Win98. After you reinstall Win98 on that partition, you can run

WinXP Setup and format the partition during setup.

Before you run Fdisk, make copies of files you want to keep and gather the

installation media for all programs you want to reinstall. (The reformat wipes all

data from your drive.) You will also lose your user settings and preferences.

Don’t count on backups because they might not restore correctly.

Default locations for some files you might not think about until it’s too late are:

• Outlook Express Address Book: C:\WINDOWS\APPLICATION DATA\

MICROSOFT\ADDRESS BOOK

• Outlook Express Messages: C:\WINDOWS\APPLICATION DATA\IDENTITIES

• Internet Explorer Favorites: C:\WINDOWS\FAVORITES

• My Documents Folder: C:\MY DOCUMENTS

You can use Windows 98’s Fdisk utility to repartition yourdrive, but you will lose all your data in the process.


the unpartitioned space. Don’t choosethe default item, which will probablybe your Win98 drive.

If you create a new partition, youcan use all the available space for thatpartition or specify how much to use.(You can partition any remainingspace later.) Setup will ask you to selecta file format. Choose NTFS (NT filesystem), if possible. Setup will copy the

necessary files and restart Setup, thistime using the Setup Wizard.

Back to basics. When the SetupWizard restarts, Setup will configurethe new drive, download and installdrivers, register components with thesystem, and perform other installa-tion tasks.

After it completes these processes,Setup will lead you through several

screens, prompting you to change lan-guage standards, choose network com-ponents (the default setting is fine),and select a workgroup name.

Finally, Setup will finish the in-stallation, prompt you to remove the installation CD, and reboot your PC. (If your computer doesn’t re-boot into WinXP automatically, youneed to select WinXP from the bootmenu.) Setup will enable your PCfor Internet access and prompt youto activate your copy of WinXP, reg-ister, and create user accounts. Itwill then offer to lead you on a tourthrough WinXP.

After that, you’re done—andbooted into WinXP. Check to see if allyour hardware works. If not, andWinXP does not detect it, use the AddHardware Wizard and your new dri-vers to install it. (To open the wizard,select Control Panel from the StartMenu, select Printers and OtherHardware, and then click Add Hard-ware on the left side.)

Try On Your Boots

The next time you reboot yourcomputer, you will see two boot op-tions: Microsoft Windows or Micro-soft Windows XP Home. WinXPHome will start by default because itis the most recently installed system.However, you can easily select Win98using the Down arrow key. To changethe boot order or the lag time beforethe default kicks in, boot to WinXPand open Control Panel. Click Per-formance and Maintenance and selectSystem. Next, select the Advanced tab and click Settings under Startup And Recovery. Under Default Operat-ing System in the System Startup- section, change the default OS and the time that the boot menu displays before startup.

If you later decide you don’t wantWinXP, check out the “Make It Disap-pear” sidebar. Otherwise, explore untilyour hear’s content.

BBYY JJEENNNNIIFFEERR FFAARRWWEELLLL


File It

WWhen you format and partition drives, you will likely see three file sys-

tem options. It’s important to choose the right one for each drive on

your system.

FFAATT ((ffiillee aallllooccaattiioonn ttaabbllee,, aallssoo ccaalllleedd FFAATT1166)).. This is the file system used in

early versions of Windows. Your Windows 98 installation should not be using

this file system and there is no reason to format drives with it.

FFAATT3322 ((aa 3322--bbiitt vveerrssiioonn ooff FFAATT)).. Microsoft debuted FAT32 with Windows

95 Release 2. FAT32 supports hard drives of up to 2TB (terabytes) and stores

data more efficiently than FAT16. Almost all Win98 drives use this file system.

Windows XP can read files from this system, and you can install WinXP on a

FAT32 partition. However, it is not the best choice.

NNTTFFSS ((NNTT ffiillee ssyysstteemm)). NTFS is more secure and more efficient with large

drives than FAT16 or FAT32. Consequently, NTFS is the best option for WinXP.

However, Win98 does not recognize drives formatted as NTFS. This is both a

good and a bad thing. On the plus side, formatting your WinXP partition as

NTFS will prevent Win98 from seeing two primary bootable partitions. (Having

multiple bootable partitions on a Win98 system can cause problems.)

On the down side, Win98 will not be able to open files stored on drives for-

matted as NTFS. Consequently, do not format any drive as NTFS if Win98 needs

to access it. Furthermore, if you decide to revert to your original installation,

you will not be able to access any NTFS partitions from Win98. You will need a

drive utility like the ones we mention in the main article to access and reformat

those partitions. The drive management or formatting utilities that came with

the drive may also work, assuming they recognize NTFS partitions.

The best solution is to use a FAT32 partition for Win98, an NTFS partition for

WinXP, and store data files that both systems need to access either on the Win98

partition or on a separate FAT32 data drive. If you must access WinXP drives

from Win98, format them as FAT32. Additionally, if you think you may revert to a

Win98-only setup, start by putting WinXP on a FAT32 drive. If you decide later

that you want to keep WinXP, you can convert it to NTFS on the fly.

You cannot revert back from NTFS to FAT32. If you install WinXP on an

NTFS drive and then decide to revert, you must reinstall WinXP and reformat

the drive as FAT32 during setup before you can access it in Win98 to delete it.

To convert a FAT32 drive after installation of WinXP, open the Start menu

and select Run. Type ccmmdd in the Open field and press ENTER. When the DOS

window appears, type ccoonnvveerrtt ddrriivvee__lleetttteerr:: //ffss::nnttffss (drive_letter is the drive you

want to convert) and then press ENTER. Be certain to convert the right drive.

While converting to NTFS does not destroy data, it will render a Win98 instal-

lation unbootable. ❙

RS


MULTIBOOT SYSTEMS

compatibility and hardware perfor-mance issues because drivers that cantake full advantage of such componentsas video and sound cards aren’t readilyavailable for Vista yet. Vista has muchhigher system requirements thanWinXP, and messing with the betasimply isn’t worth the trouble for manyusers because uninstalling it later canbe a big hassle. That said, you can setup Vista to dual-boot with WinXP ifyou know what you’re doing.

Windows Update

WinXP users can automatically loadthe latest Windows patches, upgrades,and enhancements using Microsoft’sWindows Update service, and we rec-ommend you do this before doing anything else. Click Start, click AllPrograms, and click Windows Update.Microsoft sometimes changes theWindows Update software so down-load the most recent version if Win-dows Update prompts you to do so.Click the Express button and wait forthe update check to complete, whichmay take a long time. Click InstallUpdates and then click Restart Now ifnecessary to reboot your computer andapply the new updates.

Compatibility Check

After updating WinXP, make surethat your computer meets (or prefer-ably exceeds) the minimum require-ments established by Microsoft in theform of its Windows Vista Capablestandards, which are steeper thanWinXP Pro’s system requirements. Thecomputer must have at least an800MHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, 15GBof free hard drive space, and a videocard or integrated video chip that sup-ports Microsoft’s DirectX 9 standard.

Those specifications will grant accessto Vista’s basic features, but for best re-sults you should use the new operatingsystem with a computer that is pow-erful enough to support the WindowsVista Premium standard. This unlocksfeatures such as Vista’s Aero Interface,

Unfortunately, Vista isn’t exactlydual-boot friendly, especially if youwant to revert to your original configu-ration that has only one operatingsystem. (We’ll use WinXP Pro in theexamples that appear throughout thisarticle, although these methods shouldalso work with other versions of Win-XP.) You really need to know about thepitfalls of running it in dual-boot modebefore giving it a try, as well as the limi-tations of a dual-boot configuration.

Are You Sure?

There are many caveats to considerbefore installing Vista. The main one isthat it is time-limited, so you eventu-ally will have to remove it when it ex-pires on June 1, 2007. It isn’t as stableas WinXP and has several hardware

If you’re sick of waiting for Win-dows Vista, you can downloadand try it right now, but there’s a

catch. It’s not as stable as Windows XPyet, several features are not yet in place,and it has some compatibility issueswith certain hardware devices that re-main to be ironed out for the final re-lease of the software in early 2007.

Still, those who are tempted to testdrive Vista can always dual-boot it with another OS (operating system),such as Windows XP Professional.Dual-booting lets two OSes reside onthe same hard drive but work separatelyfrom one another and makes them ac-cessible through a boot menu that ap-pears when the computer starts up. PickVista, or choose the original OS, and itloads up as if the other operating sys-tem isn’t even there.

Windows XP Pro& Windows VistaOne Computer, Two Windows


which uses a translucent glass effect tolet you see your Desktop through theedges of open windows. A WindowsVista Premium system must have atleast a 1GHz CPU, 1GB of RAM, 15GBof free hard drive space, a DVD drive,and a very powerful graphics card thatsupports DirectX 9, has 128MB ofvideo RAM, and supports the PixelShader 2.0 standard to enable en-hanced graphical effects.

Beyond that, there are versions ofWindows Vista whose features will gountapped without the right hardware.For example, Windows Vista HomePremium and Windows Vista Ultimateedition (which is the one you have ac-cess to in the RC1 beta) support TVtuning, but you can only test that fea-ture if your computer has a TV tunercard and a remote control that con-forms to the Windows Vista RemoteControl specification.

Don’t sweat it if you’re unsure whereto dig up all of these numbers re-garding your computer, as Microsoftprovides a tool that can automaticallydetermine your system’s compatibility.Go to www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/default.mspx and clickEvaluate Your Current PC. ClickWindows Vista Upgrade Advisor RC,click Run, and wait for the 6.4MB fileto download, and click Run again if anInternet Explorer Security Warningmessage appears. Click Next, select theI Agree radio button, and keep clickingNext until the installation begins.When it finishes, make sure the LaunchMicrosoft Windows Vista UpgradeAdvisor box is checked and click Close.When the Advisor appears, click StartScan and click the buttons at thebottom during the installation to learnabout the myriad versions of Vista.When the scan is complete (it may takeseveral minutes), click See Details andclick the buttons for the different ver-sions on the left to see which ones yourcomputer is compatible with. (Theywill all have green checkmarks.)

Depending on your hardware andsoftware, you may have several SeeDetails buttons offering information

about specific issues with your com-puter that may prevent certain featuresof Vista from running, even though thecomputer is compatible with the baseoperating system. Click one of the SeeDetails buttons to access a page withtabs labeled System, Devices, Pro-grams, and Task List. The System tabalerts you to any hardware options andalso points out hardware you will needto add to the system to access certainfeatures such as Vista’s TV tuner. TheDevices tab tells you which hardwarecomponents must have updated dri-vers installed before they will work withVista (more on drivers in a bit).

Click the Programs tab to get an ideaof what software currently installed onyour computer won’t work with Vista,and also to see if any software must beremoved from the computer beforeyou install Vista. If you see a symbolwith a red X on this list you will have touninstall that software in one of twoways. The best method is to click Start,expand All Programs, expand thefolder that contains the software, andclick its Uninstall, Remove, or similaricon to launch the uninstall utility that

came with the software. These aren’t al-ways available, in which case youshould click Start, click Control Panel,click Switch To Classic View (if nec-essary), and double-click the Add OrRemove Programs entry. When the listof programs appears, scroll down untilyou find the problematic entry, click it,click Remove, and follow the promptsto complete the uninstall procedure,which may require rebooting your PC.

The final tab to address is the TaskList, which gives you a rundown of thesteps you need to take before installingVista. Click Print near the top of thisscreen to make a copy for future use.

Hardware Considerations

If you plan to dual-boot WinXP Proand Vista from a single hard drive(which is what we’ll cover in this ar-ticle) make sure the drive is largeenough to accommodate both oper-ating systems along with all of yourprograms. It’s unfortunate, but the twooperating systems don’t share installedprogram data, so if you have some-thing like Microsoft Office installed in

MULTIBOOT SYSTEMSWindows XP Pro/Windows Vista

Vista is free to try in a prerelease version, and you can easily run it alongside your existingWindows XP installation.


WinXP Pro, you’ll have to create a sep-arate installation in Vista. You can sharefiles between the two programs (andthe two operating systems), but havingto install everything twice takes up a lotof space beyond Vista’s estimated 15GBminimum storage requirement.

