Installing a new Dell PC with the Windows XP Staff Image

Starting your PC for the first time

If you are loading the Staff Image from CDs then check the BIOS to ensure the PC will boot from CD, load the first CD and boot from this then follow the instructions. The PC will reboot automatically when loading has finished. Continue as detailed below:

1. Connect the PC to the network and turn it on.
2. Windows XP will detect and install the hardware components.
3. If you receive any Driver Verification warnings accept them by clicking the Yes button.
4. When prompted for a name for the PC enter the hostname of the PC issued by IT Services.
5. When prompted for an Administrator password it does not matter what you use as it is reset later.
6. At this point the computer may appear to hang/freeze. This is because the PC is doing a variety of tasks, including finding drivers and creating a computer account. Please wait until all disk activity has stopped before logging in, even if the logon box appears. This can take up to an hour.
7. If you receive a Network Connection error dialog box then click on Yes to continue and try joining a domain later. The Troubleshooting section at the end of this document explains how to do this.
8. Use the Administrator Password to log onto the local PC.

Adding new domain accounts to Local Administrators Group

If you are the IT support person in your department you may want to add yourself (it-supp) and possibly the final user of the system (main-user) to the Administrators Group on the PC. Any account listed in this group will have Administrator privileges on the PC and will be able in stall software and make changes to the configuration of the PC.

1. Right-click My Computer
2. Click on Manage
3. Click on the plus sign in the left hand pane next to Local Users and Groups
4. Click on Groups
5. Double-click on Administrators in the right hand pane
6. Click on Add
7. Type in rdg-home\it-supp (or rdg-home\your-user-name if the PC is for you) to the replace the text <<Type names separated by semicolons or choose from list>>
8. Click on Check Names. You will be asked to authenticate as a user in the domain. Type in your username and password when prompted. You should then see the text typed at step 7 change to RDG-HOME\it-supp and is underlined. Click on Add and then OK

Log off and then logon as it-supp on the RDG-HOME domain (make sure that the Log on to: box is set to RDG-HOME (if you cannot see this setting then click on the Options>> button).

Configuring applications

Ensure you are logged in as the main user.

Change the display refresh rate

On some machines the default rate is set at 60Hz, for most people this needs to be increased to at least 75Hz to eliminate visible flicker. To change this:

• Right-click on the Desktop
• Select Properties
• Select Settings
• Select Advanced
• Select Monitor
• Change Screen Refresh Rate to 75Hz or above

Internet Explorer 6 setup

Restore Favorites from your old computer.

Windows Update

Run Windows Update to get the latest critical security updates:

• Click on Start and then Windows Update

You will then need to scan for updates and select the critical ones.

Outlook Express 6 setup

Logon as the main user.

Outlook Express is setup with a default account called nobody. This account can be edited with your network user details. To do this, start Outlook Express and follow these instructions.

• Select Tools, then Account and Mail
• Select the My University Email account and click on Properties
• Rename the account to a suitable name (eg John's email)
• Change the name and email account to your name and university email address
• Change the account name in the Servers tab to your username (eg vis01test)

Once you have changed these settings you must close Outlook Express and restart it for the new settings to apply.

Restore data from old PC

For the main-user account:

• Restore data from previous PC to D:\Documents and Setting\main-user\My Documents (or just My Documents if logged in as that user)
• Restore Address Books
• Restore Internet Explorer Favorites
• Configure Printers
• Configure any additional network drive mappings

Change the Administrator password

You must change the Local Administrator password:

• Click Start, then Control Panel
• Double-click on Users Accounts
• Select Administrator
• Click on Reset Password

Troubleshooting

If you had an Network Connection error message then you need to join your PC to the domain.

1. Click on Start
2. Click on Control Panel
3. Double-click on Network Connection
4. From the Advanced menu select Network Identification
5. Click on Change
6. In the Computer Names box type your hostname (this should have been sent to you with your IP details)
7. In the Domain box type: RDG-HOME
8. Click OK
9. You will be asked for a username and password that has permission to add your computer to the domain. This is not your own account, see Joining the University Domain - Username and Password for details.
10. Click OK
11. It may take a few minutes to create the domain account for your machine. You should receive a Welcome to RDG-HOME window. Click OK.
12. Click OK
13. Click OK
14. Click Yes to restart the PC