Upgrading from Windows ME to Windows XP

[Guest]

Does anyone know if I could upgrade from Windows ME to Windows XP with the
following purchased software?

This year I bought 3 licenses of Windows XP Home edition. All of which have
the label on the top right of the box stating " For PC's without Windows, or
PC's with Windows 95 or earlier versions.

My problem is that the 3 computers in my home all have different Operating
Systems. The last one I want to upgrade is the laptop with Windows ME.

I am concerned that the software upgrade will corrupt the current O.S.

Anyone with experience with this topic?

Thanks,

Dave Shawger
(e-mail address removed)

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP]

Does anyone know if I could upgrade from Windows ME to Windows XP
with the following purchased software?

This year I bought 3 licenses of Windows XP Home edition. All of
which have the label on the top right of the box stating " For PC's
without Windows, or PC's with Windows 95 or earlier versions.

My problem is that the 3 computers in my home all have different
Operating Systems. The last one I want to upgrade is the laptop with
Windows ME.

I am concerned that the software upgrade will corrupt the current O.S.

Anyone with experience with this topic?

Thanks,

Dave Shawger
(e-mail address removed)

Those sound like retail OEM copies. In order to install them you will have
to remove the previous version of Windows, normally by formatting the drive.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup only. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
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[Vagabond Software]

Does anyone know if I could upgrade from Windows ME to Windows XP with the
following purchased software?

This year I bought 3 licenses of Windows XP Home edition. All of which have
the label on the top right of the box stating " For PC's without Windows, or
PC's with Windows 95 or earlier versions.

My problem is that the 3 computers in my home all have different Operating
Systems. The last one I want to upgrade is the laptop with Windows ME.

I am concerned that the software upgrade will corrupt the current O.S.

Anyone with experience with this topic?

You probably cannot upgrade an existing Windows installation, which you would not want to do in any event, especially when going from Win 9X/ME to NT.

If you absolutely, positively, have no realistic way to backup your existing data and start with a fresh install of Windows XP, then buy a new hard drive, remove the old one, and install Windows XP.

After you have installed Windows XP, all the critical updates, and your applications; turn off your computer and prepare to add your old hard drive back into your system. If you have two IDE channels on your motherboard, your new hard drive should be the master on your Primary channel, so you'll want to add your old hard drive as the master on your Secondary channel. Any CD-ROM/DVD drive you may have can be configured as a slave on either channel by changing the jumpers on the back of the drive.

When you turn the power back on, you'll be able to browse, search, and migrate your old data at your leisure. After you're satisfied that you have everything you want, you can even wipe the old drive clean and use it as a backup device for your current installation.

carl

 

[Miss Perspicacia Tick]

Those sound like retail OEM copies. In order to install them you
will have to remove the previous version of Windows, normally by
formatting the drive.

Frank they are most certainly *NOT* OEM - they are full retail licence, for
one thing an OEM licence does *NOT* come boxed - it comes shrinkwrapped with
a CD and 'getting started' booklet (which doubles as the COA). I have four
full XP Pro licences and they all state the same thing.

 

[Richie NY]

Yes you can, just be aware of each PC's hard ware
specifications, XP likes to run Pentium 4, Pentium 3 or
equivalent on each PC a minimum of 128Mb RAM and each
machine should have a good video card as XP runs very
powerful graphics.

My recommendation is formatting each machine and doing a
clean install, that will make your life so simple. If you
have data to transfer or email address books and emails
or favorites, plan on saving them first to a floppy

 

[Andrew Murray]

Frank they are most certainly *NOT* OEM - they are full retail licence, for
one thing an OEM licence does *NOT* come boxed - it comes shrinkwrapped with
a CD and 'getting started' booklet (which doubles as the COA). I have four
full XP Pro licences and they all state the same thing.
--
Facon - the artificial bacon bits you get in Pizza Hut for sprinkling
on salads.

