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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Installing and Upgrading Windows

Chapter 14

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Overview

• In this chapter, you will learn how to

– Identify and implement pre-installation tasks

– Install and upgrade Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista

– Troubleshoot installation problems

– Identify and implement post-installation tasks

– Explain the structures created during the installation process

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Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Installing and Upgrading

• Accomplished in three main steps– Step one: Prepare for installation– Step two: Install– Step three: Perform post-installation tasks

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Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Preparing for Installation or Upgrade

1. Identify hardware requirements2. Verify hardware and software compatibility3. Decide: Clean install or upgrade? 4. Back up data5. Select an installation method6. Identify partition and file systems to use7. Determine computer’s network role8. Decide on language and locale settings9. Plan for post-installation tasks

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Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Identify Hardware Requirements

Core Resources−CPU−RAM−Free hard disk space

Miscellaneous−Video adapter−Display−Storage devices

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Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Verify Compatibility

• Hardware and software• Use the Windows Logo’d Products List

(a.k.a., the Hardware Compatibility List )

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Clean Install or Upgrade

• Clean install– Usually done on empty hard disk– All applications must be installed

• Upgrade– New OS installs on top of the old one– Many previous settings and capabilities retained– Applications don’t need to be reinstalled

• Multiboot– Doing a clean install side by side with another OS– Enables you to boot to more than one OS

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Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Other Installation Methods

• When deploying many computers, automated methods used

• Image—complete copy of OS and applications– Norton Ghost– Clonezilla– Acronis’ True Image

• Remote Installation Services (RIS)

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Determine How to Back Up Data

• If data saved to central server, skip this step

• If data exists on local drive, back it up

• Back up to network server, DVD, USB, hard drive, etc.– Will need to restore data from this location after

upgrade or reinstall

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Select an Installation Method

• Two basic choices

– Optical disc (CompTIA A+ focus)• Boot from CD or DVD and

start installation

– Over the network • More for CompTIA Network+ techs and network

administrators

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Determine Partition and File System

• Partition– Create when drive first created (or use third-party

tools to repartition)– If multiboot, use one partition for each OS

• File system– Use NTFS whenever possible—security features are

valuable– If older OSs need FAT or FAT32, use FAT or FAT32

for their partition

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Miscellaneous

• Network role– Standalone, workgroup, or domain

(see Chapter 23)– Environment determines choice

• Language and locale settings– Languages and displays can be configured for

different countries

• Plan for post-installation tasks– Internet access?– Discs from manufacturers?– Access to backed up data?

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Installing and Upgrading

• Insert disc and product key, accept EULA• Windows 2000 hardware requirements• Windows XP issues

– Upgrade paths– Hardware requirements– Compatibility– Upgrade Advisor– Registration vs. activation

• Windows Vista issues– Upgrade paths– Hardware requirements– Compatibility

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Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Install or Upgrade to Windows 2000 Professional

• Hardware Requirements

Component Minimum RecommendedCPU Pentium 133 MHz Pentium II 350 MHzMemory 64 MB 128 MBHard Disk 2 GB with 650 MB

free6.4 GB with 2 GB free

Network None Modern NICDisplay VGA resolution SVGA resolution Optical Not required unless

installing from CDNot required unless installing from CD

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Install or Upgrade to Windows XP Professional

• Upgrade paths

Windows 98

Windows XP Pro

Windows Me

Windows NT 4.0SP5 or later

Windows 2000 Pro(including SPs)

Windows XP Home

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Install or Upgrade to Windows XP Professional (continued)

• Hardware Requirements

Component Minimum RecommendedCPU Intel or AMD

233 MHzIntel or AMD 300 MHz

Memory 64 MB 256 MBHard Disk 1.5 GB available hard

drive space4 GB available hard drive space

Network None Modern NIC

Display DirectX version 8800 × 600 resolution

DirectX version 8800 × 600 resolution

Optical Any CD or DVD drive Any CD or DVD drive

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Hardware and Software Compatibility with XP

• Upgrade Advisor

– First process that runs from setup.exe

– Provides list of devices and software known to have issues with XP

– Can be run by itself • From Microsoft’s Web site• Or winnt32 /checkupgradeonly• See sidebar on p. 473 for detailed instructions

