xp full home edition or upgrade?

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Guest

i was given a dell with windows me on it .the p.c. was given to me from
afriend who got ot from a friend i don't know .can i upgrade with the $99.00
version ? the computer is not registerd to me? Does that matter?
 
In chouck <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
i was given a dell with windows me on it .the p.c. was given to me
from afriend who got ot from a friend i don't know .can i upgrade
with the $99.00 version ? the computer is not registerd to me?
Does that matter?
Click to expand...

If you do not have the OS disk that came with it or another version of
Windows to use as qualifying media then an upgrade will not work as far as I
know. You will need the full version. As for registration - that is, and has
been, optional.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/

Please note that if you're reading this in a browser and the domain is
not owned by Microsoft then this work is being used without permission.

Access MS Newsgroups :
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Any legal issues aside, I believe that you will be able to upgrade the
installed copy of WinME. You could do that with either a retail upgrade copy
or a full retail copy.

However, it might be inconvenient if you ever need to do another
installation of XP in the future. It would be nice if you didn't have to
format the hard drive, install ME, and then XP over that. A "clean" install
of XP can be done with an upgrade CD, but you'd have to have "qualifying
media" on hand. (I have a retail Win98 Gold upgrade CD that I use for the
purpose. Actually, I use a CD-R backup copy for safety. The XP installer
doesn't ask to see a product key for the Win98CD.)

A Dell OS restoration CD may not serve as "qualifying media", unfortunately.

An OEM copy of XP Home might be another option. It could be attractive on
the basis of cost. It would have some limitations. It might have to be
purchased on the gray market (it is intended to be sold with a new PC), and
you'd get no support from Microsoft. (The 90 day support is less than
wonderful as it is.) An OEM copy can't be installed as an upgrade; only a
clean install is permitted. I have never read an OEM copy's license
agreement, but I have read that it is supposed to be used only with a single
PC, ever. (The PC would typically be defined by its motherboard. I believe
that you could swap out all of the other components.)

So: I recommend an XP Home upgrade version, if you can come up with
"qualifying media". XP Home OEM, if you don't have "qualifying media", want
to save money, and can live with its limitations. The full retail XP Home
package would be least restrictive, but it lists for around $200US.


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.
 
Galen said:
In chouck <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:


If you do not have the OS disk that came with it or another version of
Windows to use as qualifying media then an upgrade will not work as
far as I know. You will need the full version. As for registration -
that is, and has been, optional.
Click to expand...


Galen, no previous version's CD is needed for an upgrade. The CD is needed
only to to do a clean installation with the Upgrade version.
 
In Ken Blake, MVP <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
Galen, no previous version's CD is needed for an upgrade. The CD is
needed only to to do a clean installation with the Upgrade version.
Click to expand...

*chuckles* Well, err, thanks? :D I thought you had to insert qualifying
media each time you used the upgrade CD.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/

Please note that if you're reading this in a browser and the domain is
not owned by Microsoft then this work is being used without permission.

Access MS Newsgroups :
http://kgiii.info/windows/all/general/msnewsgroups.html
 
Galen said:
*chuckles* Well, err, thanks? :D I thought you had to insert
qualifying media each time you used the upgrade CD.
Click to expand...


You're welcome. Nope. It wants to see that you have a previous version, and
it's satisfied if it sees *either* a previous version installed or its CD.
 
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