Which Version to Purchase?

[David]

I have a hosed version of Win/ME that will not startup.
I want to purchase WIN/XP Home. Can I purchase the
upgrade version or the full version (i.e. does the
upgrade version need to have a operational operating
system to install)? No matter what I will be
reformatting the hard drive as part of the install.

Thanks...

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

I have a hosed version of Win/ME that will not startup.
I want to purchase WIN/XP Home. Can I purchase the
upgrade version or the full version

You can use either.

(i.e. does the
upgrade version need to have a operational operating
system to install)?

No.

The requirement to use an upgrade version is to *own* a previous
qualifying version's installation CD (not an OEM restore CD), not
to have it installed. When setup doesn't find a previous
qualifying version installed, it will prompt you to insert its CD
as proof of ownership. Just insert the previous version's CD, and
follow the prompts. Everything proceeds quite normally and quite
legitimately.

 

[Guest]

hi david, first of all, go with windows xp pro because it runs a bit smoother than home, and second of all, dont buy it. just go to websites looking for free ones.

 

[Yves Leclerc]

XP Pro is not FREE. Those free ones are pirated copies and you should stay
away from them. Quality is not assured.

hi david, first of all, go with windows xp pro because it runs a bit

smoother than home, and second of all, dont buy it. just go to websites
looking for free ones.

 

[Guest]

but free is always good. and if there is a problem with one, then just buy the legal stuff. blah! lol

 

[Guest]

Yes free is always good, But Haveing an iellegal copy of windows on your computer can get you into deep crap, with microsoft.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

hi david, first of all, go with windows xp pro because it runs a bit
smoother than home,

That's completely false. They run equally smoothly. In fact XP
Professional and XP Home are exactly the same in all respects,
except that Professional has a few features (mostly related to
networking and security) missing from Home. For most (but not
all) home users, these features aren't needed, would never be
used, and buying Professional instead of Home is a waste of
money.

For details go to

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.asp

Also note that Professional allows ten concurrent network
connections, and Home only five.

and second of all, dont buy it. just go to
websites looking for free ones.

Or if stealing is your objective, you might as well just rob a
bank and use part of the money you steal to buy a copy. Then
you'd even have some money left over.