How do I get Microsoft to fulfil their legal obligation to provide

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Hi All
I am having great difficulity finding a way of getting some support out
of Microsoft !!!!. I have purchased a "full" edition of Microsoft Windows XP
which I intend to use to upgrade my old Windows 98 operating system ... The
best I can get it to do is a dual boot sytem with Windows 98 and Windows XP
!. I have tried every possible combination to get this to work, but to no
avail !!!. Why on earth anybody would want a a dual boot system with two
flavours of Windows is beyound me. Obviously if I stick the Windows XP
instalation disk in my Windows 98 box, I am going to want to upgrade my old
operating system ... Why can't I get it to do this ?. Is my "full" version
not a full version ???. What do I need to do to get it to do an upgrade from
98 to XP ???.
Why is it that there is no way of emailing Microsoft from their website
for basic support, such as they are legally obliged to provide for their
products ???.
 
Tony said:
I am having great difficulity finding a way of getting some
support out of Microsoft !!!!. I have purchased a "full" edition
of Microsoft Windows XP which I intend to use to upgrade my old
Windows 98 operating system ... The best I can get it to do is a
dual boot sytem with Windows 98 and Windows XP !. I have tried
every possible combination to get this to work, but to no avail
!!!. Why on earth anybody would want a a dual boot system with two
flavours of Windows is beyound me. Obviously if I stick the
Windows XP instalation disk in my Windows 98 box, I am going to
want to upgrade my old operating system ... Why can't I get it to
do this ?. Is my "full" version not a full version ???. What do I
need to do to get it to do an upgrade from 98 to XP ???. Why is
it that there is no way of emailing Microsoft from their website
for basic support, such as they are legally obliged to provide for
their products ???.
Click to expand...

I must ask a simple question.. What do you mean by "Full" edition of
Microsoft Windows XP?
There are several flavors of "Full" editions of Windows XP.
In general for the public - there are:

- Retail Edition (nice box, usually a CD Case, usually the sticker that has
the CD key is on the CD case or the Certificate of Authenticity.)
- Upgrade edition (similar to retail edition - less expensive.)
- OEM edition (no box - maybe a flat piece of cardboard wrapped in
cellophane and the certificate of authenticity and a sticker containing the
CD key - so it can be stuck on the machine in question.)

If you have either of the first two - you are in luck. Here is how you
"upgrade" your Windows 98 machine. Start the machine in Windows 98. Log
in. My opinion is that you should do some preparation.. Uninstall
applications you do not need/use, run a full antivirus scan and antispyware
scan, scandisk and then defragment. Then - in general - you are ready to
insert the Windows XP CD - while in Windows. Follow the prompts and it
should lead you through an UPGRADE - you have to remember that you want to
do an UPGRADE - not a parallel install (some people would prefer the
parallel install because of old software that will not function under
Windows XP or that they believe functions better under Windows 98.)

If you have the latter - you are unlucky (actually - you didn't do your
research and that is what you ended up with by 'saving money' on the
purchase.) An OEM version can only be used to do a fresh install. It
cannot "upgrade" a current install. Also - you do not get support direct
from Microsoft with an OEM - the people you purchased the OEM from and the
person who installs it are your support.

As for getting help from Microsoft - you should learn to search more
effectively. If you go to http://www.microsoft.com/ and look at the options
at the bottom of the page (where most web pages keep their contact info) -
you will see a link to : "Contact Us" - which if followed takes you to:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=mscom

Which has different sections pretty clearly labeled. You probably want
"Product Help and Support", and then "Contact a support professional by
phone or e-mail for help if you purchased the product separately." which
gets you here:

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/assistsupport

Where you would choose "Windows XP" and then have to choose your country,
your exact product (version of XP), and then which support you want/are
eligible for.
 
