can you upgrade from an upgrade?

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ginahoy - 28 Aug 2007 02:24 GMT

I will soon be upgrading from ME to XP (fresh install). As I understand it,
if I purchase the upgrade version of XP, the installer will ask for the
original OS disk to verify I'm upgrading from an eligible operating system.
However, the only disk I have is a ME Upgrade disk (retail version), which I
purchased to upgrade from the original DELL OS. I no longer have the Dell
disk.

I obviously prefer not to purchase full version of XP, but even worse would
be to fork out the money for the Upgrade version only to discover the ME
Upgrade disk doesn't qualify.

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Shenan Stanley - 28 Aug 2007 02:34 GMT

> I will soon be upgrading from ME to XP (fresh install). As I understand
> it,
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> be to fork out the money for the Upgrade version only to discover the ME
> Upgrade disk doesn't qualify.

If you are performing a clean installation using the Windows XP Upgrade
Edition CD - Yes... It will ask for the qualifying media (that qualifies you
for using the upgrade edition.) If you are not performing a clean
installation - you will not need the CD. You will insert the CD and it will
autorun (or you will open it) and you will tell it to perform the upgrade.

I suggest reading this:
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.htm

Signature

Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

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ginahoy - 28 Aug 2007 02:58 GMT

Thanks for your response and excellent link, Shenan. I'm not sure if you
answered my question or not... see below.

> If you are performing a clean installation using the Windows XP Upgrade
> Edition CD - Yes... It will ask for the qualifying media (that qualifies you
> for using the upgrade edition.)

By "Yes..." did you mean, "Yes it will ask for qualifying media" (I already
knew that), or "Yes, the ME Upgrade CD qualifies."

Thanks

David

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Shenan Stanley - 28 Aug 2007 04:05 GMT

> I will soon be upgrading from ME to XP (fresh install). As I
> understand it, if I purchase the upgrade version of XP, the
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> worse would be to fork out the money for the Upgrade version only
> to discover the ME Upgrade disk doesn't qualify.

Shenan Stanley wrote:

> If you are performing a clean installation using the Windows XP
> Upgrade Edition CD - Yes... It will ask for the qualifying media
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> I suggest reading this:
> http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.htm

> Thanks for your response and excellent link, Shenan. I'm not sure
> if you answered my question or not... see below.
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> By "Yes..." did you mean, "Yes it will ask for qualifying media" (I
> already knew that), or "Yes, the ME Upgrade CD qualifies."

So you will be performing a *clean* installation? Erasing the hard disk
drive completely and installing the OS from the upgrade edition of Windows
XP CD without any prior OS on the system?

Windows XP Newsgroups Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroupfaq.mspx

Q. Can I do a clean installation with the upgrade version?

A. Maybe. If you start with an empty hard drive, Windows XP will ask you to
insert your qualifying media at some point during setup, to ensure that you
are eligible for the upgrade. If you have a retail CD for Windows 98,
Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT 4.0, or
Windows 2000 (either Upgrade or Full version), you 'll be able to continue
through setup. If you use a Windows installation CD that came with your
computer (such as a "rescue CD"), it may or may not be accepted as
qualifying media.

Use the chart at Upgrading from Previous Versions of Windows
(http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/upgrading/matrix.mspx) to find out
if your current version of Windows can be upgraded in-place.

Essentially - I have not found anything specifically stating that you cannot
use the Upgrade version as 'qualifying media' for Windows XP (For Windows ME
anyway... The same cannot be said for other OSes...) However I have found
plenty that imply that the "upgrade" editions of Windows 98/98SE and ME
*should* work as qualifying media without anything later coming back and
saying "nope, that did not work" - so my bet is that it is safe for you to
do this. (In other words - it should work fine - but save your receipt.
heh)

My suggestion for a clean install methodology to follow:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

Signature

Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

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ginahoy - 28 Aug 2007 04:32 GMT

Thanks, Shenan. Yes, I will be doing a clean install of XP.

Since posting, I found a FAQ on DLSR that addresses this specfic issue:

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/3436

David

...

> Essentially - I have not found anything specifically stating that you cannot
> use the Upgrade version as 'qualifying media' for Windows XP (For Windows ME
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> do this. (In other words - it should work fine - but save your receipt.
> heh)

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