setting up replacement hard drive

Question

I have the XPS 200. The hard drive recently died and I just received a new one from Dell (250GB SATA). It came with instructions for installing the drive (which I have done), but not for reinstalling XP. I have the Dell CD that came with the computer for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. I also remember that the drive was partitioned.

I need to know:

1. How do I reinstall Windows with that CD?

2. What do I do regarding partitioning the drive? Is it necessary/suggested for the XPS 200?

3. I also have a Dell CD with drivers. What do I do with that?

I thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

Regards,

Steve

Balaji Ramanath · Answer

See if this article helps you out.

europa303 · Answer

Following the XP reinstall, you will need to install the necessary drivers for the hardware in your system. The procedure is described here:

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?c=us&cs=19&docid=1A0C0937D62A8739E0401E0A55174744&journalid= 4F1F82483DC811DBAE564F9328EE04A4&l=en&s=gen

holycry · Answer

Thank You!! What do I do regarding partitioning the drive? Is it necessary/suggested for the Dell XPS 200?

holycry · Answer

Do I need to partition it at all?

Balaji Ramanath · Answer

It is up to you how you want to partition the HDD.  There are no rules for this.  The XP installation CD should give you the option to format and repartition the HDD before the OS installation.

Balaji Ramanath · Answer

No, unless you want to install media direct on the HDD.  In that case, you should start with the MD CD, let it partition the drive and then install the OS on the remaining part of the HDD, then go back and put MD in the MD partition previously created.  If you don't want MD on the machine, your entire HDD can be one partition.

holycry · Answer

Thank you so much!

Balaji Ramanath · Answer

You are welcome, and good luck.

Windows General

setting up replacement hard drive

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