OEM, will it work?

[Dave]

Ok, before I actually take the plunge I thought I'd better
check one more thing. On the upgrade from ME to XP Home
I've been told that I won't be able to do a clean install
if the ME disk is a 'Restore or Rebuild'. If ME was
preinstalled on my system (OEM) does that mean its the
wrong version?

Any help would be great.

Thanks.

 

[Rob]

its more important that the XP cd is non OEM than whether your previous OS
is OEM or not. shouldn't matter.

 

[Guest]

This was from a previous post by 'Jax' when I asked about
upgrading.
"You can save yourself a few dollars by buying the upgrade
disk. You can do a clean install from it as well, so long
as you have a qualifying "9X" or up disk."

I guess what I want to know is my Win. ME OEM install
disk 'proof of OS'?

Thanks.

 

[Rob]

Unless something has changed for XP, that should be fine. Earlier OS' just
looked for presence of OS files. You could just format a disk with MS-DOS
and the upgrade CD would work.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

It's true that an OEM "Recovery/Restore" CD will not work as a
qualifying product CD; you must have a true installation CD, complete
with the "\Win98" folder and *.cab files, or the "\i386" folder of
WinNT/2K.

However, if all you have is an OEM Recovery CD for the earlier OS,
you can start the upgrade from within the current Win98/Me/NT/2K
installation, and still elect to perform a clean installation, to
include formatting the drive. In this case, there's no further
request for the qualifying OS's installation CD, because the
installation routing "remembers" that you started from within the
qualifying OS. This process is more time-consuming, but you get the
same results: a clean installation of WinXP.

Have you made sure that your PC's hardware components are capable
of supporting WinXP? This information will be found at the PC's
manufacturer's web site, and on Microsoft's Windows Catalog:
(http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx) Additionally, run
Microsoft WinXP Upgrade Advisor to see if you have any incompatible
hardware components or applications.

You should, before proceeding, take a few minutes to ensure that
there are WinXP device drivers available for all of the machine's
components. There may not be, if the PC was specifically designed for
Win98/Me. Also bear in mind that PCs designed for, sold and run fine
with Win9x/Me very often do not meet WinXP's much more stringent
hardware quality requirements. This is particularly true of many
models in Compaq's consumer-class Presario product line or HP's
consumer-class Pavilion product line. WinXP, like WinNT and Win2K
before it, is quite sensitive to borderline defective or substandard
hardware (particularly motherboards, RAM and hard drives) that will
still support Win9x.

HOW TO Prepare to Upgrade Win98 or WinMe
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q316639

Upgrading to Windows XP
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.htm


Bruce Chambers
--
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[Gail]

I have heard this about "OEM" installed software with the purchase of a new
computer. will someone explain what is meant by you will not be able to
upgrade if you have an OEM version of XP Home installed by manufacturer.
When you purchase the computer are you not purchasing the software installed
on it? How do you tell if you have an OEM version or a "real" version of
the operating system? Thanks