WHAT IS WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM
The main operating systems involved in networking now days are Windows and Linux. Both are having their own advantages and disadvantages. Linux works better on older, less powerful computer hardware because it requires less resource (memory or processing) as compared to Windows. Compared to Windows, Linux is virus-free and bugs free. Windows provides the user a mature, familiar and interactive interface that is easy to learn and understandable. But we think that a network administrator should have an expertise on both of these leading network operating systems. Even most of the network administrators are running both Linux and Windows on the server for the best networking.
This section provides you the:
(1) Discussions, demonstrations, and lab exercises to sharpen your skills and knowledge necessary to admin and support Windows XP/Linux networking.
(2) It contains an overview of Windows XP and Linux/Unix in the beginning to develop your understanding of these operating systems.
(3) Further in this course you have an example to introduce you in the lab. Then you have different lab exercises on Linux/Unix and on Windows XP.
Overview of Windows
Windows XP is an operating system that was produced by Microsoft for use on personal, including home and business desktops, laptops, and media centers. It was first released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, and is the most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base. The name "XP" is short for "experience."
Windows XP was the successor to both Windows 2000 and Windows Me, and was the first consumer-oriented operating system produced by Microsoft
System Requirement for windows XP.
- Pentium 233-megahertz (MHz) processor or faster (300 MHz is recommended).
- At least 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM (128 MB is recommended).
- At least 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available space on the hard disk.
- CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
- Keyboard and a Microsoft Mouse or some other compatible pointing device.
- Video adapter and monitor with Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher resolution.
- Sound card.
- Speakers or headphones.
Windows Installing Procedure
This procedure demonstrates how to install Windows XP Professional. The procedure to install Windows XP home edition is very similar to the professional edition. Since Windows XP Pro is more advanced operating system, it will be used to demonstrate the installation procedure.
The best way install Windows XP is to do a clean install. It is not difficult to perform a clean installation. Before you perform the installation I recommend that you check Windows XP Compatibility List to ensure that your hardware is supported by XP. If your hardware is not on the compatibility list you can check your hardware manufactures website to download the drivers for Windows XP. Save all the necessary drivers onto floppy disks or CD before you start the installation.
Step 1 : Start your PC and place your Windows XP CD in your CD/DVD-ROM drive. Your PC should automatically detect the CD and you will get a message saying "Press any key to boot from CD". Soon as computer starts booting from the CD your will get the following screen:
Step 2 : At this stage it will ask you to press F6
Step 3 Press S to specify that you want to install additional device.
Step 4 : You will be asked to insert the floppy disk with drivers. Press enter after you have inserted the disk.
Step 5 : You will see a list of drivers for your HDD. Select the correct driver for your device and press enter.
Step 6 : You will then get a Windows XP Professional Setup screen. You have the option to do a new Windows install, Repair previous install or quit. Since we are doing a new install we just press Enter to continue.
Step 7 : You will be presented with the End User Licensing Agreement. Press F8 to accept and continue
Step 8 : This step is very important. Here we will create the partition where Windows will be installed. If you have a brand new unformatted drive you will get a screen similar to below. In our case the drive size is 8190MB. We can choose to install Windows in this drive without creating a partition, hence use the entire size of the drive. If you wish to do this you can just press enter and Windows will automatically partition and format the drive as one large drive.
Step 9: Windows will show the total size of the hard drive and ask you how much you want to allocate for the partition you are about to create. I will choose 6000MB. You will then get the screen below. Notice it shows C: Partition 1 followed by the size 6000 MB. This indicates the partition has been created. We still have an unpartitioned space of 2189MB. Next highlight the unpartitioned space by pressing down the arrow key. Then press C to create another partition. You will see the total space available for the new partition. Just choose all the space left over, in our case 2180MB.
Step 10 : Choose format the partition using NTFS file system.This is the recommended file system. If the hard drive has been formatted before then you can choose quick NTFS format. We chose NTFS because it offers many security features, supports larger drive size, and bigger size files.
Windows will now start formatting drive C: and start copying setup files as shown
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on the two images below :
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Step 11 : After the setup has completed copying the files the computer will restart. Leave the XP CD in the drive but this time DO NOT press any key when the message "Press any key to boot from CD" is displayed. In few seconds setup will continue. Windows XP Setup wizard will guide you through the setup process of gathering information about your computer.
Step 12 : Choose your region and language.
Step 13 : Type in your name and organization
Step 14 : Enter your product key.
Step 15: Name the computer, and enter an Administrator password. Don't forget to write down your Administrator password.
Step 16: Enter the correct date, time and choose your time zone.
Step 17: For the network setting choose typical and press next.
Step 18 : Choose workgroup or domain name. If you are not a member of a
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domain then leave the default settings and press next. Windows will
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restart again and adjust the display.
Step 19: Finally, Windows will start and present you with a Welcome screen. Click next to continue.
Step 20 : Choose 'help protect my PC by turning on automatic updates now' and press next.
Step 21 : Will this computer connect to the internet directly, or through a network? If you are connected to a router or LAN then choose: 'Yes, this computer will connect through a local area network or home network'. If you have dial up modem choose: 'No, this computer will connect directly to the internet'. Then click Next.
Step 22 : Ready to activate Windows? Choose yes if you wish to active Windows over the internet now. Choose no if you want to activate Windows at a later stage.
Step 23: Add users that will sign on to this computer and click next.
Step 24 : You will get a Thank you screen to confirm setup is complete. Click finish.
Step 25 : Log in, to your PC for the first time.
Step 26 : You now need to check the device manager to confirm that all the drivers has been loaded or if there are any conflicts. From the start menu select Start -> Settings -> Control Panel. Click on the System icon and then from the System Properties window select the Hardware tab, then click on Device Manager.
If there are any yellow exclamation mark "!" next to any of the listed device, it means that no drivers or incorrect drivers has been loaded for that device. In our case we have a Video Controller (VGA card) which has no drivers installed.
Your hardware should come with manufacturer supplied drivers. You need to install these drivers using the automatic setup program provided by the manufacturer or you need to manually install these drivers. If you do not have the drivers, check the manufacturer's website to download them.
To install a driver manually use the following procedure:
(a) From the device manager double click on the device containing the exclamation mark.
(b) This would open a device properties window.
(c) Click on the Driver tab.
(d) Click Update Driver button. The Wizard for updating device driver pops up as shown below:
You now get two options. The first option provides an automatic search for the required driver. The second option allows you to specify the location of the driver. If you don't know the location of the driver choose the automatic search which would find the required driver from the manufacturer supplied CD or Floppy disk. Windows would install the required driver and may ask you to restart the system for the changes to take affect. Use this procedure to install drivers for all the devices that contain an exclamation mark.
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