Re-install XP after drive crash

G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

My question may be an easy one if you have done this before, but I have
not found any direction yet. I had XP installed on a desktop, but the
drive crashed. I decided to scrap the PC and go with a laptop. How
can I use the original XP install disk, I purchased XP from Wal-Mart,
to install on the laptop if I have already registered while using my
desktop?


--
serodgers
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Hi, serodgers.

Your post is not a model of clarity. :>(

As I understand: You have a retail WinXP you purchased from Wal*Mart, but
you don't say if it is Home Edition or Professional Edition; you also don't
say if it is the Upgrade version or Full. You also have - or are planning
to buy - a laptop, but it is entirely anonymous, so far as we can tell; you
haven't told us make or model or if it has WinXP (Home or Pro) or any other
operating system pre-installed - or anything else about it. Apparently, you
did use that Wal*Mart CD to install WinXP on your desktop computer, which
has now suffered a hard disk failure; the desktop computer is now retired
and that copy of WinXP is no longer being used.

I'll try to guess what you didn't tell us and give you an answer - but if
I've guessed wrong about any of it, my answer is wrong, too. :>(

I'm guessing your new laptop comes with WinXP Home pre-installed and you
want to upgrade it to WinXP Pro, using the WinXP Pro CD you bought from
Wal*Mart and previously installed and activated on your now-dead desktop.
In that case, just boot your laptop from the WinXP CD and follow the
prompts, choosing to upgrade the existing WinXP Home to Pro. At the end of
the job, the new installation will activate automatically over the Internet.
If it has been less than 120 days since that copy of Windows was previously
activated (on your now-dead desktop), automatic Internet activation may
fail; in that case, you will be provided a toll-free phone number onscreen
where you may explain your situation to Microsoft and activate that way.

If your new laptop does not have WinXP installed, the procedure is the same
(boot from the CD and follow the prompts), except that your Wal*Mart CD must
be the FULL version; an upgrade won't work unless you can show proof that
you have a qualifying version of Windows (a Win98/ME CD, for example).

If this doesn't solve your problem, please post back, correcting my wrong
guesses.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@corridor.net
Microsoft Windows MVP

"serodgers" <serodgers.1mn4dn@pcbanter.net> wrote in message
news:serodgers.1mn4dn@pcbanter.net...
>
> My question may be an easy one if you have done this before, but I have
> not found any direction yet. I had XP installed on a desktop, but the
> drive crashed. I decided to scrap the PC and go with a laptop. How
> can I use the original XP install disk, I purchased XP from Wal-Mart,
> to install on the laptop if I have already registered while using my
> desktop?
>
>
> --
> serodgers
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

serodgers <serodgers.1mn4dn@pcbanter.net> wrote:

>My question may be an easy one if you have done this before, but I have
>not found any direction yet. I had XP installed on a desktop, but the
>drive crashed. I decided to scrap the PC and go with a laptop. How
>can I use the original XP install disk, I purchased XP from Wal-Mart,
>to install on the laptop if I have already registered while using my
>desktop?

There are no problems with legally installing Windows XP on this
machine. However, if you got Windows pre-installed on the older
computer, Setup may not run on the new machine. This is valid for many
so-called OEM versions. In this case you have to buy a true full
version of Windows XP.

--
(tm)