general update/prog installation order for reformattin'?

[El Kabong]

It's been half a year since i reformatted, so i'm a bit rusty on this... XP has so many freakin updates and i know you need to install them in some certain order or else it doesnt work.. umm i think it's:

.NET Framework
The hotfix for .net framework
Then after those i get SP2
Java afterwards...


Are there other essentials i need to get for XP before i can move on to hardware drivers? Not sure...

 

[bbz_Ghost]

First step:

Integrate SP2 into an XP CD and go from there. If you're installing vanilla XP or XP SP1 and then applying SP2 to that installation you're going to have problems. You need to integrate SP2 into a custom made XP CD so that from this point on you can install XP SP2 period in one fell swoop. If you're not going to do that or not willing to do that, there's not much more that can help you.

After you install XP SP2 properly (with that custom XP SP2 you should have made), then hit Windows Update and click Custom and see what other patches are available (Express won't list all the available updates for your hardware and installation - it will only show critical updates). Get the stuff that's necessary for your particular situation and then reboot as necessary. After the reboot go back to Windows Update and do an Express update because some of the stuff that the first Windows Update visits will then need to be updated again so the second trip back is necessary.

After that, do your chipset drivers first, then video, then sound, then go from there. Update Flash for the browser and then install the latest Java also.

Once the machine is nice and solid, my suggestion is image it using Acronis True Image or Norton Ghost - I really don't care what you use, but you should image it after all those updates and drivers so that if something happens afterwards, you can always start over again in a few minutes without the need to do all of that crap again and waste hours of time.

Once you get a backup of that clean OS-only installation, then start installing your applications and software. Another image when you get the entire system set up how you like is isn't beyond reason, either. Saves you a lot of time should something go wrong.

Hope this helps...

 

[El Kabong]

Norton Ghost and those other types of programs (like that one "Freeze-something") make it so you dont have to physically reformat..?

Cuz that's another problem...i have an OEM of winXP and i heard people had a bitch of a time reinstalling windows for some reason?

 

[bbz_Ghost]

You install everything you want to install, you set up the applications, settings, tweaks, etc, however you want it. Once you get the entire system working exactly as you want, you run disk imaging software on it. Disk imaging software will make a bit-for-bit perfect backup of the entire system partition or even multiple partitions if you want and store it either on CD (takes quite a few nowadays), DVD (more efficient in terms of capacity), or another hard drive (internal, external, doesn't matter), even tape backup if that's all you've got.

The point is: disk imaging software allows you to save a bit-for-bit perfect copy of your entire machine so that if something terrible goes wrong, you can restore that copy of the OS in a few minutes time instead of needing to reinstall the OS, then the updates, then drivers, applications, data, etc.

Acronis True Image and Norton Ghost are the two most popular disk imaging applications on the market today. I recommend True Image to anyone and everyone that needs imaging software, including all my clients.

 

[El Kabong]

Ghost: I looked into this integration thing (googling brings up the term "Slipstreaming") and i think i may have a problem. I bought Windows XP Media Center and it came with 3 disks, and they tell me to install one disc after the other when installing the "orthodox" way. It's not just one disk ill be integrating here, will it? Never did this before lol.

 

[fibroptikl]

I grab my XP w/ SP2 Source - OEM, Retail, Corp, etc. I then get the latest RyanVM Update Pack and Add-on pack. I use nLite to integrate the RVM pack's and throw in a few drivers (sometimes or not always).

Once it finishes, if it's for a customer, I put in their OEMBIOS files (so it comes up already pre-activated).

 

[alphanumeric]

My order goes something like this => XP => Drivers for Chip-Set, Video, Sound, NIC etc => SP2 => MP11 => IE7 => Anti-virus => windows update => windows update => yada yada yada.

 

[r-486]

My order goes something like this => XP => Drivers for Video, Sound, Chip-Set, NIC etc => SP2 => MP11 => IE7 => Anti-virus => windows update => windows update => yada yada yada.

I've always done the chipset driver first and then the video driver. I wonder if it matters.

 

[alphanumeric]

I do too, I was going to go back and edit it but got sidetracked on another thread. Actually - I did just go and edit it.

