🚀 go-pugleaf

I just received my new Thinkpad this afternoon. It arrived with Windows 98
pre-installed, with some miscellaneous software. I wanted to run Windows XP
Professional. After booting Win98 and verifying that everything seemed to be
in order, I decided to install WinXP. I had had the computer for about one
hour at that point. First, I used Partition Magic 7.0 to split the 6GB hard
drive into two partitions, the first with the existing Win98 original
installation with 2GB, and the remaining 4GB unformatted. This portion of
the procedure was  accomplished uneventfully. I already had on hand the two
PM7 diskettes, and splitting the drive took about ten minutes from start to
finish.

Next, I booted to the WinXP Pro cd, and had the installation software format
the 4GB partition with NTFS. I used the 'regular' formatting option, not the
Quick option. This also went well, and the XP installation routine proceeded
to complete the XP install without a hitch. The XP installation took about
one hour. I've installed XP Pro numerous times, but didn't have to do
anything special in this instance.

Having completed the installation, I verified that everything seemed to be
working. I set the Workgroup name and connected easily to my office local
area network. I then downloaded the numerous XP updates from Windows Update.
After a short download (I got about 240,000 cps with DSL) and a couple of
mandatory reboots, my new computer was up to date.

Next, I installed America Online 7.0. Later on, I installed Norton Internet
Security Family Edition 2002. That's about all I need right now, as this
system is for an individual who runs heavy AOL and little else. As I write
this post, I'm running a Norton Antivirus scan, just to make sure.

The long and the short of it is that my XP installation went quite well. I
have no complaints and had no problems. I've rebooted several times into
both operating systems and experienced no difficulties. I have just one
issue. In System Properties under XP, I have one yellow question mark,
indicating a missing driver. It gives me very little information, but when I
compare XP System Properties to 98 System Properties, it appears that under
XP I am missing a Thinkpad system configuration utility, which seems to be
giving rise to the yellow question mark, but I am not certain.

I still need to test the modem and set up AOL local access numbers, but I'll
save that for another time. Modem diagnostics under XP indicate that the
modem is operating properly.

I have to stress that I used absolutely no external drivers. Everything was
supplied on the XP Pro installation cd. The network interface card, modem,
ATI Rage video, and everything else (except as cited above, the yellow
question mark) was automatically set up.

That's about it for now. I'm going to add 256MB memory for about $50 to
bring the system up to 384MB, and I'm ready to place this notebook computer
in service. As always, any comments, feedback or random thoughts will be
appreciated and will generate a prompt response. PLEASE post your comments
to the newsgroup. I check it daily.