Loading New Op Sys

[John Gregory]

I'm considering buying a used machine that has no operating system. I have
WINDOWS XP Professional that I bought to upgrade for another machine but
never did. If I simply insert the CD in a machine with no op sys, will it
load?

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP]

I'm considering buying a used machine that has no operating system. I have
WINDOWS XP Professional that I bought to upgrade for another machine but
never did. If I simply insert the CD in a machine with no op sys, will it
load?

If you set the BIOS to boot from the CD as the first option.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup only. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com./athome/security/protect/default.aspx
http://defendingyourmachine.blogspot.com/

 

[Joan Archer]

Is the XP Pro retail or upgrade, if upgrade do you have the necessary
means to prove it during the install.
I could be way off course here but my thoughts are that if you have the
upgrade version you need a qualifying version to show when doing the
install.
Joan

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, John.

Yes, as the others said. The WinXP CD-ROM is bootable, so it can be used to
install Windows on a computer that has no operating system at all. One of
the first questions WinXP will ask is whether you want it to partition
and/or format the HD. Say Yes. Unless you plan to install Win9x/ME on this
computer, tell it to use NTFS all the way.

If the CD you have is for the upgrade version of WinXP, it will look for a
qualifying version of Windows (Win9x/ME or Win2K) on your computer. Since
it won't find one in your case, it will ask you to insert a CD for such
version to prove that you qualify for upgrade pricing. Then it will
continue to do a "clean install" of WinXP.

You didn't actually say that you have the upgrade version of the WinXP
CD-ROM, and there are other versions. The "full retail" version will simply
install from the CD without looking for a qualifying prior version (but it
also can be used to upgrade). The OEM version is only for installation on a
new computer, so it will not upgrade an existing Windows; it will be locked
to this particular computer and cannot be installed on another machine
later, even if this one is damaged or stolen from you.

RC

 

[Andrew Murray]

You need to have a copy (on CD) of a previous version of Windows, hence the
term "upgrade". Upgrading from a previous WIndows OS version i.e. NT, 2000,
Windows 98/98SE or Windows ME.

If you have a previous version of Windows CD handy, then providing the
computer hardware matches the minimum (or excedes them) requirements for
Windows XP then I wouldn't think you'd have problems. You just need the
previous version's CD handy so it can do the uprade compliance check, it
doens't need it installed.