i got windows ME and im trying to change to XP.......

[dblue]

i got windows ME and im trying to change to XP, but it gets stuck half way though the process.
am i doing something wrong? do i have to wipe out the computer, then install XP?


I got
"microsoft windows XP home edition"
Upgrade for users of : microsoft windows 98,
microsoft windows 98 2 second edition,
microsoft windows millennium edition


If i do have to wipe out my computer, how do i do it?

this is all the discs that came with the computer.

1: reinstallation CD WME
2: resourceCD for reinstalling device drivers and using diagnostics, utilites, and online documentation

the rest are program installations.

[waheed]

I would do a clean install. Back up your imporrtant data, format the hard drive and boot using the Win XP CD. Somewhere along the process, you will be prompted to insert your Windows ME disc to verify you own a previous version of windows. The rest of the installation process should be normal.

[spectroelectro]

Seconded. A*V*O*I*D doing an upgrade. Back up all your data, wipe the HD completely, and do a clean install of XP or Win 2K OEM edition. Also A*V*O*I*D XP SP2. SP2 was a disaster. I know a numbre of folks who lost codec fucntionality and other important video capabilities when they installed SP2. If you plan to go with Win 2K, stick with SP3, and do N*O*T install SP4 for Win 2K.

The NT kernel in Win 2K is actually newer than the kernel in Win XP, so you may want to think about moving to Win 2K rather than XP. XP Home is not the world's greatest OS, and XP Pro has such steep hardware requirements I never recommend it for home users. In my experience Win 2K is much more solid all around. I haven't had my Win 2K SP3 box bluescreen in over a year of constant use and it runs all the goodies -- VDub, Premiere, Cool Edit Pro, Goldwave, VEGAS, TMPGenc, you name it. Never a problem.

[dblue]

I would do a clean install. format the hard drive and boot using the Win XP CD.

i dont know how to delete/format the hard drive. does anyone got a GUIDE?

[bazooka]

Also A*V*O*I*D XP SP2. SP2 was a disaster. I know a numbre of folks who lost codec fucntionality and other important video capabilities when they installed SP2.

This has been fixed.

If you plan to go with Win 2K, stick with SP3, and do N*O*T install SP4 for Win 2K.

That is a security risk.

The NT kernel in Win 2K is actually newer than the kernel in Win XP, so you may want to think about moving to Win 2K rather than XP.

How do you figure? XP is NT 5.1. 2000 is NT 5.0. You have no clue what you are talking about.

XP Home is not the world's greatest OS, and XP Pro has such steep hardware requirements I never recommend it for home users.

Wrong again. XP Pro has networking features that are not in Home. XP Pro is meant for advanced users and businesses. If you can run XP Home, you can run XP Pro. There are not any steep hardware requirements.

Please do more research before you give out bad advice.

[smearbrick1]

SP2 was a problem... about 10 months ago. Times are a changin' folks. Let's keep up, shall we?

[bnbhoha]

You should be able to just turn on the computer (let ME load up), insert the XP disc in there. It will ask you if you want to format the hard drive, select yes and you should have a full clean install (that should delete everything). Good luck

[redwudz]

I would agree with bazooka. I have never had any problems with SP2 in probably 6-7 OS installs so far. The added security features are worth it, especially for new XP users.

I would try repartitioning and reformatting with the XP disc.

If that fails because the existing OS install won't let you delete it, a method I have used is to run a Win 98 bootdisk first and repartition the drive with it, using FDISK. This quickly wipes out the OS that's on the drive. Then put in the XP disc and format and install as usual.

[handyguy]

Yeah but w98 formats as fat32 & xp should be NTSF for best results.

[Shard92]

Boot from winxp cd and when it asks where to install first delete the current partition then use the empty space to install windows. it will ask for your me disks at some point. However I cannot guarantee that it will accept your recovery disk as a valid copy of me. It SHOULD but....

IF you have problems deleting the partition the use of a boot floppy isn't a bad idea but just use the command

a:\fdisk

to delete the partition then boot from the xpcd and let it handle the rest

[dblue]

i got it to change xp (with update), but im still getting some small errors. so im going to deletes everything.


how do i get to a: to put in the \fdisk command?


P.S. just so i know. were can u find the command to change fat32 to NTSF. (on XP)?

[redwudz]

Once you obtain a Win 98 bootdisk, (From a friend that has W98 or you can find it on the net.) you set the computer to boot from the floppy drive. Many are set to that as default anyway. With the floppy in the drive turn on the computer.

It will boot into DOS. You will see a A> prompt. Type 'fdisk". (Without the quotes.) You will see the fdisk page.

First check what partitions are on the computer. If you have a second harddrive, safer to unplug it before all of this. It's hard to tell which one is which.

Then delete all partitions, then make one new partition. It will want to format at that point. Just remove your floppy and shut the system down and reboot with the XP disc. It will ask you if you want to format in NTFS or Fat32. Select NTFS. Pretty much automatic from that point on.

The Win98 disc is good if the OS won't let you repartition or reformat the 'C" drive. Normally not needed for a XP install, but occasionally it's the only easy way to start with a clean drive.

[jimmalenko]

Put XP CD in your CD drive.

Reboot your PC.

Go into your BIOS and make sure that your CD drive is listed higher than your hard drive(IDE-0) as a bootable device.

Boot off the CD.

Follow the instructions onscreen to remove existing partition altogether.

Follow the instructions onscreen for how to create a new partition.

Format using NTFS.

Let Windows do its thing.

Remember to change your boot order back when the PC reboots about halfway through the install.

Let Windows do its thing (again).



Do a google on "guide install windows XP" for pretty pictures and step-by-step instructions of what I've just told you.



If in doubt, google.

[handyguy]

Or just read the manual....

[harley2ride]

When I did my system I did it the easy way. I added a new HD, and loaded winxp to the new HD. All of my other stuff was on the old (secondary HD).. I justed deleted off the crap, reformatted, and wahoo...