On Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:04:17 -0600, "Xandros"
<arron.neus*remove*@gmailcom> wrote:
> You can purchase an new OEM copy of XP Home for under $100. It will enable
> you to reformat and reinstall XP anew.
If Bill buys a new copy of XP Home, I recommend instead that he buys a
Retail Upgrade copy from a reputable discount source. He can buy an
OEM version, but it's usually only slightly cheaper than an upgrade
version, and the small difference in price isn't worth having the
disadvantages of an OEM version, the most severe of which is that once
installed, it can never legally be moved to another computer, even if
the original one dies.
By the way, contrary to what many people think, the requirement to use
an upgrade version is to *own* a previous qualifying version's
installation CD, not to have it installed. When setup doesn't find a
previous qualifying version installed, it will prompt you to insert
its CD as proof of ownership. Just insert the previous version's CD,
and follow the prompts. Everything proceeds quite normally and quite
legitimately.
Most people own a CD of a previous version, but if he doesn't, he can
buy a used copy inexpensively someplace like eBay.
> "Bill Rush" <BillRush@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:745A4772-D989-417B-BAFB-4997AA467E80@microsoft.com...
> >I have an older dell with XP Pro. I can't find the installation disk
> > (bummer). Anyway, someone has tried to access my online banking account
> > and
> > I fear they may have access to my hard drive. We have a cable modem. To
> > be
> > safe I would like to do a full erase of my hard drive and reinstall XP.
> > 1)How do I do that? 2) Will I have to buy a new copy of XP? Thanks
>
--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
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