– On the installation CD or can be downloaded for free

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows XP Installation

• Bootable CD-ROM boots into Setup– May need to set boot order in BIOS

• Registration—optional

• Activation– Mandatory within 30 days– Antipiracy mechanism– System disabled after 30

days if not activated– Via Internet or phone

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows Vista Installation

• Upgrade paths = complicated– See chart on p. 475

– Windows 2000 to Vista requires clean installation

– Windows XP variables• Version of XP• Version of Vista

– Must start the upgrade process from within the older operating system

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows Vista Installation

Component Minimum Recommended

CPU 1 GHz CPU; 64-bit CPU for 64-bit OS

Any dual-core or better CPU

Memory 1 GB RAM 2+ GB RAM

HDD/SSD 40 GB with 15 GB free space

100+ GB drive

Network Modern NIC with Internet access

Modern NIC with Internet access

Display DirectX 9 graphics with 32 MB RAM; 128 MB RAM for Aero

DirectX 10 graphics with 512+ MB RAM

Optical DVD drive DVD or BD drive

Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor:

www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

For Upgrades, Follow These Pre-Upgrade Steps

1. Check compatibility at Windows Logo’d Product List or through Upgrade Advisor

2. Back up data and configuration files

3. Perform “spring cleaning”

4. Perform disk scan and defragmentation

5. Uncompress all files, folders, and partitions

6. Perform virus scan and disable or remove virus-checking software

7. Disable CMOS virus checking

8. Be prepared to do clean install

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows 2000/XP Clean Install

• Steps same for both • Start by booting to CD-ROM• Text mode

– Can partition drive in this mode– Choose file system (usually NTFS)

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows 2000/XP Clean Install (continued)

• Graphical mode

• Enter product key– Good idea to write this on the CD

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows 2000/XP Clean Install (continued)

• Configure computer name and administrator password

• Network settings

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows Vista Clean Install

• Fully graphical• Boot to DVD• Enter product key

before anything else

• Product key determines the version installed

• Leave blank and you’ll install trial

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows Vista Clean Install (continued)

• Follow the screens– EULA– Upgrade or clean installation– Select Custom (advanced) for more options

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows Vista Clean Install (continued)

• Create/select partition

• Load drivers for HDD if needed– F6 and have disc ready

• Then the big copy– Usually a fairly quick process– Faster than the XP installation process

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows Vista Clean Install (continued)

• User customization follows the big copy– Choose user name and password– Select profile picture– Choose desktop

background– Manage Automatic

Updates– Adjust time and

date settings

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows Vista Clean Install (continued)

• If connected to a network, you’ll be prompted to set security levels– Selecting Home or

Work makes your computer discoverable

– Selecting Public Location stops discovery

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows Vista Clean Install (continued)

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Lab – Installing Vista

1. Insert Vista DVD

2. Reboot the computer

3. Boot to the installation DVD– You might need to

make changes in CMOS to boot to the optical drive first

4. Follow the setup wizard

5. Do not put in a product key

6. Install Windows Vista Ultimate

7. Insert a user name

8. Skip the performance test

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Automating the Install

• Scripted installation for Windows 2000/XP– Setup Manager can be downloaded– Creates answer files for multiple versions of Windows– Fully automated or partially automated– Can add list of names or let Setup Manager generate

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Automating the Install (continued)

• Automated Installation Kit (AIK) in Windows Vista– Complicated tool because can create very

customized Master Installation files– Master Installation and other tools enable you to

create images– Can then put those images on network or

removable media– Well beyond CompTIA A+

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Automating the Install (continued)

• Disk cloning – Exact copy of drive with fully installed and

configured OS– Works great with standardized systems

• Sysprep– Sysprep sanitizes many unique settings on a

computer– Can help create a automated installation that

requires select user input

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Troubleshooting Installation Problems

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Text Mode Errors

• No boot device– Either start up disc is bad, or CMOS not set to boot

off optical drive first

• Windows Setup requires XXXX amount of available drive space– Check formatting and/or space of C: drive

• Not ready error on optical drive– Check the CD-ROM drive and disc

• BSoD– Probably due to hardware incompatibility– Check the Microsoft Knowledge Base

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Graphical Mode Errors

• Hardware detection errors– Could be hardware incompatibility– If noncritical hardware, find and install correct

drivers

• Can’t read CAB files– Check the CD-ROM for scratches– Try copying i386 files onto hard drive– Replace the optical disc

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Lockups During Install

• Smart recovery, repair install– Unplug system and restart– Will automatically start where it left off

• Optical drive, hard drive– Try another disc or another CD-ROM drive

• Log files—track progress of install– Setuplog.txt– Setupapi.log - Hardware / Drivers

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

• SETUPLOG.TXT−Tracks the complete installation process−Logs success or failures of file copying, registry

updates, reboots, etc.