Tony said:
I am having great difficulity finding a way of getting some
support out of Microsoft !!!!. I have purchased a "full" edition of
Microsoft Windows XP which I intend to use to upgrade my old Windows
98 operating system ... The best I can get it to do is a dual boot
sytem with Windows 98 and Windows XP !. I have tried every possible
combination to get this to work, but to no avail !!!. Why on earth
anybody would want a a dual boot system with two flavours of Windows
is beyound me. Obviously if I stick the Windows XP instalation disk
in my Windows 98 box, I am going to want to upgrade my old operating
system ... Why can't I get it to do this ?. Is my "full" version
not a full version ???.
Click to expand...


It's probably *not* a Full version. My guess is that you bought an OEM
version, which many people confuse with the Full retail version, instead.

The OEM version is considerably cheaper than the Full version, and that's
because it comes with several disadvantages, one of which is that it can't
do upgrades, only clean installations (the other two disadvantages are that
its license ties it permanently to the first computer it's installed on, and
that Microsoft provides no support for OEM versions--you can't call them
with a problem, but instead have to get any needed support from your OEM).


By the way, you say "Why on earth anybody would want a a dual boot system
with two flavours of Windows is beyound me," but there are many reasons why
people dual-boot two versions of Windows. Some people do it because they
need to run older programs not supported by the current version, others do
because their jobs require them to stay current with their knowledge of
multiple versions, and so on.
 
If it is is truly a "Full" version, just do a "clean Install".
Windows XP Clean Installation - Partitioning and Formatting using Windows XP
CD
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

Delete the old partition and create new NTFS partition. set partition size
desired . format and install.

you will of course loose every thing in the partition that was deleted.
 
Hi Shenan

Thanks for the response, indeed thanks to everybody who responded ...
There is a couple of things ... Firstly I tried the "contact microsoft
support" route but you need a PID first and the only way you can get one is
if the software is up and running, kind of self defeating really !!. If the
software is up and running, what do you need support for ?. The other
problem with that route is that they expect the customer to pay for support
(like you haven't already paid by buying their product) !!!!!.
More disturbing is that I'm hearing that upgrading from 98 to XP might
stop some of my old applications from working ... That's very disturbing
after all what's the point of doing an upgrade if I have to reinstall all my
old applications and possibly spend thousands replacing them if they won't
work under XP !!!. I have already spent close to a thousand dollars building
a new computer just so I have the extra grunt required to run XP, no other
reason, if 98 was still supported by Microsoft and others I would have no
reason to be doing this at all !!!.
Just as an aside, "Full" is a pretty unambigious word, there is no such
thing as different flavours of "Full". It either is a full version or it
isn't and if it isn't a full version then it shouldn't be labled as such and
nor should it be sold as such, both acts are dishonest !!.
 
Tony

You still haven't told us what you bought. As many people have told you
there ARE several flavours of XP Pro. There is a retail version, OEM
version, upgrade version, volume license version, MSDN version, action pack
version, and probably more. As far as I know Microsoft does not call any of
them a full version. That nomenclature comes from the reseller usually.

Regarding old applications not working with XP. XP has a compatibility mode
that often allows older programs to be run. There are some programs that
will not run. What programs are you worried about?

Kerry
Hi Shenan

Thanks for the response, indeed thanks to everybody who responded
... There is a couple of things ... Firstly I tried the "contact
microsoft support" route but you need a PID first and the only way
you can get one is if the software is up and running, kind of self
defeating really !!. If the software is up and running, what do you
need support for ?. The other problem with that route is that they
expect the customer to pay for support (like you haven't already paid
by buying their product) !!!!!. More disturbing is that I'm
hearing that upgrading from 98 to XP might
stop some of my old applications from working ... That's very
disturbing after all what's the point of doing an upgrade if I have
to reinstall all my old applications and possibly spend thousands
replacing them if they won't work under XP !!!. I have already spent
close to a thousand dollars building a new computer just so I have
the extra grunt required to run XP, no other reason, if 98 was still
supported by Microsoft and others I would have no reason to be doing
this at all !!!. Just as an aside, "Full" is a pretty unambigious
word, there is no such thing as different flavours of "Full". It
either is a full version or it isn't and if it isn't a full version
then it shouldn't be labled as such and nor should it be sold as
such, both acts are dishonest !!.
Click to expand...
 
