XP full version vs. upgrade

[David]

The hard drive on my computer was damaged and needed to be
replaced by Dell. They sent me a blank hard drive so I
have no files on it. I have my original windows ME CD but
want to switch to windows XP. The XP upgrade is less
expensive than the full version, but I was wondering if
there is any advantage to having the full version of XP
over the upgrade. I'd appreciate advice from anyone who
knows if the upgraded and full versions of XP are
identical once they are installed or if there are
differences I should consider.

Thanks,

David.

 

[Phil \(purplehaz\)]

They are identical. The upgrade version requires that you have a real win9x
or winme, or win2k cd to use during installation to prove you qualify to use
the upgrade version. You'll have to put the winme cd in when asked. A
recovery cd will not work has to be a real windows cd.
The full version needs no qualifier product.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, David.

if the upgraded and full versions of XP are
identical once they are installed

Yes. The only advantage is that the full version does not ask for a
qualifying prior version of Windows. So long as you have the WinME CD to
"show" during the Setup process, the upgrade version should work smoothly
for you. There's no difference in the contents of the versions.

Unless there is something special about Dell's version of your WinME CD, the
WinXP upgrade should work.

RC

 

[*Vanguard*]

"David" ([email protected]) said in

The hard drive on my computer was damaged and needed to be
replaced by Dell. They sent me a blank hard drive so I
have no files on it. I have my original windows ME CD but
want to switch to windows XP. The XP upgrade is less
expensive than the full version, but I was wondering if
there is any advantage to having the full version of XP
over the upgrade. I'd appreciate advice from anyone who
knows if the upgraded and full versions of XP are
identical once they are installed or if there are
differences I should consider.

Thanks,

David.

Since you will be starting from a blank hard disk, the upgrade will
install without migrating any of the crap from Windows ME; i.e., you
will get a fresh install of Windows XP. This is just like you doing a
full install in a new partition. The upgrade will require the CD for
Windows ME to confirm you have a prior version to qualify for the
upgrade.

 

[M]

There is no difference between the versions once installed. When you do a
clean install from the upgrade version you will be asked for the Windows Me
CD part way through the installation just to prove that you qualify for the
upgrade. Before you buy the upgrade you should see if you can qualify for
the academic license which is less expensive. A child in school or an
evening college course is sufficient see
http://www.clickonit.com/product.php?product=129504

 

[Alex Nichol]

The hard drive on my computer was damaged and needed to be
replaced by Dell. They sent me a blank hard drive so I
have no files on it. I have my original windows ME CD but
want to switch to windows XP. The XP upgrade is less
expensive than the full version, but I was wondering if
there is any advantage to having the full version of XP
over the upgrade.

None. If it was a regular CD with a Win9x folder on it then you would
be able to present it direct to XP setup as evidence should you ever
want to do a clean install; even if it is not you can still achieve a
clean install, but would have to restore the ME first and set out from
that, formatting the disk a little down the road. Apart from this check
by Setup the versions are identical

Make sure first that the hardware is adequate; you need *more* than the
recommended 128 MB RAM and at least a 400 MHz processor - otherwise I
would stick with ME

 

[Donald McDaniel]

None. If it was a regular CD with a Win9x folder on it then you would
be able to present it direct to XP setup as evidence should you ever
want to do a clean install; even if it is not you can still achieve a
clean install, but would have to restore the ME first and set out from
that, formatting the disk a little down the road. Apart from this
check by Setup the versions are identical

Make sure first that the hardware is adequate; you need *more* than
the recommended 128 MB RAM and at least a 400 MHz processor -
otherwise I would stick with ME

There IS one advantage of the Full Retail product over the Upgrade:
If you have no previous Windows 9x software product, the Upgrade will be
useless to you, since it will not install without proof of a previous
product, while the Full Retail will still install.

--
Donald L McDaniel
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