[Frasier]

I have been given a Dell D620 running Windows 2000 Professional. I would like to upgrade this to XP (I have the Home version on disk) and then pass to my youngest daughter.

Can anyone advise if there are likely to be any problems and whether I should just load the disk or format the hard drive first.

Any comments will be greatly appreciated.

[Advertisements]

Hi there Frasier, you cannot do an in-place upgrade from Windows 2000 Professional to XP Home Edition, you need XP Professional for the upgrade - see more on this link. You can, however, format the hard drive and install XP Home onto the Dell D620, assuming that you have a separate Product Key for the Dell, as the cd you have will have come with another computer (I'm assuming your own) with its own Product Key.

Hope this helps.

[Troy]

Hi there Frasier, you cannot do an in-place upgrade from Windows 2000 Professional to XP Home Edition, you need XP Professional for the upgrade - see more on this link. You can, however, format the hard drive and install XP Home onto the Dell D620, assuming that you have a separate Product Key for the Dell, as the cd you have will have come with another computer (I'm assuming your own) with its own Product Key.

Hope this helps.

[Frasier]

Thanks for the reply. As the copy of XP Home came with another Dell machine (a Latitude 1100) it looks like I might be best upgrading XP Pro.

[Troy]

Thanks for the reply. As the copy of XP Home came with another Dell machine (a Latitude 1100) it looks like I might be best upgrading XP Pro.

I'm sure you could probably find a cheap XP Pro "Academic Upgrade" version still at the shops, if it's just going to be home use these are fine. I'm not sure which country you're from, so I can't give you a guide, but I do remember it being pretty cheap here in Australia last time I looked (I think it was about $110 AUD), especially because Vista is out now, stores just want to get rid of excess stock.

[Frasier]

Thanks again for the comments and advice. I am in England and most software is ruinously expensive here but I will look for a copy of XP Pro as it is cheaper than buying a new laptop and the Dell I have been given is otherwise A!.

[The Skeptic]

Where I live XP pro is about 70% more expensive then XP home. For most people XP home is more then enough. Just a financial consideration.

[Frasier]

Thanks for the comment. I'll look into the options - cost is always an issue!