Is Windows XP Home Edition w/SP 2 Ver 2002 enough to run PC?

[Vener]

I am a newbie on computers, my wife bought a desktop PC from a garrage sale,
50 dollars, cheap, but there is an issue with the Operating System. Somebody
said OS is Windows XP Home edition. There is a problem with password and
other issues. My wife who knows nothing about computers except to type and do
e-mail bought a Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade w/SP 2 Ver 2002 unknown to
me.

Question: Is Windows XP Home Edition w/SP 2 Ver 2002 enough to run PC? Stand
alone? Or this can be used only to upgrade an existing OS of an older version?

Pls. help......

 

[umwhat]

Hi, I am passing by, having posted a question, but have used WIndows XP Home
Edition for 4 years almost constantly...heh. Download and install the SP3
update. Learn how to "burn" a cd image, a cd image is an .ISO file. Download
from Microsoft.com the XPSP3 .ISO image file and use something like Nero (a
cd writing and so on application) to "burn" write the .ISO file to an actual
CD. THen use the cd to update the XP operating system to the SP3 version.
SP3 works way better than SP2 and I have discovered after many installs and
reinstalls of Windows XP Home Edition that this SP3 .ISO image file burned to
a cd and installed this way is most efficient and semes to have a more
favourable result than earlier install methods.

....er, I hope you use a broadband connection to the internet.

 

[Malke]

I am a newbie on computers, my wife bought a desktop PC from a garrage
sale, 50 dollars, cheap, but there is an issue with the Operating System.
Somebody said OS is Windows XP Home edition. There is a problem with
password and other issues. My wife who knows nothing about computers
except to type and do e-mail bought a Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade w/SP
2 Ver 2002 unknown to me.

Question: Is Windows XP Home Edition w/SP 2 Ver 2002 enough to run PC?
Stand alone? Or this can be used only to upgrade an existing OS of an
older version?

Windows operating systems come in full retail and upgrade versions. The
upgrade versions are cheaper than the full versions. You can do a clean
install using an upgrade version but will need to provide proof of
eligibility for the upgrade by putting in an older operating system CD
during the install when prompted. So if you have a Windows 98 or ME install
disk (not a recovery disk from a computer mftr. like HP), this will work.
If you don't have that, your wife should return the Upgrade edition and
purchase a full retail one.

With used computers, the first step is always to do a clean install.

http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install How-To
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Reinstalling_Windows - What
you will need on-hand

Malke

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I am a newbie on computers, my wife bought a desktop PC from a garrage sale,
50 dollars, cheap, but there is an issue with the Operating System. Somebody
said OS is Windows XP Home edition. There is a problem with password and
other issues.

If I acquired a used computer, the first thing I would do with it
would be to reinstall the operating system cleanly. You have no idea
how the computer has been maintained, what has been installed
incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and spyware there may be,
etc. No matter who previously owned it, I wouldn't want to live with
somebody else's mistakes and problems, possibility of kiddy porn,
etc., and I wouldn't recommend that anyone else do either.

My wife who knows nothing about computers except to type and do
e-mail bought a Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade w/SP 2 Ver 2002 unknown to
me.

Good.


Question: Is Windows XP Home Edition w/SP 2 Ver 2002 enough to run PC? Stand
alone? Or this can be used only to upgrade an existing OS of an older version?

Certainly it's enough, but SP3 is the latest service pack. You should
upgrade to SP3 after installing it.

The requirement to use an upgrade version is to *own* a previous
qualifying version's installation CD, 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.

My view is that the Upgrade version is the best deal for almost
everyone. If you don't have a previous version's CD, you can buy a
used copy of Windows 98 very inexpensively someplace like eBay.

 

[VanguardLH]

I am a newbie on computers, my wife bought a desktop PC from a garrage sale,
50 dollars, cheap, but there is an issue with the Operating System. Somebody
said OS is Windows XP Home edition. There is a problem with password and
other issues. My wife who knows nothing about computers except to type and do
e-mail bought a Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade w/SP 2 Ver 2002 unknown to
me.

Question: Is Windows XP Home Edition w/SP 2 Ver 2002 enough to run PC? Stand
alone? Or this can be used only to upgrade an existing OS of an older version?

Pls. help......

Did you get the installation CD for Windows Home? If not, what your
wife bought was only hardware that included a polluted hard disk and now
you'll have to go buy a legit license of Windows. If you have the
installation CD (or there's an image in a hidden partition on the hard
disk to restore the host), flatten and rebuild. That is, boot using the
install CD, let it reformat the OS partition, and do a FRESH install of
the OS.

 

[Lil' Dave]

I am a newbie on computers, my wife bought a desktop PC from a garrage
sale,
50 dollars, cheap, but there is an issue with the Operating System.
Somebody
said OS is Windows XP Home edition. There is a problem with password and
other issues. My wife who knows nothing about computers except to type and
do
e-mail bought a Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade w/SP 2 Ver 2002 unknown to
me.

Question: Is Windows XP Home Edition w/SP 2 Ver 2002 enough to run PC?
Stand
alone? Or this can be used only to upgrade an existing OS of an older
version?

Pls. help......

F8, boot to safe mode. The default administrator password in null. Remove
all users except default administrator. Create new user with full
administrator rights and the password of your choice.

You really need to start from a blank hard drive since you don't know the
PC's history.

Although marginal for actual usage, the minimum PC hardware requirements are
usually listed on the XP installation sleeve.

Believe the qualifying products for installation to proceed are listed on
the sleeve for the retail upgrade version of XP.