Install XP Pro Question

Hey,

I'm looking at buying an nc8430 in the next couple of months (when Merom is released I will bite), and I'm looking to save a few dollars.

I have, through my college, a legit copy of WinXP Pro. It is not associated with any earlier notebook purchase or anything. My college has a license agreement with Microsoft, and the disk itself says "NOT FOR RETAIL OR OEM DISTRIBUTION." No surprise there as this is an educational copy.

Anyway, when I tried to use it with my current XPS M140, it did not work (something about a pci.sys file). That led me to call Dell and request an OS upgrade to WinXP Pro. However, an older notebook I owned and later sold (HP zd7000) had no problems with installation.

Does anyone know why this would not have worked? Also, does anyone know if I could load this XP Pro onto the nc8430? If so, I could order the nc8430 with no OS (or Free DOS) and format/install myself and save $75.

 

Don't know why it would not have worked, but this article may give you an idea on how to circumvent that issue. Hope it helps. BTW, I'm not sure you can order a notebook from HP without an OS installed. It would most likely violate some agreement or other they have with MS. I could be (and have been) wrong though......

 

My guess is that the disc might be damage and that file can not install properly. The disc from dell is OEM, so you won't be able to use it on your NC. I'm not sure about the OS question either on HP. AFAIK, you have to order an OS with your laptop, but I'm like Mach - I could be wrong.

 

Yea, I know the Dell OS CD will not work on a non-Dell PC...but the Microsoft OS CD should.

As for the OS on the HP notebook, there is an option listed under the small business nc8430 that lists an option as Free DOS US [Subtract ($75.00)]. But you have to go under the Customizable notebook to get the option.

If the disk is damaged, I might be able to get another copy...but I'm not too sure. Is there anyway to repair the disk?

As a matter of fact, I am considering upgrading the RAM and HDD aftermarket as well as I can do it cheaper that way (unless HP used higher quality brand names in their business notebooks). I did completely disassemble my M140 once, and it still works two months after doing so...

 

You might be able to create a duplicate of the disc, but no gurantee that it will work. I didn't mean for it to sound like the retail disc wouldn't work. I just meant that the Dell disc is OEM so you'll get a clean install (some users seem to think it is restore disc).

 

I know that you didn't mean it to sound that way...it really didn't though. I'm almost 100% certain that a Dell OS CD wouldn't work on an HP laptop...

What do you mean that the Dell OEM disk is a clean(er) install? Cleaner than a retail MS disk? I'm a little confused on that one or not reading that right...sorry, but Differential Equations and Electrical Engineering homework is messing with my head!

 

LOL, its okay. I'm not making sense tonight.

With most manufacturers, the disc that you receive is a restore disc. It has all of the junkware on it, etc. With dell, you are getting an XP OEM disc. It will not contain any junk on it, and will give you a clean system.

Like you said, the disc from dell will not install on HP or any other manufacturer while your disc that you got from school will. That is the only difference between the two discs.

 

Assuming, of course, that the pci.sys file isn't messed up.

You know what, if I get a change tonight, I'm going to try an "install" using my retail XP disk. It is crashes (like it has for a while), it will during the loading process and will not affect my computer...but I will have the exact error message.

I'll post it when I can.

 

Windows XP must be SP2 in order for it to work on your new computer, or any computer with PCI-e. Do you have Windows XP (home or Pro) with SP2?

 

Is there any way to tell from the key or anything? It does not say w/ SP2, but I know it was purchased 12-14-2005

 

I think the SP1 and SP2 keys are the same. I believe SP2 was released in late 2004. That should be an SP2 disk.

 

the dell disc will be sp2. It should say on your XP disc ( i believe).

 

It does say w/ SP2 on the dell disk, but I'm still not sure about the retail one. I'm searching through the disk now trying to find out...

UPDATE: If I try to "install" within the current XP environment, the disk displays an error along the lines that the current version is later than the version of software on the disk.

UPDATE: If you guys can, please look at the attached thumbnail to view the error message. It occured just as it finished "loading" the XP setup environment...as it has always done... I apologize for the blurriness, but I'm very tired of this homework I'm doing...

 

I was able to get a copy of WinXP with SP2...as it turns out my first disc was only SP1. The disc works now, so thank you guys! I now feel safer about ordering my next PC without a copy of XP pre-installed...

As I found out, that was indeed the problem. I needed the SP2 disc!

Well, given that SP2 was released then, shame on my university for not staying up to date! Oh well...