Dell with XP Home

[mike12]

I just ordered a new Dell Dimension computer that is going to have XP Home loaded on it. Since I already have XP Pro that was loaded on another computer that died, I was going to load it on the new computer. A few questions please : should I just do an upgrade from XP Home to my XP Pro, or should I format the hard drive and start from new ? Also, is the copy of XP Home that is installed on the computer registered or anything yet ? Will it only work on THAT computer, or could I sell it since I own it and it is NOT on any computer since I formatted the new computer ? Many thanks !!

[DragonNOA1]

I would just keep XP Home on the Dell. There is virtually no difference and it is a common misconception that XP Pro is sooo much better when in reality most users with Pro don't even use its unique features, which are few. It should be activated, but not registered. If not activated, your computer is all setup and ready to go and will activate itself upon connection to the internet. You will probably be asked to register on your first boot.
Could you sell the Home CD? Probably not, especially if it is anything like Hi Ho recently got. It's not a genuine Microsoft CD but more of a Dell restore CD that contains XP on it. Very hard to sell because everyone wants the real thing.

[colecifer]

I would suggest wiping it either way, either fresh installing home or installing pro. Well not sure about home, dell installs a bunch of crap you don't need i don't know if thats on the recovery cd or not. However its nice to not have all the programs dell thinks you need.

[Panama Red]

I agree with Dragon, keep the Home installation. Some of the recent HP machines I've worked on don't even come with restore CD's or copies of software at all. A small partition on the hard drive is used for the restore info. In the setup literature it suggests you purchase 5-7 CD-R's and burn the restore info in case the hdd dies. One buddy had a DVD burner and we were able to burn the entire restore partition to one DVD+R that came with the computer. Don't know about the new Dell's but just wanted to give you a heads up.

[oddjob]

The XP Home that comes with the Dell is a "made for Dell" version. Keep the XP Home, and sell the XP Pro if you are so inclined.

[Corky]

As a Dell customer (currently have two) I always do a clean reinstall of Windows as soon as I receive the computer. This gets rid of all the crap Dell factory installs. The Dell CD is a complete version of XP Home, sp1, and does not contain Dell's crap. All the required drivers are available on the resource or driver CD. Their XP CD is tied to your system's BIOS, and won't install on another computer. I've done 3 reinstalls on this Dimension 4600, and all went smoothly. Sell the Pro.

[Panama Red]

Originally posted by Corky As a Dell customer (currently have two) I always do a clean reinstall of Windows as soon as I receive the computer. This gets rid of all the crap Dell factory installs. The Dell CD is a complete version of XP Home, sp1, and does not contain Dell's crap. All the required drivers are available on the resource or driver CD. Their XP CD is tied to your system's BIOS, and won't install on another computer. I've done 3 reinstalls on this Dimension 4600, and all went smoothly. Sell the Pro.

Nice to know, Corky. Thanx for the info.

[mike12]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. They are much appreciated. Mike

[rhitwick]

i also suggest tht u keep xp home . it hardly makes any diff . besides , if u do a clean installation u will have to reload the drivers and sw yet again . and i dont think u can either sell xp home or xp professional





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