Installing XP Home Edition

[Jeff Franzetti]

I have a Dell Dimension 4100 that came installed with
Windows 98. I purchased the Windows XP upgrade edition
back when XP first came out and have been using XP
successfully since then.

My hard drive crashed last week and I recently installed a
brand new hard drive. I was forced to boot using my Dell
Resource CD as my boot disk and it put me at the DOS
prompt. I performed a FDISK and FORMAT on the new hard
drive. Everything went well.

Here's my problem. I cant find my original Windows 98
operating system CD to load 98 back on my PC so I can then
use my XP upgrade CD to get back to using XP.

My mom just purchased a new Dell PC last month which came
with XP installed. My idea was to use her XP home edition
(which was not the upgrade edition like mine is) and
install off of that CD using the product key from my
upgrade edition that I purchased (this should be legal,
right? XP is XP regardless of whether it's upgrade or
full?). Anyway, at the DOS prompt when I boot from the
Dell Resource CD, I go to F: (the CD containing XP) and
when I type "setup" (from the setup.exe file) it tells
me "This cannot be run from DOS mode". I only have DOS
right now, so how am I supposed to load XP on my system?
Dell Tech Support keeps telling me to hit F12 at the Dell
logo screen when I reboot, but that doesn't do anything.
I've also tried booting from the XP Operating system CD
and it doesn't work as a boot disk. I don't know what to
do. Can someone please help?

Thanks.
-Jeff Franzetti

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

One cannot use a Product Key meant for an "upgrade version"
of Windows XP with any other Windows XP installation CD.
Sorry to hear you lost your Windows 98 CD. Either find another
Windows 98 CD or else you'll have to go out and purchase a
"full version" of Windows XP. In any case, you cannot use the
Dell Reinstallation CD that came with your Mom's Dell computer
since it is designed to install only on her specific model Dell
computer.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| I have a Dell Dimension 4100 that came installed with
| Windows 98. I purchased the Windows XP upgrade edition
| back when XP first came out and have been using XP
| successfully since then.
|
| My hard drive crashed last week and I recently installed a
| brand new hard drive. I was forced to boot using my Dell
| Resource CD as my boot disk and it put me at the DOS
| prompt. I performed a FDISK and FORMAT on the new hard
| drive. Everything went well.
|
| Here's my problem. I cant find my original Windows 98
| operating system CD to load 98 back on my PC so I can then
| use my XP upgrade CD to get back to using XP.
|
| My mom just purchased a new Dell PC last month which came
| with XP installed. My idea was to use her XP home edition
| (which was not the upgrade edition like mine is) and
| install off of that CD using the product key from my
| upgrade edition that I purchased (this should be legal,
| right? XP is XP regardless of whether it's upgrade or
| full?). Anyway, at the DOS prompt when I boot from the
| Dell Resource CD, I go to F: (the CD containing XP) and
| when I type "setup" (from the setup.exe file) it tells
| me "This cannot be run from DOS mode". I only have DOS
| right now, so how am I supposed to load XP on my system?
| Dell Tech Support keeps telling me to hit F12 at the Dell
| logo screen when I reboot, but that doesn't do anything.
| I've also tried booting from the XP Operating system CD
| and it doesn't work as a boot disk. I don't know what to
| do. Can someone please help?
|
| Thanks.
| -Jeff Franzetti

 

[Phil McKerracher]

My hard drive crashed last week and I recently installed a
brand new hard drive...

... I cant find my original Windows 98
operating system CD to load 98 back on my PC so I can then
use my XP upgrade CD to get back to using XP.

...I only have DOS
right now, so how am I supposed to load XP on my system?
Dell Tech Support keeps telling me to hit F12 at the Dell
logo screen when I reboot, but that doesn't do anything.
I've also tried booting from the XP Operating system CD
and it doesn't work as a boot disk. I don't know what to
do. Can someone please help?

(I have Win 2000 not XP so apologies if the following doesn't apply any
more)

You shouldn't need to actually load 98 or DOS or anything. In theory, you
just boot from the XP CD, insert a 98 CD in the CD drive temporarily when
prompted to check for an upgrade (you will have to beg, borrow or steal this
from somewhere), then the rest of the installation including hard disc
formatting is done from the XP CD.

To get the XP CD to boot you will probably have to change the settings in
your BIOS. The key you press to enter the BIOS varies from machine to
machine, you'll need to find that out somehow.