Tutorial: Installing Windows XP 64-bit

Question

After the fairly crappy time I had installing the 64 bit version of Win XP on my computer and peicing together various bits of information contained in various threads on this board in order to make it work, I've decided that I'm going to attempt to write as complete a tutorial as possible detailing the install process from beginning to end in hopes that it helps prevent people from running into the same problems I did.  Anyways:
Step 1 - Acquire a copy of Windows XP 64-bit
Obviously you need a copy before you can install it, and you can get a free beta copy of Windows XP 64-bit Edition from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/downloads/upgrade.asp
You can either download the file (it's about 450 MB, though if you're on broadband your transfer will be over fairly quickly...microsoft.com servers always seem to offer excellent download speeds), or have physical CD's shipped to you.  Either way it doesn't cost anything, all you have to do is fill out their form, and they'll give you your stuff.
Step 1a - Burn the .iso file to a CD
This section is probably wholly unnecessary, but for the sake of completeness, I'll include it...
If you had microsoft ship you a premade CD, skip this step.  However, if you downloaded your copy of Win XP 64, you'll need to burn the image file you downloaded to a CD before you can use it.  To do this, open your preferred burning software (I'd recommend using Nero), and select "Burn Image" (or the equivalent option for your software), and specify the .iso  file you downloaded as the image file to burn.  You should have your CD in a matter of minutes.
Make certain that you note and record the CD-key contained in the e-mail microsoft sent you.  Writing this on the CD would be a good idea, as would printing out a copy of the e-mail.
NOTE:  Do not burn the ISO file itself to a CD (i.e. create a new data CD and just drag the ISO file into the compilation window)...this will not work as it will put the file itself onto the disc, rather than the CD image contained within the ISO, which is what you want.
Step 2 - Prepare your system
Carefully preparing things before you attempt to install Windows XP 64 can save you a lot of headaches when install time actually comes.  
First of all you want to make sure you have a seperate drive/partition to install Windows XP 64 onto (unless you're crazy enough to want a beta operating system to be your full-time OS...and I've seen Win XP 64 in action, and trust me, you do not want this just yet).  If you are using RAID make sure you are using the VIA controller and not the Promise controller as from what I've heard there are no 64-bit drivers out yet for the Promise RAID controller.  Also if you are using RAID, be sure to read the following thread, which details the process of putting the 64-bit RAID drivers onto a floppy disk, and follow the instructions carefully:
https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threadid=40859&sid=
Next, download all applicable drivers you can and save them in a sensible place (like c:\win64drivers).  If the driver comes in an archive, be sure to pre-extract it as well (Win XP 64 does not come with native zip/rar support).  It's okay if you don't want to get/cannot find all the drivers you'll need for your system, but at the very least make sure you download and extract the 64-bit ethernet adapter driver appropriate to your setup (most likely the RealTek RTL8169/8110 drivers), otherwise you'll be without internet (which makes downloading additional driver and program files kind of difficult).  You may also want to pre-download the installation files for some of the more essential program, like Winzip and WinRAR.  The best place I found to find 64-bit drivers is located here:
http://www.planetamd64.com/modules/mx_pafiledb/dload.php?sid=
Step 3 - Configure your BIOS
Certain BIOS settings can screw up the install process, causing it to lock up at certain points, so it's worth taking the time to make sure things are set properly.
Anyways, reboot your computer and go to the BIOS setup area, and make sure that "USB Legacy Support" is disabled, and that "Cool'n'Quiet" support is enabled...this will help reduce the chances of your installer hanging.  I found that after my install had completed I was able to re-enable USB Legacy support and have everything still work fine, but your results may vary, and different BIOS versions may have different effects on the installer.  I installed with BIOS version 1.20.
While you're here, check your Boot Order settings and make sure that your CD/DVD drive is listed before your HDD is, and then insert your Windows XP 64 CD into the drive.  Save your settings and exit.
Step 4 - Installing Windows XP 64
When the computer reboots from step 3, you should see a message that says "Press any key to boot from CD..," so locate the "any" key and press it, and the windows installer will load.
If you've done everything mentioned in the above steps, your install process should hopefully be a painless one, free of the errors and random stupid crap that caused me to spend several hours doing something that shouldn't have taken more than 30 minutes.  Select your desired install path (being careful to make sure that you're not installing over your 32-bit Windows) and enter information as requested.  If you need access to your RAID array during the install process, then be sure to press F6 when it asks you, and load the driver off of the floppy disk you created.
If all goes well with the install Windows XP 64 should boot, and you can go and install all those handy driver files and software programs that you prepared in Step 2, and get your ethernet adapter working, and so on.  Reboot your system after installing the updated drivers, and if windows successfully loads, then congratulations, your install was successful.
NOTE:  Do not install the MSI LiveUpdate software from the CD, as I did this and when Windwos loaded I would get a message saying "The service is not started" and when I clicked "Ok" the system would spontaneously reboot.  Disabling the software fixed this problem.
...I think that's all.  Let me know if I've missed anything.

Answer 1

Quote
Originally posted by Some1ne
Here's a step-by-step description of how to install the RealTek RTL8169/8110 driver, as the process isn't quite as straightforward as it should be:
1.  Download the Windows AMD64 Drivers available here:
http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloads1-3.aspx?series=16&Software=True
2.  Extract the files in the archive to somewhere like c:\win64drivers\ethernet
3.  Once inside Win XP 64, do the following:
a.  Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Device Manager
b.  Go down to the "Other Devices" section (they'll have yellow ?'s)
c.  Right click on the ethernet controller and click "Update Driver"
d.  Click "Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)"
e.  Click "Dont search.  I will choose the driver to install."
f.  Double click the "Network Adapter" entry, and then click "Have Disk..."
g.  Select the directory which you extracted the driver files to
i.  You will get messages saying that Windows cannot verify that the driver matches your hardware, and that the driver is not WHQL certified.  Ignore these and click "Continue"/"Install Anyways" and your RealTek RTL8169/8110 ethernet adapter will spring to life
after i have done this the pc just stops. and if i reboot it stops at the loading screen :/ can you tell me whats wrong i got a k8t neo serie card and windows 64 bit edition
edit: i did it :D works now