XP Media Center vs XP Pro

[Guest]

I had a OEM copy of Media Center 2005 installed on my Dell laptop. I want to
reinstall using a clean CD free of all the junk that Dell puts on their
computers. While using the disk that they provided to reinstall the OS, it
began installing some misc. programs (which I don't want...)

I have a XP Pro disk from another computer. Will the OEM PIK work with the
Pro disk? Or can I get a truly clean Media Center 2005 disk somewhere legally?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I had a OEM copy of Media Center 2005 installed on my Dell laptop.
I want to reinstall using a clean CD free of all the junk that Dell
puts on their computers. While using the disk that they provided
to reinstall the OS, it began installing some misc. programs (which
I don't want...)

I have a XP Pro disk from another computer. Will the OEM PIK work
with the Pro disk? Or can I get a truly clean Media Center 2005
disk somewhere legally?

You probably could call Dell and try to get an actual Media Center 2005 CD.
You could ask friends/family.
You could look on the web for them.

The product key for Windows XP Media Center Edition should not work with
Windows XP Professional media.

 

[Guest]

I don't think that would be the way to go. I think you should call dell .
Because if you use it from a diffrent xp computer it would not work each
windows disk is made to work with one coa only.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I had a OEM copy of Media Center 2005 installed on my Dell laptop.
I want to reinstall using a clean CD free of all the junk that
Dell puts on their computers. While using the disk that they
provided to reinstall the OS, it began installing some misc.
programs (which I don't want...)

I have a XP Pro disk from another computer. Will the OEM PIK work
with the Pro disk? Or can I get a truly clean Media Center 2005
disk somewhere legally?

You probably could call Dell and try to get an actual Media Center
2005 CD. You could ask friends/family.
You could look on the web for them.

The product key for Windows XP Media Center Edition should not
work with Windows XP Professional media.

I don't think that would be the way to go. I think you should call
dell . Because if you use it from a diffrent xp computer it would
not work each windows disk is made to work with one coa only.

You don't think what would be the way to go (as you responded to me in the
chain of the conversation...)?

 

[Winda]

You can install from the Dell CD that dumps all the Dell junk. From
http://www.macecraft.com/ download jv16PowerTools 2007. If you do not want pay for
it, you can use it for 30 days, you may want to, like a lot of other people buy it
after using it, as it is a very impressive piece of software. In add remove
programs, make a note of all the dell junk in the list, and remove it. Then from
jvPowerTools16 2007, run the registry cleaner. After that run the Registry Finder
tool, type in the list from the add\remove programs (Dell junk) you wish to get
rid of. One by one preferably, this will find all the registry entries left behind
by those programs, select all the entries and remove them. After you have done
this, use the Registry Compactor Tool.

This will clean the registry like those (Dell junk) programs like they were never
there. This may be an easer, and cheaper option to obtaining a "clean" retail or
genereic OEM version of the software.

- Winda




|I had a OEM copy of Media Center 2005 installed on my Dell laptop. I want to
| reinstall using a clean CD free of all the junk that Dell puts on their
| computers. While using the disk that they provided to reinstall the OS, it
| began installing some misc. programs (which I don't want...)
|
| I have a XP Pro disk from another computer. Will the OEM PIK work with the
| Pro disk? Or can I get a truly clean Media Center 2005 disk somewhere legally?

 

[John]

I had a OEM copy of Media Center 2005 installed on my Dell laptop. I want to
reinstall using a clean CD free of all the junk that Dell puts on their
computers. While using the disk that they provided to reinstall the OS, it
began installing some misc. programs (which I don't want...)

I have a XP Pro disk from another computer. Will the OEM PIK work with the
Pro disk? Or can I get a truly clean Media Center 2005 disk somewhere legally?

There is a freeware program called PC Decrapifier
(http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/) that will find all traces of Dell crap
on a computer and will give you the chance to delete the files not required.

Hope this helps.
John.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I don't think that would be the way to go. I think you should call dell .
Because if you use it from a diffrent xp computer it would not work each
windows disk is made to work with one coa only.

I'm not sure I understand what that means, but if you are trying to
say that each CD can work with only a single product key, that's *not*
correct. CDs are not made individually for each key, and no CD
contains a product key.