Upgrading from W2K Pro OEM to WinXP Pro

[Guest]

Help -- I have 13 brand new machines on which Windows 2000 OEM software was
loaded on -- my customer has asked me to replace Windows 2000 with XP Pro - -
I'm being told that you cannot, under ANY circumstance, upgrade a Windows
2000 OEM Software.....

Not being an IT person....this seems completely ridiculous to me...what
package do I need to purcase of Win XP Pro that I can use to upgrade the
Windows 2000 OS and provide my customer with an authenticated WinXP Pro OS?

 

[Tom Porterfield]

Help -- I have 13 brand new machines on which Windows 2000 OEM software was
loaded on -- my customer has asked me to replace Windows 2000 with XP Pro - -
I'm being told that you cannot, under ANY circumstance, upgrade a Windows
2000 OEM Software.....

This information is incorrect. Upgrading will likely void any warranty
or support options from the OEM, but from a licensing standpoint you
should be fine.

Not being an IT person....this seems completely ridiculous to me...what
package do I need to purcase of Win XP Pro that I can use to upgrade the
Windows 2000 OS and provide my customer with an authenticated WinXP Pro OS?

You can use either the XP Pro Retail Upgrade version, or XP Pro Retail
Full install version. The latter will sever you completely from the W2K
OEM install as you can do a clean install with it, but it costs more
money. The former, once installed, means that the complete license for
the machine will be the W2K OEM license plus the XP Pro upgrade license.
This is more restrictive as far as future deployment needs but less
expensive.

 

[John John]

The person who told you that is a bit confused and has mixed things up
slightly. You can use a Windows XP Professional Upgrade disk to upgrade
a Windows 2000 installation, be it an Windows 2000 OEM or Retail Windows
2000 installation.

What you cannot do is use a Windows XP _OEM_ disk to upgrade to upgrade
your Windows 2000 installation. OEM disks can only do clean
installations, not upgrades.

John

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Help -- I have 13 brand new machines on which Windows 2000 OEM software was
loaded on -- my customer has asked me to replace Windows 2000 with XP Pro - -
I'm being told that you cannot, under ANY circumstance, upgrade a Windows
2000 OEM Software....

Sorry, you've been told wrong. You can not use an OEM version of
Windows to perform an upgrade, but you can upgrade *from* an OEM
version without a problem. There is no technical reason why you can't
do it, and no licensing issue either.

 

[Leythos]

Sorry, you've been told wrong. You can not use an OEM version of Windows
to perform an upgrade, but you can upgrade *from* an OEM version without
a problem. There is no technical reason why you can't do it, and no
licensing issue either.

Maybe it's just my old age, but I misread your reply twice Ken, and while
clearn now I just wanted to explain it a different way:

1) OEM 2000 to XP Retail is possible
2) Retail 2000 to XP Retail is possible
3) OEM 2000 to OEM XP is not possible
4) ACTION PACK 2000 to OEM or RETAIL XP is not possible

The above are license imposed rules.

To move from OEM 2000 to XP you must purchase retail XP to make the
upgrade.

For the cost, you could also purchase OEM XP and wipe/reinstall the
machines, giving them a clean OS, clean system, for about $75 cheaper per
license. You would have to handle the backup/restore of their data.

--
Leythos
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum.
Calling an illegal alien an "undocumented worker" is like calling
a drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist"
(e-mail address removed) (remove 999 for proper email address)

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Maybe it's just my old age, but I misread your reply twice Ken,

Perhaps my old age in how I wrote it.

and while
clearn now I just wanted to explain it a different way:

Sure. More than one way can't hurt, and may help someone reading the
thread.

1) OEM 2000 to XP Retail is possible
2) Retail 2000 to XP Retail is possible
3) OEM 2000 to OEM XP is not possible

OEM *or Retail* 2000 to OEM XP is not possible. OEM versions can't do
upgrades, only clean installations.

4) ACTION PACK 2000 to OEM or RETAIL XP is not possible

The above are license imposed rules.

Except for upgrading with an OEM version. Besides the licensing
restriction, that's also a technical restriction.

To move from OEM 2000 to XP you must purchase retail XP to make the
upgrade.

Yes. That's the point I was making above.

For the cost, you could also purchase OEM XP and wipe/reinstall the
machines, giving them a clean OS, clean system, for about $75 cheaper per
license. You would have to handle the backup/restore of their data.

I'm almost always against buying an OEM version, because of the
restrictions it comes with. The most severe of those is that once
installed, the license can never be moved to another machine. I'd
recommend the retail Upgrade version instead. It usually costs about
the same as, or only a little more than, the OEM version, and despite
what many people think, *can* do a clean installation, as long as you
have a CD of a prior qualifying version to show it when prompted. Even
if you don't have such a prior qualifying version, they are available
used for very little money.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Help -- I have 13 brand new machines on which Windows 2000 OEM software was
loaded on -- my customer has asked me to replace Windows 2000 with XP Pro - -
I'm being told that you cannot, under ANY circumstance, upgrade a Windows
2000 OEM Software.....

Who's the moron that told you that? It's absurdly, blatantly false.
Granted, one can't use an OEM CD to perform an in-place upgrade, but
that has no bearing on the scenario you've described.

Upgrading to WinXP from Previous Versions of Windows
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/upgrading/matrix.asp

Not being an IT person....this seems completely ridiculous to me...what
package do I need to purcase of Win XP Pro that I can use to upgrade the
Windows 2000 OS and provide my customer with an authenticated WinXP Pro OS?

Either WinXP Pro Upgrade licenses, or a WinXP Pro Volume License.


--

Bruce Chambers

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