Win XP Home Upgrade from Win ME

[eggrolls]

A friend has a computer with Windows ME that was upgraded to Windows XP Home using the Upgrade version. Windows ME, along with all the spyware, viruses, etc., is on the C partition. Windows XP, supposedly clean, is on D.

Is the Windows XP upgrade dependent on the existence of Windows ME? Is it ok to format C and have Windows XP still work?

Thanks

 

[Stan]

Yes, it is ok to format C:, and Windows XP will still work.

XP will still be on D:.

 

[Slowlearner]

The Windows Home Upgrade CD may ask for the qualifying OS CD - any CD will do - Win ME, Win 98.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: Stan
Yes, it is ok to format C:, and Windows XP will still work.

XP will still be on D:.

Whoa pardner

Be sure that 'show hidden files and folders' are all checked, and look on the root of the C: drive for either of the following :

Boot.ini
ntldr (no extension)

If so, then your XP install may be dependent on these files being there.

 

[eggrolls]

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: Stan
Yes, it is ok to format C:, and Windows XP will still work.

XP will still be on D:.

Whoa pardner

Be sure that 'show hidden files and folders' are all checked, and look on the root of the C: drive for either of the following :

Boot.ini
ntldr (no extension)

If so, then your XP install may be dependent on these files being there.

if i copy those to D, would it work?

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: eggrolls

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: Stan
Yes, it is ok to format C:, and Windows XP will still work.

XP will still be on D:.

Whoa pardner

Be sure that 'show hidden files and folders' are all checked, and look on the root of the C: drive for either of the following :

Boot.ini
ntldr (no extension)

If so, then your XP install may be dependent on these files being there.

if i copy those to D, would it work?

Well, the contents of boot.ini will then have invalid data ..

Read here for greater detail :

http://hacks.oreilly.com/pub/h/2337

Something to try :

(1)- Copy the root of C to D, making sure virus-scan is on of course

(2)- Disconnect the old C drive, and try booting straight off the WinXP drive

(3)- If that doesn't work, try editing the boot.ini file to reflect the new OS location.

Bleh. To be honest, I recommend backing up everything that needs to be saved (docs, favorites, email, etc), verifying that you have the necessary software to reinstall (apps, office, whatever), and that you have a physical cd of Win98, WinMe, Win2k .. to qualify for the proof of upgrade. Now take the newer, faster hard drive, and put it in the PC by itself on the primary hard drive controller. Boot from the XP Home Upgrade Cd, it will ask for a qualifying OS CD, use the one you have, delete any partitions on the drive, make 1 clean NTFS partition, and install a fresh load of windows on this drive.

Doing this will make sure the drive letter and all corresponding registry entries will reflect the normal C:\Windows location, not to mention C:\Program Files, C:\Documents and Settings, etc etc. Activation should be no problem, the worst case scenario is a 15-minute phone call where you explain that the first install got botched.

After getting Windows installed, updated, and with virus protection installed and current, add the old drive if you want as a slave. Format it

In any case, this will result in a problem-free setup, and will rule out running into any potential weirdness that the D:\ paths and boot.ini swapping might cause.

Good luck!

 

[TG2]

Yeh, dont format the C drive (I think XP will tell you it cant format the boot partition/drive or something like that)

the bootloader is on the C drive, best bet is to do what the previous poster says..back up everything and then reinstall fresh

 

[eggrolls]

Well, the system has one physical hard drive with C and D partitions, both using FAT32. It's currently configured as dual-boot, XP is the default OS. The computer is a Sony. The recovery CDs are available, but the XP Upgrade CD is lost somewhere. I don't have a 98 or ME CD, only got a Windows XP retail CD and a slipstreamed SP2 CD, and i don't think those would work with the Upgrade key.

 

[Arkaign]

Yikes, pretty bad situation.

Well, you could salvage the current setup if locating the necessary CDs for fresh install cannot be found (XP Upgrade CD + Qualifying Upgrade CD).

Unfortunately, the D:\ pathway for XP and it's dependencies would still be a bit scrambled. But with these steps, it should be more livable.

(1)- Download the trial version of Panda Antivirus http://www.pandasoftware.com

(2)- Update and do a full system scan, as this software is excellent at killing viruses and spyware alike.

(3)- For good measure, download, update, and scan with Ad-Aware, http://www.lavasoftusa.com

(4)- In a Windows Explorer Browser, go to :

Tools > Folder Options > View >

Put a checkmark next to all of the options that say 'Display full path, Display this, Display etc', and uncheck the 'hide hidden files and folders'. Uncheck both 'hide' options below.

Now go to the C:\ drive, and rename the program files folder and the windows folder. This will make sure you have nothing installed surreptitiously there that will cause problems later upon removal. Reboot the PC, check all the apps. IF everything works, delete the renamed Program Files and Windows folders on C. If you do run into trouble, then newly installed programs are going into C:\Program Files instead of D:\Program Files. This would be a monstrous headache, and as previously said, best fixed with a total backup and logical fresh install. Sparing this, it would be best to at least run a full Panda scan to make sure none of the old viruses and spyware items can zombie back to haunt you from that old WinME partition.

Saving grace option :

Would be fairly economic (and make the PC run faster as well!), to grab say an 80gb ide drive, and XP Home w/SP2 OEM from newegg for a total of around 120-130.

Just a thought, hope this ends well for you and your friend