Reinstalling XP Upgrade

  • Thread starter Thread starter G M Rector
  • Start date Start date
G

G M Rector

I upgraded my ME to XP but failed to delete numerous
programs in ME that are not compatible with XP. Can I
format, intall ME, reinstall XP upgrade even if I have
activated the XP upgrade?
 
G said:
I upgraded my ME to XP but failed to delete numerous
programs in ME that are not compatible with XP. Can I
format, intall ME, reinstall XP upgrade even if I have
activated the XP upgrade?
Click to expand...

Sure, but you don't need to install ME first. You can do a clean
install. Boot with the XP cd, take Install, delete the current
partitions, create partitions, format and install. Early on in the
installation process XP will ask for qualifying media. Put your ME
installation cd in the drive. The XP install will continue and tell you
to put the XP cd back in the drive. Understand that all data will be
erased from the drive, so have your data backed up, have drivers
specific to XP for all your hardware on hand, reinstall your programs
from cd's. You will have to activate and may need to call Microsoft
(the toll-free number will be displayed), but that isn't any big deal.

Malke
 
Yes, you should be able to do that, but skip installation of ME (see
below). If possible, it's best to keep the volume serial number (VSN)
of the partition the same -- there are utilities to arbitrarily set the
VSN. Get the current VSN of the partition, reformat it, and reset it to
the old value (best to do this before you install Windows, but it's ok
if you do it after Windows is installed but before you activate it
(remember, you can run for 30 days without activation)). If you still
have the partition as FAT32, you can do this by booting from a floppy
and simply erasing everything, rather than reformatting the partition
(use "Deltree", and be SURE that SMARTDRV is loaded first).

DO NOT reinstall Windows ME first. It's not necessary. BUT, you will
need your Windows ME CD-ROM, if you don't have it, don't even start,
because you can't install XP from an upgrade CD without the CD for the
previous version of Windows.
 
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