98se upgrades

[Guest]

after installing an "oem" version of xp pro sp2 on a new rig built from
scratch with new hardware it is making the w98se installs in other rooms of
the house look rather unappealing. especially since a couple of them are a
little ratty anyway. since the oem cds don't seem to offer an upgrade path
(i'm basing that on other posts i've read, no personal experience) what is
the best way to upgrade the others. is it possible to buy one full retail
version and additional liscences, or does it have to be a box for every
install. i recently upgraded the original house pc from 98 to 98se and was
pleasantly surprised at how painless the process was, especially given the
machine's original buggy nature and history, it was the machine everyone in
the house learned on. of course alot of hardware upgrades were made in the
ensuing years, very little remained of the original other than the
installation. that and one other look xp capable. possibly a third, which is
a music only rig with no net connection, just an archive and play machine.
chances are that one will stay the way it is, but the other two look like
good candidates for a dose of xp. anyway, is it one box and an additional
liscence or two boxes? due to age and the values of the files involved i
would rather take an upgrade path than a reinstall. I have looked at the
hardware assessments involved, and that end of it would be inexpensive. Even
though i know a clean install is always the best performance option i have to
save alot of files and settings and have to either take the upgrade route or
leave them as is, since the "finding my stuff" factor is higher than the
performance factor.
if you have experiences with upgrade paths on older installs you would like
to share, please comment on the value of the process.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Steve;
As you guessed, you can not perform an upgrade with Windows XP OEM.
One of the many reasons OEM is cheaper than retail.
If you choose to go OEM, you will need to perform a Clean Install on each.

If you choose or need to perform a Clean Installation FAST can help:
http://aumha.org/win5/a/fast.htm

You will need a license for each computer:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/addlic.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/addlic.mspx
There is minimal savings and you can often get the complete package locally.
These also do not apply to OEM, retail only.

Make sure any computer you upgrade exceeds the minimum requirements:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/upgrading/default.mspx
#3 Upgrade Advisor can be particularly useful.

 

[Jim Macklin]

You need a license for each computer you want to upgrade.
It is probably least expensive to buy a retail upgrade for
each computer from an on-line discount seller than to buy
multiple licenses direct from MS.
See www.pricewatch.com to find dealers and prices.

OEM can be upgraded (using a retail upgrade or full install
CD), OEM can DO the upgrade.

It will cost about $100 for each upgrade and you may have
expenses for hardware upgrades, such as RAM, hard drive or
graphics cards. Be sure to run the upgrade advisor program
on your old systems to check for problems.
See
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316941


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


| after installing an "oem" version of xp pro sp2 on a new
rig built from
| scratch with new hardware it is making the w98se installs
in other rooms of
| the house look rather unappealing. especially since a
couple of them are a
| little ratty anyway. since the oem cds don't seem to offer
an upgrade path
| (i'm basing that on other posts i've read, no personal
experience) what is
| the best way to upgrade the others. is it possible to buy
one full retail
| version and additional liscences, or does it have to be a
box for every
| install. i recently upgraded the original house pc from 98
to 98se and was
| pleasantly surprised at how painless the process was,
especially given the
| machine's original buggy nature and history, it was the
machine everyone in
| the house learned on. of course alot of hardware upgrades
were made in the
| ensuing years, very little remained of the original other
than the
| installation. that and one other look xp capable. possibly
a third, which is
| a music only rig with no net connection, just an archive
and play machine.
| chances are that one will stay the way it is, but the
other two look like
| good candidates for a dose of xp. anyway, is it one box
and an additional
| liscence or two boxes? due to age and the values of the
files involved i
| would rather take an upgrade path than a reinstall. I have
looked at the
| hardware assessments involved, and that end of it would be
inexpensive. Even
| though i know a clean install is always the best
performance option i have to
| save alot of files and settings and have to either take
the upgrade route or
| leave them as is, since the "finding my stuff" factor is
higher than the
| performance factor.
| if you have experiences with upgrade paths on older
installs you would like
| to share, please comment on the value of the process.

 

[Guest]

this was very informative, especially the info on the files and settings
transfer wizard. i was aware of it but had no idea how advanced the functions
and customization is.
thanks

 

[Michael Stevens]

In

after installing an "oem" version of xp pro sp2 on a new rig built
from scratch with new hardware it is making the w98se installs in
other rooms of the house look rather unappealing. especially since a
couple of them are a little ratty anyway. since the oem cds don't
seem to offer an upgrade path (i'm basing that on other posts i've
read, no personal experience) what is the best way to upgrade the
others. is it possible to buy one full retail version and additional
liscences, or does it have to be a box for every install. i recently
upgraded the original house pc from 98 to 98se and was pleasantly
surprised at how painless the process was, especially given the
machine's original buggy nature and history, it was the machine
everyone in the house learned on. of course alot of hardware upgrades
were made in the ensuing years, very little remained of the original
other than the installation. that and one other look xp capable.
possibly a third, which is a music only rig with no net connection,
just an archive and play machine. chances are that one will stay the
way it is, but the other two look like good candidates for a dose of
xp. anyway, is it one box and an additional liscence or two boxes?
due to age and the values of the files involved i would rather take
an upgrade path than a reinstall. I have looked at the hardware
assessments involved, and that end of it would be inexpensive. Even
though i know a clean install is always the best performance option i
have to save alot of files and settings and have to either take the
upgrade route or leave them as is, since the "finding my stuff"
factor is higher than the performance factor.
if you have experiences with upgrade paths on older installs you
would like to share, please comment on the value of the process.

OEM versions of Windows have always been coded for clean installs but was
easily tricked with a command line switch into doing an upgrade. OEM
versions of XP will only do clean installs and there is no easy work around
to trick setup to do an upgrade.
Your best value will be to purchase retail boxed upgrades from online
vendors or discount stores like Best Buy, Wal-Mart, etc. eBay is also an
option for discounted Windows, but you must be very careful with your
purchase. Most of the sellers are selling OEM version and that is not what
you want. Look for sellers[not vendors] that are not commercial vendors and
are selling a single retail Windows XP. Do not purchase COA's[Product Key]
without the CD and do not purchase XP CD's without the Product Key.
You need to have a unique Product Key for each Windows XP you install.
--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com
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