I want to have a "clean" installation of Windows XP, since I've noticed that XP slows down after you install a lot of apps (typically that you never use).
A few learnings.
- The "Recovery" XP disks that come with Dell do not have any support packs. It also does not have the drivers for the hardware. In short, it is just a plain vanilla XP installation CD. There is no "recovery" in this CD. What I had expected was that the CD would put the system back to its original factory-shipped state. No luck.
- The following link discusses how to make your own custom recovery CDROM. It includes how you can combine SP2 with the installation files so that you don't have to do it seperately. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1750662,00.asp
- The next problem is that I don't have the Microsoft CD Keys for Office and XP etc. XP was easy since the Dell had a sticker with the number. For Office - try the programs is program http://www.petri.co.il/quickly_retrieve_windows_cd_key.htm.
Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder: http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml
CD Key Reader: http://www.skaro.net/cd-keyreader - I-Tunes - The XML database uses relative paths. So create the same directory structure in the I-Tunes music folder as in the old PC. I used sysinternals.com "Junction" utility to map folders to different drives.
- I am still slowly installing the applications that I "really" need. Since I still need to use applications on the "Old Windows", I wanted to find out how to setup "dual-boot" in Windows XP. It is really easy. You start up with the install CD and select recovery mode. Use the commands "fixboot","fixmbr" and "bootcfg". See the installing and using Recovery console link from Microsoft. Bootcfg will regenerate boot.ini which has a list of all operating systems for dual-boot.
One web resource: http://windows.about.com/cs/dualboot/
Microsoft notes: Win2000 and WinXP, Multiboot with XP, Installing and using Recovery Console in XP. - You never know which applications are really important!
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