xp upgrade

I can obtain a free XP Pro upgrade iso from school. I currently am running XP Pro on my computer but I want to do a clean install. I don't have any cds for the current XP Pro on my hard drive. Is it possible to use the upgrade iso for a clean install if I already have an OEM licensed Xp Pro on my computer?

 

from what to what are u upgrading..??
the oem key on the COA will work only for a particular version of windows xp with which the system came pre-installed..no else..!!

 

The CoA that's on your system right now is only good for the Windows installation you currently have and cannot (legally, anyway) be used with anything other than the original CD or recovery disc that came with your computer.

The upgrade from your university would come with a separate license key that can be used. However, the upgrade version only works if you have a previous version of Windows, like 98 or 2000. It won't work with another XP. If you have a legitimate, full version Windows 98, ME, or 2000 disc, you can do a clean install of XP from an upgrade disc. Just boot from the XP CD, and before the file copy starts it will ask you to insert the previous version disc for verification. When I first got XP, I used my old Windows 98SE disc to do a clean install from an XP Pro upgrade.

 

Yeah it'll work as long as you still have the key for it.

 

Who knows? The only way to find out is to check with your school's IT department to find out what's in the ISO, what sort of license applies to the ISO, and whatnot. Many schools license MS products under volume-type licenses that are not comparable to a retail or OEM license, and may not include the full product.

Also, if you have an OEM installation on there currently, you'll probably have problems because OEM copies are BIOS-locked to the hardware the installation is on. The OEM version also usually carries some OEM-specific customization (mostly on irrelevant things, AFAIK) that won't be in the ISO.

What, exactly, is the reason for doing what you want to do, and don't you have recovery media/partition of any sort?

 

You can use the COA you have with any media as long as it is the correct version.

 

Further, a lot of academic versions of Windows use volume license keys. They're different than what MS uses for OEM and retail. Academic keys can expire, too. You won't lose any OS functionality if that happens, but you lose access to Windows Update.

 

I don't think the Windows installation lets you upgrade from XP Pro to XP Pro... You might need a CD of an older Windows install disc during the installation.

Not true... The OEM COA is linked to the hardware not the Windows CD... So it seems perfectly legal.

Do upgrade copies have the volume license keys built in as well? I worked in the IT department as my school for a brief amount of time and the volume license key was only included for our full versions. The upgrade copy allowed you to enter other keys if they keys were from the same build.

 

Well ... I'm assuming the XP Pro Upgrade SP2 version from my university already has the key in it. So it seems like I can just ditch the OEM version currently on my hdd ( XP runs really slow after a few years) and just find an old 98 cd during installation. Is that correct?

 

Should be good... I can't remember if the upgrade CD lets you use a 98 cd or whether it requires something newer like 2000. If you ask your schools IT department they will tell you...

They are really suppost to do it for you anyway. Microsoft would hunt them down and go Rambo style if they knew the IT dep. was actually giving to the install CD.

 

they are not giving us the install cd, but we can download the upgrade in iso form and burn it to a cd. Back to the Bios locking up comment. Why would the bios lockup if i try to put another os on it from a clean install? I might not be able to put the same copy of the OS on any computer, but I should be able to put whatever OS on my computer i fell like. Right?

 

That's still giving the CD out if the schools volume license key is included with the disc . It doesn't matter what form they give it in.

That would only be an issue if using the OEM recovery CD from that computer on a different one. Unless, Shyster, you mean that there may be problems using an OEM license with a CD that wasn't made by the manufacturer, in which case you may or may not be correct.. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't... I believe it will work if it is the same build.

To the OP, make sure you download all the drivers from the manufacturers support site first as well.