• SETUPAPI.LOG−Tracks the hardware installed−Uses PnP codes, so not too easy to read

Lockups During Install (continued)

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Post-Installation Tasks

• Apply fixes for the OS– Patches fix specific problems– Service packs are collections of patches

• Upgrade drivers• Restore user data files

– Windows Backup (Windows 2000/XP)– Backup and Restore Center (Windows Vista/7)– Copy files and folders manually

• Migrate data and retire the old computer

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Migrating and Retiring

• Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (FSTW) for Windows XP– Run the utility on new computer– Create the Wizard Disk– Run the Wizard Disk on old computer

• Can select files and folders to migrate• Doesn’t do program files, just data

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Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Migrating and Retiring (continued)

• Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (FSTW) for Windows XP– Transfer files via network or removable media

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Migrating and Retiring (continued)

• User State Migration Tool (USMT)– Functions similarly to the FSTW

– Requires a Windows domain

– More of a business or enterprise tool

– Useful for migrating many users

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Migrating and Retiring (continued)

• Windows Easy Transfer– Upgraded FSTW for Windows Vista/7– Functions similarly to the FSTW– Adds security for network transfer– Can use a special

Easy Transfer cable to migrate via USB

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Migration Practices

• What do you do with the old drive?

– Follow these principles

• Migrate in a secure environment• Remove data remnants from drive• Recycle old equipment, don’t trash it

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Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Migration Practices (continued)

• Migrate in a secure environment

– Until passwords protect new system, don’t bring it online

– Don’t walk away from the migration if in nonsecure space

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Migration Practices (continued)

• Remove data remnants– Formatting won’t do it– Partitioning won’t do it– Use high-caliber

wiping tool like Window Washer

• Good enough for common use, not government use

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Migration Practices (continued)

• Recycle

– Computers and peripherals contain hazardous materials

– Don’t dump in trash

– Find recycling service

– Donate old gear

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Post-Installation

• Installation creates Windows-specific folders needed by the OS

• Easy way to memorize is to learn the purpose of each file and folder

– Windows 2000/XP structures

– Windows Vista/7 structures

• Each group of OSes differs a little

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows 2000/XP Boot Process in Brief

• After POST, BIOS looks for valid OS in the boot sector– MBR points to system files– System files (NTLDR, BOOT.INI, NTDETECT.COM)

start the PC and point to boot files– NTOSKRNL loads device drivers and starts loading

the OS files– GUI starts to load

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows 2000/XP Boot Process Revealed

• NT Loader manages the startup process– Windows 2000/XP system or start-up files that must

be in the root directory of the system partition• NTLDR (NT Loader)• BOOT.INI• NTDETECT.COM• NTBOOTDD.SYS (only needed for SCSI controllers that don’t

have their own ROM BIOS)

– System Partition• Active partition (typically C: drive)

– Boot Partition• Where OS files located (C:\Windows on XP by default, but

that can be changed during installation)

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows 2000/XP System Files: NTLDR

• NTLDR (NT Loader) manages the start-up process until control is handed over to NTOSKRNL (NT kernel)

– To find available operating systems, NTLDR reads the BOOT.INI file

– If multiple OSes are available, a menu shows up

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows 2000/XP System Files: BOOT.INI

• BOOT.INI is a text file that lists the available OSes and where to find the operating system files in the boot partition

• Can edit BOOT.INI in System applet | Advanced tab | Startup and Recovery | Settings button | click Edit button in System startup section

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

More Windows 2000/XP System Files

• BOOTSEC.DOS is read by NTLDR if it finds a different OS to load

• NTDETECT.COM detects the hardware if you choose to boot to 2000/XP

• NTBOOTDD.SYS is used if NTLDR detects that the boot partition resides on a SCSI drive that lacks a ROM chip for BIOS support

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Critical Windows 2000/XP Boot Files

• NTOSKRNL.EXE– This is the kernel, the major component of Windows

• HAL.DLL– The hardware abstraction layer enables Windows to

run on many types of hardware

• Registry– The Registry is a database that contains information

about everything installed, including hardware and software

• WINLOGON.EXE– Winlogon provides a login prompt or Welcome

screen

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Boot Up Windows 2000/XP

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition

Windows Vista Boot Process

• Two paths: BIOS and UEFI• BIOS

– Checks boot order for MBR– Reads location of system partition from MBR– Boot sector points to BOOTMGR

• UEFI jumps straight to BOOTMGR– BOOTMGR reads data in Boot Configuration Data

(BCD) file – BOOTMGR loads WINLOAD.EXE

• Loads HAL, Registry, drivers

– NTOSKRNL.EXE takes over through login

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Mike Meyers’ CompTIA A+® Guide to

Managing and Troubleshooting PCs

Third Edition