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Roland
Advanced Member
Netherlands
9335 Posts |
 Posted - 29 March 2003 : 08:53:34
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As you know, I bought a new PC on Wednesday and I'm more than happy with it, except that it came with the Dutch version of XP home edition. So I wanted to upgrade it to XP Professional in English, and I just managed to get my mom to lend me some money for it. I bought the full version instead of an upgrade, just to be on the safe side.
Now the question, which I bet is extremely stupid: does anyone have experience with upgrading from one Windows version to another where both weren't the same language? I don't look forward to getting a screen that tells me something went wrong in English, with buttons in Dutch (or vice versa).
Would it be better to format my C drive and start fresh regardless of the possible language problems, or would you say "upgrade to see if it works, you can format later anyway"? I'm really leaning toward the latter as it'd save me a lot of trouble if everything will work after the upgrade... like no reinstalling of programs, and other time consuming annoying tasks like that 
Tips, tricks and mental support are highly appreciated  |
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Hamlin
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
2386 Posts |
Posted - 29 March 2003 : 09:02:16
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quote:
I bought the full version instead of an upgrade, just to be on the safe side.
In my experience they are pretty much the same, the only difference is that the upgrade asks you to prove you own an old version of windows, you can upgrade even if the hard disk is completely blank.
I would go for the format though, just because I always like a "fresh" install I don't like the idea of installing one OS over the other (although for all I know it could completely erase the old one first) |
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ruirib
Snitz Forums Admin
Portugal
26364 Posts |
Posted - 29 March 2003 : 09:57:10
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I did have some experience with that kind of scenario and it's quite common to have that mixed language strings if you don't start anew. My advice would be to format and install, after making sure you have drivers for all your hardware available (which should have come with the computer).
I also don't think there is an upgrade path between XP versions, that is from XP Home to XP Pro, though I can't be positive on that. You can upgrade Home to Pro, so my previous comment is wrong. Also your current Home version would allow you to buy the upgrade version of XP Pro. |
Snitz 3.4 Readme | Like the support? Support Snitz too |
Edited by - ruirib on 29 March 2003 10:01:26 |
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Roland
Advanced Member
Netherlands
9335 Posts |
Posted - 29 March 2003 : 10:17:45
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I know I could've bought the upgrade version, but I prefer to start fresh with a full version (let's say that's due to my weird way of thinking).
I'll check all CDs that came with the PC so I'll know which programs are on which CD and then it's time to format. As I said, I don't look forward to potential weird language tricks, so I think a format will indeed be best. Besides, installation of all programs only takes a few hours, so it won't be too big a deal.
If you don't hear from me in the next hours you'll know what I'm doing |
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sr_erick
Senior Member
USA
1318 Posts |
Posted - 29 March 2003 : 11:46:52
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| Just reformat and start new. You can do all this via the WinXP pro disk, delete the partition, create a new one, then format to NTFS and your set. |
Erick
Snowmobile Fanatics
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PeeWee.Inc
Senior Member
United Kingdom
1893 Posts |
Posted - 29 March 2003 : 12:29:35
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I just did it from XP home to XP pro.
I first did a upgrade and was not happy with it so in the end i had to "clean" the computer and do a whole new install. |
De Priofundus Calmo Ad Te Damine |
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Roland
Advanced Member
Netherlands
9335 Posts |
Posted - 29 March 2003 : 17:02:14
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quote:
Originally posted by sr_erick
Just reformat and start new. You can do all this via the WinXP pro disk, delete the partition, create a new one, then format to NTFS and your set.
I did it the lazy (less clean) way: insert the CD and install XP Pro (it wouldn't even upgrade because of the different language). Now that I see the steps you wrote it makes more sense to do it like that, but honestly I didn't even read the options during the real setup process (the part with the old DOS look). I'd better pay more attention next time.
I just wanted to say that I got everything working again, and I thank you all for your replies and tips. |
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snaayk
Senior Member
USA
1061 Posts |
Posted - 29 March 2003 : 17:22:36
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I find it its always best to start with a fresh install, after a good'ol format c:/u
In fact, I usually reformat after about 6 months of usage. Thats whi my d: is 20 gigs of stuff. I put everything there (including pointing the My Documents folder), that way when I reformat I don't have to worry about losing anything (except program settings if theres no user pref file). I have een debating making a fresh install, install all my common apps and then ghosting an image. That way I can really reformat and be back and running within an hour and a half.
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