xp upgrade or full version?

[Danny Bleu]

Assuming you have a valid Win ME media for verification you can clean install XP
from your CD.

"Kevin" <romurphy@fuse.net> wrote in message
news:03ba01c34bfa$0d315570$a601280a@phx.gbl...
I have Windows ME and I am getting a SMART failure message
about my hard drive. I have a new hard drive and I want
to upgrade to XP without loading ME. Can I do it and save
$100 and any upgrade headaches that might occur. If I
load windows XP on the new hard drive will it see ME on my
old drive and be happy. I have had no problems with old
drive just a warning on startup.

[Nicholas]

If you own either a "full version" or "upgrade version"
of Windows 98 or ME, and it is not installed on any other computer,
it will qualify for installing Windows XP "upgrade version"
"clean". It is not necessary to install Windows 98 or ME, then upgrade
to Windows XP Home. Also, the Windows 98 or ME Product Key
is not required when performing a "clean install", only the installation CD.

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

1. Open your BIOS and set your CD Drive as the first bootable device.
2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
[url]http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html[/url]

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. After installing Windows XP, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.



--
Nicholas

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Kevin" <romurphy@fuse.net> wrote in message:
news:03ba01c34bfa$0d315570$a601280a@phx.gbl...

| I have Windows ME and I am getting a SMART failure message
| about my hard drive. I have a new hard drive and I want
| to upgrade to XP without loading ME. Can I do it and save
| $100 and any upgrade headaches that might occur. If I
| load windows XP on the new hard drive will it see ME on my
| old drive and be happy. I have had no problems with old
| drive just a warning on startup.

[Harry Ohrn]

Are you asking if you can hook up the new drive as master and the old
failing drive as slave then install XP to the new drive hoping that the XP
installer will look at the slave drive, recognize that Me is installed, and
allow you to clean install to the new drive? The answer is no that won't
work. You can either use your copy of the Windows Me CD (which must not just
be a recovery CD but an actual Windows Me CD) to satisfy the request for a
qualifying product at the beginning of the XP installation process, or, you
can clone your old drive to the new drive, boot into the WinMe desktop, pop
the XP CD into the drive, click Install and select "New Install". The XP
installer will see Win Me on the same drive and will allow you to complete a
clean install that way.

--

Harry Ohrn MS MVP [Shell/User]
[url]www.webtree.ca/windowsxp[/url]


"Kevin" <romurphy@fuse.net> wrote in message
news:03ba01c34bfa$0d315570$a601280a@phx.gbl...

> I have Windows ME and I am getting a SMART failure message
> about my hard drive. I have a new hard drive and I want
> to upgrade to XP without loading ME. Can I do it and save
> $100 and any upgrade headaches that might occur. If I
> load windows XP on the new hard drive will it see ME on my
> old drive and be happy. I have had no problems with old
> drive just a warning on startup.