A better option is to install a seconddrive and put Vista on that, leavingWinXP Pro alone on the original drive.When you are finished with Vista youcan remove it much more easily than isthe case with a single-drive installation,and you’ll gain valuable drive space.

The easiest and fastest way to installVista RC1 is to download the 2.5GB in-stallation file and copy it to a recordableDVD, but of course this requires aDVD recorder and some blank DVDs.If this isn’t an option, you can order theWindows Vista RC1 DVD Kit for $3 atwww.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/preview.mspx. Choose a locationin the Order Now drop-down menu,click Go, and complete all of the stepsin the ordering process.

Gather Your Tools

As you may be aware, you can di-vide a hard drive into two or more

segments called partitions, each withunique drive letters (like C:), thatWindows treats as separate harddrives. As such, you can format yourvarious partitions using different filesystems (NTFS or FAT32) if youwant to. Normally a drive is for-matted as one large partition, butcreating multiple partitions lets youleave WinXP Pro installed where italready is and install Vista on anewly created partition. To do thisyou’ll need a software utility, such as Acronis Disk Director Suite 10($49.99; www.acronis.com), whichlets you easily create, resize, and re-name partitions using Windows.

The Vista installation file is stored inISO format, which is the native formatthat optical discs such as CDs andDVDs use. You’ll need recording soft-ware that is specifically designed tohandle ISO files or the installation filesyou need will not be available. If yourrecording software doesn’t have this ca-pability, we recommend DeepBurner(free; www.deepburner.com), whichdoes a great job with ISOs.

We mentioned drivers earlier, andthese are smallish pieces of softwarethat Windows uses to communicate

with your computer’s hardware. Per-iodically visiting your hardware manu-facturers’ Web sites and keeping driversup-to-date is critical, as updated drivesenhance compatibility, fix bugs, andcan even add features to your hardware;you’ll especially want to download thelatest drivers for all of your hardwaredevices so they are on hand when youinstall Vista. Burn the driver files to aseparate CD or DVD from the Vista in-stallation DVD so you’ll have easy ac-cess to them, and look for driversspecifically designed for use with Vista(as opposed to WinXP) when visitingthe manufacturer Web sites.

Because Microsoft didn’t designVista RC1 for easy dual-boot configura-tion, you should use a backup program,such as Genie Backup Manager Home 7 ($49.95; www.genie-soft.com) orCobian Backup (free; www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm) tomake copies all of the important files onyour WinXP Pro machine before in-stalling Vista. That way if somethinggoes wrong during the removal of Vista,you can reinstall WinXP Pro withouthaving to worry about losing any im-portant data.

Download Vista RC1

To download Vista go to www.microsoft.com/windowsvista and click GetReady. Click the Get Windows VistaRC1 link, scroll down to the DownloadNow menu, expand it, select a location,and click Go. You’ll need to sign intoyour Windows Live ID account (or signup for one) to continue, and the pagethat follows contains a 25-digit productkey that you need to write down. Thesite also emails this key to the accountyou specified when signing up forWindows Live ID. Click the Englishdownload link on that page and clickthe Windows Vista RC1 English 32-BitEdition link in the Akamai DownloadManager Section to begin the down-load. (Select the 64-bit edition if youhave a 64-bit CPU, which is rare forconsumer-level PCs.) Follow theprompts, select a download location


Use Windows Update to completely upgrade Windows XP before installing Vista.


(select Desktop if you’d like to use thesame steps we outline in this guide),and click Save.

Burn The ISO

Now that you’ve downloaded theISO file, you can record it to a DVD

using DeepBurner. Insert a blank DVDin your computer’s DVD recorder,launch DeepBurner, and when theSelect Project Type dialog box appearsclick the Burn ISO Image radio buttonand click Next. Click the ellipse buttonnext to the Image File box, navigate tothe ISO file you downloaded, click it,

and click Open. If you have multipleDVD drives, make sure to select theproper one in the Drive box in case it’snot already, and leave the Write Speedon Max if you’ve never had anytrouble with your drive. (You’ll wantto turn down the speed if you’ve en-countered recording errors in the


II f Vista expires or you want

to get rid of it, you’ll need

to return several things to

their original settings. Back

up any data you want to

save in Vista and make sure

you have your administrator

password for Windows XP. If

you don’t have this you’ll

need to reinstall WinXP

from scratch, which isn’t

fun, so you may want to use

a service like Login Recovery

(free; www.loginrecovery

.com) to retrieve your login

info if you’ve forgotten it.

Insert the WinXP installa-

tion CD into your comput-

er’s CD or DVD drive,

reboot the machine, and tell

the computer to boot from

the CD instead of from the

hard drive. This procedure

varies from PC to PC and

may require editing the

BIOS (Basic Input/Output

System), so you may need

to refer to the documenta-

tion that came with your

computer. On our test PC,

pressing the F12 key imme-

diately after powering on

the computer caused a boot

menu to appear that gave

us the option to boot from

the CD, bypassing our

Windows installations.

When the Setup menu

appears, press R to load the

Recovery Console. At the

command prompt that ap-

pears next, type 11, press

ENTER, type your adminis-

trator password, and press

ENTER again. When the

command prompt appears

again type CCDD .... (that’s two

periods, with a space be-

tween the D and the first

period) to get to the root C:

directory. Type ffiixxbboooott CC::,

press ENTER, press Y, and

press ENTER. When that

process is complete, you’ll

be back at the command

line; type ffiixxmmbbrr, press

ENTER, and press Y. Now

type bboooottccffgg//rreebbuuiilldd, press

ENTER, and wait until the

disk scan completes, which

may take some time. Press

the Y key and press ENTER

when the first message ap-

pears. When the Enter Load

Identifier appears, type

MMiiccrroossoofftt WWiinnddoowwss XXPP

PPrrooffeessssiioonnaall if you have

WinXP Pro or MMiiccrroossoofftt

WWiinnddoowwss XXPP HHoommee EEddiittiioonn

if you have that version and

press ENTER. When the

Enter OS Load Options

menu appears, type //ffaassttddee--

tteecctt and press ENTER. Type

eexxiitt, press ENTER, and the

computer will reboot.

A boot menu will likely

appear, so select the entry

you created in the previous

step. If everything went well,

you’ll load directly into

Windows, but it’s likely the

CHKDSK utility will appear,

check the integrity of your

hard drive, and update all

of your files to reflect the

new boot information. This

may take anywhere from a

few minutes to several

hours, depending on how

full your drive is, and you

shouldn’t turn off or try to

reboot your system until

this process ends and

WinXP loads.

Getting rid of the boot

menu requires editing your

PC’s Boot.ini file, which is in-

visible by default. Click Start,

click My Computer, and

double-click the icon for the

C: drive. Open the Tools

menu, click Folder Options,

and select the View tab.

Select the Show Hidden Files

And Folders radio button,

remove the check from Hide

Extensions For Known File

Types, and remove the

check from Hide Protected

Operating System Files.

Click Apply, go back to

the C: window, right-click

the newly revealed Boot.ini

file, and click Properties.

Remove the check mark

from the Attributes box,

click Apply, and then click

OK. Double-click Boot.ini to

open it in Notepad and look

for an Operating Systems

section. Leave the first entry

that begins with multi(0)

under Operating Systems

intact but delete all of the

other entries that begin

with multi(0). Click File,

click Save, and reboot the

computer. Windows XP

should now load with-

out presenting a boot

menu. If something goes

wrong, you can use the

Recovery Console to re-

peat the previous steps and

reset everything.

You can reformat the par-

tition Vista was on using the

steps outlined earlier in the

article (using NTFS [NT file

system]) to free up that

space for WinXP to use as a

separate drive. You can also

merge that partition into

the WinXP partition to go

back to having one big C:

drive. To do this, launch

Disk Director, right-click

the entry for the partition

Vista was on, click Merge,

and click the C: partition

to select it as a target be-

fore clicking OK. Expand

Operations, click Com-

mit, click Proceed, reboot

the computer, and every-

thing should revert to the

state it was in before you

installed Vista. ❙

Undo The Install


past.) Make sure the Writebox contains a check markand click Burn ISO to cre-ate the install DVD.

Prep The Hard Drive

Vista and WinXP can’tshare the same partition, sothe next step is to use DiskDirector Suite 10 to create aseparate partition whereVista will reside. First youwill need to make sure youhave sufficient free space onyour hard drive to accom-modate both OSes. ClickStart, double-click My Com-puter, click the icon for theC: drive, and look for the Free Spaceentry in the Details box. We recom-mend you leave the WinXP partitionwith at least 10GB of free space, andrecommend a minimum of 15GB forVista (the more the better), so you’llwant a bare minimum of 25GB free onthe hard drive. If your drive doesn’thave that much space you’ll need touninstall programs, install a largerdrive, or install a second drive to finishyour dual-boot configuration.

Back up all of your important files,launch Disk Director 10, and selectAutomatic mode. Click Create Par-tition, click the icon for the C: drive,and click Next. Use the slider barcontrol to make your new partitionlarger or smaller, making sure toleave the WinXP partition with atleast 10GB of free space, and clickNext. Select the Primary radio but-ton, click Next, and select NTFS inthe drop-down menu. Click Next, se-lect the Yes I Want To Assign ALogical Drive Letter To The Partitionradio button, and use the drop-downmenu to choose a letter (we selectedV: as a reminder that our new parti-tion is a Vista drive). Click Next,enter a label if you want to, clickNext, and click Finish.

Although the partition is alreadyformatted, you must reformat it usingWinXP’s built-in tools to prevent

disk errors. Click Start, click ControlPanel, click Switch To Classic View(if necessary), and double-clickAdministrative Tools. Double-clickComputer Management, click DiskManagement, right-click the entryfor the partition you created usingDisk Director Suite, and click For-mat. Enter a name in the VolumeLabel box if you like, select NTFS inthe drop-down menu, and leave theAllocation Unit Size Setting on De-fault. Click OK and wait until theformat is complete. You’ll want toreboot your PC before continuing.

Vista Installation

Insert the Windows Vista DVD inthe computer’s DVD-ROM driveand wait for the Install Windowsmenu to appear. If it doesn’t appear,click Start, click My Computer, anddouble-click the icon for the DVDdrive. You can click Check Com-patibility Online to see if your com-puter can run Vista if you haven’tdone so already, and when you’refinished, click Install Now.

Enter the product key and clickNext. Click I Accept The LicenseTerms, click Next, and select theCustom (Advanced) option on thenext screen before clicking Next.Click the entry for the partition you

created earlier and clickNext to begin the installa-tion. The computer re-boots several times duringthis process, and it maytake quite a while, de-pending on the speed ofyour computer.

When the Set Up win-dow appears, use the appro-priate drop-down menus toselect a country, time, andkeyboard layout and thenclick Next. Type a usernameand password, select a pic-ture that you want to asso-ciate with that account,and click Next. Enter aname for your computer,

click a picture to set it as the initialDesktop background, and clickNext. Click Use Recommended Set-tings, select a time zone and adjustthe date and time, and click Next.Finally, click Home, Work, or PublicLocation (depending on where youwill use the computer) to establishthe basic network security settings,and click Start. Vista checks thecomputer’s initial performance ca-pabilities before fully loading, whichtakes a few minutes.

Either Or

Use Vista as long as you’d like,and when you reboot the computera new boot menu appears that letsyou select either Vista or WinXP.Use the arrow keys to select the op-tion you want, press ENTER, andthat operating system loads, com-plete with all of the settings, files,and other adjustments you’ve estab-lished since installing it. Not all programs that work with WinXPcurrently work with Vista, so youmay need to experiment a bit, butisn’t that what an operating systemtest drive is all about?



The Upgrade Advisor tells you if your computer is capable of running Vista.

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thought that was such a good idea that it created away to do it: The process is called a slipstream instal-lation. We’ll explain how slipstreaming works, butkeep in mind that the process is complicated and notfor the faint of heart.

Slipstream Installation

Microsoft developed slipstream specifically toallow administrators or end users to create an up-to-date version of Windows, including all of the cumulative patches and updates, that could be in-stalled all at once from a bootable CD.

