installing a fresh copy of XP from new XP upgrade CD over old installation

[Mary Fowler Leek]

We have a Dell computer that currently has MS XP home edition on it. I
purchased a new MS XP Home edition upgrade cd.

What I want to do is reformat and then do a fresh install of XP, without all
of the things that Dell installs. When I began the process, it shows a
smaller partition as C and a larger partition as D. Does XP set this up this
way when preparing to do a fresh install. As far as I know, there was just a
C drive. I don't think I've ever attempted to install over an already
installed version of XP, so I'm not certain if I'm doing things correctly. I
selected a reformat (_NOT_ the quick way). It's at about 50% now. We've
saved what files we wanted and we just want a nice clean install. Have I
started out wrong?

My thanks,

Mary

 

[peter]

The problem is that you purchased an "upgrade" edition.....which needs to
"see" a previous version of an MS operating system before it can be
installed.The present Dell version of XP would qualify for
that.Unfortunately it needs to see this version before the install and this
means you cannot format the drive from a floppy and then install....you need
to format during the install of the new XP.Once you have formatted that old
Dell XP out of existance then the new XP will install.
The bad news is that if something goes wrong in the future you will need to
follow the same steps...
The 2nd partition that you see is normally a "recovery" partition where Dell
has placed XP and other files in order for you to recover from a non working
OS.Unfortunately by using this you would also be re installing all of those
Programs you wish to get rid of.It would basically recover to a as when
first purchased state.
After you have the new XP installed you can format that partition and use it
like any other hard drive.
peter

 

[Mary Fowler Leek]

OK, I think I understand. I have now installed a fresh version of xp. Now I
have two installations of xp on this computer. One version is on the C:
partition and the new installation is on the D: partition.

Are you saying I can now reformat the C:? partition and get rid of that
installation of xp and all the stuff that is on there? Will the D drive take
on the C identification when I reformat C?

Sorry to be so dense but this is all new to me. I've always installed fresh
to a new harddrive before. Now when I boot up, I'm offered two installations
of XP to choose between!

My thanks,

Mary

 

[Ken Blake]

The problem is that you purchased an "upgrade" edition.....which
needs to "see" a previous version of an MS operating system before it
can be installed.The present Dell version of XP would qualify for
that.Unfortunately it needs to see this version before the install
and this means you cannot format the drive from a floppy and then
install....

No, that's not correct. Although formatting the drive from a floppy is
neither necessary nor desirable (because the option for NTFS isn't there),
it *can* be done.

Yes, the Upgrade version needs to see a previous version to do a clean
installation, but that previous version does *not* have to be installed. The
requirement to use an upgrade version is to *own* a previous qualifying
version's installation CD (with an OEM restore CD, see below), not to have
it installed. When setup doesn't find a previous qualifying version
installed, it will prompt you to insert its CD as proof of ownership. Just
insert the previous version's CD, and follow the prompts. Everything
proceeds quite normally and quite legitimately.

However, it isn't clear whether she has a previous version. She can't
upgrade from XP Home to XP Home, since that's not a upgrade. But worst case,
if she doesn't have a previous qualifying version, she should be able to buy
a used copy of Windows 98 very cheaply.

 

[Daave]

We have a Dell computer that currently has MS XP home edition on it. I
purchased a new MS XP Home edition upgrade cd.

What I want to do is reformat and then do a fresh install of XP,
without all of the things that Dell installs.

I was under the impression that the Dell OEM CD wasn't that much
different. Which Dell things do you wish to avoid installing?

 

[peter]

Ken
i assumed that with a large and small partition the only thing she had was a
"recovery" partition ...no seperate XP Disc.

peter

 

[peter]

No.......you have now created a dual boot..without C nothing will work.
I suggest you start again.This time format both D as well as C and install
into C.
its easier than trying to get rid of the dual booth .........
peter

 

[Mary Fowler Leek]

I don't have the Dell OEM CD that shipped with this computer. My sister is
deceased and my nephew gave me her computer. I also have a Dell that I
purchased, although it is an older machine. Her Dell has things on it that
she installed, etc., and I just wish to have a clean install of XP. I do
have earlier windows cd's that I have purchased in past years and can use to
qualify when installing this recently purchased XP upgrade. I've just never
attempted to format a hard drive with the working OS on it. I usually
purchase a new hard drive, format and install. Obviously I'm lacking a few
needed skills here.

My thanks for your interest.

Mary

 

[Mary Fowler Leek]

My fault: I should have done a better job of explaining.

I do have both Windows 98 and Windows ME cd's, purchased back years ago so
I'm covered there.

I think I'm making this more difficult that it should be. Now what do I
do? Can I just begin again and see if it will allow me to reformat both
partitions? Maybe I've still got an old floppy around here somewhere that
has a little format utility on it. Don't those sometimes ship with new hard
drives?

My thanks for taking the time to help. I deeply appreciate your assistance.

Mary

 

[Ricky]

Some good info here..
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

|I don't have the Dell OEM CD that shipped with this computer. My sister
is
| deceased and my nephew gave me her computer. I also have a Dell that I
| purchased, although it is an older machine. Her Dell has things on it
that
| she installed, etc., and I just wish to have a clean install of XP. I
do
| have earlier windows cd's that I have purchased in past years and can
use to
| qualify when installing this recently purchased XP upgrade. I've just
never
| attempted to format a hard drive with the working OS on it. I usually
| purchase a new hard drive, format and install. Obviously I'm lacking a
few
| needed skills here.
|
| My thanks for your interest.
|
| Mary
|
|
|
| | > Mary Fowler Leek wrote:
| >> We have a Dell computer that currently has MS XP home edition on
it. I
| >> purchased a new MS XP Home edition upgrade cd.
| >>
| >> What I want to do is reformat and then do a fresh install of XP,
| >> without all of the things that Dell installs.
| >
| > I was under the impression that the Dell OEM CD wasn't that much
| > different. Which Dell things do you wish to avoid installing?
| >
| > --
| > Dave
| >
| >
|
|

 

[peter]

You can download a 98 bootdisk from bootdisk.com
http://www.bootdisk.com/
use it to format both partitions.........fat32
Heck you can even use it to delete partition D and then extend partition C
to add that space to it.
if not write down the size of the partitions so when you install XP you know
which is which

then do a new XP install onto the C drive
peter