Please help a paranoid Me user take the plunge to XP.

[finalcut]

I know that this has been touched on a lot, but after doing many searches, I’m just real freaked about the big switch.
I have a full version of XP home ready to install, as well as the Digi001 LE 5.1.1 upgrade.
I also have Waves Gold 3.5 with the 3.5 Platinum Upgrade ready to re-install.

Everything is backed up…
All things considered, what are the key things that I should be ready to deal with? I am worried that I might run in to trouble with Waves more than anything else…

My System:
Athlon 2100XP 512DDR ram.
Abit KGR7 board – raid not active
Dual 7200 rpm hard drives. One for the OS and Apps, and one for PT sessions…

[Mr_Seven]

Take the safe route and build a second system to try out the xp. This is what I did.

[Stone Knife]

Go ahead and insert the XP CD into a CD drive and let the first "what do you want to do?" menu come up, and check the bottom box: Check System Compatibility.

You will get a report that will indicate if there are some drivers and/or applications that may not work as-is, and then you can take preemptive steps by:

-Downloading XP drivers (like for Printer, Cable Modem, Meeces, etcetera)
-Upgrading the obsolete apps that won't make the XP cut (such as DriveImage, Roxio CD Creator, in my case).. But just because it gets by this test it isn't 100% sure to work. I went to all the 'sites of my peripherals makers and if there was an XP version for my stuff, I downloaded it.

Put all the new XP drivers on a finalized closed CD and include that with your 'migration bundle'. Then load up the XP and new drivers/apps.

or

Second option: Set up a dual-boot with XP on the second partition following the WinMe partition. I did my switch this way until I was sure I had all the XP stuff worked out. See the MS article Two Boots!

[murph16]

finalcut, (love that album by the way)

I was paranoid like you and I had a new upgrade of XP sitting in my studio for the last 4 months. I thought I was gonna have problems. I was running 98SE with 5.1.1 and it was rock solid stable, so I was hesitant.

I finally did it this week and although I did have a couple of nightmares...(downloaded drivers before the upgrade and they were missing and/or unreadable when I went to XP) I finally got it to work and it is working fine. Just read everything carefully and make sure you have everything you need before you start installing XP.

The ProTools part of the switch was the easiest part. Getting Microsoft Outlook to work and getting the drivers for my DSL modem and SCSI controller to work were much more complicated.
But that's what I get for using my computer for everything.

It's not that bad. Don't be scared. Set aside some time and be patient. Once it's done, you'll be very happy.

My XP upgrade is just a few days old, so I don't have extensive reports on it just yet. But so far, it seems very stable. My huge sessions run fine and the first time I armed 32 tracks and hit record for a test...I got goosebumps!!

Two things...after installing PT...don't forget to set limit record allocation...open ended will slow down your record start time.
AND
shove as much RAM as you can into your machine. I went from 256 to 512...really makes a difference and assures your system can handle XP.

Go for it.

If you have any problems, we'll be here to calm you down and help you out.

Regards,
Murph [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

By the way, upgrade your Waves plugs to 3.6 before you do the XP install. The Waves plugs aren't even an issue. They make it through the upgrade beautifully. Then you can start thinking about the new 4.0 Waves upgrade...although that costs money...I'm not sure why. I haven't done it yet.

[Roy Howell]

Hi Finalcut,

All great suggestions above. I will add the guidelines my friends gave me to go by when I upgraded from ME to XP.

You mentioned that everything is 'backed up', so I'm gonna probably say something you know.
Just make sure your email is backed up, with both your address book and your 'Identities' stored someplace separate than the sys. drive where XP is going.
Do a simple search for 'Address Book' is you have to, to find it. And email, I believe it's in Windows/Application Data/Identities. All you need to store is that 'Identities' folder, and if you have more than one, grab them too.

Like you, I went from ME to XP (XP Pro, for me). Remember to download the 'Addendum' from the Digi download page though. And the crucial steps to follow are (I think) on pp. 5-8.

You will get a choice of either NTFS or fat32 for your partition. (I was advised to choose NTFS) If you get NTFS on your system drive you can always convert it to that file system after XP is installed. XP includes a file system converter for that purpose.

Now, my friend Quikdraw guided me on my transition from ME to XP with this. Here's what I went by:

The order of installation is:

1) Install XP
2) Install 4 in 1 drivers
3) Install drivers for all hardware in your system EXCEPT Digi 001
4) Install Windows XP SP1 (DO NOT INSTALL ANY OTHER CRITICAL UPDATES YET!)

*I find that the 5.3.1 install goes easier if Quicktime 6 is installed and updated from the Apple website prior to installing PTLE.

5) Install PTLE 5.3.1 and make sure it runs
6) Install anything and everything else that you want on your system, including the Dig Wavedriver, and Windows Updates


I hope this helps... -Roy

[Stone Knife]

Originally posted by murph16:

downloaded drivers before the upgrade and they were missing or unreadable...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">That's why I suggest you put them on a CD and Finalize the CD before starting the migration. This way the CD will contain your necessary drivers, and you can just drag them out onto your C: drive into an 'install' folder, or launch them from the CD... [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Roy- or anyone- what are 4 in 1 drivers?

[Allen Hallada]

Just JUMP!!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]


Waves works great in XP.

[cinemod]

My personal preference:

Don't upgrade! You want to start clean!!

Remove the older OS drive and replace it with a new unpartitioned/unformatted. Come on, it isn't that expensive :^).

Boot off the XP upgrade CD. After it can't find a previous version, it'll ask you to pop in the CD of your previous version. After you do that, it'll ask you to partition the drive etc...

Just my 2 sense. I was nervous too. But it took about 40 minutes for the install and after following all the steps suggested in previous threads, it runs great!!!!!!!!

Just do it.

[murph16]

Don't upgrade! You want to start clean!!

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">This was my only regret. I did the upgrade and I can't help but think that there is a pile of 98SE remnants hanging around in my system. Only time will tell, but for now it seems to work fine!

[finalcut]

Thanks guys. Lots of great info! Don't worry - I'm not upgrading, I'm doing a clean install with a full version of Win XP home. Downloading drivers is a great suggestion. I'll download them all and burn them to a disc.