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How to re-install Win XP to upgraded MB from a pre-built PC

dieselcat18

dieselcat18

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System Specs
System Name My 1st System Build (Up-Grade #4.5)/ Wife's PC
Processor Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550@3.5GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 2.4Ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4/ GIGABYTE GA-K8NSNXP-939 socket
Cooling Zalman CNPS9700 110mm CPU Cooler / CM Hyper N520
Memory G.Skill 8GB (4x2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC28500) 5-5-5-15@2.1v/ G.Skill 4GB DDR PC3200 400MHz 2.5CL
Video Card(s) Sapphire Radeon HD 6970 2GB/ ATi X800 XT PE 256mb
Storage WD Caviar SE16 640GB 7200rpm SATA (x 2) in Raid 0 / Acomdata 500GB external HHD/ WD Raptor 10K 150GB
Display(s) HP LP2465 1920x1200 S-PVA Panel/LG Flatron 20.1/ HP LP2465 1920x1200 S-PVA Panel
Case Lian Li (Lancool) PC-K63 / BMW Aluminum Mid-Tower
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro/ Sound Blaster Audigy2 Z5
Power Supply COUGAR-SX850 850W 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular/ Corsair 400w 80 plus certifed psu
Software Windows Vista Ultimate X64 (retail) w/ SP-2/ Windows XP Pro w/ SP-3
I have a friend's PC who's MB died (ASUA P5LP-LE 775 Socket)....and am helping him install a brand new one (Gigabyte MA785GM-US2H AM3)...Also changing to a AMD Phenom II X2 555BE.

The pre-built PC (HP Pavilion Media Center a1606n) which has Windows XP Media edition pre-installed on it came with no install disc and he doesn't have a key-code.

My concern is how to get the OS re-installed on the new motherboard. I have done a few searches and it seems that there can be several issues when attempting this when not having a disc or key-code.

I do have a spare disc w/ key-code for Windows XP Home Edition that I can let him use to install, but my concern is would there be any conflict with Win XP Media Center Edition already being on one of his HDD's.

I suggested he call HP, which he did, and ask for their help, but since the PC is out of warranty they would not do anything unless he paid them a service charge...same held true for M$...they wanted 70 bucks.

Is there any way to re-install the existing OS that was factory installed by HP without a disc and product key-code ? Or can I do a fresh install using Win XP Home Edition and if so what becomes of the Windows XP Media Edition thats already installed ? Will it cause any conflicts ?

Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated..... :)
 
FordGT90Concept

FordGT90Concept

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Memory 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Storage Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X20 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s) Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay + USB 3.2 (A+C) 3.5" bay
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply Enermax Platimax 850w
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Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit
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You got to buy a fresh OEM copy of the OS. They start at $100 from Newegg. Note that you'll lose MCE features. MCE is no longer offered. If you got drivers for it, I would consider upgrading it to Windows 7 Home Premium. It costs about the same but isn't going EOL (End Of Life).

You'll lose everything by reinstalling the OS. Back everything important up via a different computer (plug HDD in, copy files). That risk is always present when dealing with OS installations--one wrong click and the file system tables are wiped clean and then what? XD Always backup first.
 
Last edited:
dieselcat18

dieselcat18

Joined
Aug 7, 2008
Messages
499 (0.09/day)
Location
Boynton Beach, FL
System Specs
System Name My 1st System Build (Up-Grade #4.5)/ Wife's PC
Processor Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550@3.5GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 2.4Ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4/ GIGABYTE GA-K8NSNXP-939 socket
Cooling Zalman CNPS9700 110mm CPU Cooler / CM Hyper N520
Memory G.Skill 8GB (4x2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC28500) 5-5-5-15@2.1v/ G.Skill 4GB DDR PC3200 400MHz 2.5CL
Video Card(s) Sapphire Radeon HD 6970 2GB/ ATi X800 XT PE 256mb
Storage WD Caviar SE16 640GB 7200rpm SATA (x 2) in Raid 0 / Acomdata 500GB external HHD/ WD Raptor 10K 150GB
Display(s) HP LP2465 1920x1200 S-PVA Panel/LG Flatron 20.1/ HP LP2465 1920x1200 S-PVA Panel
Case Lian Li (Lancool) PC-K63 / BMW Aluminum Mid-Tower
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro/ Sound Blaster Audigy2 Z5
Power Supply COUGAR-SX850 850W 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular/ Corsair 400w 80 plus certifed psu
Software Windows Vista Ultimate X64 (retail) w/ SP-2/ Windows XP Pro w/ SP-3
FordGT90Concept said:
You got to buy a fresh OEM copy of the OS. They start at $100 from Newegg. Note that you'll lose MCE features. MCE is no longer offered. If you got drivers for it, I would consider upgrading it to Windows 7 Home Premium. It costs about the same but isn't going EOL (End Of Life).

