Clean install step-by-step

[caykroyd]

Does anyone have a step-by-step guide for a clean install of a computer?  I'm planning on using win98se or XP pro.  Game launcher, keywiz, TV.  Which mame version should I install, and any rom managers?

[Brad Lee]

install 98se, minimal install
directx, and theres a couple windowsupdates I grab, like the large IDE and mapped drives patches
video sound & mobo drivers
and then youre set to jsut add mame & games etc

[Cue-Ball]

That's definitely not what i'd call a "clean" install.  Anytime you install an OS without completely wiping out the drive then you're just installing over your current install.  That means that current registry settings are retained, all the unnecessary dlls that you've installed are still there, ini files are unchanged, etc.  To do a really CLEAN install you need to format the drive or delete the partition.  Simple as that.

What OS are you using?  Most of the more recent Microsoft OSs have an option during text mode setup that allows you to specify the partition you want to install to and choose whether or not to format it.

[Brad Lee]

Sorry, i did leave that out  

Typically what I do is have either a separate drive or at least another partition that is just mame+roms so  I can just format and install


For XP, it's pretty much the same process, except a lot of unnecessary services(at least for "just" a cabinet) are installed by default. These can be safely disabled or removed. Also Getting rid of a lot of the visual enhancements is a good thing if you are only running mame, like the shadowed windows, xp start menu, some of the new theme-type things

I'll see if I can find the list of ideal service settings and edit that into this message

[SirPoonga]

In XP install, part of the install can be to format the drive, tada, clean install.

[StephenH]

For 98:

Boot from CD, and use FDISK to delete the DOS Partition, and re-create it, and format it with FAT32.   Then, reinstall 98.

For XP:

Boot from CD, and use the XP interface to delete and reformat the drive with either FAT32 or NTFS, and reinstall XP.