The difference in Licences is OEM normally (or used to ) specifiy "Only for

bundle/sale with a new PC" (these days it seems OEM Windows is sold with any
hardware from a mouse or keyboard to a hard drive or
motherboard/processor) -verus the licences the O.P. has "for pcs without windows"
there is a difference - the copies he has will install if he formats the Hard
drive of the laptop.

 

[Miss Perspicacia Tick]

bundle/sale with a new PC" (these days it seems OEM Windows is sold
with any hardware from a mouse or keyboard to a hard drive or
motherboard/processor) -verus the licences the O.P. has "for pcs
without windows" there is a difference - the copies he has will
install if he formats the Hard drive of the laptop.

They are full retail licences - why should he be required to reformat? They
will upgrade the existing installation. Why go to the unnecessary hassle
when it isn't necessary?

 

[Vagabond Software]

Does anyone know if I could upgrade from Windows ME to Windows XP with the
following purchased software?

This year I bought 3 licenses of Windows XP Home edition. All of which have
the label on the top right of the box stating " For PC's without Windows, or
PC's with Windows 95 or earlier versions.

My problem is that the 3 computers in my home all have different Operating
Systems. The last one I want to upgrade is the laptop with Windows ME.

I am concerned that the software upgrade will corrupt the current O.S.

Anyone with experience with this topic?

You probably cannot upgrade an existing Windows installation, which you would not want to do in any event, especially when going from Win 9X/ME to NT.

If you absolutely, positively, have no realistic way to backup your existing data and start with a fresh install of Windows XP, then buy a new hard drive, remove the old one, and install Windows XP.

After you have installed Windows XP, all the critical updates, and your applications; turn off your computer and prepare to add your old hard drive back into your system. If you have two IDE channels on your motherboard, your new hard drive should be the master on your Primary channel, so you'll want to add your old hard drive as the master on your Secondary channel. Any CD-ROM/DVD drive you may have can be configured as a slave on either channel by changing the jumpers on the back of the drive.

When you turn the power back on, you'll be able to browse, search, and migrate your old data at your leisure. After you're satisfied that you have everything you want, you can even wipe the old drive clean and use it as a backup device for your current installation.

carl

Nevermind. I just realized you wanted to do this on a laptop where adding hard drives is a little more expensive and difficult.

carl

 

[Michael Stevens]

You probably cannot upgrade an existing Windows installation, which
you would not want to do in any event, especially when going from Win
9X/ME to NT.

You can and is usually very successful when properly prepared for. Best
strategy is to prep for a clean install and then do the upgrade. The XP
upgrade essentially saves the important information needed to upgrade,
deletes the old Windows folder and replaces it with a clean Windows XP to
import the saved info into. Much different more robust than previous Windows
upgrades.

If you absolutely, positively, have no realistic way to backup your
existing data and start with a fresh install of Windows XP, then buy
a new hard drive, remove the old one, and install Windows XP.

This is a good idea for both upgrading or clean installing. It is essential
you create a backup of your files that cannot be replaced. The rest below is
good information.
--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

 

[Alex Nichol]

Does anyone know if I could upgrade from Windows ME to Windows XP with the
following purchased software?

This year I bought 3 licenses of Windows XP Home edition. All of which have
the label on the top right of the box stating " For PC's without Windows, or
PC's with Windows 95 or earlier versions.

Those are 'full' versions. They will install on a blank machine, and
will also do an upgrade, but are more expensive than an upgrade version
which is all that you really need.

My problem is that the 3 computers in my home all have different Operating
Systems. The last one I want to upgrade is the laptop with Windows ME.

I am concerned that the software upgrade will corrupt the current O.S.

You need to be sure that it has adequate hardware - especially enough
RAM. A laptop with ME is likely to be 128 MB , or even only 64, and you
would need to upgrade to 256 to work decently

Read Gary Woodruff's article on upgrading to XP at
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.htm