Windows XP Home CD from Dell in late 2001 too outdated for SP2? What are you talking about?

[Cymbal Man Freq.]

I'm preparing to a fresh install of Windows XP Home on a 2nd HD on a Dell
Dimension 4300 machine that was purchased in the fall of 2001. The machine is a
Win ME machine, and the XP CD is an upgrade CD that came with the machine. We
ordered an SP2 CD from Microsoft and it has arrived in the mail (but they didn't
charge shipping that time).

I am getting hints here and there that SP2 can't be used on Win XP versions
manufactured before a certain date, but I don't have a handle on the facts. How
will I know that the Win XP Home CD I have won't work with SP2?

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Wherever you heard those "hints" from is a bad source of information.
SP-2 will install on a legitimate version of Windows XP any age.

Also see:
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spackins.htm

 

[Cymbal Man Freq.]

http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how_do_i_install_windows_xp.htm

I'm reading this article about how to work the installation of XP. I'm kind of
stymied by how to get the 2nd HD into 4 partitions, the first three of which
will be NTFS and the 4th will be FAT32 (for Win Me backup purposes). I just
reviewed a Maxtor HD installation videotape I made awhile back, and it wanted a
copy of the bootdisk for the operating system I planned on using so it could
decide whether to format using FAT32, or FAT (since it was a Win 98SE boot
disk, NTFS never showed up as an option). I've also read that using the convert
utility on a Win XP 2nd HD 1st Partition in a dual boot dual HD situation with
Win Me on the 1st HD would cause irreparable harm.

So, I could use the Win Me boot disk to get Maxtor to install four FAT32
partitions onto the 2nd HD; and when I install Win XP.....I run across this in
step 12 from the link at the top....

"11/ You can select the partition you want to install XP on. Once you have
selected the partition press Enter

12/ The next window will offer to format the partition for you. If the partition
is already formatted the option will be 'leave file format as it is.' If it
hasn't been previously formatted then you will have the option to either:

Format the partition using the NTFS file system (Quick)

Format the partition using the FAT file system (Quick)

Format the partition using the NTFS file system

Format the partition using the FAT files system

13/ It is recommended that you use the NTFS file system so select 'Format the
partition using the NTFS file system'

14/ Set up will now begin to format your hard drive

15/ Once the drive has been formatted windows set up will start copying files to
memory"


As you can see, no mention was made about formatting an existing FAT32 partition
into an NTFS partition...only that the option "leave file format as it is" will
be selected as per these directions.

How do I get the 1st, 2nd & 3rd partition on the 2nd HD to NTFS and the 4th
partition to FAT32?

 

[Guest]

Hi ,I have a dell dimension 4550 with windows xp home ,came all from dell
,Purchase in september 2000. I have recently got the SP2 disk in the mail (3
weeks ago)and installed it.it works ok,but be prepared to search for small
utility program,Because when you install SP2 it removes and install certain
files.For Example.I got error messages after installing SP2. Example
Message concerning autoexec.nt .Had to get XPFIX.EXE to repair that file..
Any ways the SP2 will work with your windows software
-- Have a nice day,,,,,Good Luck
shamoo,Good day

 

[Walter Clayton]

You take this option

Format the partition using the NTFS file system

Quick format is not allowed when changing the file structure.

 

[Andy]

Since it's the second disk, you should already be running XP, so
run XP's Disk Management.
Create an extended partition on the second disk.
Create four logical drives in the extended partition, and format them.

On Thu, 05 May 2005 19:47:35 GMT, "Cymbal Man Freq." <Don't

 

[Cymbal Man Freq.]

I'm still confused.

Win ME is all that is running currently, and the 1st HD has two partitions
already; with just Drive Image 2002 files on the D Drive and the Norton Recycle
Bin and maybe a couple of other "hidden" files that Windows put there. I don't
want to install XP until I download all the drivers needed and until after I do
the XP System Test Program.

I want to install the 2nd HD and use the Maxtor program to set the drive letters
for the 4 partitions. Since I can't make an XP bootdisk..and whoever heard of a
bootdisk taking up 6 floppies, except for Norton anyway...I'd have to insert the
Win ME bootdisk when Maxtor asks for it and Maxtor will make all 4 partitions
Fat32. Making the last partition Fat32 requires that it never hit the NTFS
format first.

I assume, from the answers received here, that when I install XP on the 1st
partition of the 2nd HD, in step 12 of an earlier post, I'll get the option to
format the first partition of the 2nd HD to NTFS even though it is already a
FAT32 partition on a Fat32 drive...correct? I'll be able to install Win XP onto
the 1st NTFS partition...right? This will leave the other 3 partitions on the
2nd HD as Fat32...correct? And once XP is fully installed, I could reformat
other partitions WITHOUT erasing the whole drive of its other partitions and
formatting them too, right? So I could one by one reformat the 2nd partition and
the 3rd partition of the 2nd HD from within Win XP from Fat32 to NTFS...correct?
And if I wanted to format the 2nd partition on the 1st HD from Fat32 to NTFS,
provided I cleaned it out of everything but the Norton Protected Recycle Bin, I
could do that from within Windows XP and leave Win ME on the 1st partition of
the 1st HD unaffected, right?

What about Norton? Do I have to uninstall that and reinstall it during all this?
I assume I can get my one copy of NSW 2005 to work on both operating systems
without a licensing issue, like I can be clueless when it comes to fine print
until the Live Update barks back illegal copy or something.

The NAV portion of NSW 2005 won't work in Win ME on this machine I'm writing
about because of resource issues and it has been uninstalled (while the rest of
the NSW 2005 suite is still active in Win Me but for Go Back), but I'm willing
to give it (the NSW 2005 suite with the NAV portion installed, but for Go Back)
a try in the Win XP portion of the system. NSW 2005 will be installed twice on
one computer, and I'm hoping that will be OK.

I do have a copy of Partition Magic 8 lying around somewhere, but I don't want
to rely on it if I can get Win XP & Maxtor to do all the work instead. And does
a broken Safe Mode because of a DOS patch for Win ME cause any problem with the
Win XP Boot Menu process?

Thanks for trying to answer these questions with the right answers.