I have a PC specs as follows:

athlon 1700 MHz 
256 Meg RAM
Fairly recent Gigabyte MB
80 Gb h/d
1 x CD rom player

Can you provide a brief step-by-step guide to installing 
windows XP professional (corporate edition) no need for service 
packs etc. from an original CD c/w keycode etc.

I'd like to peform a straigtforward install under the NTFS 
file system.

If this seems like a simple question, it is, there's no catch.. 
I haven't done this procedure for a while, I have a job to do this afternoon 
& having attended a 21st birthday celebration last night the finer 
pasts of my analytical mind aren't quite at 100% ;-)

Thanks.

---

Clarification of Question by gan-ga on 02 Apr 2003 04:45 PST

This might simplify an answer, sorry I didn't mention it in the original Q.

I'll be starting from a formatted hard disk C:

Hi Gan!

As always, it is a pleasure to help a fellow researcher. Your system
surpasses all the minimum system requirements based on your given
specs so installing Windows XP won't be a problem.

Windows XP Professional System Requirements:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/sysreqs.asp

Windows XP lets you install under the NTFS format without using any
other additional software to format the drive. You simply boot the
system to your CD and you're ready to go. Just follow XP install's
step-by-step instructions. To install from the CD, change your BIOS'
boot settings to "Boot to CD" first or change it to the designated
letter of your CD drive.

Before you install WinXP, please MAKE SURE to download the correct XP
drivers for the following peripherals:

Video
Sound (if any)
Modem (if any)
LAN (if any)
SCSI  (if any)
Printer  (if any)
Other peripherals

You also need to write down your Product key on a piece of paper for
your convenience. You may also need to write some important
information regarding your system so make sure to have pen and paper
ready.

If you want to make a faster install, you should decide on doing a
clean install rather than an upgrade. This way, there's no need to
scan for viruses or remove unnecessary programs if ever.

Since Microsoft already published the install instructions in the Web,
I'll only provide you with the necessary links. Below are the links
that will guide you to properly install your Windows XP professional:

Installation:

Getting Ready to Set Up Windows XP Professional
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gettingstarted/guide/default.asp

Install Windows XP Professional - New Installation
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gettingstarted/guide/installnew.asp

For more details on WinXP installation and setup, please click the
link below:

Install Windows XP Professional - Questions and Answers About Setup
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gettingstarted/guide/installqa.asp

Take note that somewhere in the installation process you will be
prompted to choose either FAT-32 or NTFS -- choose NTFS.


Configuration:

Configure Windows XP Professional - Create Your Accounts
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gettingstarted/guide/configaccount.asp

For more details on how to configure WinXP, please click the link
below:

Configure Windows XP Professional - Questions and Answers About
Configuring Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gettingstarted/guide/configqa.asp


In case you have other questions regarding XP troubleshooting
installation, custom settings, etc., you can view the long list of
How-to articles for WinXP through the link below:

Windows XP Professional How-to Articles
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/longlist.asp


If you still want other sources of info regarding WinXP installation
aside from Microsoft, you can simply click on my search strategy
below.

Search strategy:

install "windows xp" ntfs - in Google Web search
://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=install+%22windows+xp%22+ntfs


I hope I helped you again. As always, should you have any
clarifications, just whistle and I'll respond. Thanks Gan. ;-)

Best regards,
Chard

Spot on, thanks very much Feilong.

Thanks Gan. You made my day. :-)