You can use the slipstream process to incorporatevirtually any updates, including new drivers for de-vices from third-party vendors. To demonstrate,let’s take a look at the steps involved in taking a baseversion of Windows XP Professional and slip-streaming Service Pack 2 to create an installableWindows XP SP2 CD.

Step 1: Copy the original Windows files. The firstthing you need to do is to copy the entire contentsof your original WinXP installation CD (see Figure1) to your hard drive. Create a directory, such asC:\XP, and then drag and drop the files and foldersfrom your Windows installation CD to the new di-rectory. There is a lot of data being copied, so theprocess will take several minutes (see Figure 2).

Unless you’ve been stranded on a desert is-land or living in a cave, you’re probablyaware that patches and updates are released

for Windows OSes (operating systems) on a fairlyregular basis. Microsoft has tried to consolidate thepatch releases to one day a month, issuing patchesonly on the second Tuesday of each month unlessthere is an urgent need to fix a flaw sooner than that.

Every so often, Microsoft releases an even biggerupdate to the operating system called a service pack.A service pack is almost like installing the next ver-sion of the operating system: It generally includes allof the patches and updates that have been previ-ously released, along with product enhancementsand features that expand the functionality of the OS.

While service packs are helpful and even neces-sary, they can be problematic when you need to re-install Windows. Obviously, you can use the CDthat came with your computer system to reinstallthe original OS, but that new installation will lackevery patch and update you have ever applied. Andalthough you can reacquire the necessary patches byvisiting the Windows Update site or throughWindows’ AutoUpdate function, that tends to takea very long time and your computer will be vulner-able during that process; it may not even survive toget fully patched again.

It would be helpful if the installation CD could in-clude the patches, updates, and service packs so youcould just do one install and be all set. Microsoft

SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

Update On-The-FlyStreamline Your XP Installation With Slipstream

Figure 1. Use Windows Explorer to drag and drop all of the filesfrom the Windows XP installation CD to a directory on your localhard drive.


Note that you need to make surethat you can see hidden and systemfiles in Windows Explorer. If you donot already have these viewing optionsenabled, click Windows Explorer’sTools and then Folder Options to

open the Folder Options dialog. Clickthe View tab and select the radiobutton next to Show Hidden FilesAnd Folders; uncheck the box next toHide Protected Operating System Files(Recommended).

Step 2: Acquire the Service Pack 2files. The next step is to acquire and ex-tract the SP2 (Service Pack 2) exe-cutable file. Create a directory calledC:\SP2 and download the file fromMicrosoft. You can find the file attinyurl.com/5bobl. The file is over250MB, so depending on the speed ofyour network connection, it could takequite a while to download.

After the download completes, you’llneed to extract the files from the exe-cutable to your hard drive. Click Startand Run, then browse to the C:\SP2 di-rectory (or whatever directory youchose to download the SP2 executableto). Select the WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe file and enter a space,

followed by -x in the Run dialog box(see Figure 3). The -x switch tells theexecutable to extract the files to a speci-fied directory rather than running theactual Service Pack 2 installation.

After you click OK, you’ll be askedto specify a directory to extract the filesto (see Figure 4). Choose somethingsimple that you can remember, such asC:\XPSP2, and click OK. The decom-pressed files take up around 330MB ofspace, so be sure to select a directoryon a drive with sufficient space.

The Service Pack 2 files will startextracting from the executable to thedirectory you have chosen. Again, theexecutable file is quite large, so ex-

tracting the files may take a while (seeFigure 5).

When the process is finished, you’llsee a message that says ExtractionComplete. Click OK to end the ex-traction. If you open the C:\XPSP2 di-rectory (or whatever directory youchose), you should now see that itcontains a directory called i386, whichcontains the uncompressed files fromthe SP2 executable.

Step 3: Merge XP with SP2. Younow have the files from the original

WinXP Pro CD and also have uncom-pressed the files from the SP2 exe-cutable on your hard drive; it’s timeto combine them to create the slip-stream installation package.

First, open a command line window:Click Start and Run, type cmd, andpress ENTER. In the command linewindow, type cd\ and press ENTER,followed by cd xpsp2 and ENTER, fol-lowed by cd i386 and ENTER, followedby cd update and ENTER. (These areall individual commands, so you’llpress ENTER after each one.) If youhave placed your extracted SP2 files ina directory other than C:\XPSP2, sub-stitute your own directory name in theabove steps to get there, and then go tothe Update directory found within thei386 directory.

Once you are at the Update folder,you can issue the command to com-bine the updated Service Pack 2 fileswith the original WinXP Pro installa-tion files to create the combined slip-stream installation. Type update-s:c:\xp and press ENTER. The -sswitch tells the program to perform theslipstream setup, and the informationafter the colon tells the program the di-

rectory in which it can find the originalWinXP files.

The slipstream process will take awhile, but you’ll see a dialog box with aprogress bar that let’s you know howit’s going. After the slipstream integra-tion is completed, a message will ap-pear to let you know that the process iscomplete. Click OK to finish.

SYSTEM MAINTENANCESlipstreaming

Figure 2. Even on a relatively fast and powerfulcomputer, copying the Windows XP installationfiles takes several minutes.

Figure 3. Type the file name for yourService Pack 2 executable in the Openfield of the Run dialog box, followedby -x to extract the files.

Figure 4. Once you start the SP2executable file extraction, youwill be asked to specify the directory in which to place theuncompressed files.

Figure 5. The SP2 executable ismore than 250MB and expands toabout 330MB when uncompressed,so extracting the files will takesome time.

Figure 6. To run the slipstream update, use acommand prompt window to navigate to the\i386\update folder in the directory to whichyou extracted the SP2 files.


Step 4: Make the installationbootable. This is one of the trickieststeps, and one that many people miss.It’s frustrating to go through all ofthis trouble to create a WinXP instal-lation disc only to find out that it isnot bootable. While you may be ableto initiate an installation from withina functioning OS by manually kickingit off from the CD, an unbootable CDwill not be any help if your system isinoperable and you need to boot tothe CD to initiate the installation.

In order for the CD to be recognizedas bootable, it must contain theMicrosoft Corporation.img file, whichis hidden and cannot be copied bynormal means. Both Paul Thurrott’sSuperSite For Windows (www.winsu-persite.com) and The Elder Geek OnWindows XP (www.theeldergeek.com)recommend using a shareware toolcalled ISOBuster to prepare a bootableslipstream CD. You can download thistool from the IsoBuster Web site atwww.isobuster.com.

Place your original WinXP Pro in-stallation CD in your CD drive andrun ISOBuster. In the ISOBuster con-sole, select Bootable CD from the op-tions in the left pane (see Figure 8).Then right-click the MicrosoftCorporation.img file in the right paneand choose the Extract MicrosoftCorporation.img option. Whenasked, direct ISOBuster to extract thefile to the root of your C: drive.

Armed with the file you need tomake your slipstream installationbootable and the combined files ofyour slipstream installation package,you can now create a bootable CD ofyour WinXP Pro OS. The new CDwill include Service Pack 2.

The actual steps taken to burn theCD will depend upon the type of CD-burning software you use. Consultyour burning application’s help filesor users manual for directions onburning an ISO CD image. (Also PaulThurrott has very detailed instruc-tions on his site to help you if you

happen to be using Nero BurningROM 6 or Easy CD Creator as yourburning application.)

Now that you have combined theoriginal WinXP Pro installation withthe Service Pack 2 updates andburned it onto a bootable CD, you’reready to install the operating system.Assuming that your system is set toboot from a CD-ROM, the easiestway to start the installation of yourslipstreamed WinXP SP2 OS is simplyto boot your computer using the newslipstream installation CD. From thatpoint, just follow the onscreen in-structions, as you would with anyother WinXP installation.

Reactivating Windows

Keep in mind that the reinstalledWindows operating system has to be

activated within 30 days of installa-tion or it will cease functioning.

As long as the actual computerhardware you are installing it on is thesame, the automated activationprocess over an Internet connectionshould work just fine. However, if youdo change hardware you’ll need to ac-tivate over the telephone, a simpleenough process: An icon will appearin the system tray at the lower right ofthe screen with a pop-up alert lettingyou know how many days you haveremaining to connect. Click the iconto go to the Windows Activationscreen and then select Yes, I Want To Telephone A Customer ServiceRepresentative To Activate WindowsNow. Click Next and follow the direc-tions provided to activate your copy ofWindows by phone.

Slipstreaming: Is It Worth The Trouble?

Considering how infrequently youprobably reinstall your operatingsystem, the slipstream installationprocess may be a bit too complex ortechnical for the average home user.Don Jones, a Microsoft MVP and con-tributing editor to MCP Magazine,says, “It’s mainly a corporate feature.Home users would usually just installthe service pack.” He adds, “MostMCSE’s [Microsoft Certified SystemsEngineers] learn to do this properly; itisn’t intended for a home audience. It’snot even especially a timesaver ifyou’re just doing one install; it’s in-tended for hundreds. It’s a very poorrecovery mechanism compared toother techniques (like drive imaging).”

Still, it can be risky to install an OSand then attempt to download all of thenecessary patches and updates. Thereare so many exploits circulating thatyou are virtually assured of having yoursystem infected or compromised insome way before you can get it secured.Unless you have all of the updates onCDs, a slipstream installation is some-thing a more technologically savvy usermight want to consider.

BBYY TTOONNYY BBRRAADDLLEEYY

SYSTEM MAINTENANCESlipstreaming

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Figure 7. When you run Update.exe with the-s switch, it kicks off the slipstream integration process to combine the new andupdated SP2 files with the original WindowsXP installation files.

Figure 8. To make a CD image that will bebootable once it’s burned to a disc, in theISOBuster console, choose Bootable CD in theleft pane, then right-click the MicrosoftCorporation.img file to extract it.


Whew! You’ve finally fin-ished reinstalling WindowsXP, and now you’re ready

to configure your personal settings,load the data you backed up from yourold installation, and do some Websurfing and send email. Err, not so fast.You still need to reactivate your copyof Windows first.

Just as after you install a freshWindows version, you’ll notice after areinstallation a notification in theSystem Tray reminding you to acti-vate Windows. Doing this shouldonly require placing a toll-free phonecall to Microsoft or using an Internetconnection, the Activate WindowsWizard, and a few mouse clicks. We’lldetail the exact instructions for reacti-vating WinXP, but first we’ll addresswhy it’s even necessary.

The Act Of Activation

You’ll need to reactivate WinXP ifyou’ve reinstalled it on the same com-puter but reformatted your hard drivewhile doing so. Reformatting a driveremoves all data, including WinXP’sactivation status. If you didn’t re-format the drive during reinstallation,WinXP should remain activated, andyou shouldn’t need to reactivate it.

Piracy costs Microsoft millions inrevenue every year, and activation isone method of combating this. Notreactivating WinXP will eventually re-sult in your system not being fullyfunctional. Microsoft allows 30 daysfrom the first boot to reactivate andpops up reminders intermittentlyduring use until you do.

Reactivating Windows XP involvesMicrosoft using the same WinXPproduct key you must enter during re-installation to create an installation IDnumber for your PC. After Microsoftreceives this ID via the phone orInternet, it sends back a confirmationID to your system to unlock and acti-vate WinXP. Remember that if youchange enough hardware later, you’llalter the profile and you may need toreactivate Windows yet again. You’llalso need to reactivate WinXP if youmove your WinXP configuration froman old PC to a new one.

Reactivation Instructions

The easiest way to reactivate WinXPis to use an Internet connection, butsome experts suggest downloading andinstalling any high-priority updatesfirst. Next, double-click the activationnotification icon in the System Tray toopen the Activate Windows Wizard.Alternatively, you can click Start, AllPrograms, Accessories, System Tools,and Activate Windows.

If you’re using an Internet connec-tion, you can click Yes, Let’s ActivateWindows Over The Internet Now.Click Next and then No, I Don’tWant To Register Now; Let’s JustActivate Windows. Click Next againand the wizard attempts to establishan Internet connection to submityour activation data. If everythinggoes well, you’ll see a You HaveSuccessfully Activated Your Copy OfWindows message. Click OK to finishthe process.