 

[bbz_Ghost]

It can make a difference, yes.

The most important driver(s) to install after the OS will always be updated chipset drivers first and foremost. Why? Because the chipset is the real heart and more akin to the central nervous system of the machine, it's the interconnect for every other component, and if you don't have the latest and most current chipset drivers, there's always a possibility that a component isn't going to work properly.

Even when that component has it's own latest and most current drivers - because there is a possible communication issue between the OS and the component: remember, the chipset is basically the heart and central nervous system of the machine - it's always best to know that you've done all you can to ensure that communication happens properly between the OS and the component because the chipset is ready to roll.

Most OSes come with fairly current chipset drivers these days (meaning every OS except XP since it's the oldest kid on the block right now aside from 2K and older stuff). You don't see many people running Redhat 4 or Slackware 6 anymore, right? Those chipset "drivers" are kept up to date a bit more than their Windows counterparts with respect to releases. XP has been around for a long time now in the OS world, and even with SP2 which was released well over 2 and coming up on 3 years ago (August 9, 2004), the chipset drivers SP2 has are the most basic kind to ensure compatibility and the basic ability to install the OS to begin with.

Gotta get the latest chipset drivers on that thing first, immediately after the OS itself. My steps are:

- The OS clean
- Latest NIC driver
- NOD32 and update it
- Latest Chipset drivers (always Intel since I don't build or buy AMD hardware because of - go figure - the shitty VIA/Nvidia/SiS/ATI chipsets)
- Windows Update and get everything then reboot
- Hit Windows Update again to get updates that weren't there till the first round (this always happens, seriously) then reboot once again
- Latest Video drivers
- Latest Sound drivers
- Assorted drivers (HID filter driver for USB mice, etc, usually handled on Windows Update but if not then I do it manually; printer; etc)
- Applications, etc

(and I made an image after the OS clean install and then another one after the full Windows Update second reboot, just for the record)

Anyone that doesn't have SP2 integrated into an actual XP SP2 installer CD really should make that SP2 CD at some point. When SP2 first came out, nearly every single issue that appeared was because of people "upgrading" to SP2 from vanilla XP or XP SP1. We techs learned that integrating SP2 directly into a custom installation CD pretty much took care of the hundreds of different little "issues" that appeared whenever someone did an in-place SP2 upgrade.

There's simply no logical reason to not have a proper XP SP2 installer CD around anymore. They take 20 minutes to create which is typically less time on some hardware than installing vanilla XP or XP SP1 and then installing SP2 on top of that and... well... dammit it just works better, it really does.

 

[djnes]

I've always done the chipset driver first and then the video driver. I wonder if it matters.

That's the recommended method. And yes, there's absolutely NO excuse anymore to have to load SP2 separately. AutoStreamer will make a new disc for you very easily.

As for the "bitch" of re-installing with OEm, that usuall refers to having to call back in to Microsoft to activate. Making a clean, activated Ghost image could help you avoid some of that.

 

[r-486]

AutoStreamer will make a new disc for you very easily.

I use nLite for streaming. It lets you integrate SP2 and hotfixes. You can upload drivers and get rid of all the worthless ones you don't need. Registry modifications along with service setups can be made before the installation of the OS. It even lets you create personal settings in advance so you don't have to type in the product key, regional settings, etc. It's great for getting rid of all the bloat.

 

[djnes]

It's great for getting rid of all the bloat.

It's also great for rendering a system almost useless. We've seen a good number of threads with people reporting very strange issues, and it boiled down to them using an nLite disc. That's why, for simple slipstreaming, AutoStreamer is a good choice.

 

[r-486]

It's also great for rendering a system almost useless. We've seen a good number of threads with people reporting very strange issues, and it boiled down to them using an nLite disc. That's why, for simple slipstreaming, AutoStreamer is a good choice.

Out of curiosity, what kind of issues?

I'm not denying that there will be issues especially if they disable important services or make a wrong registry change.

 

[djnes]

Out of curiosity, what kind of issues?

You name it. That's the point. They are varied, and we'd go round and round trying to solve the issue, until finally someone asks, was nLite used on this build.