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From: Megan123 on 21 Apr 2010 11:31

I'm giving a my old laptop to my friend but first I want to reinstall
Windows XP so all my data will be wiped.

I bought the laptop used, so it didn't come with an OS DVD. I searched
through my stuff and managed to find the Operating System DVD for my
old computer which the disc to install Windows XP Media Center 2005.

So can I install this OS on the laptop? And if I do, does that mean all
of my data will be gone (which is my goal)?




--
Megan123
From: Daave on 21 Apr 2010 13:51
Megan123 wrote:
> I'm giving a my old laptop to my friend but first I want to reinstall
> Windows XP so all my data will be wiped.
>
> I bought the laptop used, so it didn't come with an OS DVD. I searched
> through my stuff and managed to find the Operating System DVD for my
> old computer which the disc to install Windows XP Media Center 2005.
>
> So can I install this OS on the laptop? And if I do, does that mean
> all of my data will be gone (which is my goal)?

What is the model and model number of this Dell laptop?

Does it have a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) sticker on the bottom?
If so, is the license for XP Home or XP Pro? (Or perhaps XP MCE?)

Wiping the drive and installing a fresh OS may be as simple as a few
keyboard strokes when you first boot up the laptop (assuming there is a
hidden recovery partition).


From: smlunatick on 21 Apr 2010 16:16
On Apr 21, 4:31 pm, Megan123 <Megan123.614d...(a)pcbanter.net> wrote:
> I'm giving a my old laptop to my friend but first I want to reinstall
> Windows XP so all my data will be wiped.
>
> I bought the laptop used, so it didn't come with an OS DVD. I searched
> through my stuff and managed to find the Operating System DVD for my
> old computer which the disc to install Windows XP Media Center 2005.
>
> So can I install this OS on the laptop? And if I do, does that mean all
> of my data will be gone (which is my goal)?
>
> --
> Megan123

NO. Most laptops usually have a CD key (COA) sticker on the bottom of
the laptop. This sticker is "version" specific and the CD must match
the XP version printed on it.

Professional requires a Professional CD
Home needs a Home CD.

MCE seemed not really been shipped on laptops.
From: Megan123 on 21 Apr 2010 20:28

Oh okay. It's a Dell Inspiron 700m. And the sticker says "Designed for
Microsoft Windows XP"

Guess I'm out of luck. Thanks guys.




--
Megan123
From: Daave on 22 Apr 2010 08:19
Megan123 wrote:
> Oh okay. It's a Dell Inspiron 700m. And the sticker says "Designed for
> Microsoft Windows XP"
>
> Guess I'm out of luck. Thanks guys.

That's the wrong sticker!

Do you have a COA sticker on the bottom of the laptop? It would look
like this:

http://i1.iofferphoto.com/img/item/354/750/76/X08.jpg

(In the photo, the Product Key is whited out.)

(BTW, *don't* tell us your Product Key!)

If you have a COA sticker, what type of XP is the license for? XP Home
or XP Pro?


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