upgrading to XP Pro from Media Center

[subgenius]

My company bought an HP Media Center m7590n from Circuit City about 18 months, and now I'm looking to update it to XP Pro because the computer never really ran as fast as expected, and needs a clean install (and better OS) to correct things.

We don't have a copy of XP on CD for this machine, but there is a drive partition called "HP_RECOVERY". If I buy an upgrade copy of XP Pro, will the upgrade disk find the existing system files on the HP_RECOVERY drive? Will I need a serial # of some sort?

All of the other computers I've owned came with an install disk, so any advice would be appreciated.

 

[RebateMonger]

MCE 2005 and XP Professional are nearly identical. MCE 2005 has an add-on program that provides the Media Center features, and has a couple of XP Professional features disabled.

You have a few choices:
a) Re-install the orginal MCE 2005 from the Recovery Partition. The computer should perform "as-new". You can manually uninstall the HP-added "crapware" and likely speed things up.
b) Obtain MCE 2005 recovery CDs from HP. The result will be the same as if you restore from the Recovery Partition.
c) Obtain "generic" MCE 2005 or XP Professional disks and install one of them on the PC. You'll get an OS stripped of HP's "crapware".

Microsoft doesn't consider MCE 2005 "upgradeable" to XP Professional. Microsoft's licensing would require a Full Retail version of XP Professional. Or, since you own the PC, you could install a "generic" OEM XP Professional. Either approach will require that the hard drive be formatted and all current data will be gone. And your HP MCE Key won't work with any version of XP Professional.

 

[Rike]

Media Center -> XP Pro really isn't an upgrade and your machine will not likely run any faster.

I'd listen to RebateMonger. An OEM of XP Pro is really your only choice unless you want to move on to Vista, but I can't comment on the advisability of that.

 

[subgenius]

The PC is being used for web design and video editing, and it's pretty important to do a clean install sans crapware. Some follow-up questions:

1. When you say "generic", are you referring to a copy of Windows that I'd buy at Newegg, for example, as opposed to HP's brand of MCE 2005 or XP Pro?
2. And if so, would I be able to buy an OEM copy of XP Pro and install that, even though it's not a brand new PC (I've been under the impression that OEM was for system builders only)?

Thanks for the advice so far.

 

[jkresh]

If you don't need to access a domain then mce is no different from xp pro (mce is actually slightly better as it is based on windows server 2003 vs xp). Just do a restore of mce or get the disks from hp and remove whatever crapware hp installs, going to pro will not give you any benefits outside of domain access.

 

[subgenius]

I don't need to access a domain and I'd prefer to save $, so MCE it is.

One last thing I want to clarify. I've been under the impression that doing a restore and then manually uninstalling the crapware from a PC isn't the same as installing a clean version of Windows (be it Pro, MCE, or any other release) that doesn't have the crapware. Doesn't the crapware clutter up the system files even after it's been uninstalled using "Add/Remove Software"?

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: subgenius
1. When you say "generic", are you referring to a copy of Windows that I'd buy at Newegg, for example, as opposed to HP's brand of MCE 2005 or XP Pro?

Yes

2. And if so, would I be able to buy an OEM copy of XP Pro and install that, even though it's not a brand new PC (I've been under the impression that OEM was for system builders only)?

As long as you are the owner of the PC, you can install a copy of generic OEM Windows on it. Microsoft's System Builder licensing allows for a "refurbished PC" to have new OEM software installed on it. Change the A/C power cable and you've "refurbished" it.

Two years ago, Microsoft formally changed the definition of "System Builder" to include ANYBODY who puts together or refurbishes an older PC. As long as you buy genuine, sealed, generic OEM XP or Vista, complete with COA sticker and licensing sheet, you are fine.

 

[subgenius]

Originally posted by: RebateMonger

Two years ago, Microsoft formally changed the definition of "System Builder" to include ANYBODY who puts together or refurbishes an older PC. As long as you buy genuine, sealed, generic OEM XP or Vista, complete with COA sticker and licensing sheet, you are fine.

So, in other words, Microsoft changed the definition of "System Builder" to include ANYBODY with a computer who is willing to pay them for a copy of Windows

thanks for clarifying those points for me.

 

[coolpurplefan]

Do you mind telling us the results? I'd like to know if a computer "sans crapware" will run faster.

 

[BigPoppa]

Originally posted by: coolpurplefan
Do you mind telling us the results? I'd like to know if a computer "sans crapware" will run faster.

A computer without all the preloaded programs will always run faster. Hell, i've had base XP installs run fine on 1.5ghz CPU and 128MB of memory.

Some HP recovery discs are setup as 2 disc sets if you order from them. One disc is a base windows install, the other has the drivers and applications.

My way: Get a MCE2005 iso, use your legit key, and goto town. May have to call to activate rather than over the phone, but that process is very fast.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: BigPoppa

Originally posted by: coolpurplefan
Do you mind telling us the results? I'd like to know if a computer "sans crapware" will run faster.

A computer without all the preloaded programs will always run faster. Hell, i've had base XP installs run fine on 1.5ghz CPU and 128MB of memory.

Some HP recovery discs are setup as 2 disc sets if you order from them. One disc is a base windows install, the other has the drivers and applications.

My way: Get a MCE2005 iso, use your legit key, and goto town. May have to call to activate rather than over the phone, but that process is very fast.

:thumbsup: