replace MCE with xp home?

cool, that's basically the news i was hoping to hear hopefully that
installation option will include deleting/replacing the recovery partition...

partitionmagic went crazy and appears to have "hidden" that partition and
done who knows what else to it, so i have high hopes that a fresh reinstall
will knock all that junk out.


"Noozer" wrote:

> > it's a long story but i would like to install xp home now on this computer
> > instead of re-install xp MCE. my basic question is, is this possible? are
> > there any internal or hardware reasons why xp home would not run properly
> > on
> > a media center computer?
>
> An MCE PC is just a normal computer that meets a few requirements. There is
> nothing about it that will stop you from using other Windows versions on it.
>
> When you boot from the CD you will have the opportunity to choose an
> installation partition. At that point you can delete any partitions you like
> and then create a new partition to install on.
>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: replace MCE with xp home? 

You'll need to source drivers for your motherboard and all the hardware
installed in the computer.

If you have to buy XP Home it might be more economical to get recovery CDs
from your computer manufacturer. Sometimes they are even provided free, or
for the cost of shipping.



"vladdy" <vladdy RemoveThis @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:813BA804-DAE3-46A6-88E9-EDA53748AE93@microsoft.com...
>
> cool, that's basically the news i was hoping to hear hopefully that
> installation option will include deleting/replacing the recovery
> partition...
>
> partitionmagic went crazy and appears to have "hidden" that partition and
> done who knows what else to it, so i have high hopes that a fresh
> reinstall
> will knock all that junk out.
>
>
> "Noozer" wrote:
>
>> > it's a long story but i would like to install xp home now on this
>> > computer
>> > instead of re-install xp MCE. my basic question is, is this possible?
>> > are
>> > there any internal or hardware reasons why xp home would not run
>> > properly
>> > on
>> > a media center computer?
>>
>> An MCE PC is just a normal computer that meets a few requirements. There
>> is
>> nothing about it that will stop you from using other Windows versions on
>> it.
>>
>> When you boot from the CD you will have the opportunity to choose an
>> installation partition. At that point you can delete any partitions you
>> like
>> and then create a new partition to install on.
>>
>>
>>
 >> Stay informed about: replace MCE with xp home? 

"RalfG" wrote:
> You'll need to source drivers for your motherboard and all the hardware
> installed in the computer.
> If you have to buy XP Home it might be more economical to get recovery CDs
> from your computer manufacturer. Sometimes they are even provided free, or
> for the cost of shipping.

i'm not sure i understand what you're saying about source drivers... are
you suggesting i will not be be able to install fresh with xp home...?

the reason i'm not using MCE recovery discs is i don't want xp MCE anymore.
i have software i need to run that is strictly not compatible with MCE (long
story).
 >> Stay informed about: replace MCE with xp home? 

"vladdy" <vladdy.TakeThisOut@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:623AFD8B-7835-4EB8-A13B-0C4E3192806D@microsoft.com...
> "RalfG" wrote:
>> You'll need to source drivers for your motherboard and all the hardware
>> installed in the computer.
>> If you have to buy XP Home it might be more economical to get recovery
>> CDs
>> from your computer manufacturer. Sometimes they are even provided free,
>> or
>> for the cost of shipping.
>
> i'm not sure i understand what you're saying about source drivers... are
> you suggesting i will not be be able to install fresh with xp home...?
>
> the reason i'm not using MCE recovery discs is i don't want xp MCE
> anymore.
> i have software i need to run that is strictly not compatible with MCE
> (long
> story).
>

Can you share what software? MCE is just XP Pro.

Tom
 >> Stay informed about: replace MCE with xp home? 

the software in question is protools. you can visit the digidesign website to
learn more, but basically they say they do not test on MCE, do not support
it, and sure enough it does not work on MCE. i have no idea why or how. it
does work with xp pro or xp home.

that is all besides the point though i just need a professional opinion
or confirmation that i will be out of the woods here and back up and running
if i just fresh install xp home on this hp media center desktop?

thanks

"Tom Scales" wrote:

