Reloading Widows XP

  • Thread starter Thread starter dickbelle
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dickbelle

I bought a used laptop with XP Pro. Works great, but I finally figured out
why I can't do Windows updates past SP2 - my Windows is probably not genuine.
I went and got a brand new copy of XP and want to install. Do I have to
totally wipe out the HD and do a clean install and all the backing up and
reloading of software, or is it possible to load my new copy of XP right over
the old, and update that way?
 
dickbelle wrote:
> I bought a used laptop with XP Pro. Works great, but I finally
> figured out why I can't do Windows updates past SP2 - my Windows is
> probably not genuine. I went and got a brand new copy of XP and
> want to install. Do I have to totally wipe out the HD and do a
> clean install and all the backing up and reloading of software, or
> is it possible to load my new copy of XP right over the old, and
> update that way?

Used machine with a now discovered non-legitimate copy of Windows XP and you
*don't want* to erase it?

Who knows what else the last owner left there...?!

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
 
The info below should do the trick, no reinstall required.

Windows Product Key Update Tool Instructions:
http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/se...en&sGuid=a3555d7f-0af6-4a55-be08-d019c5f022bf

JS

"dickbelle" <dickbelle@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:060B3551-1B6D-4D45-B653-654388EE45EE@microsoft.com...
>I bought a used laptop with XP Pro. Works great, but I finally figured out
> why I can't do Windows updates past SP2 - my Windows is probably not
> genuine.
> I went and got a brand new copy of XP and want to install. Do I have to
> totally wipe out the HD and do a clean install and all the backing up and
> reloading of software, or is it possible to load my new copy of XP right
> over
> the old, and update that way?
 
Good point!

JS

"Shenan Stanley" <newshelper@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:OfzW8oAxIHA.704@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> dickbelle wrote:
>> I bought a used laptop with XP Pro. Works great, but I finally
>> figured out why I can't do Windows updates past SP2 - my Windows is
>> probably not genuine. I went and got a brand new copy of XP and
>> want to install. Do I have to totally wipe out the HD and do a
>> clean install and all the backing up and reloading of software, or
>> is it possible to load my new copy of XP right over the old, and
>> update that way?
>
> Used machine with a now discovered non-legitimate copy of Windows XP and
> you *don't want* to erase it?
>
> Who knows what else the last owner left there...?!
>
> --
> Shenan Stanley
> MS-MVP
> --
> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
 
On Sun, 1 Jun 2008 09:32:01 -0700, dickbelle
<dickbelle@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> I bought a used laptop with XP Pro. Works great, but I finally figured out
> why I can't do Windows updates past SP2 - my Windows is probably not genuine.
> I went and got a brand new copy of XP and want to install. Do I have to
> totally wipe out the HD and do a clean install and all the backing up and
> reloading of software, or is it possible to load my new copy of XP right over
> the old, and update that way?



Do you *have to* "totally wipe out the HD and do a clean install and
all the backing up and reloading of software"? No.

But you certainly *should*, whether or not you have a genuine copy of
Windows.

If I acquired a used computer, the first thing I would do with it
would be to reinstall the operating system cleanly. You have no idea
how the computer has been maintained, what has been installed
incorrectly, what is missing, what viruses and spyware there may be,
etc. I wouldn't want to live with somebody else's mistakes and
problems, possibility of kiddy porn, etc., and I wouldn't recommend
that anyone else do either.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
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