Whats the best way to upgrade to XP Pro

You havent read the box, have you.? You might have wasted your money.

98 and ME can only Upgrade to XP Home

Windows 2000 or NT4 can upgrade to XP Pro.

Windows 2000 and ME are NOT the same.

If you got the Upgrade (not full) edition of XP Pro and have Windows ME then you have wasted your money. It will not install.

If you have the FULL (not upgrade) edition of XP Pro (the more expensive editon) you CAN upgrade (keep your programs, documents etc...) but only if its the FULL RETAIL (more expensive) version and NOT an OEM (cheaper)version

The one I have is a 2002 version with Service Pack 2 and Owners install key. Microsoft says yes. What exactly is a full upgrade?

should be fine i think, just try it. Make sure to choose upgrade and not to start over.

Should I use the ME format disc and completly remove everything from the computer first?

Should I use the ME format disc and completly remove everything from the computer first?

wouldn't be a upgrade if you did that ,it would be a full/fresh install,you will lose all created data and personal info if you do that .but it is the best choice ,over a upgrade .you wouldn't need the me disk to format ,as the winxp will do this when you boot to it to install it .check this sticky in the windows forum .
http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread55459.html

I want to do a clean install. How many discs come with a Win ME computer I have 3 recovery discs but none to erase all files. Should I have one more disc?

I want to do a clean install. How many discs come with a Win ME computer I have 3 recovery discs but none to erase all files. Should I have one more disc?

like i said in my last post ,the winxp cd will delete the partition,then you create a new partition and then format the drive and load winxp ,when you boot to it,you don't need winME disks to do it .

Did full install with XP disc. So far so good.
Had a previous problem with sound device.
XP drivers did not remedy this problem.
Downloaded two drivers from HP that may work but when I open the zip file there is no install exe. Do you have any ideas?
It is a HP Pavilion xL844 with Win ME

you say you installed winxp ,then in you description you say with ME,oversite i know ,just checked HP.COM and there are no drivers listed for sound ,found one link that says it has a sound card/not onboard sound ,if the drivers you have don't work you will need to find a name on the sound card to get the right drivers .anyway see if you can follow this!

right click on mycoputer icon, and go to properties /hardware /device manager ,you should see sound device listed lower down in the list ,should be a yellow or red ! because its not loaded right !,go to it and double click whats there ,for properties and choose update drivers ,and direct it to the unzipped folder and it should install the driver if its the right ones

Clicked on sound device, the + sign.
There was 5 different things for sound and vedio.
I updated drivers for all of them.
The said the best drivers were installed.
When I try to play a cd I get an Error message saying there is no sound device is installed.
I guess I better open my computer and have a look.

good idea .

Opened it up and don"t see a sound card, combination sound/modum card so I must have onboard sound. Does that mean I need a new motherboard?

Opened it up and don"t see a sound card, combination sound/modum card so I must have onboard sound. Does that mean I need a new motherboard?

if it has the combo sound /modem[old] then you need drivers for it .
does the plug from the speakers go into a socked on the combo card or a socket up higher by the mouse /keyboard plugs .
also if the computer is older ,with ME on it then you would need to many new items[motherboard,cpu/cpu fan ,ram/power supply just to name a few ] because of changing technology that it would be cheaper to buy a new tower . open case and see if you can see a model number on the motherboard ,usually between or near the pci slots [white slots ]

I know its made by ASUS. Found a no. A7V-VM
REV.2.02

What comes with a Barebones tower.
I just bought a 350watt power supply for this one.

I know its made by ASUS. Found a no. A7V-VM
REV.2.02

What comes with a Barebones tower.
I just bought a 350watt power supply for this one.

barebones usually has, tower with a power supply/motherboard /cpu,/ram
you just add you hard drive ,cdrom ,

the board has Via chipset ,via ac97 onboard audio .
this one should make it work .,just unzip it and there is asetup-exe file in the folder .
http://www.softwarepatch.com/utilities/viaac97-security-dl.html

also you tower is really small and has Utlra -atx board ,so you would be hard pressed to get new updated board for that .
I just had some on at my door last week with the same tower looking for a power supply ,but because of its odd size and outdated computer i told them it would cost to much to replace ,and that i could put all working parts into a used tower i have with regular psu for a lot less .if yo udon't mind me asking how much did the new PSU cost

With shipping it was under $50

I'm going to put it back togeather, then uninstall all sound drivers.
Then boot up and see if Xp finds them all.
From there its anyones guess.

did you get the via ac97 drivers i posted above

Yes. I sent it to the puter that needs help. I've been jumping back and fourth.
I'll try that before I uninstall the drivers.

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