Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!aioe.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: "Rod Pemberton" Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth Subject: Re: Does anybody use Windows XP ? Date: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 19:41:01 -0400 Organization: Aioe.org NNTP Server Lines: 87 Message-ID: References: <2c786412-01d7-42ab-935b-9167a50e6e82@googlegroups.com> <736f5664-49b9-4445-8ae1-40af0720871d@googlegroups.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: CNsg4fVcCsvs3UaOgZtQCw.user.speranza.aioe.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed; delsp=yes Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Complaints-To: abuse@aioe.org User-Agent: Opera Mail/12.16 (Linux) X-Notice: Filtered by postfilter v. 0.8.2 Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.forth:29251 On Tue, 01 Apr 2014 13:55:57 -0400, Jason Damisch wrote: > Here is a pertinent question. > > I'm not personally developing anything at the moment. But > hypothetically if I were, and I wanted to support Windows OSes from XP > through 7 or 8, then I would probably want to have a PC for each > incarnation of Windows from XP through 7 or 8. So, I would have several > PCs in my shop for testing on, each with a different version of Windows. > > That leads to the question. What happens when the installation of my XP > machine becomes too crusty, with everybody and their pet goat trying to > run something at startup, and with countless thingies showing when do > the Control-Alt-Delete maneuver. In this case I *NEED* to reinstall > *XP*. I can do this because I have the legal reinstall disc. But it > would be nice to then get all of the updates from Microsoft installed > from up until they cut off support for XP. > > Is there a normal way to do this, like pay Microsoft lots of $$ to > become an official developer and they give you another stack of disks > with updates on them or whats the story? > The usual methods: 1) -install XP (purchased on CD) -install SP1 (burned to CD by you) -install SP2 (burned to CD by you) -install SP3 (burned to CD by you) -connect to the internet, update via MS update, while still available... -alternately, download needed updates via archive sites 2) -copy all XP, SP1, SP2, SP3 files from CDs to your system -combine all updated files into a "slipstream" image -burn new bootable XP install disk using updated "slipstream" image -connect to the internet, update via MS update, while still available... -alternately, download needed updates via archive sites 3) -boot PC using MS-DOS v7.10 bootdisk from Windows 98/SE -use FDISK from Windows 98/SE to create a FAT32 partition -use XP's OFORMAT to align format the partition -use XP's CVTAREA to reserve contiguous space in the partition for NTFS metadata -use OPK version of XP to install WinXP to FAT32 -use XP's CONVERT to convert the FAT32 partition to NTFS Instructions for "slipstreaming" a new CD and in depth info on an OPK FAT32 install of XP are available on the internet. But, if you ever *NEED* to reinstall XP, you could be screwed ... Let's review: 1) Most PCs that come with re-install and recovery CDs don't provide you with a MS license number needed to re-install. (I bet you didn't know this.) This is because the authorized MS OEM used their own special license number to install to many PCs, which they don't give to you... So, in that common case, you're lefting scrounging the internet for a list of illegally obtained license numbers. Hopefully, one of them is for your PC vendor, or you won't have a valid license number to re-install with. Also, many of those that were provided with a license number, lost or misplaced it, or threw it out with the PC packaging, etc. 2) Most PCs that come with XP pre-installed, also have a bunch of device drivers, OS patches for BIOS, etc that are *NOT* available on the recovery disks. So, you reinstall, and now you can't get drivers for your printer, or touch pad, etc. And, you didn't backup your existing system. That was the only place they existed. 3) You reinstall XP from your recovery disk, but the version your vendor installed was upgraded to SP1, or SP2, or SP3, or patched for the vendor's BIOS. Your PC doesn't work correctly without the upgraded XP version. 4) Your vendor installed a special boot partition that works inconjuction with the PCs BIOS. You wiped out the partition when you reformatted the drive. Now, your PC won't boot, can't boot. This is the reason most corporate IT departments use Norton Ghost or a similar application to "clone" the existing system after it was initially setup. They don't have to reinstall from scratch later on. Rod Pemberton