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@robinhood42 wrote:

I could really use some help. I have a Dimension 9100 and it came with WinXP Pro SP2 for the Operating System. I also have the OS disk as well as the Resource CD and the System Software Tools disk on hand. Here's the question:

 

I have been reading the forums and it seems like a lot of people are having a difficult time doing a Clean Install with the WinXP Pro SP2 disk that Dell has sent. From what I have read, many people have had to make a SlipStreamed disk with SP1a and SP2 on it in order for Windows to do a clean install. Well, I know that sometime down the road there will be at time when my pc will need Windows to be reinstalled. So, what I'd like to know is if the Windows XP SP2 disk will work or will using a SlipStreamed cd be the answer? I know what a SlipStream CD is, but I have to be  honest. I am clueless when it comes time to make it. Still, I prefer to have the right disks on hand when that day comes. I may even want to do a clean install sooner to get rid of all the junk on my pc, but unless I know for sure that I have the right disks, I wouldn't attempt it.

 

So, can someone who knows about this please give me the scoop on what is going on? And maybe what to do about it if the OS disk I have with SP2 can't be used for a clean install? I read that some people have no problem using Dell's OS disk while other's say their computer freezes before Windows is fully installed.

 

You are misunderstanding what you are reading.  Dell's Windows XP Pro disk that includes SP2 is perfectly fine for doing a clean install.  There would be nothing to Slipstream since you have a disk with the end product already. 

 

When you do your clean install, you will lose the ability to use Symantec's PC Restore, you'll have to download a long list of drivers starting with the Chipset driver, you'll have to setup to handle your SATA boot drive, install all your software...  In other words, consider uninstalling the programs you don't want - it's quicker.

rick,

This is what confuses me:

This was written by a forum member. Tomscy2000. He had a disk with SP2 on it and still had problems. This is why I get so confused. Maybe you can clear up the confusion.

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So I did exactly what Novon did, and xp installed without a hitch! Basically you need to do two key things -- NOT use a windows cd w/sp2 directly on it (either w/sp1a only or with sp2 slipstreamed onto the end) AND set your video device from PEG-->PCI. I still don't know why windows xp w/sp2 throws a tantrum, but with a sp1a install, the only problem it has is that perhaps the PCIe bus is throwing it off when it attempts to install a default video driver.

So it turns out there's both a SP2 and video issue.

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You're right. It's much quicker to delete programs than to have to reinstall Windows. Some of the posts said that they already had the OS disk with SP2 and that they still had problems reinstalling Windows. That is the part I was wondering about. Since I don't have a SCSI or Raid configuration, I won't need the Intel Matrix Storage Manager download on the Dell Download page. Is that right?

Robin

Message Edited by robinhood42 on 08-17-2005 09:04 PM

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@robinhood42 wrote:

rick,

This is what confuses me:

This was written by a forum member. Tomscy2000. He had a disk with SP2 on it and still had problems. This is why I get so confused. Maybe you can clear up the confusion.

______________________________________________________________________________________

So I did exactly what Novon did, and xp installed without a hitch! Basically you need to do two key things -- NOT use a windows cd w/sp2 directly on it (either w/sp1a only or with sp2 slipstreamed onto the end) AND set your video device from PEG-->PCI. I still don't know why windows xp w/sp2 throws a tantrum, but with a sp1a install, the only problem it has is that perhaps the PCIe bus is throwing it off when it attempts to install a default video driver.

So it turns out there's both a SP2 and video issue.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Robin

Robin:

1) As there is no reason to do a clean install when you can remove the programs you don't want and cleanout what loads in memory, you seem bent on creating more work for yourself.

2) I do not have a 9100.  I've therefore not had any issues.  There is no good reason why the Dell disk with SP2 won't work if you install the SATA driver and set the video as he suggests.  As you read in his posts, he used a improperly borrowed copy of XP from his school which violates the EULA, you have no idea what that copy has on it versus anything else.

2) I do not have a 9100. I've therefore not had any issues. There is no good reason why the Dell disk with SP2 won't work if you install the SATA driver and set the video as he suggests. As you read in his posts, he used a improperly borrowed copy of XP from his school which violates the EULA, you have no idea what that copy has on it versus anything else.

Message Edited by tomscy2000 on 08-18-2005 12:26 PM

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@tomscy2000 wrote:

2) I do not have a 9100. I've therefore not had any issues. There is no good reason why the Dell disk with SP2 won't work if you install the SATA driver and set the video as he suggests. As you read in his posts, he used a improperly borrowed copy of XP from his school which violates the EULA, you have no idea what that copy has on it versus anything else.

Hi Rick,

I am wondering exactly how I am violating the EULA. My school authorizes me to use these copies of windows; I own these copies. They are legally mine to own and to install. I have a separate serial number for each of them. These copies aren't installed on any other machines. Since these copies of windows are volume licensed directly from MS, why would it be different from a normal windows CD that someone buys from a retail store? If anything, the Dell OEM CD would be different from the standard windows CD.

-- Tom

Tom:

Nobody owns copies of Windows except for Bill Gates, you own a license.  You stated that you got the disks from the school's IT department, to me that did not mean you got them legitimately.  If you did get them legitimately, then I was mistaken and apologize. 

The XP CDs, whether OEM or Retail, are identical.

Ok, I have to ask. My better sense says not to, but here goes. If the disks that were at the school are the same as OEM disks or retail disks, then when Tom tried to do a clean install of WinXP Pro SP2, on a 9100, why didn't it work? Why did he have to use a disk with just XP Pro and SP1a and then add SP2?

Please don't yell.