JohnH said:
I was given a computer with a pirated XP Pro on it and found out only after
running the validation software. Needless to say, I want this pc above
board and want to install Windows 98 SE and then XP Home Upgade.
Whoah! You do NOT need to do this. You do NOT need to install W98 first.
Don't do it this way! It's a wholly unnecessary waste if time.
Boot from the XP Home Upgrade CD, NOT the Win9X CD. The W9X CD is only
for showing proof of purchase.
Start the XP Home Upgrade install, and you will be asked for the W98 CD.
Put it in, and after a few moments you'll be asked for the XP Cd to proceed
with the XP install. You could potentially need an ME CD for this.
You can then put the W98 CD away. This one step is all you need to keep
that CD for. Moments, not hours, and no trash written to drive and
promptly overwritten.
You'll next be asked where to install to, and this is where you will remove
listed partitions, recreate them, and then format them. And that step is
going to take care of your next concern....
I also want
to remove any traces of the old owner as you never know what they put on
the
hard drive(ie..kiddie porn).
You arent'g going to need to worry about that, because your plan, as stated,
requires formatting the drive. Best to start with removing and recreating
the partitions, but the point is the same: You will have to clear the
drive to do what you want to do.
Or, better yet, leave the drive as it is. Instead, take it out and replace
it. It is trivial to do this, and cheap. A new 80 gig drive, will be
under CDN$50. In fact, this afternoon I purchased a new 250 gig SATA drive
for CDN$75.
Once done, you have *no* cause for concern over anything the previous owner
had on the system. And, this will give you some options in future as to
its contents, and remove concerns over the life left in that drive. Just
wrap up the drive, identify it, and set it aside for now.
Take the old drive out, put the new one in. Buy the same type (IDE - IDE,
or SATA - SATA), get the biggest cache you can, and set the jumpers the same
on the new one as the old.
If you're unsure, take the old drive with you to the store, and say "I need
a new one that connects like this". Get one with more space, higher RPM's
(to a max of 7200) and a larger cache. These will make the system seem
faster and last longer. While you're there, ask them to set the jumpers
the same (assuming it isn't SATA, where that doesn't apply).
Take the new drive home, plug it in, let the BIOS detect it, and start the
install.
I need detailed advice on how to proceed. I
would also like to keep some of the programs that were loaded on it if
possible.
That's not going to be possible given what you want to do.
In the first place, if the OS is pirated, it's very likely that apps were
too, and those will require activation as well. And it appears you wished
to legitimize the system.
In the second first place, removing the old XP Pro and installing XP Home
requires formatting the drive. The apps will be *gone*.
In the third third place, those apps will need to be reinstalled due to the
hundreds of registry entries and files they create. You just can't copy
them. For most serious apps, that simply doesn't work.
I hope someone can help and guide me through this as I have found
confusing information on how to proceed and in what order.
See above.
Thanks in advance
to all who can help.
Do some Google searching on "Clean Install XP". The only difference is
the bit making the Upgrade CD work, and you have the disk for that.
I would suggest that you do consider replacing the hard drive. Then, if
you have any problems during the upgrade install, you can be *certain* that
it has nothing to do with what was on the drive before. And that certainty
may well be worth the price of the drive.
HTH
-pk
