Are there any problems with this? Legal or otherwise?
I want XP so I can play Age of Conan…am running Win2k OEM atm.
I want to be able to upgrade my PC with with no fears of the OS deciding my PC is a different PC and irretrievably locking up, and eventually will want to migrate my copy to a new PC(motherboard etc) maybe a year down the line, which I believe rules out an OEM XP version. Win2000 has served faithfully for 6 years and 2 computers, and maybe will do another 6 actually, except for Age of Conan.
Ideally I’d like this copy of XP to last me another 6 years, moving to a new PC at least a couple of times. I can buy a low end barebones PC for what they charge for this OS!!! I want my money’s worth!
Thing is, if I buy from a USA vendor I can get a FULL XP PRO SP 2 (NOT AN UPGRADE, NOT OEM) , for about the same price that I would pay for Home Edition over here. Including shipping. Or i could get Home Edition even cheaper. Or an upgrade pack cheaper still, but I don’t want to mess around with upgrades.
Is there a catch??? Apart from vendor problems, obviously. (I’m looking at Amazon Shops).
Any facts of which I am ignorant or considerations I have failed to consider would be greatly appreciated.
Am off to bed now so any questions for myself will be delayed.
A couple of things: you can do a full install of XP from an upgrade CD (it’ll ask for your Windows 2000 CD during the install), so you might want to look into that. I’m assuming that you plan to scrub and reinstall the OS.
To the best of my knowledge, Windows XP is Windows XP. There aren’t any restrictions on where you can buy it from, or problems with installation. I’d wait for other opinions on this, though, because I could be wrong.
If you’re getting this primarily for gaming, I think XP Home might suit you better. XP Pro’s additional features are mostly related to business use - security, ability to join a domain, that sort of thing.
I was trying to find the upgrade instructions for XP last night on microsoft’s site but I kept getting redirected to “why you should buy Vista” and gave up in disgust.
So I can do a clean install from an upgrade pack and just use the previous OS disk as a validator, excellent.
However, my Windows disk is OEM, I am not sure XP will find this satisfactory. Then again, there are still copies of pukka 98SE to be had dirt cheap, if XP won’t accept my OEM Win2k disk as an upgrade validator it would still be cheaper to buy one of those than shell out for the full version.
And also yes, I have been reading about the differences between home and Pro and I cannot see any reason to go with Pro, considering I am buying it just for gaming.
Age of Conan is looking more affordable buy the day!! W00t!
It will. As for importing a copy of XP, don’t forget that you will have to pay import duty and maybe VAT as well as shipping costs.
Just a thought, though, but if you are buying the OS specifically for Age of Conan and your PC can handle it, then you’re better off going for 64-bit Vista. Age of Conan and other games benefit from the extra memory.
My PC was a dual core 6750 mid range bought last December so I doubt it’s up to Vista 64…I think I’ll actually use my old version of 98SE to allow me to use an upgrade package of XP home edition right now, and keep my Win2k disk to maybe use for a vista upgrade package in a year or so when I hopefully upgrade to a quad core.
You make a good point about import duty…I’m going to forget about buying an import and just shop locally now I realise I can buy an upgrade pack and still do a clean install.
The processor, an Intel Core 2 Duo E6750, is most certainly up to Vista 64; the only issue is the motherboard. If the motherboard can take 4 GB (or more) then you will benefit from V64. Which precise motherboard do you have?
And if you do go V64, then I suggest maxxing out your RAM.
If you’re not sure, or simply don’t want to open your box, go to Crucial’s website and run their memory checker tool and it will tell you your maximum memory.
I have a MS-7360 (V1.x) Mainboard with P35/G33 Neo series chipset.
2Gig ram…as per that very useful link (thanks again!) I can fit max 4 Gig.
Graphics card is an XFX 8600GT XFX with 256Mb…not great but it was the only one sold locally that had win2000 drivers (people assured me XP drivers would probably work but I didnt want to take the chance).
I bought the PC as a barebones with no OS and figured that since I don’t play processor-chewing games it would be good for at least a couple of years. Sigh. It ran Oblivion really well!
Really appreciate the advice but Vista looks scary…pretty sure that I’m going to settle for XP Home and a bigger graphics card.
Can be changed on the fly. On XP, use Control Panel-Regional and Language Settings-Languages, and use the “Details” button to add new keyboard layouts and select the default.
Just to add my experiences with USA XP in England I’ve reinstalled my Windows XP a few times and I’m way past my install limit (I purchased XP when it first came out and have carried it over to about 8 different configurations so far) so I have to call their support line to get it activated each time.
It’s a pain but they’ve given me zero hassle about it and region has never even come up.
Don’t bother going over 3 GB RAM with XP: it can’t see anything over that.
Using the upgrade XP install is exactly as easy as described above. I’ve had to reinstall XP a few times from my upgrade CD, and my old WindowsNT 4.0 CD has satisfied it every time. I keep it in the same box with the XP install disk.
Yep, that’s it. Wow, you are pretty darn knowledgeable!
Hmmm, according to KneadToKnowno point in doing more than bunging another 1Gb in mine though, since I am chickening out of Vista for now.
Thanks again, all
I have just ordered Conan!!!
I will first, for a laugh, try installing it on Win2000.
Next up, buy XP and a bigger hard drive.
Next month, better graphics card if I like Conan enough to be playing it for a few months.