Tony said:
Thanks for the response, indeed thanks to everybody who responded
... There is a couple of things ... Firstly I tried the "contact
microsoft support" route but you need a PID first and the only way
Click to expand...


Assuming that yours is an OEM version (and it apparently is, since you said
it won't do an upgrade) contacting Microsoft will be of no use. They won't
provide any support for an OEM version.

you can get one is if the software is up and running, kind of self
defeating really !!. If the software is up and running, what do you
need support for ?. The other problem with that route is that they
expect the customer to pay for support (like you haven't already paid
by buying their product) !!!!!. More disturbing is that I'm
hearing that upgrading from 98 to XP might
stop some of my old applications from working ... That's very
disturbing after all what's the point of doing an upgrade if I have
to reinstall all my old applications and possibly spend thousands
replacing them if they won't work under XP !!!.
Click to expand...


Although it's *possible* that some of your older applications won't work,
most, if not all, of them probably will.

To find whether everything you have will run, or what might not, run the
free Microsoft Upgrade Advisor at
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/upgrading/advisor.asp

I have already spent
close to a thousand dollars building a new computer just so I have
the extra grunt required to run XP, no other reason, if 98 was still
supported by Microsoft and others I would have no reason to be doing
this at all !!!. Just as an aside, "Full" is a pretty unambigious
word, there is no such thing as different flavours of "Full".
Click to expand...


There are three versions:

1. Full (Will do an clean installation or an upgrade)

2. Upgrade (Will do an clean installation or an upgrade, but requires CD of
previous qualifying version to do a clean installation)

3. OEM (Will do a clean installation only).

As I said, you apparently have the OEM version.

It
either is a full version or it isn't and if it isn't a full version
then it shouldn't be labled as such and nor should it be sold as
such, both acts are dishonest !!.
Click to expand...


I'm looking at an OEM Windows XP Professional CD right now. Nowhere does it
say "Full version" on it. What is says is "For distribution with a new PC
only." What does yours say?
 
Apparently, you acquired an "OEM Version" of Windows XP.
OEM versions do not have the capability to upgrade over an
existing Windows installation. You'll need a conventional
"Retail Version" [boxed] of Windows XP in order to upgrade
over Windows 98.
 
Tony wrote:
Just as an aside, "Full" is a pretty
unambigious word, there is no such thing as different flavours of
"Full". It either is a full version or it isn't and if it isn't a
full version then it shouldn't be labled as such and nor should it
be sold as such, both acts are dishonest !!.
Click to expand...

Hmmm.. I snipped everything but this part..

While "Full" is a well-defined word.. I can have a complete (full) vehicle
(even a "fully" loaded one) - but there may be different levels of the same
make.. Like (For example) a Chevrolet Malibu.. There is a 4 cylinder and 6
cylinder version. Either one can be fully loaded and there may be no
distinction other than you specified 4 or 6 cylinder when you bought it.
Different FLAVORS of the same thing.

No where is the Windows XP CDs I have ever seen (of any flavor) been labeled
"Full" editions. That would be foolish. They are all complete products
that do what they were sold to do. That doesn;t mean they are all the same.

OEM version is a full version - can only be used for clean installations and
is not directly supported by Microsoft - but through the
purchaser/installer. Is less expensive for this reason (and others - I am
sure.)

Retail version is a full version - can be used for upgrades or clean
installations and is supported by Microsoft directly. It is more
expensive.

Upgrade version is a full version - can only be used to upgrade (can do a
clean install with qualifying media handy) and is supported by Microsoft
directly. It is more expensive than OEM but less expensive than Retail (is
actually a sub-set of retail.)

They are labeled respectively - if you purchased an OEM version and did not
know what it meant - then you have learned that you should ask questions
about what you are getting before you buy. Such as "why is this $100
cheaper than this copy here?"

You have never answered the question put forth to you and explained so that
you could easily answer it - what flavor of the full version of Windows XP
did you buy?
 
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