Episode: 198
Title: HPR0198: Installing Windows
Source: https://hub.hackerpublicradio.org/ccdn.php?filename=/eps/hpr0198/hpr0198.mp3
Transcribed: 2025-10-07 13:36:49

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Three, two, one.
Welcome to HackerPuppet Radio everyone, my name is Soak, today I'm installing Windows.
This is just to make sure it's all ready before Minizzo twice to install.
As before I will be making notes so go along and then I'll record the episode, so you don't
actually have to sit around and wait for me to install things.
I have VirtualBox running and I have Virtual Machine already and set up for installing Windows.
This will be the exact same VM that Minizzo will be using for both his installs, so I'm
not going to cheat with a different memory or anything, which by the way is set to 256
megabytes and made nice so for my real Windows XP version that came with a laptop.
I've got the CD key from the bottom of the laptop which is annoying because the laptops
not stuck down but I've got cables and stuff plugged into it so I literally had to unplug
everything before lifting up so which idiot came up with that idea.
And the ISO is mounted on the Virtual Machine.
One thing on, press an EQ to move from the CD, press Enter to accept the XP's big, huge
u-layer which I'm not going to read, F8 to agree, wait and wait and it has spotted an
existing installation.
Let's just copy over the top because I want to do this from scratch, press Escape to
install, which doesn't really make sense to say, I want to continue so I hit Escape whereas
virtual through the Windows operating system, Escape takes you back, cancels, stops.
Anyway, let's continue with C. Now, time to pick file system, so let's just pick quick
NTFS format, really doesn't matter, it's under 3GIG or whatever the fat 32 limit is, so
who cares.
So let's go and pick that, press F to format and wait whilst it's copied files over and
wait and wait and we're still waiting and finally it reboots itself.
Now it's telling me about an exciting new look whilst doing flashy lights on the bottom
right of the screen, not quite sure what it's doing, installing it as anyway.
Odd thing is I don't remember it asking me any questions, keyboard layout that kind of
thing.
So I think it might have stolen some information from the previous install because it
definitely asked me questions last time I installed and in fact we skipped the collecting
information stage entirely along with the dynamic update, but we'll see.
See I installed XP once and then reinstalled over the top now to make a list of everything,
some not forgetting anything.
Now here it is, regional and language options, okay to all that we don't care, names
so no organisation, some weird random name for the computer, name blah blah blah, okay
that.
It picks the time correctly, but then again as it's through VM it should do with BIOS,
I must remember to see how that works and subuntu.
Network settings let's just pick typical.
It says 29 minutes to complete installation, which is now 26 and the time it took me to
type that, which really wasn't that long because I'm a pretty fast typist.
So it's still kind of done when those will automatically adjust my screen resolution,
it's going to pick 800 by 600, which to be fair is probably the biggest we can do without
actually going off the screen on this laptop.
The laptop monitor is widescreen, so it's like 1100 by 800 or so, somewhere the widescreen
issue, 1152 by 800 I think, but 1024 by 768 won't fit because the 768 will be too big
to go on the height because of the menu passing things.
So 800 by 600 probably is actually the most you can do without going off the screen, so
I'm not too obsessed about this.
Okay, welcome to Microsoft Windows.
Let's spend a few minutes setting up your computer.
Well, wasn't it doing that beforehand?
I mean, I don't know.
All right, how all this computer connect to the internet?
Let's pick direct, even though it's not, but the VMware will handle that for me.
That's not registered.
Let's set up a new user, Zook, and that looks like it's it.
Kind of.
Let's install the VM guest edition, so I don't have to keep clicking in and out of the
window.
Standard Euler blah, blah, blah.
Oh, it's not past the Windows logo testing, let's continue anyway, even though it complains
about that twice once for the screen and once for the mouse.
How coined my first reboot?
You never forget your first, apparently.
Anyway, it thinks the resolution is rather low at 640 by 480, which it had already changed,
but hey, never mind.
Let's click and increase the size of it, back to 800 by 600 again.
Let's not take the XP tool, but let's update.
Start internet and it loads up the hotmail or the live hotmail login thing.
