Installing Windows XP
Windows XP by Microsoft Corporation was released in 2001 as the upgraded version of Windows 2000/NT. Ogletree, Glenn and Regas (2002) and Grasdal and Barber (2002) listed down the minimum and recommended requirements before one can install any of the service packs of Windows XP. The computer must have at least 64 - 128 MB worth of RAM memory, a CPU speed up to 233MHz or faster, a 2GB disk drive or larger, at least 650MB or more of free disk space and a monitor display with VGA or SVGA capacity. The computer must also have a standard keyboard and mouse. It is required that the CPU has CD and DVD compatibility drivers. Finally, a Network Card that has a capacity of 10/100Mbps is needed before installing XP . However, the requirements for the XP’s Service Pack 2, according to the O’Reilly (2010) need up to 1700 MB of available hard disk space .
According to Stewart, McCann and Melendez (2005), there are users who pick either a clean installation or custom installation once they get their copy of the XP OS installer. Most users who already have pre-installed Windows OS computers usually just upgrade to windows XP, preserving some settings and information like password files and general configuration. Before upgrading can begin, the computer must have an existing Windows OS like Windows 98, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, and if the user wants to upgrade his version of XP, he may opt to just upgrade. Windows XP Home Edition can only upgrade Windows 98, 98 SE and ME systems . Some users prefer to do a clean install according to Johnson (2006) for flawless speed. A clean installation would install a new version of XP without saving the computer’s old files and settings. Windows 95 and NT do not support upgrading, which is why clean installation is required for these versions .
References
Grasdal, M., & Barber, B. (2002). Configuring and troubleshooting Windows XP Professional. Canada: Syngress Publishing Group.
Johnson, S. (2006). Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 Edition. Boston: Cengage Learning.
Ogletree, T., Glenn, W., & Regas, R. (2002). Windows XP Unleashed. Indianapolis: Sams Publishing.
O'Reilly. (2010). Microsoft Windows XP Step by Step Deluxe, Second Edition. Canada: O'Reilly Media.
Steward, J. M., McCann, B., & Melendez, A. (2005). MSCE Guide to Microsoft Windows XP Professional. Belmont: Cengage Learning.
