computer science

Next is the 'who will use this computer? ' screen.

Every name you type in here will create a new user, in addition to the default administrator account you set the password for earlier. Be aware that every user you create here is also made a member of the administrators group by default, so a password should definitely be set for each user. You can't do that now though. We will cover this in a second. After adding the user accounts, you are prompted to choose one, and tossed into the XP environment. So pretty...

But First things first… Go to the start menu/control panel/user accounts and allocate passwords to all the user accounts you created during the install process. Paranoia is a healthy trait.

Product Activation - a necessary if annoying step

Microsoft Windows Product Activation is an anti-software piracy measure that Microsoft has instituted to prevent casual copying of the Windows XP operating system. In simple terms, once you have installed XP using your original License key, you have a 30-day grace period in which to activate this license, after which XP will not be usable until it is activated. You may initially activate your copy of Windows through the Internet or over the phone.

Your License will remain activated until one of the following happens:

You re-install Windows XP on the same computer, erasing the hard-drive - In this case you will have to call Microsoft to re-activate the license, but as long as the configuration of your PC has not changed, you are allowed unlimited re-activations.

You install the same copy of XP on a different computer - The new installation will not be activated, and will have the 30-day grace period. At this point, you will have to telephone Microsoft, since Internet product activation will no longer work after the first activation. Installing XP on a new computer appears to be a violation of the Windows XP End-User License Agreement, however.

You change the hardware configuration of your PC beyond a certain amount - When you activate your XP license, you provide an installation ID, which is generated from a combination of the Product ID key from your license, and a numeric hash derived from certain system components.

The video card, IDE controller, network adaptor(s), RAM amount, processor type (and serial number), Hard-drive type (and serial number), and optical drive(s). It is unclear what the tolerated amount of change is, although it is cumulative. Once you have exceeded this amount, XP will require reactivation by phone. Unlike transferring XP to a new computer though, upgrading the original computer is not a violation of the EULA, and users are supposedly allowed up to 4 reactivations by phone per year.

When activating XP by phone, the operating system will provide you with a 50-digit installation ID, as detailed above, which needs to be provided to the Microsoft rep in exchange for an activation number which is entered into the OS.

Updating and protecting your new XP installation

Now that you’ve installed Windows XP and got your Internet connection set up (as per the instructions provided by your ISP), the final essential step to take is to update your Windows XP installation. Microsoft provides a steady stream of security fixes, patches and updates to fix newly discovered security vulnerabilities within Windows XP. If you have a broadband Internet connection, you must keep your copy of XP up to date. If you don’t, you risk almost instant infection from a host of Internet-borne parasites and intrusion by malicious users.

Although it is much more secure than previous versions of Windows in many respects (password security, for example) Windows XP is sadly vulnerable to infection via network or the Internet.

Activate The Windows XP Firewall

Prior to connecting to the Internet for the first time, you should activate the Windows XP firewall. To do this:

Go to ‘start/control panel/network and Internet connections/network connections’ then right click on your Internet connection (which should be at the top of the page) and select ‘properties.’

Now go to the ‘advanced’ tab and place a check the ‘internet connection firewall’ box.

Your PC is now protected by the Windows XP firewall, which will prevent outside intrusions into your system.

As soon as you can connect to the Internet, you should run Windows update (‘start\all programs\windows update) and download all ‘critical’ patches and updates. This will take a while, but you can consider it an essential part of the installation process. Now that your new XP install is fully up to date and protected by a firewall, you are ready to use it.

For more information on securing Windows XP so you can use your system without worry, see our ’10 steps to securing Windows XP’ guide here.

That's about everything you need to know about installing Microsoft Windows XP. Explore it yourself. As you can see it is quite different in presentation from previous Windows versions.