XP OS

[John]

Can I install XP Home on an older Dell XPS 350 to see if
it will work prior to purchasing the upgrade. I have an
OEM disc from my 8200 and an upgrade disc from my 4100.
If OS is compatible I would buy the upgrade, I just don't
want to waste the money to find out it doesn't work.

 

[Jim Macklin]

Why not, just don't go on-line with it, activate it or try
to run Windows Update. You'll have 30 days to try it out, a
day should be plenty of time.

But you could just use the upgrade compatibility test which
is on the upgrade CD.

There is also an on-line test at www.pcpitstop.com which
works very well.



message | Can I install XP Home on an older Dell XPS 350 to see if
| it will work prior to purchasing the upgrade. I have an
| OEM disc from my 8200 and an upgrade disc from my 4100.
| If OS is compatible I would buy the upgrade, I just don't
| want to waste the money to find out it doesn't work.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

You can't install the OEM disk, it is tied to the other computer and may be
BIOS locked to that computer.

You can try with the upgrade but understand, you cannot activate that on the
350 if it has already been activated on the 4100. If it's compatible and
works, when you buy the retail upgrade, do a repair install as outlined
below and enter CD key from the retail package you purchase in order to be
able to activate XP on the 350 system.


Be sure you are well backed up in case there is a problem from which you are
unable to recover. NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data
files intact, if something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be
forced to start over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your
data backed up, you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.



Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to boot from the CD, it
should detect the disk and give a brief message, during the boot up, if you
wish to boot from the CD press any key.



Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.



Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console.



The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.