Wanting to buy Windows XP

[Kevin Palmer]

My daughters PC is acting up. Took it back to out of the box condition but still have a few glitches. It is Windows ME (Millennium Edition), would like to upgrade to Windows XP.



Anyone have something they are looking to sell that I can install over Windows ME????



Thanks.....

 

[TomT]

By all means get rid of Windows ME. Microsoft should be ashamed of ever introducing it and recently said they are ending support of it. I picked up an XP home edition off ebay for about $50 a couple of years ago. How old is this computer? May be time to just get a real cheapo new computer that comes with XP that you could possibly upgrade later.

 

[Jim Dolinski]

Don't upgrade do a new install of xp,it will be much more reliable

 

[Thomas Rogers]

CoastieJoe, what are the creds on the computer (processor, speed, ram)?



It may not be worthwhile upgrading to Windows XP.



TJR

 

[troy malone]

try www.pricewatch.com



windows xp home with service pack 2 sells for $75 shipped

the problem with buying used is that windows XP requires you to activate it on line or over the phone.. buy new!



just makes sure the computer is capable of runing it..



PC with 300 megahertz or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233 MHz minimum required (single or dual processor system);* Intel Pentium/Celeron family, or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended



• 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features)



• 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space*



• Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor



• CD-ROM or DVD drive



• Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device



i've loaded it on pent 2's and celeron 450's and its slow!



runs decent on a 1 gig or higher with 256 ram or better...



troy

 

[Jim Eichman]

I don't claim any fame when it comes to computers- I'm a moron, okay. But learn from my mistakes. I have an HP Media Center, the one you can play movies on, get digital TV, etc, and it's only a year old. Well, I had somebody hack the thing and they did a good job. They deleted all of the exe and dll files and installed Windows Pro files. It won't boot up and the factory discs don't work as they are for Media Center and not Windows Pro. So I bought a copy (used Windows Pro) for $75.00 and went to install it and everything was great until it said I had to register it. Needless to say I can't register it because Microsoft won't give me the numbers to register because it is a used disc. After questioning the guy at Microsoft, any time you buy their environments, it is a one time install only. If your computer dies and you have to do a reinstall of the Windows- go buy a new disc as Microsoft will not let you reinstall the programing you paid good money to get. I went out and bought a new Gateway CPU and have a worthless POS sitting here on the floor, that is, until I find some other environment to run on it. I will NEVER have Microcrap on any of my computers again. Any computer nuts out there that would like to suggest a good environment- I'm listening.

 

[TomT]

When you buy a brand name computer (ie: Dell, Gateway, HP) then the operating system is just for THAT computer. If you build your own like I do and buy a separate operating system disk, it can be easily transfered to a new computer. That's why I only build from scratch. These days you don't necessarily save any money by building your own but you do have the advantage of upgrading individual components and making sure all components are good quality.

 

[troy malone]

i've reinstalled windows XP numerous time on my machine after replacing the motherboard, cpu, and hard drive.. i've formated the hard drive and reloaded a few time too. I just finninsed reloading the wifes laptop and re-activated with no problems. I've even called the 1-800 number to get my laptop re-activated. But the software is registered to ME and its only installed on my machine. if you call microsoft and say you got a used copy of their software, how can you prove its not being run on another computer??



troy

 

[TomT]

Somehow MS verifies your XP software and detects if it's running on more then one machine. You would have to have assurance that a used copy of XP is not running on another machine. Probably better off buying a new copy. I have loaded my XP on at least 3 different complete upgrades and have never had to call. (My copy is so old it does not have service pack 2 and I have to download it right after I install it). I guess if it was still running it on an older machine then the older machine would no longer be able to get updates.

 

[Daniel Park 2]

ME, wow I would do a fresh install with windows xp, asap.

 

[Gavin Allan]

New PCs from Dell are so cheap right now, it almost doesn't make much sense to play around with fixing a one-year or older PC that is troublesome.



Look what you can get (computer and monitor) for $299 after the $50 rebate!:

 

[Casey B]

I bought an OEM version of XP Pro from NewEgg.com. Very pleased with the buy and the assurance of authenticity. Upgrading will get you the same thing but you'll need to install ME before the upgrade if you ever have to wipe in the future. It would be a prolonged process but the upgrade version of XP Pro is well under $100. Since you are a student, google academic software for sites that give discounts to students. I've used www.mbs.academicsuperstore.com to get some good deals on software.

 

[LaRue Medlin]

you don't have to have ME installed to do a fresh xp install. All you need is the MS ME original disk to put into the cd for verification. That's what I have to do on Rue's pc because his windows xp is an upgrade but you can still do a fresh install..

 

[Kyle Keller]

maybe you should just do the apple switch. its what me and my family have. get a 20'' flat screen with a built in camera. no virus' and no freezing.

 

[2]

maybe you should just do the apple switch. its what me and my family have. get a 20'' flat screen with a built in camera. no virus' and no freezing.

:wacko:



Yeah right, my girlfriend is a graphic designer, the company she quit at two months ago used Macs, the company she is at now uses PC's. She has just as many crashes and freezes with the mac as she does with the PC. The Macs also had repeat problems where they would not turn on and they would have to take them into the mac store to get somekind of reset performed on them.

 

[Kyle Keller]

what kind were they? me and my dad have owned macs since around 1990 and i havent gotten a virus and its frozen on me maybe 2wice and that was on the old ones. it could have been their software. my dad runs his flooring business on the new 20" flat screens and they only have problems with the stupid bellsouth internet.

 

[Richard L]

Trapper,

That is not 100% true. Yes, if you buy a used Windows-XP CD, you cannot legally reinstall it on you computer since it was not originally registered in your name.



If you have an OEM version that came installed on your PC when you purchased it new, you can do multiple installs as long as that OEM version stays on the PC.



If you buy a full version of Windows XP you can install it on any single computer you own, and if that PC dies you can install it on the replacement PC. You just cannot transfer ownership of the Windows-XP to another person.



I have personally installed 85 copies of Windows-XP and various versions of Office-2003 on 85 new PC's for a former employer and used installed them all using the same 2 or 3 key codes and they registered just fine. The company had purchased Windows-XP and Office-2003 for all the computers but it was not necessary to use a fresh copy or CD-Key to register them with Microsoft. I think they just check that the person's name is the same.



I heard that you can reinstall Microsoft software at least 30 times (if you used the same name) and I think I have exceeded that with no problems.



...Rich

 

[Michael McGrady]

Get a free hacked version, they are all over.

 

[2]

Kyle, I will ask and find out. They were about 2 years old if that helps.

 

[Deleted deleted]

Kyle: Macs are not 'virus-free'. They are just as easy to get viruses as PC's. The reason why they don't is because the virus writers don't bother with Macs since PC's are 95% of the market. They write viruses to get the most notariety.



And McGrady, shame on you for even suggesting someone pirate XP.