Oh, look, I have 30 days left to activate Windows.
So, now I must download and install this ActiveX control.
Let's say trust Windows because it's a virtual machine, don't give a shit.
I need to install the latest version Windows update.
Windows is now downloading an update, so in the software it tells me, and then it says
it's registering, which is like, okay, whatever, okay, express updates.
Then it nags me about how I haven't set automatic updates on, ignore that, don't care
about that.
Let's download and install now a mere four updates to install, which surprised me, I thought
that we have to turn more, but on the four were background intelligence transfer service,
Windows January Valtors, both of which are to do with putting more service packs and
patches on your machine, and I think the other two were actually patches.
Oh, look, another reboot, and we're back a few minutes later.
Wow, I can learn about the exciting new features in XP, and let's go back to updating.
Start internet, express updates again.
Now it says, I must validate my version of Windows.
Now I don't think an XP has the non-VM clause that Vista had, so this is an issue.
It's bought for this machine, the same motherboard is on this machine, it's still the same
machine.
I've not updated what I put some more memory in, but mind the detail, that doesn't count.
Because you can have up to three changes, but the basic thing is the motherboard.
If you change the motherboard, you need the new license.
That's how I'm understanding of the leak leaves anyway.
There wasn't the VM clause, so there isn't a problem.
This is a valid license copy of Windows XP for this machine.
Let's continue.
It says, validation and progress, which is a little interesting, because I haven't actually
entered a key in yet at all.
But it figured that out, and then asked me that I needed to do it.
So how do I activate Windows, or it says, click start, point to all programs, point to accessories,
point system tools, and then click activate Windows.
The activation wizard will walk you through the steps required to activate Windows.
Click on start, and the whole menu system is now blocking the whole thing, because the
start menu is like two thirds of the screen, because it's say 100 by 600.
So I can't actually read what it was saying, so I have to click off and make notes again.
Anyway, so start, all programs, accessories, system tools.
I don't have an activate Windows in there.
So the website is telling me to do something that I can't, I physically cannot do.
So let's click on the little keys on the taskbar and try that.
Activate over the net, but let's not register.
Apparently, I do not have a valid key, which is crap, because as I said before, this came
with the laptop.
Okay, the website page says, use the new validation device beta, or beta, if you're American,
beta, to activate your Windows XP and make it genuine, or genuine if you're, yeah, anyway.
So let's try that.
Windows XP has not been activated yet.
Would you like to activate it?
Now, well, yeah.
This copy of Windows XP must be activated before you can continue to use the validation advisor.
Now does anyone else see a problem with this?
Activator by clicking here, you can't activate it because it's not a Activator's.
Yeah.
All right.
Let's see what customer service options I get, this could be a laugh.
Error.
Actually, maybe that's because it's an old IE, I've got on here, like 3 or 1, up now 5.
They come with it.
Not 6.
It's that 7 and 6.
So whatever.
Anyway, I'll version of Internet Explorer.
Let's go down like that.
Go to Microsoft.
Grab it.
Oh, I can't because I don't have service pack 2.
Which is fun.
I can't update Internet Explorer to find out the customer service options from Microsoft.
Because I haven't got a general version of Windows XP, they say.
It is, but they don't realize it.
So that according to them, it is an invalid version, non-genuine.
So I can't go on and get a copy of Internet Explorer because that requires service pack 2.
Service pack 2 won't because I don't have a general version.
And because of that, I have a general version.
I can't go to the customer support online to figure out how to download the cache 22, basically.
I mean, I could find out that it's the alternative, but it's really kind of done that they block you in the C you can't do it.
Because they've updated their website to not handle the old version of Internet Explorer that comes with XP.
Anyway.
So can we download service pack 2 from somewhere, somewhere, non-Microsoft?
Quick Google later software patch.com comes up first after the Microsoft ones for XP, SP2.
That's not a plug.
I have no idea if it's any good or not.
It's just that's the one that came up if you're following through.
Don't need them.
All right.
Big download, 256.
266 make.
Well, okay.
Actually, that's nothing compared to what I say.
But when you can't resume a download, it seems really, really long.
Get you worried.
