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#11
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Windows XP for Dummies?
"Brian K" wrote in message
k.net... I just purchased an OEM version of Win XP SP 2 with a barebones kit. I know nothing about XP. I am assuming the OEM version with be without manual or whatever install guide that comes with the retail one. So is there a good book that will provide me FAQ about instillation, and tweaks that I can pick up at the next computer fair or Barns & Noble? The Missing Manual series (volumes on lots of different software) seems pretty good, and is widely available. |
#12
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Windows XP for Dummies?
Brian K wrote:
I just purchased an OEM version of Win XP SP 2 with a barebones kit. I know nothing about XP. I am assuming the OEM version with be without manual or whatever install guide that comes with the retail one. So is there a good book that will provide me FAQ about instillation, and tweaks that I can pick up at the next computer fair or Barns & Noble? You don't have to know anything about Windows XP you don't already know about prior versions of Windows. Just format your hard drive and install it. If you are using DSL/cable, don't depend on the built-in firewall, install ZoneAlarm/whatever. If you miss the look of prior versions, you can change that in Display Properties -- Themes. Have fun. |
#13
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Windows XP for Dummies?
Windows XP for Dummies? Yes! It does most everything for you.
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#14
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Windows XP for Dummies?
"John Doe" wrote in message ... Brian K wrote: I just purchased an OEM version of Win XP SP 2 with a barebones kit. I know nothing about XP. I am assuming the OEM version with be without manual or whatever install guide that comes with the retail one. So is there a good book that will provide me FAQ about instillation, and tweaks that I can pick up at the next computer fair or Barns & Noble? You don't have to know anything about Windows XP you don't already know about prior versions of Windows. Just format your hard drive and install it. Actually, formatting is done for you. If you can format prior to the Windows installation, then the file format will be fat32, which is not a good idea for XP. The Windows XP install program will format your hard drive to NTFS for you. -Dave |
#15
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Windows XP for Dummies?
"Mike T." wrote:
Actually, formatting is done for you. If you can format prior to the Windows installation, then the file format will be fat32, I format in NTFS with either of two different boot CDs, either PartitionMagic or Partition Manager. which is not a good idea for XP. The Windows XP install program will format your hard drive to NTFS for you. -Dave I agree, that's a good point for the original poster. |
#16
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Windows XP for Dummies?
On 5/19/06 8:06 PM John Doe wrote:
"Mike T." wrote: Actually, formatting is done for you. If you can format prior to the Windows installation, then the file format will be fat32, I format in NTFS with either of two different boot CDs, either PartitionMagic or Partition Manager. which is not a good idea for XP. The Windows XP install program will format your hard drive to NTFS for you. -Dave I agree, that's a good point for the original poster. Thanks everyone for your input. FYI on both IDE and SATA drives from Western Digital it should be noted that the disk prep software gives the user a choice of file formats including NTFS, partitioning in different formats with different OS etc. My current IDE 80 g is a WD 133. I also have an external WD FAT 32 Drive. This is my backup drive. After installing appropriate drivers, I will copy a number of my data files. I also have a folder with a number of self-installing drivers for stuff that doesn't have XP drivers on the cds that came with some of my peripherals. When I first took a computer programing course, we used IBM's Principles of Operations on a 3090 in 370 emulation. Op codes were just one step above machine code. I found that the only way I could wrap my consciousness around it was to chill out in the bath while absorbing bit by bit. I do this with every new OS I use even if I'm not going to be coding under it. You just can't take a notebook into the bath like you can a good techie book. Also, a good book is really handy if you are in a situation where you temporarily don't have access to the net. So thanks for all the suggestions and keep them coming. -- ________ To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address. Brian M. Kochera "Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!" View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951 |
#17
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Windows XP for Dummies?
Brian K brianblog1951 earthlink.net wrote:
FYI on both IDE and SATA drives from Western Digital it should be noted that the disk prep software gives the user a choice of file formats including NTFS, partitioning in different formats with different OS etc. Something I recently read is that you can format a flash drive with NTFS using Microsoft's convert.exe. Then you can encrypt the drive. I guess that will allow it to be used as an ordinary NTFS drive while in your computer, but it will be completely inaccessible to anyone if you take the flash drive with you and accidentally lose it. Going to try that shortly. Flash drives are very cool IMO, and getting cooler by the minute. Snipped discussion about programming Okay, so you are not a computer novice. Well then you have no worries whatsoever about Windows XP. Besides much less crashing, there is practically no noticeable difference except the appearance, and the appearance can be changed to the standard Windows 9x look (I like gradient colored title bars). The upgrade is easy. Have fun. -- ________ To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address. Brian M. Kochera "Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!" View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951 Path: newssvr14.news.prodigy.com!newsdbm05.news.prodigy. com! newsmst01b.news.prodigy.com!prodigy.com!newscon06. news.prodigy.com! prodigy.net!newshub.sdsu.edu!elnk-nf2-pas!newsfeed.earthlink.net! stamper.news.pas.earthlink.net!newsread1.news.pas. earthlink.net.POSTED! 672ad58f!not-for-mail From: Brian K brianblog1951 earthlink.net Organization: www.earthlink.net User-Agent: Thunderbird 1.5.0.2 (Windows/20060308) MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt Subject: Windows XP for Dummies? References: eDVag.619$SX5.350 newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net Xns97C77BE1189210123456789 207.115.17.102 446cb624$0$84074$892e7fe2 authen.yellow.readfreenews.net Xns97C8C253150F0123456789 207.115.17.102 In-Reply-To: Xns97C8C253150F0123456789 207.115.17.102 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Lines: 47 Message-ID: XVybg.40$AL4.37 newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net Date: Sat, 20 May 2006 06:45:11 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 67.101.133.236 X-Complaints-To: abuse earthlink.net X-Trace: newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net 1148107511 67.101.133.236 (Fri, 19 May 2006 23:45:11 PDT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 19 May 2006 23:45:11 PDT Xref: prodigy.net alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:465990 |
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