You can also activate via phone byclicking Yes, I Want To Telephone ACustomer Service Representative ToActivate Windows Now. Click Nextand Windows provides instructions.This involves placing a toll-free call toMicrosoft and reading the installationID that displays on your monitor to aMicrosoft customer service rep. Therep will read back a confirmation ID,which you’ll enter in a field to activateyour copy of WinXP.


SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

WindowsPowers, Activate!Reactivate Your Operating System

Additional Activation Resources

WWhen Microsoft introduced its activation program, many experts and users

greeted it with suspicion and resistance. Because of that negative reaction,

Microsoft provides much activation information, including:

•• a video demo;

see www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/evaluation/features/activation.mspx

•• a Web page titled “Myths Of Product Information”;

see www.microsoft.com/piracy/activation_myths.mspx

•• a page titled “Windows XP Product Activation Information”;

see www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/evaluation/features/activation.mspx;

support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307890&sd=techh

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By the time you’re finished re-installing your OS (operatingsystem), you’re probably anx-

ious to use your PC. However, Win-dows is an unsympathetic taskmasterand will repeatedly interrupt your gameor spreadsheet by prompting you to up-date your system. In reality, it’s in yourbest interest to do so because updatesand patches fix problems in Windowscode and yield a more compatible,functional, and secure OS. For instance,a Windows’ service pack is a continualenhancement to an OS’s code; updatingto the most recently released servicepack is important if you wish to avoidsecurity vulnerabilities.

It may take some time (yes, moresitting and waiting) to download andinstall the newest patches, but yourresponsibilities are minimal and pri-marily consist of clicking Next orInstall through the Windows UpdateWeb site. If you choose to update viaan Express Install or AutomaticUpdates, Windows can download and

install the patches withalmost no interventionon your part. In fact,while your computeris updating, why notlearn a bit more aboutmaintaining your PCby reading other arti-cles in this section?

One Stop Shop

Windows Update(windowsupdate.microsoft.com) has allthe patches, updates,

hotfixes, and service packs you’ll need,no matter which version of Windowsyou’re running. When you first visitthe Windows Update Web site, it willscan your computer to determine ifthe latest version of Windows Updateris installed. Since you’ve just wipedyour system, you won’t have it, buttrust us: There’s no easier or quickerway to update your OS. (Keep in mindthat Microsoft no longer supportsWindows 98. Previously-released up-dates for that OS should remain avail-able, but there will be no more newupdates for Win98.)

Once Windows Update is installed,it presents two ways to update yourcomputer: Express Install or CustomInstall. Express Install bundles togetherthe updates Windows recommends todownload in one installation and callsthem High Priority updates.(Microsoft’s site defines High Priorityupdates as “Critical updates, securityupdates, service packs, and updaterollups that should be installed as soon

as they become available and beforeyou install any other updates.”) Thedownside to Express Install is that itdelivers only High Priority updates.Custom Install, on the other hand, dis-plays every possible update; it’s yourresponsibility to individually select theones you feel you need. Once you selecta patch or group of patches throughCustom Install, Windows Update willdownload and install them. Once youclick either installation option,Windows Update will scan your com-puter, determine your OS, and providea list of updates.

First In Line

Regardless of whether you selectExpress or Custom Install, WindowsUpdate will suggest that you begin theupdate process by downloading yourOS’s newest service pack. A servicepack combines an OS’s most impor-tant security patches, bug fixes, andcorrected user problems into one(often very large) cumulative update.For example, Windows XP’s SP2(Service Pack 2) contains every up-date in SP1 (Service Pack 1) and keypatches and hotfixes released afterSP1. Note that a service pack is astandalone installation; you won’t beable to download other updates whilea service pack installs. Consequently,WinXP users should begin the up-date process by installing SP2 andWin2000 users with SP4. No servicepack is available for WinMe users, butthey should download the appro-priate high-priority patches.

From beginning to end, the updateprocess is guided by a utility called theWindows Updater. Click the Installbutton and Windows Update willdownload and install the patches (inthis case the service pack) either you orExpress Install selected. You’ll need to accept a EULA (End User LicenseAgreement) and if you’re using Win-XP, the Windows XP Service Pack 2Wizard will take over and finish in-stalling SP2. (Our test PCs took any-where from 36 minutes to a little over

SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

Install Updates& PatchesUpdate To Improve Your Computer’s Security & Stability


an hour to install SP2.)Occasionally Windows willprompt you to restart aftercertain updates, and this willbe the case after a service packfinishes installing. You’ll thenneed to restart, becauseWindows Update won’t listany further updates untilafter the service pack featurestake effect.

Get Current

A service pack addressesmany security and stability is-sues; however, Microsoft iscontinually releasing patchesand fixes that repair new vul-nerabilities found in the OS. After youinstall the service pack and then reboot,return to the Windows Update Website and download the Highest Priorityupdates and patches. You’ll need to re-select Express or Custom Install, letWindows Update scan your computer,choose your updates (or let Expresschoose them), and click the Installbutton. After these updates finish in-stalling, don’t assume that the entireupdate process is finished. Some HighPriority patches are not available untilafter a particular update is installed, soyou’ll need to reboot and then revisitthe Windows Update Web site onceagain. If you’re interested in choosingyour own updates, click Custom Installand decide if the descriptions of theoptional updates apply to your com-puter’s components. An optional up-date usually provides a fix associatedwith specific hardware or software, andMicrosoft advises users to install an op-tional update only if they’re experi-encing a problem.

Automate Your Update

Despite what science fiction movieswould lead you to believe, lettingWindows automatically update itselfwill not result in a desolate future inwhich computers control us. AutomaticUpdates is merely a Windows program

that can check for available updates aswell as download and install them. Ifyou’d rather not be involved in theprocess, you can configure AutomaticUpdates to do everything but restartyour computer. Automatic Updates isonly available for WinXP, Windows2000, and Windows Me.

Windows’ default setting for Auto-matic Updates is Off, so you’ll need toenable it and set your preferences for it to work. WinXP users can configureAutomatic Updates by right-clickingMy Computer and then selectingProperties. Click the Automatic Up-dates tab and choose the radio buttonnext to the most suitable AutomaticUpdate arrangement. If you wantAutomatic Updates to download andinstall updates, select Automatic(Recommended). You could also letAutomatic Updates download thepatches and notify you that they’reready to be installed, or simply alertyou when new updates are available to be downloaded. Click OK to save your preferences.

When Updates Go Bad

Although Microsoft tests updatesbefore releasing them, the many thousands of possible system config-urations make it impossible to test every one. Occasionally a patch, hotfix,

update, or service pack mayconflict with a component inyour system. To restore yourcomputer to its previousworking condition, most up-dates let you uninstall aproblem update via Add OrRemove Programs (but someupdates, such as WindowsDefender, are not removable).

If you’re not sure which up-dates you’ve installed, you can visit the Windows Up-date Web site and click Re-view Your Update History. Your update history can help you determine which updatemight have caused a problem.Click a link in an update’s title

to see a description of the issue an up-date addresses. Once you determine theupdate causing the problem, note itsKnowledge Base number (such asKB899591), because that number willbe listed in the name of the update inthe Add Or Remove Programs window.If you don’t see any updates listed whenyou open Add Or Remove Programs,don’t worry—just click the ShowUpdates checkbox in the upper portionof the Add Or Remove Programswindow. The updates will be listedunder Windows Software Updates, andyou can click the Remove button touninstall the patch.

Microsoft recommends that you in-stall the newest service pack for yourOS as soon as possible—especially ifyou’re concerned about malicious in-trusion. Obviously, security patches arealso important to patch vulnerabilitiesin your computer’s security. But by nomeans do you need to immediately in-stall every Windows update. Unlessyou’re experiencing a problem, feel freeto download other updates as time per-mits. In the meantime, take comfort inthe knowledge that your newly-rein-stalled OS is functioning at both max-imum capability and security.

BBYY NNAATTHHAANN LLAAKKEE

SYSTEM MAINTENANCEInstall Updates & Patches

RS

You can update Windows Media Player through Windows Update byclicking Custom Install and selecting Software, Optional on the lefthand side of the Windows Update Web site.


You may religiously back upyour hard drive every Sundayand repair your neighbors’

computers for free, but despite thosenoble efforts you could still end up inwhat techies call DLL Hell. Althoughthere’s no fire and brimstone in theDLL (Dynamic Link Library) versionof hell, it’s still agonizing—a singleout-of-date or improperly modifiedDLL can cause applications to closeunexpectedly or become unstable.Worse yet, problematic DLL files canaffect multiple applications becausethey’re often shared by many pro-grams. For example, when an applica-tion opens a dialog box, it often runsthe Comdlg32.DLL library file locatedin Windows’ System32 folder. Bystoring only one (shared) copy of a library file, Windows runs more effi-ciently; however, this means that a badDLL file can cause errors in all appli-cations that use the problem DLL.

Although DLL corruption doesn’thappen often, you can unwittingly altera library file—or change applications’access to it—when you reinstall, unin-stall, or update an application. Errormessages such as “Cannot StartProgram, <NameOfFile.extension> ismissing” or “Error Loading C:\<filepath>\NameOfFile.extension” are indi-cations the file in question has beendeleted, copied over, or improperlymodified. The best treatment for thesesymptoms is to replace and/or rereg-ister the library file listed in the errormessage. Registering a DLL file makes itavailable to any Windows program that

uses it and repairs errors by recon-necting the file to those applications.

Know Your Library Code

While the most common library filesend with the DLL file extension, the fileextensions OCX (OLE [Object LinkingAnd Embedding] Control Extension),CPL (files that manage Control Panelfunctions such as mouse movement,user account settings, and the Add OrRemove Programs feature), DRV (de-vice driver files), and EXE (executablefiles) may also denote shared resourcesthat can be registered. As long as thefile itself is not damaged, you can oftencorrect a problem on your computersimply by registering it.

Library Registration

Before you can register a file, youshould first search your computer tosee if the file listed in an error messagehas been deleted. You’ll need to replaceand register a deleted file or reregisteran inaccessible file. If you don’t knowexactly where the file resides, you canfind it by using Windows’ Search func-tion. In Windows XP, open the Startmenu, click Search, and then select ForFiles Or Folders. Click All Files AndFolders, enter the file name, and clickSearch. If the file exists, note its loca-tion; you’ll enter it when you registerthe file. A typical file path might beC:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Shell32.dll.If the file has been deleted, you can ei-ther replace the file with a version lo-

cated on your Windows installationdisc or you can use a download sitesuch as www.DLL-Downloads.com toretrieve an up-to-date copy of themissing file.

Once you’ve located the file, it’stime to register it. To do so, click theStart button and select Run. In theOpen field type regsvr32 <filepath>\NameOfFile.extension andthen click OK. For example, if youwanted to register the file calledShell32.dll, you’d type regsvr32C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\Shell32.DLL and then click OK. If the file reg-isters successfully, you’ll see a message informing you that the registration was successful. (Note that not every library file is designed to be regis-tered. For example, if you attempt toregister Outlook Express’s Msoeres.DLL file, a dialog box will indicatethat the file was found and loaded butthat a DLLRegisterSever entry pointcannot be found. You may need touninstall and then reinstall a problemapplication to resolve library files thatcannot be registered.)

Note that EXE files are registereddifferently than other library files.Open the Start menu, select Run, andthen enter “<file path>\NameOfFile.exe” /regserver. When using Regserverto register an EXE file, you need to in-clude the quotation marks at the begin-ning and end of the file path. For

SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

Register DLLs &Other FilesRegister The Appropriate DLL File To RepairUnstable Applications


instance, to register Internet Explorer’sEXE file, you would type “C:\ProgramFiles\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe”/regserver and then click OK. (Keep inmind that there is no space between thefinal forward-slash and the “r” in“regserver.”) When registering an EXEfile you won’t see a message that theregistration was successful. Some appli-cations do nothing when registered,while others open upon success. If anEXE file cannot be registered, Windowswill display an error message.

