XP reinstall

[spelga]

1. I have XP media center edition, 2002, SP3
2. A virus destroyed a lot of functions, so I want to install XP Pro
3. I bought XP Pro disc (at vast expense) and tried to install
4. Said it can't install as version on m/c is later than version on disc (SP2)
5. Followed instructions to boot from CD - said it couldn't find a hard
drive on the computer
6. Any suggestions??

 

[Leonard Grey]

"Clean Install Windows XP"
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

 

[DL]

5) generally means you have a sata drive & you need to use the F6 option
early in the installation to install raid drivers from *floppy* (Drivers
usually available from your mobo site)

 

[Daave]

1. I have XP media center edition, 2002, SP3
2. A virus destroyed a lot of functions, so I want to install XP Pro
3. I bought XP Pro disc (at vast expense) and tried to install
4. Said it can't install as version on m/c is later than version on
disc (SP2)
5. Followed instructions to boot from CD - said it couldn't find a
hard
drive on the computer
6. Any suggestions??

Sorry to hear you already purchased another license. I'm sure it was
expensive, and it wasn't necessary.

Now that you have two types of XP (MCE and Pro), you need to first
answer the following question:

Which type of XP do you want to run? Although they are similar, there
are a few differences. Since MCE is considered a superset of Pro, you
will lose functionality if you (essentially) downgrade to Pro. For more
info, see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP_Professional

If you wish to stick with MCE, you need to follow the directions that
the manufacturer of the PC provided. The reinstallation method will be
one of the following:

a. Installation disk (Dell calls these "Reinstallation" disks)
b. Recovery or Restore Disk
c. Hidden recovery partition on the hard drive

What is the make and model of your PC? What method did they provide?

What you described is a failed attempt to perform a repair install. Not
only do the Service Pack levels not match, but again you have two
different flavors of XP. If you had an *MCE* XP installation disk at a
different Service Pack level, you would either need to uninstall SP3 or
create a new installation CD (for MCE!), slipstreaming SP3 into it so
that Service Pack levels match). That being said, I'm pretty sure that
even if the SP levels were the same, the repair install won't work
since, again, you have two different types of XP (MCE and Pro).

You could always just start from scratch and perform a clean install of
XP Pro. However, this will wipe your hard drive clean, so it's important
you save all the data and settings first! Also, you will need to obtain
all the necessary hardware drivers. Note that you will lose some
functionality (features that are unique to MCE).

Finally, note that unless your PC is significantly compromised,
reinstalling the OS is not necessary. This page is an excellent resource
for how to deal with malware:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Viruses_Malware

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

1. I have XP media center edition, 2002, SP3
2. A virus destroyed a lot of functions, so I want to install XP Pro
3. I bought XP Pro disc (at vast expense) and tried to install
4. Said it can't install as version on m/c is later than version on disc (SP2)
5. Followed instructions to boot from CD - said it couldn't find a hard
drive on the computer
6. Any suggestions??

A couple of questions and points:

1. Why do you want to go from XP Professional to XP Media Edition? Are
you aware that Media Edition is a superset of Professional? Everything
in Professional is also in Media edition (except for the ability to
joina domain, which very few home users need or would use) and Media
Edition has its extra media-related features. So Professional should
have no advantanges for you over Media Edition. Why didn't you
reinstall Media Editioninstead of buying Professional?

2. The reason you get the message you got regarding the version is
because you are installing it incorrectly. Since you will be clean
installing, the fact that there is an existing XP Media version on the
drive is completely irrelevant. The procedure is exactly the same
regardless of what is on the drive, or even whether there is
*anything* on the drive.

Just boot from the Windows XP CD (change the BIOS boot order if
necessary to accomplish this) and follow the prompts for a clean
installation (delete the existing partition by pressing "D" when
prompted, then create a new one).

You can find detailed instructions here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

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

or here http://windowsxp.mvps.org/XPClean.htm

or here http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm