how to upgrade to XP from 98SE after formatting hard drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter Don Johnson
  • Start date Start date
D

Don Johnson

I'm running 98SE right now but I'm afraid that my hard
drive has been compromised by various viruses so I'd like
to format it. Whille I'm doing all this work, I thought
that I would upgrade to XP. Because I'm currently running
98 I should be able to upgrade, but how can I do that if
the hard drive has been re-formatted ? I'd rather not
have to pay for an initial install ???
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Don Johnson
 
Don,

The Windows XP CD is bootable, so if your computer supports booting from
CD-ROM you can run the setup directly from the CD. (note, you may need to
adjust some settings in the BIOS to make your computer recognize your CD-ROM
drive as a boot device.)

Once you've booted to the Windows XP CD, go through the setup steps until
you are prompted to insert "qualifying media". This mean that Windows XP
needs to verify that you qualify for the upgrade. Assuming that you have a
retail disc for Windows 98, put that in the drive, and follow the on-screen
instructions. If your CD qualifies you for the upgrade, Windows XP setup
will continue.

Good luck!
 
Don said:
I'm running 98SE right now but I'm afraid that my hard
drive has been compromised by various viruses so I'd like
to format it. Whille I'm doing all this work, I thought
that I would upgrade to XP. Because I'm currently running
98 I should be able to upgrade, but how can I do that if
the hard drive has been re-formatted ? I'd rather not
have to pay for an initial install ???
Click to expand...

If you have a retail 98 CD you can show it to the XP setup when it asks
where Windows is. If you have only a 'restore' CD then you have to
start from the 98 system - Run the CD from the existing system. Enter
Install, change Upgrade to New Install, then when it asks you to confirm
where, you can hit ESC and get the chance to select the current
partition, delete it, and create a new RAW one, going on to format it
as part of the setup

This will have detected the 98 and satisfied the eligibility already, do
it will not ask for the previous system's CD as evidence

You can always reinstall Windows on the same hardware as many times as
you like, so in not case is there a 'payment for an initial install'
followed by payment for a later one. If that was a restore Win98 CD
then on any later occasion you clean installed the XP you might have to
restore 98 first.

Read Gary Woodruff's article on upgrading to XP at
http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.htm
 
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