Assess Your Situation

Although you don’t see them in ac-tion, library files are being run almostevery time you open an application or perform a common computer task. If you can recognize the functioncausing the problem, you may be able to determine which library file is at fault. For example, Shell32.dll contains routines that open applica-tions and Web pages; if Shell32.dll is deleted or becomes corrupt, youwon’t be able to open most applica-tions or Web pages. Also, if a specificWindows task is not functional, youmight be able to enter your probleminto a search engine and find the ap-propriate DLL to register. You canalso get more information about a li-brary file through WindowsExplorer by browsing theDLLs in your System 32folder. To do so, right-click aDLL file, select Properties,and click the Version tab.You’ll see the name of thecompany that published theDLL plus information aboutthe file’s version number andinternal name; the descrip-tion will often provide cluesas to the primary purpose ofthe DLL.

OCX files are, in effect, library files that each con-trol a custom ActiveX func-tion. They’re primarily part of interactive Internet con-tent such as Web animations

or multimedia video and music on aWeb site. A single unresponsive Webpage shouldn’t cause you to searchyour computer for missing or unregis-tered OCX files, but if you routinelyhave problems you can register anOCX file just as you would a DLL. Forexample, a missing ActiveX controlsuch as Hhctrl.ocx will result in unre-sponsive, even though theoretically hy-perlinked, table of contents in anapplication such as Microsoft Word.Although many factors could cause aninactive hyperlink, you should registerHhctrl.ocx if an application has a con-sistent problem opening a table of con-tent’s hyperlinks. If you register a fileand the errors continue, the file may becorrupt. For example, CPL files aresometimes targeted by viruses becauseControl Panel functions are respon-sible for key Windows tasks. If youcan’t open Add Or Remove Programs,registering the file Appwiz.cpl may re-solve your problem. Keep in mind,though, that a corrupt version ofAppwiz.cpl (or some other library file)can be appropriately registered and stillnot function correctly.

Precautionary Measures

Microsoft recommends that you always uninstall programs via Add

Or Remove Programs in the ControlPanel. That’s good advice, because AddOr Remove Programs identifies libraryfiles that are shared among multipleprograms. In fact, during an uninstalla-tion, you’ve probably had Windowsask if it should remove a shared re-source; the resource to which it’s refer-ring is very often a library file. DLL andOCX files are often removed in thisfashion but normally it won’t hurt tokeep the shared resource.

We’ve mentioned that updatingsoftware can corrupt library files, butthis can also be a way to fix a libraryfile problem, and the benefits of up-dating far outweigh the possibility thata DLL will be damaged during the up-date. Just keep in mind that the bestway to avoid DLL corruption is to al-ways update your software from theoriginal equipment manufacturer’sWeb site.

Even if you aren’t sure that a certainDLL is missing or corrupt, it doesn’thurt to reregister a library file. If an ap-plication has become unstable, com-pare the DLLs on an application’sinstallation disc to the DLLs in an appli-cation’s designated hard drive folder.You’ll need to both copy and registerany missing files. If no files are missing,it’d be wise to register an application’sDLLs before you perform a Windows

Restore. (If you haven’t set aSystem Restore point in awhile, you might remove newerapplications from the Add OrRemove Programs list, whichcould cause problems later).

Registering a file is not acure-all, but it does present aquick, risk-free way to repairproblems occurring in mul-tiple Windows applications.As an added bonus, after yourepair a friend’s or neighbor’scomputer, you can impresshim by saying you saved hiscomputer from DLL Hell.

BBYY NNAATTHHAANN LLAAKKEE

SYSTEM MAINTENANCERegister DLL & Other Files

RSYou can view the DLL (Dynamic Link Library) files shared on yourcomputer by browsing HKEY_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Shared in the Registry. Be carefulwhen using the Registry Editor, because one mistake couldcompletely disable your system.


Unless you’re baking a potato,excessive heat inside your PCis not a good thing. Not only

can it lead to faulty system perfor-mance and possible data loss, but heatalso can permanently damage systemcomponents, especially the mother-board to which most PC componentsconnect in some manner. If extremeheat fries the motherboard’s circuitry,your system’s other components cantake a dive, as well.

Computer builders have been bat-tling heat since almost Day 1. For allthe advancements researchers and de-velopers constantly make toward get-ting CPUs and other devices to runfaster, the more heat is seemingly pro-duced as a byproduct. After all, agreat deal of circuitry and power is atwork in even a standard PC, not tomention a high-end system possiblystacked with dual graphics cards, adual-core CPU, a 600-watt powersupply, multiple 100GB hard drives,several sticks of RAM, and more, allrunning in a stuffy aluminum box.

Fortunately, many products that helpkeep temperatures at safe levels areavailable, and there are also preventivesteps you can take to help maintainyour PC’s health, most of which don’trequire much money, computer knowl-edge, or time. We’ll describe some ofthese, plus some advanced methods formonitoring system temperatures andcomponents’ performance.

It’s Getting Hot In Here

Look around the room your PC isin. Nothing out of the ordinary, right?

Where your PC is concerned, however,there’s plenty happening. Dust, smoke,pet hair, bugs, and other airbornegrime is finding its way into your com-puter and contributing to heat buildingup. This happens for a few reasons, in-cluding the static electricity that PCcomponents generate attracting dust.The fans in your computer, rangingfrom 80 to 120mm in size, also draw in dust.

Your PC should have at least oneintake and one outtake fan, but theremay be another on a side panel oralong the case’s top interior. The in-take fan is usually positioned nearthe case’s bottom front behind a ventor grille and pulls in cool air fromthe outside, moving it across the sys-tem’s interior. The outtake fan, usu-ally at the case’s upper rear, pusheswarm air out. Together, these fanscreate an important airflow thatcools the system’s components.

This airflow also carries dust anddebris that collects on vents, grilles,fan blades, components, the mother-board, card slots, and more. The moredust there is, the less air that flowsthrough the system. Too much duston the fan blades, for example, causesthem to rotate slower, moving lessheat out. Some cases also have a filterbetween the front panel and intake fanto block dust, but if it becomes toodirty, it can also impede airflow.

Your system’s PSU (power supplyunit), which provides power to variouscomponents, also has a fan, as do mostgraphic cards and heatsinks, which arecopper- or aluminum-based devices sit-ting on the CPU to dispel heat from it.

A PSU’s fan usually draws air from theinterior and expels it out. Some olderPSU fans, however, work in reverse,blowing warm air into the PC. Beyondraising system temps, this disrupts thepositive airflow from the intake andouttake fans. If your PSU blows air inrather than out, consider replacing it.

While maintaining airflow is one ofthe most important factors in reducingsystem heat, bad cable and wire man-agement can also impede airflow. If thecables and wires inside your system arehaphazardly organized, they’ll block airand trap dust that will eventually settleon the motherboard and the compo-nents connected to it, including RAMmodules and PCI (Peripheral Compo-nent Interconnect) and graphics cards.Enough dust and heat can cause sys-tem errors, crashes, and data loss.Fortunately, good cable/wire manage-ment and some cleaning of systemfans, filters, and components aren’t dif-ficult or expensive. The following de-scribes some various approaches.

Clean It Up

Although we’ll stick to basic cleaningtechniques that users of any skill levelcan do, it doesn’t hurt to know moreabout advanced options, which can bemore expensive and complicated buttypically produce better results. Thesemethods are usually better for ad-vanced users who consistently performmore intensive tasks that require pow-erful, heat-generating hardware.

Too Hot ToHandleA System Full Of Heat Means It’s Time To Clean

SYSTEM MAINTENANCE


Some of these advanced approachesinclude watercooling or liquid-coolingkits, which use liquid, waterblocks, ra-diators, reservoirs, and pumps to dissi-pate heat; phase-change cooling, whichuses a compressor-style approach(think of a freezer); heatpipe and air duct systems; and peltier, or ther-moelectric, cooling systems. Othermethods include installing a blowholein a case’s top, hard drive coolers, andheatsinks on chipsets and RAM mod-ules. Obviously, some of these methodshave risks, such as water leakage andcondensation forming inside thesystem. Beyond hardware, many moth-erboard manufacturers integrate utili-ties into the board’s BIOS (Basic Input/

Output System) for monitoring systemtemps. When such a utility senses aCPU’s temp is too high, for example, itmay adjust the fan speeds accordingly,scale back the CPU’s speed, or shut thesystem down entirely.

Many advanced options involve re-moving and installing components, en-tering the BIOS, and other tasks somenovices shy away from. For these users,faithfully performing a few basic main-tenance steps should help maintaintheir systems. Many only require a canof compressed air, an antistatic wristwrap, microfiber cloths, cotton swabs,isopropyl alcohol, a Phillips screw-driver, and possibly a vacuum cleaner.To organize the system’s cables and

wires, nylon ties, double-sided tape, tiemounts, and Velcro straps are good,cheap options that are all available atmost electronic stores.

Before you begin, turn the system’spower off and unplug the main powercord. You may also want to discon-nect the mouse and keyboard cordsand other cables from the back of thePC if there is heavy dust present.You’ll need to remove at least oneside panel from the case (both, if pos-sible) using a screwdriver if needed.The antistatic wrist strap will help dis-charge the electricity that’s built up in the PC. If you don’t have one,touching a metal portion of the caseshould discharge built-up electricity.

Vents, grilles, and fans. Dependingon how dirty the PC’s interior is, usinga microfiber cloth first is a good idea.Microfiber cloths are typically less than$10 and are sold at most hardware,electronics, and grocery stores. Thecloths have thousands of tiny pocketsthat trap dirt as you wipe them.They’re also good for cleaning somemonitor screens, but they probablywon’t be enough alone to clean all thedirt from your system’s interior.

To get most of the dust out, a can ofcompressed air works great. Com-pressed air cans are just a few dollarseach, readily available, and also workwell for cleaning keyboards. Inside thecase, use short bursts of air to blow thedebris from the inside out toward thevents and grilles. Moving from top tobottom, hold the can several inches

SYSTEM MAINTENANCEHeat & Your PC

Tips For Replacing A CPU Heatsink

TThe CPU is probably a PC’s most im-

portant component, but open your

case and you probably can’t even see it.

That’s because a heatsink covers it.

Heatsinks are cooling devices usually con-

sisting of an aluminum or copper block,

heat-dissipating fins extruding from it,

and a fan. As a CPU operates, it generates

heat. The heatsink’s

block passes this heat to

the fins, which the fan

then pushes away. Most

prebuilt systems include

a heatsink, but if you’re

replacing a CPU, you’ll

need to uninstall and

reinstall the heatsink if

you’re using the same

one or install a new

one completely.

When you remove

the CPU, you should

see a grayish goo on the

heatsink’s bottom. This

is tthheerrmmaall ppaassttee, or thermal grease, a

thermal conductive material applied be-

tween the CPU and heatsink’s block.

Without this paste, CPU temps would

soar and likely cause permanent damage.

When installing a heatsink, it’s best to

follow the manufacturer’s directions, but

some general guidelines do apply. First,

back up your system’s data, unplug the

power cord, and discharge any static

electricity from the system’s interior.

Unplug the heatsink’s fan cable from the

motherboard and remove the heatsink.

If you’re using the same heatsink, remove

as much thermal paste residue as pos-

sible using isopropyl alcohol and a lint-

free cloth. After

installing the new CPU,

place a pebble-sized

dab of thermal paste

on the CPU’s surface

and use the edge of a

credit card or razor

blade to spread the

paste evenly, cleaning

away any excess. The

paste will fill the small

gaps between the CPU

and heatsink’s surfaces.

Install the new or old

heatsink following the

manufacturer’s instruc-

tions and plug in the fan cable. You

should now be set.

Arctic Silver (www.arcticsilver.com),

Cooler Master (www.coolermaster.com),

and Thermaltake (www.thermaltake

.com) all make quality thermal paste

(usually $5 to $20) using silver, aluminum

oxide, and other materials. ❙

Without a heatsink, such as thismassive Big Typhoon VX modelfrom Thermaltake, your CPU’soperating temperatures will riseto dangerous levels that canlead to permanent damage.

If you haven’t cleaned your system’s interiorrecently or you’re cleaning it for the first time,expect a lot of dust to fly.


from any components to prevent con-densation from forming. If you’recleaning the case for the first time, beprepared for a lot of dust to fill the air.You may want to take the PC to thegarage or outdoors. You can use avacuum extension to suck up the dustas you blow it out, but never place theextension directly on a component, asthe static electricity it generates candamage your system. Additionally,don’t blow compressed air directly intoa CD, DVD, or floppy diskette drive.Once you’re finished, reconnect thecords, turn the system on, and spraythe fans while they’re moving to re-move any remaining dust.

