[Releges]

I own a Sony Vaio Pentium 4 which came XP Home edition which I then upgraded to XP Pro, unfortunately using a cheap copy I bought through Price Grabber that says "Windows client Business ... not for resale, etc." So I knew that I was getting something that might be dicey but still not a counterfeit. Just yesterday, I got the message from Microsoft that i've noticed some other posters' have received - "Your copy of XP is not genuine", etc, etc and offering to sell me a license for it (for around $150, I think).
Here's my question. Should I buy the license to make XP Pro legal, (and presumably not have any hassles with my setup as it is), or should I buy the new Vista, either the full home basic for $194 or the premium version for $230. (Also, some of these also mention DVD. Do they come as a DVD installation disk rather than a set of CDs?)

What I'm worried about is, whether I can/should install Vista on a system that has a "not genuine" version of XP Pro. (I'm not talking about buying an Upgrade version of Vista, but a regular full install version.)
Thanks

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You cannot use an "upgrade" on a non-genuine version of Windows. Will your hardware be sufficient to support Vista? You could reinstall your legal XP Home and upgrade from that. No matter what, do your back ups before you do anything.
Johanna

[Johanna]

You cannot use an "upgrade" on a non-genuine version of Windows. Will your hardware be sufficient to support Vista? You could reinstall your legal XP Home and upgrade from that. No matter what, do your back ups before you do anything.
Johanna

[fleamailman]

neither, if you are not a gamer I honestly suggest trying linux kubuntu since they even pay the postage when sending you the install cd, I have firefox for internet, open office for word and spellcheck and I can install this to as many machines as I like even running the os from the cd before installing to see if there are any drivers missing, free upgrades, oh and no malware nor popups, period.

The above, or you must pay for vista, for Office and for you protection, and can only use this on one machine, plus paying for the next os, after vista, I like MS's but I just don't have enough money to keep on paying for it.

Anyways, try kubuntu linux and then if you don't like it, buy all the MS stuff.

This post is only my sole opinion and is not meant to offend, nor detract from the great work done by other members here.

Edited by fleamailman, 21 January 2007 - 11:31 AM.

[Releges]

Can someone who has done it, tell me if one can install XP Home Edition on a computer that has the XP Pro? Would I have to do a clean install? I really don't want to do that if I can avoid it. The same question would apply to Vista. I wouldn't try the upgrade, I'd buy the full Premium version so that the dvd burning features and so on would be more likely to work.

[Johanna]

You can't "downgrade" XP Pro to Home without a clean install. You will get an error message for trying to go backwards.

From a legit XP, Home or Pro, you could do a Vista upgrade and retain all your data.
Johanna

[Releges]

Narrowing down my options. Do you think it would be better to buy the license that microsoft is offering to make the XP Pro legit, for $150 --- or buy the full install premium Vista for about $240. Would installing a legal full version of Vista clear things up, preserve the existing programs etc, or would that, too, have to be a clean install. I am under the impression that a full install , not an upgrade version, will automatically make things OK. But uncertainty remains. If it's a choice netween a free clean install of the XP Home and buying Vista, then it would probably be my choice to go with the XP, but if I could avoid all that agro of reinstalling all the SW, plus have a newer system - - - that's the choice as I see it.

[Johanna]

A full legal version of Vista, in your cae, means a clean install. You don't have the upgrade option to preserve your files and settings. A real license for XP Pro will allow you to keep your set up.
Johanna