You'll lose everything by reinstalling the OS. Back everything important up via a different computer (plug HDD in, copy files). That risk is always present when dealing with OS installations--one wrong click and the file system tables are wiped clean and then what? XD Always backup first.
Click to expand...



He won't be able to afford an upgrade to his OS for a while....so we are stuck with trying to get XP reinstalled.

He has most of his files and folders already backed up. I can install his HHd on my system and back up any remaining stuff that needs to be saved.

I have an extra copy of Windows Home Edition that I'm not using, Can that be used as a new copy to install on his HHD even though it's not Windows MCE ?

Ford, thxx for the quick response....

*+
 
FordGT90Concept

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"
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Motherboard MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Storage Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X20 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s) Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay + USB 3.2 (A+C) 3.5" bay
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse Nixeus REVEL-X
Keyboard Tesoro Excalibur
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.
Retail = fresh install or upgrade.
OEM (System Builder) = fresh install only
Upgrade = upgrade only.

I do not recommend taking the upgrade route even if it is available. Performance usually isn't the best and you could run into a lot of headaches.

Every partition can only hold one OS. If you only have one OS, therefore, you can only have one OS. There are ways to create multiple partitions on a hard drive without losing existing data (Norton Ghost and similar utlities).
 
dieselcat18

dieselcat18

Joined
Aug 7, 2008
Messages
499 (0.09/day)
Location
Boynton Beach, FL
System Specs
System Name My 1st System Build (Up-Grade #4.5)/ Wife's PC
Processor Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550@3.5GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 2.4Ghz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4/ GIGABYTE GA-K8NSNXP-939 socket
Cooling Zalman CNPS9700 110mm CPU Cooler / CM Hyper N520
Memory G.Skill 8GB (4x2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC28500) 5-5-5-15@2.1v/ G.Skill 4GB DDR PC3200 400MHz 2.5CL
Video Card(s) Sapphire Radeon HD 6970 2GB/ ATi X800 XT PE 256mb
Storage WD Caviar SE16 640GB 7200rpm SATA (x 2) in Raid 0 / Acomdata 500GB external HHD/ WD Raptor 10K 150GB
Display(s) HP LP2465 1920x1200 S-PVA Panel/LG Flatron 20.1/ HP LP2465 1920x1200 S-PVA Panel
Case Lian Li (Lancool) PC-K63 / BMW Aluminum Mid-Tower
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro/ Sound Blaster Audigy2 Z5
Power Supply COUGAR-SX850 850W 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular/ Corsair 400w 80 plus certifed psu
Software Windows Vista Ultimate X64 (retail) w/ SP-2/ Windows XP Pro w/ SP-3
Is there a way to remove the pre-installed Windows MCE that's already on there before doing a freah OS install ?
 
FordGT90Concept

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
26,259 (4.63/day)
Location
IA, USA
System Specs
System Name BY-2021
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile)
Motherboard MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Storage Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X20 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s) Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay + USB 3.2 (A+C) 3.5" bay
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse Nixeus REVEL-X
Keyboard Tesoro Excalibur
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.
Delete the partition the MCE install is on (you can do this in the beginning steps of installing Windows). If you want to actually delete the data (as opposed to dereferencing it) you could use KillDisk. If you KillDisk a drive, there is virtually no chance of recovering the data that is on there.

I highly recommend doing a full (not quick) scan for creating an NTFS partition. It is best to find bad sectors when the drive is empty so that nothing gets written to them during the install process.
 
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