Cable and wires. Organizing yoursystem’s cables and wires will go along way to creating better airflowand removing heat. This will also

make the interior more attractive andreduce the amount of noise and vi-brations that loose cables and wirescan create. The most unruly cablesand wires are those leading from thePSU and the flat IDE (IntegratedDrive Electronics) cables that connecthard drives, optical drives, and floppydrives to the motherboard. Someusers replace these flat, wide cableswith rounded ones, which are moreexpensive but block far less air. If thisisn’t an option, try folding the cablesin right angles, routing them up andoff the motherboard and out andaway from the drives. Using double-side tape to secure the cables to thecase’s sides is another good option.

To corral the PSU’s wires, manycustom builders and advanced users usesleeves or sheathing, which are attrac-tive and efficient but probably not fornovices, as they usually require re-moving pins from the PSU’s Molex andATX (Advanced Technology Extended)power adapters to fit over the wires.Instead, you can use rubber bands ornylon ties about every 2 inches tobundle several individual wires togetherinto one, tighter mass. About $5 will getyou a couple dozen ties, which can alsoreduce the clutter the wires runningfrom the case’s front panel create.Adhesive tie mounts placed on thecase’s side can also lift wires away fromthe motherboard and other compo-nents. Once you’ve finished routing thewires and cables, check their connec-tions to make sure none came loose.

While rerouting the cables andwires, check the location of yourdrives, which can also impede airflow.If a drive is too far from the PSU, youwon’t be able to route the cables out ofthe way as easily. Generally, properlyplacing your drives to create good air-flow requires some trial and error, butallowing for about a half-inch of spacebetween drives is recommended.

The Finishing Touches

Once the interior is clean andsquared away, use cotton swabs and

isopropyl alcohol to clean the exte-rior vents and grilles, but don’t sat-urate any ports or connectors withalcohol. Also, consider the place-ment of the computer in your room.If possible, avoid putting the PCunder a desk where dissipating hotair is more difficult. If the room hashigh traffic and lots of pet hair,dust, dirt, or smoke, consider usinganother room.

In general, performing these stepsthree or four times a year should help keep your PC operating safely.Initially, you may want to check thesystem weekly to determine howquickly dust is building up and howoften you’ll need to clean it.


SYSTEM MAINTENANCEHeat & Your PC

Use Thermostats

II n recent years, more-advanced

PC users have started using dig-

ital thermal controllers and probes

to monitor and regulate their sys-

tem’s fan speeds and temperatures.

Installing these controllers is usu-

ally as simple as inserting one into

an empty 3.5- or 5.25-inch drive

bay, plugging it into a 4-pin Molex

connector from the PSU (power

supply unit), and installing related

software. Many controllers, such as

the Macpower DigitalDoc5 (www

.macpower.com.tw) model we

used, include multiple temperature

probes you mount near or on a

component. Probes generally come

in flat and bulb styles. Flat probes

are better for getting direct temp

readings and for use in tight spaces.

Many units, such as Sunbeam’s

DTC-3.5 Digital Thermal Controller

(www.sunbeamtech.com), let you

adjust fan speeds via knobs on the

controller’s front, plus give warn-

ings if a fan isn’t operating or

operating at too low of a level.

Depending on the features,

thermal/fan controllers can start

at as low as $10. ❙

When using a can of compressed air to clean yoursystem’s fan blades, vents, and grilles, start fromthe top of the case and move toward the bottom.

Modular power supplies, such as this Ultra X2-Connect, can clear up a lot of space inside asystem and create better airflow because theylet you plug in only the power wires you need.

RS


Of all the hardware compo-nents that make up a PC, thehard drive probably requires

the most ongoing maintenance. How-ever, many computer users are oftenlax about providing it. That’s a mis-take. A typical hard drive filled with25GB of digital content most likelycontains 70,000 to 80,000 individualfiles. The integrity of each and everyone of those files depends on the in-tegrity of the drive as a whole.

Three For Free

You can maintain a healthy harddrive with minimal effort and at nocost. All you need are three drivemaintenance utilities that come bun-dled with Windows: Disk Cleanup,Check Disk (known as ScanDisk inprevious versions of Windows), andDisk Defragmenter. Each of thesehandy utilities performs a unique ser-vice for the drive, ensuring that it con-tinues operating as it should and thatevery file on the drive—make thatevery individual bit of data on thedrive—is accounted for and in itsrightful place. This is an important job.If even one bit fails, you could lose ac-cess to a favorite digital snapshot, to-morrow’s homework assignment, thesales presentation for that big clientyou’re trying to land, or—in a worst-case scenario—Windows itself.

Disk Cleanup. Believe it or not, thefirst IBM PC to reach the market in1981 did not include a hard drive aspart of its standard configuration (harddrives were available as an option).IBM added hard drives as standard

equipment to its second-generationmachines, but those drives had ameasly 20MB maximum capacity.

With such limited storage space,users had to exercise great discretionwhen choosing the programs and filesthey wanted to save on their com-puters. The rationing of storage spacewas a common practice among activecomputer users for the next 15 years orso, until popularly priced multigigabytedrives reached the market in the late1990s. Ever since, users have felt littlecompulsion to restrict the amount ofcontent they add to their PCs. They filltheir drives with downloadable soft-ware they never use, audio files theynever listen to, and whatever other un-necessary content catches their fancy.

What’s wrong with that? In a cer-tain sense, nothing at all. Drives weredesigned to be filled with data and canfunction just as well at 80% capacityas at 20% capacity. Nevertheless, theaccumulation of extraneous content

tends to have a negative affect on driveefficiency and performance.

How? Consider the process ofbuying a hotdog and a soda from aconcession stand at a football game.Imagine how easy it would be for youto do so an hour before the gamewhen the stadium is mostly emptyand the concessionaires are waitinganxiously for fans to arrive. Now,imagine how different the situationwould be if you tried to get yoursnacks at halftime when the stadiumis a sea of body-painted humanity andthe lines for refreshments are evenlonger than the lines to the restrooms.It’s a similar situation with a harddrive. Every piece of information con-tained on a drive has a dedicated ad-dress so Windows knows where it is atall times. Windows can access and re-trieve your content quite easily whenyour data consumes only a fraction ofthe drive’s capacity. But it takes mea-surably longer for Windows to access

DriveMaintenanceOn The Road To Peak Performance

SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

Disk Cleanup automatically removes large blocks ofunnecessary files from your system. We recommendeliminating whatever Disk Cleanup selects by default.

In addition to helping you remove installed programsand Windows components,Disk Cleanup lets you eliminate old SystemRestore points. We adviseagainst this, as you neverknow when you might needto revert to an earlier system configuration.


that same content if the OS (oper-ating system) first has to sort throughpiles of temporary files, orphanedfolders, and other superfluous data.

The Disk Cleanup utility in Win-dows can help you eliminate the unnec-essary code that litters your hard drive.To access the utility in Windows XPHome, open the Start menu and selectAll Programs (Programs in Windows98/Me), Accessories, and System Tools.Click Disk Cleanup and wait for theutility to open. Open the Disk Cleanuptab of the resulting dialog box. Youhave the option of selecting various filetypes for removal, including Down-loaded Program Files, which are files as-sociated with the Java and ActiveXprograms that run automatically whenyou view particular Web pages; Tem-porary Internet Files, which are copiesof Web pages you recently visited;Recycle Bin, which contains recentlydeleted files; and Temporary Files,which are files that keep track ofchanges made to open documents. Youcan safely select and delete all of thesefiles. You also have the option to com-press old files. By selecting this option,you give Disk Cleanup permission tocompress files that you haven’t recentlyaccessed. The files remain on your PCbut consume less storage space. We rec-ommend choosing this option everytime you use Disk Cleanup.

After making your selections, clickOK and then click Yes to remove thefiles from your PC. A progress indicatormay appear and track the progress ofthe cleanup. The utility closes automati-cally when the cleanup is complete.

Now access Disk Cleanup again.Open the More Options tab when theDisk Cleanup dialog box appears.Under Installed Programs, click theClean Up button to access the Add OrRemove Programs utility. Review thelist of currently installed programsand remove any title you no longeruse. Reboot your system and repeatuntil you have eliminated all unusedsoftware. Next, return to the MoreOptions page of the Disk Cleanuputility. Under Windows Components,

click the Clean Up button to launchthe Windows Component Wizard.Follow the instructions to determinewhich Windows components are in-stalled on your computer. Removeany that you do not use. When theprocess is complete, reboot your PC.

Disk Cleanup will not eliminate allof the unnecessary code that exists onyour system. It does not recognize in-valid Registry settings and redundantdata files, for instance. However, theutility will get rid of the biggest of-fenders and prepares your hard driveto take the next step toward gooddrive maintenance.

Check Disk. Known as ScanDisk inprevious versions of Windows, theCheck Disk (CHKDSK) utility inWinXP Home scans the selected hard

drive for disk errors that put your dataat risk. Check Disk can identify andquarantine bad sectors (portions of adrive platter that are unable to holddata), for instance, so that Windowswill not write data to them. It also triesto resolve minor file system errors,such as cross-linked files (a mix-upthat occurs when the file system tries toload two unique pieces of data into oneaddress location on the hard drive) orlost clusters (a mix-up that occurswhen the file system loses the addresslocation of a data segment), which mayoccur as a result of an improper shut-down or general wear and tear.

Check Disk is an automated utilitythat requires very little input from theuser. To access it, open My Computerand locate the icon for the hard drive in

SYSTEM MAINTENANCEDrive Maintenance

Scheduled Maintenance: Dates To Remember

TThe key to successful drive maintenance is knowing when to perform each main-

tenance task. The following chart provides some general guidelines. You may

need to perform the tasks more often if your PC gets a heavy workout every day.

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Scan for viruses and spyware Continuous (Perform a full-system virus scan at least once each week.)

Uninstall unwanted programs As often as necessary

Clean out extraneous files and folders Once every week

Check the drive for disk errors Once every two weeks or month

Defragment the hard drive Once every six months or year

Close all open programs before launching Check Disk. If the utility determines that files are open and inuse elsewhere, it will stop immediately and request that you restart the computer before it proceeds.


question. Right-click the icon and selectProperties from the menu. Select theTools tab and click the Check Now op-tion under the Error-Checking heading.Select both the Automatically Fix FileSystem Errors and the Scan For AndAttempt Recovery Of Bad Sectors op-tions (in WinMe, select the Thoroughand Automatically Fix Errors options)and then click the Start button. For bestresults, make sure you close all applica-tions before running the utility. Theutility cannot perform a thoroughcheck of the drive if the drive is active.

Once launched, Check Disk imme-diately begins to search the hard drivefor trouble spots. It should performany repairs automatically. If it givesyou the option of repairing a problemor ignoring it, choose to repair it.During a repair, the utility will attemptto recover any readable data containedwithin the bad sectors and move it togood sectors so that you can access thedata at a later time. The utility maygive you the option of saving the datait couldn’t recover, but there is littlepoint in doing so. The unrecoverabledata is nothing more than digitalmishmash. You’re better off recoveringthe lost data from a backup file (youdo have a backup, right?).

We should point out that CheckDisk has its limits. It can rectify minormistakes but cannot undo majormishaps, such as the deletion of a nec-essary file or the corruption of theMBR (master boot record; a record ofhow data is organized on the harddrive). If Check Disk finds numerouserrors each time you run it, take heed:The errors could portend a crash. Ifyou encounter two or more errors onsubsequent scans, back up your dataimmediately and contact the drivemanufacturer to obtain diagnosticsoftware that can reveal more detailsabout the current health of the drive.

Disk Defragmenter. The precedingutilities, Disk Cleanup and Check Disk,focus on drive sanitation. They elimi-nate the accumulation of gunk, wheth-er it was put there on purpose (forexample, programs and data files) or by

accident (for example, driveerrors). In contrast, DiskDefragmenter focuses ondrive organization.

