alistair

OK - I agree that ME is a bag of sh!te - I have to reboot my PC at home atleast once a day.

So XP 'home' or 'pro' upgrade prices are £80 & £160 respectively which seems 'kin expensive to me. Also I was told that I should do a complete install and not an upgrade
Is that good advice ?
Can I do a complete install from an 'upgrade' licence ?
Do I need the original licence key to do an upgrade ?
ME came pre-installed on my PC so I don't have the original disks / key !
Is it worth getting 'pro' or is home good enough ?

shunty

Alastair - if I remember rightly, when you upgrade to XP from win 9x & ME it will ask you for the original cd, when you put in the win 9x or ME cd it doesnt recognise it, you need an NT, 2000 cd.
This was also the same problem when upgrading to 2000.
There is no official upgrade support for ME btw.

You are always better off performing a fresh install if poss.
The upgrade version of XP is the full version as well for those who didn't know the same as 2000 is/was.
With the upgrade version you can still install a fresh copy if you wish. Office is the same as well.

hope this helps


shunty

HHxx

Ive never run the home version, but I can say the Pro version is wicked

I would always do a full install. Had a few problems in the past with upgrades

I don't know the procedure for the upgrade path, but if you need your cd key, it should be on a label on the computer case. The label is about 1.5in x 2.5in in size.

H

DazV

Pro - v.good.

Incidentally regarding doing an upgrade from one OS to another - can't remember who it was on here, but the general concensus at the time was NOT to do an upgrade to XP if you could help it - rather do a clean install from scratch to avoid problems.

-DV

bioforger

iTrader: (1)

yup format n clean install definately. Pro to.

Scotty Boy

Hi,

Have been running Pro - working like a treat

Would never do an upgrade, always go for the clean approach

AFAIK Pro version has alot more configration options compared to Home - not too sure where though ?

alistair

Thanks guys - I guess I've just got to decide whether I can stomach the extra £80 for a 'pro' edition.

mark_h

The Pro version includes such things as dual processor support, remote control of your PC, file encryption, etc.

Take a look here: Which Edition Is Right for You?

mark_h

I upgraded to XP from 2K. I would have done a clean install, but as my 2K installation was rock-solid I decided to give it a go. And the upgrade worked flawlessly.

I had backups incase it all went wrong anyway.

alistair

Hmm....

Encripted File System may come in useful for some of the more 'educational' stuff I've downloaded as my kids get older and more inquisitive/capable.......

rik1471

XP Pro is the only Microsoft product I have been consistently impressed with.

mark_h

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