munasmom said:Ok this may be a stupid question, but if I already have XP on my computer, does this upgrade add anything to it and is it worth the 10 bucks? Appreciate answer without insults


Depends. Is your computer a branded one or a custom build ? Can you already do Windows Updates or do you get a message about windows not being valid ? Do you have a little message the keeps popping up that you might be the victim of software counterfeiting ?

If your OS is legit, then no, there is no benefit. IF your OS is not legit, then yes, it is worth buying (along with picking up a legit Win98 CD for validation)

munasmom said:Ok this may be a stupid question, but if I already have XP on my computer, does this upgrade add anything to it and is it worth the 10 bucks? Appreciate answer without insults


Actually all those people that said "no" above may be wrong. This version has Service Pack 2 intergrated. If you haven't already upgraded to SP2 (which is free from Microsoft's website), or done the dozens of hotfixes from Microsoft's Update website, then this version will fix a ton of bugs.

Depending on how much times you re-install Windows (I do a fresh install every 2 months), this version may be worth the $10, because it would save you a ton of time in the long run by not having to apply all those updates/installing Service Pack 2 manually. Yes new updates are coming out every so often, but its nice to do an intergrated SP install and seeing only 10 critical updates on MS's Update site, than doing a non-SP2 install and seeing 90.

thebestpkever said:munasmom said:Ok this may be a stupid question, but if I already have XP on my computer, does this upgrade add anything to it and is it worth the 10 bucks? Appreciate answer without insults


Actually all those people that said "no" above may be wrong. This version has Service Pack 2 intergrated. If you haven't already upgraded to SP2 (which is free from Microsoft's website), or done the dozens of hotfixes from Microsoft's Update website, then this version will fix a ton of bugs.

Depending on how much times you re-install Windows (I do a fresh install every 2 months), this version may be worth the $10, because it would save you a ton of time in the long run by not having to apply all those updates/installing Service Pack 2 manually. Yes new updates are coming out every so often, but its nice to do an intergrated SP install and seeing only 10 critical updates on MS's Update site, than doing a non-SP2 install and seeing 90.

Can you use this on multiple machines to do the integrated SP install? I have two Dell machines with XP Home that have had some upgrades (that in some cases have screwed things up more than they helped!)

ANSWERS:

1. If you already have XP Home then make sure you have automatic updates turned on and go to windowsupdate manually once to ensure you are up to date and installed thru SP2.

2. If you have XP Home and don't work on a network, you don't really need XP Pro except for some really special circumstances. Further, if those apply, then you'll know that you need Pro, as well as why you need it.

3. No, if you alrady have XP Home you don't need this, see #1 above.

4. All this "XPH sucks, you should have XPP" is blather from network engineering types, or gamer afficianados (like me) who couldn't tell you in any coherent and useful way why you need XPP if confronted with the question as it applies to a single-pc home user.

I have a no nag OEM XP Home SP 2 CD that came with a Compaq Notebook.

I would like to buy this deal just for the CD Key.

DO you think I could install this on a relatives computer using my OEM intall CD and punch in the CD Key from this deal.

I don't have an old OS Cd and want to avoid the nag for one.


I have installed the Compaq supplied WinXP Home cd on 2 of my laptops (Averatec and Acer) and just typed in the legit XP Home key from stickers underneath each laptop and it has worked.

My relative needs to run an authentic XP version.

Thanks mykindofdeal. 2nd great post in 2 days!

nice deal op!

in my case discover wont matter much. does anyone still have "discover card" bonus available? i think most of us already passed the limit

ShyriK said:nice deal op!

in my case discover wont matter much. does anyone still have "discover card" bonus available? i think most of us already passed the limitWhat is limit?

Thanks! Never hurts to have a legit copy of XP around. That was the main thing stopping me from building my own computer..why spend that much (assuming you buy it from a retail store) when for just a bit more you can get a licensed OEM copy on a new computer?

I'll have to dig up my Win 95 CD that came with my old HP..heh.

Let me see if I can round this up since it appears there is a lot of dancing around on this product...

- This should be XP Home Retail Upgrade. The key that comes with it will only work with XP Home Retail. If you are using a bogus version of XP that is Corporate, Pro or any OEM version, this key will not work with it.

- This will do a clean install on a formatted drive IF you have a prior "home" version of windows on the original disk. It will note that its an 'upgrade' version and ask you to insert the prior 95/98/ME disk. Someone above says it works on their windows 3.1 disks...i dont think its supposed to do that but its no big surprise.

- This will upgrade an in-place 95/98/ME system to XP.

- I do not think that this can be installed in place over an existing version of XP. I'm pretty sure it'll tell you that it cant update an existing XP install, but it can probably be used to do a 'repair' if the installed version on your computer is also XP Home Retail. Which is probably unusual. And unless you have a hosed setup probably not very useful.

The three things I can see this is good for are:

- Installing XP on a new machine or as a fresh, clean install on an existing machine
- Upgrading an existing older Home windows like 95/98/ME to XP
- Wiping out a bogus, illegal or corrupted version of XP and doing a fresh, clean install, then restoring data.

By the way, of the "benefits" of XP Pro above, the 'Backup' option is not specific to XP Pro. Its on the XP Home disk, you just have to run Setup and install it from the disk. Remote Desktop and a corporate style domain login capability are really the primary benefits of XP Pro and the vast majority of home users dont need those. If you need it, you most definitely know you need it and why. If you arent sure, you almost certainly do not need Pro.