W get dash c for the win or to win or to pono.
But whatever the current children are saying, I don't know.
I don't keep up with this modern new age stuff.
Finally, it's downloaded.
And wait, it's going to take six minutes to copy it to my desktop.
It's a single hard drive here in the virtual machine.
How can it take six minutes to change the damn file allocation table from I cache to desktop?
What the hell is going on there?
But anyway, it's going to take six minutes to copy it.
Open file, another supplemental license to agree to blah, blah, blah.
Then install and sit on my, I might, I might some more.
And then clear it's in space for the hard drive because it's full.
The actual hard drive, not the ZMP hard drive.
And then wait.
And then go and play Knet Walk because it's taken for everyone.
Knet Walk is kind of fun.
All right.
Finally, restart, which thanks the third time for restarting anyway.
I've lost track.
Then realize that it's 1.30 in the morning and you've been doing this for hours.
But you have a new IRC, so it's once in a complete loss.
And you've got some high scores on Knet Walk.
Now it seems to have crashed on me whilst rebooting.
So let's restart the VM and see if that helps.
Oh, the loading screen's changed it.
It used to say the copyright was had a date on it.
It was 2002 or something.
But now it's lacking any dates at all.
It's just copyright Microsoft.
So hopefully that means it's done something.
All right.
It's complaining about turning automatic updates on blah blah blah.
Whatever it might stop nagging me.
It's going to do it 3 a.m. in the morning when the VM isn't going to be on anyway.
But whatever.
Who knows I don't have any virus protection.
Whatever ignore that.
Now let's see if we can grab I7 and save it to the desktop again.
And this time it's taking about 20 thanks to download.
Run it except the license agreement.
Another latest updates thing or whatever.
Now it's downloading updates for Windows Internet Explorer 7.
Except I thought I'd just gone to Microsoft website to download the latest version.
So why did we have to download updates for Windows Internet Explorer 7
when we just downloaded Internet Explorer 7?
I mean, what is up with that?
If you're going to do that say download this to install Web install or whatever.
Call it.
Don't say download Internet Explorer 7.
Anyway, whatever.
The other thing that bugs me is the bar just keeps going around.
So it's not like from left to right.
It goes from left to right.
And then left to right again.
And it's just no idea how long it's going to take.
And I want to go to sleep preferably before the wave has to get up.
So I've got 19 moves on novice and 33 so far on normal.
Oh sorry, Knetwell.
So it's running the malicious software removal tool.
Although that's a bit odd.
It doesn't actually seem to be removing Windows.
So maybe we should file a bug report with that team.
Anyway, so it's four minutes of sitting there updating.
Which was actually longer it took to download the damn thing.
So what was it doing there?
But I'm going to board a Knetwell now.
It's a fun game but you can only play a few games at a time.
It's been about six minutes each.
It started 136.
It's now 142 by the clock.
Alright, what other games do we have here?
Don't desk full again.
It's got a 1.3GB so far and all of them is installed.
XP and update, Internet Explorer.
That works well, doesn't it?
And I already put some stuff inside to wipe.
So let's wipe that and continue.
Another reboot.
Number four, I think, if we keep in track.
Another crash.
Doesn't like rebooting for some reason.
But let's restart manually.
Now what was I'm doing?
I was doing something.
Yes, the Windows Genuine Advantage, which is an advantage for them and not for you.
Ooh, I've forgotten how our IE had put the menu bar in the middle, not the top.
And that's just eek.
Alright, tools, Windows, update, express, need to validate again.
This time, it pops up on activation screen automatically.
Now I do not want to register.
Alright, it fails again.
So let's try it through IE to that way.
XP will not be out.
It faded.
We'd like to validate it now.
Now it says I've got a phantom up to fix it.
I mean, what is up with this?
Anyway, for a laugh, let's contact them via Instant Bestia, which is on the options.
Oddly enough, the only thing that's required to do is tell them how they should address you.
Hmm, the possibilities.
Linux Guy.
FMS.
Or even more of a mess, actually.
Anyway, let's just put this out.
So here we go.
Amary.
This is quite AMOR.
Why?
Amary.
