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Reformatting + Upgrade


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#1
DrPandaLove

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Hi,

I'm somewhat nooby with comps but here goes:

I had a Windows ME OS until it got all buggy and virus infested and my friend's father went to reformat it for me... and also gave upgraded it to Windows XP Home. Therefore, I have an illegal copy of XP on my computer and I now want to upgrade to a legitimate version of XP Pro. I still want to reformat my computer and start fresh. I've backed up my personal files on CD roms and whatnot... How do you suggest I go about reformatting my harddrive and upgrading? My roommate told me that I could use Boot and Nuke and completely wipe it clean like that, and then insert my XP Pro upgrade cd and go from there, but what do you suggest? I don't plan on doing this until next week but I just want to plan out everything. Thanks a lot for your help!
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#2
dsenette

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i could be wrong...but...if it's an upgrade cd...not the full version of windows...it will need to detect an os before it will upgrade....you say it's pirated...but...in theory he didn't steal the cd...he just used his cd on your computer...while that's still wrong...it shouldn't cause the upgrade to fail...(congratulations on trying to stay legal by the way)...usually to do the inplace upgrade...you can just insert the upgrade cd into your cdrom while logged in...and it will take you through the steps...

if you do in fact have a full version xp cd and not the upgrade...just boot from the cd and follow the instructions from there...
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#3
DrPandaLove

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No, I believe its only the upgrade CD. Can I still reformat AND upgrade with just the upgrade CD?
If not, I have the copy of Windows ME that came with the computer I purchased. Can i then reformat and reinstall Windows ME, and then upgrade it to XP Pro like that?

Edited by DrPandaLove, 08 December 2005 - 11:55 AM.

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#4
dsenette

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i fyou would like to do it that way..yes you can..(like i said i could be wrong about not being able to just format and reinstall with the "upgrade cd"...but...it wouldn't make sense to call it an upgrade if it was the full install)
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#5
DrPandaLove

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Yeah I think you're right about not being able to format and reinstall with just an upgrade CD. Thanks a lot.. I'll give it a go when I get a chance.
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#6
DrPandaLove

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Ok, I haven't given it a go yet, but I still have some questions. So I basically want to just get rid of my illegal XP OS and revert back to ME before upgrading to XP Pro. Can you tell me how I will be able to do this? I've been doing some research and apparantly I have to revert my NTFS File System back to FAT32? Is this true and how will i go about doing this?
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#7
Josh Nansoz

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just out of intrest why on earth would you want to revert back to ME.... and THEN upgrade again to XP Pro?

why not just upgrade from the home straight to pro?

have i missed some reason for this?

and off the microsoft website, hope it makes it a bit clearer: http://support.micro...om/?kbid=313348






How to partition and format your hard disk by using the Windows XP Setup program
Important If you follow these steps on a hard disk that is not empty, all the data on that hard disk is permanently deleted. We recommend that you back up your hard disk before you follow these steps.

To partition and format your hard disk by using the Windows XP Setup program:
1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, or insert the first Windows XP Setup disk into the floppy disk drive, and then restart the computer.

Note To start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM (or from the startup disk), your computer must be configured to start from the CD-ROM drive, the DVD-ROM drive, or the floppy disk drive. In some cases, you may have to modify your computer's BIOS settings to set this configuration. For information about how to configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM drive, the DVD-ROM drive, or the floppy disk drive, see the documentation that is included with your computer, or contact the computer manufacturer.
2. If you are starting the computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM, select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do this.

Note If your hard disk controller requires a third-party original equipment manufacturer (OEM) driver, press F6 to specify the driver.

For more information about how to use F6 to supply a third-party OEM device driver while the Windows Setup program is running, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
314859 (http://support.micro....com/kb/314859/) Limited OEM driver support is available with F6 during Windows XP Setup
If you are starting from the Windows XP Setup disks, insert each of the additional disks when you are prompted, and then press ENTER to continue after you insert each disk.
3. At the Welcome to Setup page, press ENTER.
4.
Note If you are using the Setup disks (6 bootable disks), the setup will prompt you to instert the Windows XP CD.
5. Press F8 to accept the Windows XP Licensing Agreement.
6. If an existing Windows XP installation is detected, you are prompted to repair it. To bypass the repair, press ESC.
7. All the existing partitions and the unpartitioned spaces are listed for each physical hard disk. Use the ARROW keys to select the partition or the unpartitioned space where you want to create a new partition. Press D to delete an existing partition, or press C to create a new partition by using unpartitioned space. If you press D to delete an existing partition, you must then press L (or press ENTER, and then press L if it is the System partition) to confirm that you want to delete the partition. Repeat this step for each of the existing partitions that you want to use for the new partition. When all the partitions are deleted, select the remaining unpartitioned space, and then press C to create the new partition.

Note If you want to create a partition where one or more partitions already exist, you must first delete the existing partition or partitions, and then create the new partition.
8. Type the size in megabytes (MB) that you want to use for the new partition, and then press ENTER, or just press ENTER to create the partition with the maximum size.
9. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 to create additional partitions if you want them.
10. If you want to install Windows XP, use the ARROW keys to select the partition where you want to install Windows XP, and then press ENTER. If you do not want to format the partition and install Windows XP, press F3 two times to quit the Windows Setup program, and then do not follow the remaining steps. In this case, you must use a different utility to format the partition.
11. Select the format option that you want to use for the partition, and then press ENTER. You have the following options:
• Format the partition by using the NTFS file system (Quick)
• Format the partition by using the FAT file system (Quick)
• Format the partition by using the NTFS file system
• Format the partition by using the FAT file system
• Leave the current file system intact (no changes)
The option to leave the current file system intact is not available if the selected partition is a new partition. The FAT file system option is not available if the selected partition is more than 32 gigabytes (GB). If the partition is larger than 2 GB, the Windows Setup program uses the FAT32 file system (you must press ENTER to confirm). If the partition is smaller than 2 GB, the Windows Setup program uses the FAT16 file system.

Note If you deleted and created a new System partition, but you are installing Windows XP on a different partition, you will be prompted to select a file system for both the System and startup partitions.
12. After the Windows Setup program formats the partition, follow the instructions that appear on the screen to continue. After the Windows Setup program is completed, you can use the Disk Management tools in Windows XP to create or format more partitions.

For additional information about how to use the Windows XP Disk Management tools to partition and format your hard disk, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
309000 (http://support.micro....com/kb/309000/) How to use Disk Management to configure basic disks in Windows XP

Edited by Josh Nansoz, 08 December 2005 - 04:30 PM.

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#8
DrPandaLove

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Well Josh, here's my problem. I want to reformat and upgrade my computer to XP Pro. I currently have an illegal copy of XP on my computer. My computer originally came with windows ME. I have the original windows ME cd. Will I be able to upgrade my computer directly from my illegal version of XP to XP Pro AND reformat it at the same time? Also, won't XP Pro ask for me to insert my previous OS cd to make sure I am able to upgrade? (Of this I am very unsure about but I read this somewhere. Please correct me if I'm wrong.) Since I am upgrading from XP, of which I obviously do not have the cd to, I will be unable to do it this way and so I am therefore forced to revert back to my legitimate copy of ME and upgrading directly from ME to XP Pro. Hope you followed that lol.
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