Upgrading from Win2k to XP Professional

[JMF]

I'm contemplating going from Win2K to XP Professional.

I'd like to know whether the upgrade can or should be done "hot" -- that is,
without uninstalling Win2K -- or whether it's better to just do a full, new
installation.

Any advice much appreciated.

John

 

[badgolferman]

I'm contemplating going from Win2K to XP Professional.

I'd like to know whether the upgrade can or should be done "hot" --
that is, without uninstalling Win2K -- or whether it's better to just
do a full, new installation.

Any advice much appreciated.

John

If you don't have any current problems with your W2K computer or have
applications that can't be reinstalled then an upgrade will work okay.
I have done a few that way and it's not like it used to be. Otherwise
you are better off doing a full new installation. You may even
consider having a dual-boot system with both OSes installed if it isn't
against the license.

 

[Bob I]

Upgrade is easily done with Upgrade or Full (NOT OEM) CD.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I'm contemplating going from Win2K to XP Professional.

I'd like to know whether the upgrade can or should be done "hot" --
that is, without uninstalling Win2K -- or whether it's better to just
do a full, new installation.

Although many people will tell you that formatting and installing cleanly is
the best way to go, I disagree. Unlike with previous versions of Windows, an
upgrade to XP replaces almost everything, and usually works very well.

My recommendation is to at least try the upgrade, since it's much easier
than a clean installation. You can always change your mind and reinstall
cleanly if problems develop.

However, don't assume that doing an upgrade relieves you of the need to
backup your data, etc. before beginning. Before starting to upgrade, it's
always prudent to recognize that things like a sudden power loss can occur
in the middle of it and cause the loss of everything. For that reason you
should make sure you have backups and anything else you need to reinstall if
the worst happens.

 

[Trevor]

I'm contemplating going from Win2K to XP Professional.

I'd like to know whether the upgrade can or should be done "hot" -- that is,
without uninstalling Win2K -- or whether it's better to just do a full, new
installation.

Any advice much appreciated.

John

Here's the catch in a nutshell....If you upgrade...you carry with that
upgrade all the baggage that was there withing W2K. If you re-install
anew (From Scratch) you get a nice new virgin system to work with.

That's the bottom line. Upgrading from W2K is no problem. It works
fine...but you may have legacy applications installed that don't play
nicely with Win XP.

Decide if you have had W2K installed for a long time...weather you
want all that garbage to follow after an "Upgrade". If your W2K was
recently installed and not burdened with tons of trial-ware and old
applications...You probably would be safe to upgrade.

But WHY...ask for trouble when you can get a fresh new system
installed?

All this is totally dependent on the fact that you would install all
the latest critical updates and be using SP2 should you decide to do a
clean installation of WXP.







Good Luck,

Trev

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Here's the catch in a nutshell....If you upgrade...you carry with that
upgrade all the baggage that was there withing W2K.

All *WHAT* baggage? Please enlighten us.

If you re-install
anew (From Scratch) you get a nice new virgin system to work with.

True. But you get nearly the same thing, plus all of your applications
already installed, by performing an upgrade, and in a lot less time.
WinXP doesn't upgrade in the same manner as did earlier versions of
Windows; it truly replaces the old OS, rather than just lying on top of it.

That's the bottom line.

No, the "bottom line" is your next statement, and the only one you
needed to make:

Upgrading from W2K is no problem. It works
fine...

but you may have legacy applications installed that don't play
nicely with Win XP.

The Upgrade Compatibility wizard would warn the upgrader if there will
be any such problems.

Decide if you have had W2K installed for a long time...weather you
want all that garbage to follow after an "Upgrade". If your W2K was
recently installed and not burdened with tons of trial-ware and old
applications...You probably would be safe to upgrade.

But WHY...ask for trouble when you can get a fresh new system
installed?

Reasonable question, other than the unfounded assumption that an
upgrade is asking for trouble.

Granted, many uninformed people do recommend that one always
perform a clean installation, rather than upgrade over an earlier OS.
For the most part, I feel that these people, while usually
well-intended, are living in the past, and are basing their
recommendations on their experiences with older, obsolete operating
systems or hearsay. One would save a lot of time by upgrading a PC to
WinXP, rather than performing a clean installation, if there're no
hardware or software incompatibilities. Microsoft has greatly improved
(over earlier versions of Windows) WinXP's ability to smoothly upgrade
an earlier OS.

Certainly, there are times when an in-place upgrade is
contra-indicated:

1) When the underlying hardware isn't certified as being fully
compatible with the newer OS, and/or updated device drivers are not
available from the device's manufacturer. Of course, this condition also
causes problems with clean installations.

2) When the original OS is corrupt, damaged, and/or virus/malware
infested. I've also seen simple, straight-forward upgrades from WinXP
Home to WinXP Pro fail because the computer owner had let the system
become malware-infested. Upgrading over a problematic OS isn't normally
a wise course to establishing a stable installation.

3) When the new OS isn't designed to properly, correctly, and safely
perform an upgrade.

A properly prepared and maintained PC can almost always be
successfully upgraded by a knowledgeable and competent individual. I've
lost count of the systems I've seen that have been upgraded from Win95
to Win98 to Win2K to WinXP (usually with incremental hardware upgrades
over the same time period), without the need for a clean installation,
and that are still operating without any problems attributable to upgrades.


--

Bruce Chambers

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