Folks,

I recently went through the ordeal of getting Windows XP Pro running on a TR2A originally shipped with Windows XP Home. It was lots more difficult that it needed to be (due to missing drivers for the USB2 bus and the Motion Eye camera), so I wrote up some notes to help me the next time I have to do this. Everything works well now and I’ve gotten one email report from another individual who also succeeded in getting everything working. If anyone else is trying to solve this same problem, my notes on the topic can be found at:

Phil

He’s right; I followed his instructions and now everything works.

OK, here’s my daily dumbass question:

After I have all the necessary drivers and restore discs for the XP Pro install, what do I do to 1) format the HD, and 2) install XP Pro off of the CD?

[quote author=“Buckerine”]OK, here’s my daily dumbass question:

After I have all the necessary drivers and restore discs for the XP Pro install, what do I do to 1) format the HD, and 2) install XP Pro off of the CD?

Yes, you can do that or you can simply install XP Pro and repartition and format once you start the install process. The XP install process lets you create/delete/format partitions during the installation. This destroys any previous data. I would make sure your backup works before you start the process just in case you change your mind last minute.

I guess my question is what are the actual steps required to 1) format my HD and 2) install XP Pro off the CD.  Do I just pop in the XP Pro CD and have it take care of everything?  Or, are there specific commands I need to enter?  I remember back in the day fussing with dos prompts “format c:” then booting up using the CD.

[quote author=“Buckerine”]I guess my question is what are the actual steps required to 1) format my HD and 2) install XP Pro off the CD.  Do I just pop in the XP Pro CD and have it take care of everything?  Or, are there specific commands I need to enter?  I remember back in the day fussing with dos prompts “format c:” then booting up using the CD.

Ah, ok…so you’ve never done this before…

No, you do not need to format the drive. Simply put in the CD and follow the prompts. It will check your existing partition setup and ask you where you want to install it. You’ll want to choose to delete the existing partitions and create a new partition scheme. You can choose to put everything in a single giant 40GB partition or you can choose to make a smaller partition (say 20GB) and install XP on there. You can later add the other 20GB in a separate partition if you want. Some people prefer multiple partitions but that can be discussed elsewhere. Once you’ve setup the partition you want to install on just follow the prompts and it will install itself.

Ok, so does it end up formatting my hard drive?  What exactly does it do?

[quote author=“Buckerine”]Ok, so does it end up formatting my hard drive?  What exactly does it do?

Yes, if you decide to create a new partition by destroying the other pre-existing ones then it will automatically format the drive.

You may want to check out a Windows XP Installation guide (at your local Barnes & Noble or equivalent) if you’ve never done this before. It’s not difficult to do at all but you may want to check it out nonetheless so you’re prepared for all of the steps.

gr00vy, I tried installing XP Pro and now I have two versions of Windows, home and pro.

I was never given an option to delete all partitions.  I COULD delete the D: partition, but when I tried to delete C: partition, it wouldn’t allow that because setup files were on that partition.  So, at that point, it showed:

c: partition (15 GB)
unpartitioned space (15 GB)

Then I chose between formatting partition in NFTS or FAT….and when I did that, it created a new D:....what gives?

Well, something in your process was not correct. You should have been able to delete the C: partition. It should have given you some scary warning about doing it.

You booted off the CD right?

When you boot off the CD it loads everything into memory and doesn’t copy anything onto the hard disk until you start the installation process. Therefore, you should be able to work with the partitions at will.

I tried booting from CD, but it doesnt work.  Did the “ESC” thing, but was not given an option to press space bar to run setup.  Coudl it be possible that my XP CD won’t allow me to boot offCD?

See the other post about booting off the CD…it’s possible that your XP CD is not bootable…