When Windows writes da-ta to a hard drive, it assigns itto a particular spot on a par-ticular disk. This spot isknown as a data address.Windows strategically assignsdata addresses for efficient re-trieval. The system works welluntil you start removing olddata and moving data frombad sectors to good sectors.The data then becomes frag-mented on the drive, with inefficient gaps separating islands of data scattered across themagnetically charged platters. Thisleads to poor drive performance.

You can get a better understandingof how fragmentation affects driveperformance by once again comparingit to our scenario of the concessionstand at a football game. Consider thebeverage vendors. These vendors haveto carry their heavy drink trays muchfurther if the fans are scatteredthroughout the stands rather than ifthe fans all sit together in one section.Similarly, it takes longer for a harddrive’s read/write heads to locate andretrieve data from a fragmentedplatter than to locate and retrieve thedata from a well-organized platter.

Disk Defragmenter organizes thedrive by rearranging the data for themost efficient access and retrieval. Iteliminates gaps, works around badsectors, and realigns data into con-tiguous sections of the drive. To ac-cess the utility in WinXP Home, openthe System Tools folder (via the Startmenu, All Programs, Accessories) andclick the Disk Defragmenter shortcut.Click the Analyze button and waitwhile it checks the drive’s fragmenta-tion status (the analysis should takeplace automatically in WinMe andother previous versions of Windows).Disk Defragmenter will indicatewhether a defragmentation is neces-sary. If it is, click the Defragment

button. The defragmentation can takean hour or longer, depending on thesize of your drive. For best results,close all open applications while DiskDefragmenter is running.

What Else?

Disk Cleanup, Check Disk, and DiskDefragmenter represent three impor-tant drive maintenance tasks you canperform on a regular basis. They’re notthe only drive maintenance utilities,however. We recommend around-the-clock scanning for viruses, spyware,and other malicious content. Invest inan up-to-date antivirus utility and areputable antispyware utility if youhaven’t done so already.

You also should periodically perusethe contents of the hard drive for thebits and pieces of digital detritus thatbuild up over time. Empty the Tem-porary folders, review the contents ofthe Program Files folder for outdatedreferences to uninstalled applications,and delete invalid shortcuts. You mayeven want to consider running a third-party Registry cleaner or uninstallutility that delivers a deep cleaning to adirty system. By making drive mainte-nance a priority, you ensure that yourPC runs smoothly and efficiently longinto the future.

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SYSTEM MAINTENANCEDrive Maintenance

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Disk Defragmenter will analyze your drive and indicatewhether a defragmentation is necessary. Whatever theanalysis recommends, we suggest defragmenting thedrive at least once per year.


key to press, check your computer’sdocumentation to find out how to ac-cess BIOS settings.

As you work in the BIOS settingsscreens, be careful about the items youchange (it’s also a good idea to back upyour system prior to such an endeavor).The BIOS screens normally indicatewhich keys to press to modify settings,exit and save changes, and exit withoutsaving any changes. If you accidentallychange an item, exit without saving orchange the item back to the correct set-ting. Note that BIOS configurationscreens are not standardized. Therefore,our instructions are generalized to ac-count for configuration differences.

Check the boot sequence. One ofthe BIOS’ tasks is to find and boot theoperating system. To do this, theBIOS includes a boot sequence con-figuration. These settings list theorder of the places the BIOS checksfor the operating system; for example,the floppy drive, CD drive, and harddrive. Changing the sequence tocheck the hard drive first can reduceyour computer’s startup time.

In the BIOS settings screens, lookfor the boot sequence or boot deviceinformation under the menu options.Because your mouse is not enabled at

SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

Speed Up YourStartupQuick Tips For A Quick PC

this point, use the arrow keys andkeyboard to navigate the menu sys-tem. Look for the first boot deviceand change it to the hard drive orIDE (Integrated Drive Electronics)drive, if it is not already configured inthis manner.

Enable quick boot. If your PC rarelyhas hardware problems, you canchange the BIOS to perform a lessthorough POST (power on self test) se-quence. The POST sequence normallychecks hard drives, hardware, andRAM to ensure they are functioningcorrectly. Most BIOS configuration set-tings let you choose to decrease thenumber of tests performed during thePOST process. In the BIOS configura-tion, look for settings related to quickboot or fast POST.

Change Boot.ini Settings

The Boot.ini file provides the in-structions for automatically startingWinXP. A number of its componentscan affect your computer’s startupspeed. To view the contents of theBoot.ini file, click Start, click Run, typemsconfig, and click OK. On the SystemConfiguration Utility dialog box thatdisplays, select the BOOT.INI tab.

A large box displays the contents ofthe Boot.ini file. Below the line thatreads [Operating Systems], look forinformation that begins somethingsimilar to multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)par-tition1\WINDOWS=. Click the lineto highlight it, and check the Timeoutfield in the middle-right area of thedialog box to see the timeout value.You can set this to as little as threeseconds in order to decrease theamount of time before WinXP starts.

In addition to the timeout value,you can select the NOGUI option,which removes the display of theWindows logo during boot up. Thisalso removes the message that statesyou can press F8 to start WinXP inSafe Mode; however, you can stillpress F8 to access Safe Mode.

After you complete the changes,restart your computer. After WinXP

When you turn on your PCor restart it, your com-puter completes a series of

steps to initiate the system and itscomponents. Some of the steps in-clude reading the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), loading the Win-dows Boot.ini file, starting back-ground services, and automaticallystarting certain programs.

Over time, the startup process canbecome sluggish. As you add and re-move software, hardware, and files,your system needs some fine-tuningto keep it starting as smoothly as pos-sible. To do this, you can check anumber of items that affect the startupprocess. In this article, we examinehow to optimize your Windows XPHome computer’s startup process, be-ginning with its BIOS settings.

Change BIOS Settings

The BIOS works behind the scenes toget your computer going. Through a setof instructions that run as your com-puter starts up, the BIOS checks hard-ware, initializes hardware, and starts theoperating system, among other things.Modifying BIOS settings can help tomake the startup process faster.

To access your computer’s BIOS,restart the system. After the computershuts down and begins to restart, re-peatedly press the DELETE key or theF2 key until the BIOS configurationscreen displays. (Some computers tellyou which key to press as theyrestart.) If neither key works, or yourcomputer does not display the correct


reloads, a notice indicates that you’vemade changes to how your computerstarts using the System Configurationutility. If you do not want the messageto display each time you start yourcomputer, select the Don’t Show ThisMessage Or Launch The SystemConfiguration Utility When WindowsStarts checkbox. If any problemsoccur, you can run the Msconfigutility again to make any corrections.

Remove Automatic Startup Of Services

Services are programs that run in thebackground as you use your computer.A collection of services automaticallyloads during your computer’s startupprocess, so that they are ready whenyou need them.

A number of services are necessary tothe smooth operation of your systemand others are not. For example, if youdon’t use the Scheduled Tasks featureto automatically run system mainte-nance programs, you can disable auto-matic startup of the Task Schedulerservice. However, determining the ser-vices that your computer runs is lessthan straightforward. Some serviceshave cryptic names, and WinXP doesnot always indicate which services are required.

For the best information about theservices on your computer, click Start,click Run, type services.msc, and clickOK. The Services window displays a listof all of the services on your com-puter. The Startup Type column lists

Automatic (service starts auto-matically), Manual (servicestarts manually), or Disabled(service is not available).

To group the programs thatstart automatically, click theStartup Type column. You cannow click each item in thegroup of automatically startedservices to determine whetherit is necessary, although thiscan be a tricky process. Toprovide some guidance, theServices window includes abrief description of each item

when you click it. However, if you arenot certain about the specific purposeof a service, do not modify its settings.

Services that you may not need tostart automatically include:• Computer Browser. If you don’t use

Microsoft networking, this serviceis not critical and can be disabled.

• Error Reporting Service. This ser-vice automatically reports errors toMicrosoft. You can disable it if youdo not want to report errors.

• Fast User Switching Compatibility.This service lets you switch to a dif-ferent WinXP user by pressingWindows-L. If you do not use thisfeature, you can disable it.

• Help And Support. You can changethe WinXP Help And Support sys-tem so that it starts manually ratherthan automatically.

• HTTP SSL. This feature is neededonly if you use your computer as apersonal Web server.

• Indexing Service. This servicemaps the files on your sys-tem to make them easier to find with WinXP’s filesearch feature. It is safe tostart manually.

• Messenger. This service helpscommunications on a localnetwork (it is not the sameas Windows Messenger). Ifyour computer is not net-worked, you can disable thisservice.

• Network Location Aware-ness. This service works

with PCs sharing an Internet con-nection. It is safe to start manually.

• Server. If you do not share files orprinters with other networkedcomputers, you can disable thisservice.

• Task Scheduler. If you do not usethe Scheduled Tasks feature, youcan disable this service.

• Windows Image Acquisition. Thisservice provides support for scan-ners or cameras. If this computerdoes not connect to a scanner orcamera, you can disable this service.

• Wireless Zero Configuration. Thisservice provides wireless network-ing support. You can disable it if this computer does not use wire-less devices.To modify the settings for a service,

right-click it in the Services list andclick Properties. In the Startup Typedrop-down menu, you can selectAutomatic, Manual, or Disabled.Click OK to save your changes andrestart your computer. If you find youneed a service that you have disabled,start the services.msc utility andmodify service settings as necessary.

Clean Up Startup Programs

After your computer handles theBIOS, Boot.ini, Services, and otherstartup tasks, it is ready to open yourWinXP user account. Each user ac-count has a list of application pro-grams that automatically load after theaccount is opened. For example, your

SYSTEM MAINTENANCEA Speedy Startup

The System Configuration Utility includes an editor to simplify modifying the Windows Boot.ini file.

If you want to see all of the programs that start whenyou open your Windows XP user account, view theStartup tab in the System Configuration Utility.


CD burner software or backup pro-gram may automatically start so theyare available whenever you need them.

The information for startup pro-grams is listed in several places. Tocheck the common startup area, clickStart and All Programs and point tothe Startup folder. Right-click anyprogram that you do not want to startautomatically and click Delete. Thisremoves the shortcut from theStartup Folder but does not removethe program itself.

To see a more comprehensive list ofprograms that automatically run, clickStart, click Run, type msconfig, andclick OK. In the System ConfigurationUtility dialog box, select the Startuptab. The Startup Item column lists thename of the application. You can in-vestigate the Command and Locationcolumns to find out more about eachstartup item.

To remove an item from the startuplist, clear its checkbox. As with re-moving an item from the StartupFolder, clearing a checkbox here doesnot remove the application. In addi-tion, as a general rule of thumb, do notclear the checkboxes for items that in-clude the WINDOWS or SYSTEM32folder in the Command column. Theseare likely programs WinXP relies on.Antivirus and security applications alsocommonly load during startup andshould not be changed unless they areversions your computer no longer uses.

After you complete your review ofthe items in the Startup tab, clickApply and Close. Restart your com-puter and check to ensure the pro-grams you removed are no longerloading after you open your WinXPuser account.

Other Tweaks

A number of maintenance tasksand tweaks can also help your com-puter start up faster. You can performmany of these tasks on a regular basisto keep your system in tip-top shape.

Remove unused software andhardware. If your PC has programs or

hardware installed that you no longeruse, take a few moments to removethem from your system. Doing sofrees up system resources, which canin turn speed up your computer andits startup process.

To remove software, click Start,Control Panel, and Add Or RemovePrograms. Select Change Or RemovePrograms and review the list of pro-grams currently installed. If you lo-cate a program you no longer use,select it and click the Change/Removebutton. Follow the on-screen instruc-tions to remove the program.

If your computer system includesperipherals that you no longer need,such as an old printer or scanner, dis-connect the device and remove re-lated software using the Add OrRemove Programs utility.

Remove unnecessary Desktop icons.If you don’t use a particular shortcuticon, select it and drag it to the RecycleBin to remove it from the Desktop. Ifyour Desktop displays an UnusedDesktop Shortcuts folder, open it andremove any shortcuts you no longerneed. Deleting a shortcut does notdelete the program it is associated with.

Remove fonts from Fonts folder.WinXP stores all of your fonts in theC:\WINDOWS\FONTS folder andloads them. To view the list of avail-able fonts, open My Computer andnavigate to this folder. You can deleteany fonts that you do not use. If youwant to retain the font for possi-ble use in the future, create a new folder and move the font there for safekeeping.

