XP OS questions

General Questions
#1

OK many of you are aware that I am buying a laptop. I had another thread asking me for help. But now I have another question.

I have a complete XP Pro install kit. And I need to have XP Pro. I also have the Office Suite I need on disk. So this means ( I think) that I can buy any ;aptop I want based on the other specs it has, then delete the OS and reinstall XP Pro. Am I correct in assuming this?

The laptop I am considering (HP dv5215us) comes with the Media Center OS. I know this is a more recent OS than XP Pro. Will this cause any ossues or will it be just a blank box after I uninstall the OS, ready to accept my hot throbbing Pro install? (wha?)

Sorry, its early on a Saturday, but your help is always appreciated.

#2

Yes. You don’t really “delete” the OS per se…what you do is make sure your computer is set up to boot from the CD drive by going into the BIOS and setting it as such, pop in the XP Pro disc, and that disc will tell you that there’s another OS on there “are you sure you want to continue?” When you say yes and continue, XP Pro will format the entire drive (wipe the system clean of the OS and all files) and install itself.

One note tho…I recommend looking around on the laptop before formatting it for a folder called “Drivers” (I know Dell has a folder as such) and burning said drivers to CD before wiping the system clean, lest you can’t get all the drivers after reinstall.

#3

Agreed. It will work fine. That type of thing is pretty common.

#4

The only problem you might have is if you are trying to install the same copy of XP on two or more computers simultaneously. I’ve never had activation throw an error even with all the upgrades and changes I’ve made to my computer over the years using the same copy of XP, although the latest WGA is saying that I’m “not genuine” (which is a whole rant in itself.) Anyway, I agree, there should generally be no problem.

#5

MediaCenter’s not all that different than Pro, other than it has a few extensions that Pro doesn’t have, and some of the networking features that Pro has MC doesn’t have.

One thing that you might want to check (and I don’t know if HP does this or not) is if the harddrive is partioned so that the system thinks you’ve got two harddrives (C: and D: ). The C: drive is the one that you’ll want to install Pro to, the “D: drive” has files that are only used be the “Quick Restore” CD which comes with the computer. If you wipe that drive out, then decide you’re going to sell the laptop, but keep your copy of Pro, you won’t be able to use the Quick Restore CD to put the original OS back on the PC.