Upgrade from ME to XP Home

[Hal]

I have a copy of XP "Upgrade" Home edition and would like to upgrade from ME
to XP. Will this copy only allow me to do a full installation of XP
(without ME in the background) or am I limited to only an upgrade?

Thank you in advance.

Hal.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Hal;
You can perform a Clean or Upgrade Installation.
If you perform an upgrade, you will need to insert your Windows ME CD
to verify eligibility for upgrade.
If Windows ME this may or may not work and you may be forced to
upgrade.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I have a copy of XP "Upgrade" Home edition and would like to upgrade
from ME to XP. Will this copy only allow me to do a full
installation of XP (without ME in the background) or am I limited to
only an upgrade?

Thank you in advance.

Hal,

First, if the email you posted with was actually yours, expect spam.
Microsoft never send you a patch or information on a patch via email - they
don't know you or all of your email addresses. You should never open
attachments you did not expect.

As for your question, you can install "clean" if you have the original
Windows ME CD you installed with (or that your assembler installed with.)
It cannot be a "restore" CD, but a valid "install CD" of the OS.

Backup your personal files FIRST!
Disconnect any way for the computer to access the Internet (Network,
Dial-up.)

Simply boot with the Windows XP CD (change the option in the BIOS to boot
from your CD drive and then press a key to boot from t he CD when asked..)
and then continue the install process normally - it walks you through with
questions. Delete the partition(s) there and either create new ones or let
Windows do it. It will ask you for your "qualifying media" and that would
be your Windows ME CD. Continue through and you will have a clean install
of Windows XP.

Before you reconnect the computer to the Internet, turn on your firewall.
Go to the windowsupdate.microsoft.com site first thing after connecting and
download/install all critical updates. It may take a few visits/reboots.
Then install your AntiVirus software and keep the machine clean.

 

[Hal]

Thank you so much for your kind assistance.

Hal.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

It's quite possible to perform a clean installation using the
Upgrade CD, provided you have the true installation CD for the earlier
OS.

Simply boot from the WinXP Upgrade CD. You'll be offered the
opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the
installation process. The Upgrade CD checks to see if a qualifying OS
is installed, and, if it finds none, it asks you to insert the
installation media (CD) of that OS. Unfortunately, an OEM
"Recovery/Restore" CD will not work for this purpose; you must have a
true installation CD, complete with the "\Win98" folder and *.cab
files, or the "\i386" folder of WinNT/2K.

Alternatively, or especially if all you have is an OEM Recovery CD
for the earlier OS, you can even 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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