Run Disk Cleanup. The Disk Clean-up utility removes unnecessary files,such as temporary Internet files andfiles in the Recycle Bin, from yourcomputer. To run the utility, selectStart, Control Panel, Performance AndMaintenance, and Free Up Space OnYour Hard Disk. On the Disk Cleanuputility dialog box, select the items youwant to delete and click OK to removethe files you selected.

Defrag the hard drive. After re-moving unused programs, unnecessaryhardware, and unneeded files, defrag-menting the hard drive can make yoursystem operate much faster. As you useyour computer, files and informationstored on the hard drive becomes disor-ganized and spread out. Defragmentingreorganizes the hard drive so that yourcomputer can locate files and informa-tion more quickly, including the itemsit needs during the startup process.

To defragment the hard drive, selectStart, Control Panel, Performance AndMaintenance, and Rearrange Items OnYour Hard Disk To Make ProgramsRun Faster. The Disk Defragmenterdisplays. Select the Analyze button andallow the tool to determine whetheryour computer would benefit from de-fragmentation. If so, select Defragmentto proceed.

Remove startup sounds. To re-move the sounds that play as WinXPstarts, click Start; Control Panel;Sounds, Speech, And Audio Devices;and Change The Sound Scheme. Inthe Sounds And Audio Devices Prop-erties dialog box, select the Soundstab. In the Program Events box,change Start Windows and WindowsLogon to None.

Get Your Computer Up To Speed

If your system is sluggish, try someor all of our techniques to speed upyour computer’s startup. You’ll enjoy afaster computer, learn a bit about thestartup process, and, most importantly,keep your system running smoothly.

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SYSTEM MAINTENANCEA Speedy Startup

If you modify an item in the SystemConfiguration Utility, this screen displays thenext time your computer starts up. To preventit from displaying in the future, select thecheckbox and click OK.

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Although today’s computershave faster CPUs, more mem-ory, beefier hard drives, and

blazing network connections, at timesthey feel no faster than the PCs thatvendors shipped when Windows 95was king. Part of this is due to our ac-celerating expectations, where we ex-pect our computers to do more taskssimultaneously. Yet, part of it is alsodue to applications running amok,sapping our computer’s resources untilwe feel like a mastodon stuck in the LaBrea tar pits. Fortunately, you can in-crease your computer’s performanceand responsiveness by proactivelymanaging both Windows and the ap-plications you use.

It’s All About Processes

Although we like to envision Win-dows as a single, monolithic program,in truth, it’s a collection of multipleapplications or processes that collabo-rate to provide what is usually a seam-less user interface. Even when we’resimply reading a Web page, there arenumerous small processes runningbehind the scenes to keep Windowsoperating smoothly.

Processes are typically discrete pro-grams that perform specific tasks. Someapplications consist of a single process,while others are a series of processesworking in conjunction. These pro-cesses send and receive data throughIPC (Inter-Process Communication),access memory, hard drive space, andother system hardware presented byWindows. Windows controls how eachof these processes access your comput-er’s hardware, providing each processwith a slice of each resource as needed.

How many processes are normalon a computer running Windows XP?Although this depends on the numberand type of applications installed, abarebones installation of WinXP willtypically have 20 or more processesrunning. Add in antivirus software,email clients, Web browsers, instantmessage programs, and word proces-sors and the total can quickly ballooninto triple digits.

Why Limit Processes?

Processes in themselves aren’t bad,but bad processes need to be managed.And even processes that aren’t misbe-having can be managed to eke out the

most performance from your system.What’s a bad process? One that’s con-suming too many resources or onethat’s not responding to commandsthat you’ve issued. A misbehavingprocess may simply run improperly,not affecting other processes, whileothers may spiral out of control,bringing Windows to a standstill untilyou stop, or terminate, the process.

Runaway processes. Most processesbehave properly while we use them,yet some unexpectedly begin to mis-behave. This can happen when theyare given data that the programmerdidn’t expect, causing the process tobehave erratically. A common be-havior is for the process to keep rein-terpreting the data, using more andmore CPU cycles each time. A typicalsign of a runaway process is one using100% of your CPU.

Memory leaks. A memory leak oc-curs when a process fails to relinquishcontrol of memory it has requestedfrom the operating system. Over time,this can lead to diminished perfor-mance. This can occur if you leave animproperly written application run-ning for a long time. When you initiallystart the application, it may only re-quire a few megabytes of RAM, but asit runs, it continues to request addi-tional memory from Windows withoutrelinquishing memory that it has beenpreviously allocated. All applicationsuse RAM in fluctuating amounts, but aprogram that is consuming consistentlygreater amounts of RAM over timeshould be restarted to return the un-necessary RAM back to Windows.

Poorly coded processes. Althoughrunaway processes and processes withmemory leaks stem from poor pro-gramming, poorly coded processes mayappear to be behaving properly from aCPU and memory standpoint while stillnot functioning properly. In computerparlance, these processes are hung, nei-ther accepting input nor generatingoutput. Stopping, or terminating, theseprocesses will free up system resources.

Unnecessary processes. Both Win-dows and the applications you run on

SYSTEM MAINTENANCE

Full Speed AheadAccelerate Windows Through Application Management


Windows include processes that aredesigned to make life easier for a widerange of users. Yet no two users havethe same expectations when it comesto their computer, or the same usagepattern. This means that you can stopor remove processes that are unneces-sary for your needs, thus freeing upsystem resources.

At Your Service

A service is a special type of processthat runs continuously in the back-ground while you use your computer.

Services can be very useful in freeingyou from the drudgery of maintaining

your computer. And many services areessential for Windows to functionproperly. Yet each service takes a sliceof your computer’s resources. If youhave too many unnecessary servicesrunning, you’re inhibiting your PC’sperformance.

A Note Of Caution

Disabling services and stoppingprocesses can often have unexpectedside effects, especially when you’refirst learning your way around. So be-fore you start, be sure to save anywork on your computer in case youmake a mistake. If you’re writing theGreat American Novel or finishingyour company’s SEC filing, save your

work and close the applications be-fore proceeding.

Tools Of The Trade

Effectively managing your processesand services requires tools that pro-vide you with enough information tosafely stop the processes when theymisbehave and to control when theystart and stop. Windows includes twotools for this: Task Manager and theServices snap-in for the MMC (Micro-soft Management Console). Althoughthe Services snap-in is an adequatetool for managing your services, werecommend Process Explorer (www

.sysinternals.com) as a replace-ment for Task Manager.

Process Explorer is a free utilitythat provides much of the sameinformation as Task Manager,while displaying additional infor-mation about your computer’srunning processes in a hierar-chical manner that makes it easyto understand the consequencesof terminating a process.

Task Manager

If you can’t install ProcessExplorer, Task Manager pro-vides a rudimentary ability tomanage your processes. Launch

Task Manager by right-clicking theTaskbar and selecting Task Manager.Task Manager has five tabs: Appli-cations, Processes, Performance,Networking, and Users. The first twoare where we’ll focus our attention.

The Application tab lists any cur-rently running applications. Eventhough your computer is running, it’snot unusual for the Application tab tobe empty. If an application is listed inthis tab, you’re able to use the End Taskat the bottom of the tab to close the ap-plication. This is particularly handy ifthe program won’t shut down throughFile and Exit, clicking on the program’sclose window button, or ALT-F4.

The Processes tab is where you’llfind the individual processes that are

currently running on your computer.First, select the Show Processes FromAll Users Box at the bottom to displayall the processes on your system. Eachprocess running has an Image Name,a User Name, CPU, and Mem Usagecolumn. You can sort each column byclicking the column header.

In addition to processes that arelisted under your username, you’ll seemany listed under Administrator, LocalService, Network Service, or System.These are just Windows accounts usedto control processes and services. If youshare your computer and use Fast UserSwitching, you may see processes underanother person’s user account name.

Shutting down a process is easywith Task Manager. Highlight theprocess and click End Process. Youcan also right-click the process and se-lect End Process. After a moment, theprocess will be closed or terminated.

Process Explorer

Unfortunately, randomly shuttingdown processes isn’t an effectivestrategy for improving your computer’sperformance or coping with a re-calcitrant application. Task Managerdoesn’t provide you with enough infor-mation to make an intelligent choiceabout which processes to terminate.Here’s where Process Explorer shines.

Install Process Explorer by simplycopying it to your Desktop. Next, clickProcess Explorer to launch the utility.In contrast to Task Manager, ProcessExplorer provides a wealth of infor-mation about each process running onyour computer. Process Explorer con-sists of two window panes: one for theprocess, and the second showing thePID (process ID), CPU (CPU utiliza-tion), a Description, and a CompanyName for the creator of the process.

Process Explorer lists each process ina hierarchical manner: On most sys-tems, there will be a System IdleProcess with numerous child processes,and one or more Explore.exe processeswith additional child processes. To dis-play the child processes, click the plus

SYSTEM MAINTENANCESpeed Up Your System

You can terminate individual processes under TaskManager’s Processes tab.


(+) sign next to the parent process; thiswill expand the hierarchical tree.

The System Idle Process tree typi-cally lists all the Windows-relatedprocesses running on your system. Forany process, you can right-click andselect Properties to display more in-formation about the process. You canalso mouse over the process to revealthe location of the process and anyservices associated with the process.

Each process has several options ex-posed when you right-click it. In mostcases, you’ll want to leave the Affinity

and Priority settings alone. Ifyou want to kill a process orits process tree, right-clickthe process and select KillProcess or Kill Process Tree.If a process seems to havestalled, you can also chooseto Restart the process fromwithin the same window.

How do you know whatprocesses are safe to termi-nate and which ones are bestleft alone? One invaluablefeature is the ability to Goo-gle a process. Right-click theprocess and select Google.This will open your browserto Google and search for in-formation about the process.

Normal Windows Processes

If you open Process Explorer, you’llsee the System Idle Process tree, anddown this tree, you’ll see the Systemprocess. This is essentially the heart ofWindows. Underneath this tree areseveral processes that provide essen-tial services to Windows.

The next main process at the toplevel of Process Explorer is Ex-plorer.exe. This is where applicationsthat you have installed typically run. Ifyou don’t recognize their executable

name, Process Explorer pro-vides a terse description andcompany name that mayhelp you recall the more fa-miliar program name.

Controlling Services

Although Process Explorerand Task Manager showprocesses that are running,Windows also uses variousprocesses that run as services.Control these services via theServices window. LaunchServices by clicking Start, AllPrograms, AdministrativeTools, and Services.

Each service configured onyour computer has a Name,

Description, Status, Startup Type, andLog On As setting that indicates the ac-count used to run the service. You cansort your services by clicking thesecolumn headers.

By default, Windows enables nu-merous services that may not be neces-sary for your computer. For example,the Wireless Zero Configuration serviceis unnecessary for desktop computersthat don’t have wireless network cards.

Stopping a service is as simple as high-lighting it, right-clicking, and selectingStop. It may take a moment for the ser-vice to shut down. If you stop a servicethat is configured with Automatic as theStartup Type, it will only stay stoppeduntil the next time you reboot. If youwish to make this change permanent,right-click the service and selectProperties. Under the General tab,change the Startup Type from Auto-matic to either Manual or Disabled.

With Power Comes Responsibility

You have the ability to manage howWindows and your applications func-tion. You also have the potential tocripple Windows’ ability to functionproperly. Before shutting down anyprocess or service, be sure to do a littleresearch so you know what to expect.Making incremental changes with theappropriate tools and sufficient insightwill give you the ability to fine-tuneWindows to your unique needs.

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SYSTEM MAINTENANCESpeed Up Your System

Mousing over a process in Process Explorer will revealthe location of a process’ executable, as well as any service it manages.

If you’re unsure about what a process does, use ProcessExplorer’s integrated Google search to find out the ramifications of terminating the process.

Safe To Terminate

TThe following services are safe for

most home users to disable using

the process we outlined.

Alerter Service

Computer Browser Service

Messenger Service

Net Logon Service

MS Software Shadow Copy Provider Service

Network DE DSDM Service

Volume Shadow Copy Service

RS


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