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    Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by 1uigi, Jul 24, 2006.

  1. 1uigi

    1uigi Notebook Guru

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    Is there a difference between install the Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 or having it preinstalled by Dell? It costs $29 more for the Media Center. If I already have the CD for it, do I just select XP Home and then install the Media Center with my own CDs?
     
    1uigi, Jul 24, 2006
    #1
  2. primehunter326

    primehunter326 Notebook Consultant

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    First of all the "media center" is a totally different OS, not just software you can install on XP Home or Pro. If you have a copy of XP MCE 2005 that isn't currently installed on another machine then yes you could install it on your Dell. Theres no difference between having Dell install it or doing a reformat from a CD.
     
    primehunter326, Jul 24, 2006
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  3. JeffreyDJ

    JeffreyDJ Notebook Evangelist

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    You Dell is going to ship with XP Home already. The $29 is to upgrade to XP Media Center.

    If you order either Pro or Home you'll get a similiar feature set minus the remote with software called "Dell Media Experience" ... My reccomendation is to spend the $29 for the upgrade to XP Media Center 2005 (MCE) and the $10 for the MCE reinstall disc.

    (I went with pro, because I needed to hook to a Windows 2003 domain, otherwise I would have gone with MCE).
     
    JeffreyDJ, Jul 24, 2006
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  4. 1uigi

    1uigi Notebook Guru

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    yea, I have that on CDs. So I should just pick the XP Home and install it myself. The post above is a bit confusing.
     
    1uigi, Jul 24, 2006
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  5. Amber

    Amber Notebook Prophet NBR Reviewer

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    You can only install MCE if you have a retail disc and have not used the maximum number of licenses allowed.

    If you do meet those two criteria, then you'll need to order MCE with your laptop.
     
    Amber, Jul 24, 2006
    #5