No, anyway.
Amary is doing this session.
Connected.
Famry.
Welcome to Microsoft Customer Service Chat, so how may I assist you?
So I said I'm having trouble activating XP.
Have you ever reinstalled your copy of Windows XP?
Well, sort of.
This is a VM session.
But it is valid for a copy for this machine.
I would request that you contact our Windows activation centre by calling blah blah blah.
They are available 24 hours a day.
Can't you actually help me with this?
No, we're in customer service.
We're not technically trained.
Well, thanks anyway.
You're welcome.
Is there anything else I can help you with today, Zoke?
Well, actually the only help he gave me is to remind me how shit the Microsoft supporters.
Anyway, no thanks.
Thank you for contacting Microsoft Customer Service Chat.
Please feel free to contact us again.
We are available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
System Messages Amary has left the session.
The session has ended.
Mine, whatever.
That was completely useless.
I really can't be asked to find them up at 2 o'clock in the morning, even though actually their website,
which is support.mixoff.com slash gpslashcontactwga,
does say,
they're hours and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
At an antique time, Monday to Friday.
Response time approximately 2 minutes.
So the whole we're available 24 hours a day.
Sorry.
Him saying that the phone number was available 24 hours a day is kind of weird.
Anyway, I'm going to go off to bed now and continue this later.
Well, except obviously it is later because I'm doing the dates, but anyway.
So I just tried to boot up the VM and a blue screened an instant reboot for me.
I have no idea what was going on,
but trying to discarding the snapshot took me back to the previous install I did when I wasn't making notes.
So that was complete waste.
I'm giving up whatever.
Now, should be good enough to get Miniso to be able to compare the two version sites.
So hopefully that will be good enough.
I've been installing Zubuntu though to check who is working.
Now, I know I'm not comparing apples to apples here.
XP is what? 10 years old now.
Many anyway.
Six at least, but probably nearer than.
I mean, Zubuntu is the 804 release.
So,
comparing not completely the same thing.
But that is kind of my point, actually.
I don't have to buy the update for Zubuntu to get.
To put this one on the laptop, I have to go and blow 600 bucks on the copy.
In fact, it's probably more of like 800,
because you can only get the ultimate version to do the VMware.
Whatever, anyway.
So, it's going to cost me a buttload of money,
whereas with Zubuntu or Fedora or Gen2 or whatever,
I can just go download the ISO and run it.
I mean, if Microsoft wants to front me a conversion of this,
I will be more than happy to put that on in the VM,
and I will compare.
Or even a trial one, I can try it,
feeling I like a month or whatever.
I will try that.
But I'm not going to go and blow 600 bucks on something I'm not going to use,
apart from once.
So, I'm going to try with all I've got, which is XP.
One little weird thing, actually.
Zubuntu, it boots up and asks for which language.
I pick the run without touching all computer options for now,
and it takes a while to boot up,
unpack some CD and so on and so forth.
Increases resolution to 8,
Enter by 600, set before and blah, blah, blah.
Trying to install crashes in the middle, which is really weird.
Also, I tried the new nuisance,
new new new sent,
GNU sent, whatever,
the richer storm inversion of Linux,
that isn't Linux,
heard, whatever, anyway, that one.
GNU sends,
new, whatever it is.
But I did try that and that crashes as well.
So, I think I've got some issues with my VMware session here.
So, maybe some of the boot,
some of the boot crashing in Windows
was not actually Windows itself.
So, I really don't know.
But anyway,
there is my very brief installing Windows.
I still hate it.
I don't want to install it.
That means it's just whatever.
Anyway, so that's just a brief cover of installing Windows.
Thank you for listening.
If you've got any questions,
you can email me at
zooksorrygmail.com.
That's xray osca kilo
echo Sierra osca Romeo Uniform
at gmail.com.
Or you can visit me at zook.org.
xray osca kilo
echo.osca Romeo Golf.
Thank you for your time.
And you've been listening to Hacker Public Radio.
Thank you for listening to Hacker Public Radio.
HPR is mounted by kero.net.
So, head on over to C-A-R-O dot-E-T for all of your time.
Thank you very much.
