Will an upgrade from WinME allow reinstalls of XP if needed without reinstalling WinME?

  • Thread starter Thread starter AK
  • Start date Start date
A

AK

I am planning to move from WinME to XP Pro (plenty of RAM, disk, etc.).

My WinME system is an upgrade from Win98, and I have been told that if I
install an upgrade version of XP, and I want to reinstall it if I have
problems at some time in the future, I would have to do the full Win98 to
WinME to WinXP series of installs.

Is this correct? if so, it seems it would be safer (or easier) to install a
full version rather than the upgrade, even though it costs more.

Alan
 
Greetings --

It is possible to perform a clean installation using an Upgrade
CD.

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.

HOW TO Prepare to Upgrade Win98 or WinMe
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q316639


Bruce Chambers

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Bruce:

I really appreciate the full reply.

I have the original Win98 CD, and the WinME upgrade CD.

My concern is, actually, that if the system were to crash (a not unknown
phenomenon with Windows!!), and the problem required a re-install of the
WinXP system to recover, I would first have to load the Win98 system, then
do the WinME upgrade, and only then the reinstall of the WinXP system. Any
thoughts on that? Would it be enough, do you think, to insert the WInME CD
as you explained for the initial installation and then continue?

That being said, I have WinXP running on four computers and have never had
to do a re-install ... yet.

Thanks

Alan
 
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