>
> "vladdy" <vladdy DeleteThis @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:623AFD8B-7835-4EB8-A13B-0C4E3192806D@microsoft.com...
> > "RalfG" wrote:
> >> You'll need to source drivers for your motherboard and all the hardware
> >> installed in the computer.
> >> If you have to buy XP Home it might be more economical to get recovery
> >> CDs
> >> from your computer manufacturer. Sometimes they are even provided free,
> >> or
> >> for the cost of shipping.
> >
> > i'm not sure i understand what you're saying about source drivers... are
> > you suggesting i will not be be able to install fresh with xp home...?
> >
> > the reason i'm not using MCE recovery discs is i don't want xp MCE
> > anymore.
> > i have software i need to run that is strictly not compatible with MCE
> > (long
> > story).
> >
>
> Can you share what software? MCE is just XP Pro.
>
> Tom
>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: replace MCE with xp home? 

You can install XP Home. All of the hardware in your computer needs drivers
though, including the motherboard chipset which is important for full
functionality. Your computer manufacturer included all of that in their
original software, XP Home does not. Rather, XP Home will have some basic
drivers for more or less standard hardware, like basic mouse and keyboard
drivers, generic VGA displays etc., enough to get it to boot up. I even got
lucky with one HP having a modem that XP Home came with drivers for (it used
a very common chipset). Drivers for motherboard chipsets, multimedia
keyboards, ethernet cards, modems, sound cards etc. you may have to find for
yourself. HP offers a few drivers for download that you could still install
after replacing their OEM operating system. Their downloads are usually
keyed to not install on non-HP OS's, so you'll need to find drivers from the
various manufacturers of the hardware itself.


"vladdy" <vladdy.TakeThisOut@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:623AFD8B-7835-4EB8-A13B-0C4E3192806D@microsoft.com...
> "RalfG" wrote:
>> You'll need to source drivers for your motherboard and all the hardware
>> installed in the computer.
>> If you have to buy XP Home it might be more economical to get recovery
>> CDs
>> from your computer manufacturer. Sometimes they are even provided free,
>> or
>> for the cost of shipping.
>
> i'm not sure i understand what you're saying about source drivers... are
> you suggesting i will not be be able to install fresh with xp home...?
>
> the reason i'm not using MCE recovery discs is i don't want xp MCE
> anymore.
> i have software i need to run that is strictly not compatible with MCE
> (long
> story).
>
 >> Stay informed about: replace MCE with xp home? 

thanks, that's exactly what i needed to know will the desktop tell me
the names of the drivers it's missing? i don't mind tracking those down as
long as i know what i'm looking for. it's an hp media center so i suppose
the first place to check will be hp.com

and i guess if it becomes rife with errors i can always abort and put xp mce
back in!
wish me luck..


> You can install XP Home. All of the hardware in your computer needs drivers
> though, including the motherboard chipset which is important for full
> functionality. Your computer manufacturer included all of that in their
> original software, XP Home does not. Rather, XP Home will have some basic
> drivers for more or less standard hardware, like basic mouse and keyboard
> drivers, generic VGA displays etc., enough to get it to boot up. I even got
> lucky with one HP having a modem that XP Home came with drivers for (it used
> a very common chipset). Drivers for motherboard chipsets, multimedia
> keyboards, ethernet cards, modems, sound cards etc. you may have to find for
> yourself. HP offers a few drivers for download that you could still install
> after replacing their OEM operating system. Their downloads are usually
> keyed to not install on non-HP OS's, so you'll need to find drivers from the
> various manufacturers of the hardware itself.
 >> Stay informed about: replace MCE with xp home? 

While the computer still has MCE on it you should look in Device Manager and
note down the hardware names/model numbers that are listed there. The
motherboard chipset driver should be the first thing you download and have
available to install. You will have to get it from the chipset manufacturer,
be it Intel, Via, Nvidia, ATI or whatever. After this chipset driver is
installed Windows will be better able to identify and install other
hardware. Compare the new device manager list with the one you copied from
MCE to help identify which drivers you still need to get.

"vladdy" <vladdy DeleteThis @discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E9402DC8-5E7E-4373-ADDE-F78142B2FA29@microsoft.com...
> thanks, that's exactly what i needed to know will the desktop tell
> me
> the names of the drivers it's missing? i don't mind tracking those down
> as
> long as i know what i'm looking for. it's an hp media center so i suppose
> the first place to check will be hp.com
>
> and i guess if it becomes rife with errors i can always abort and put xp
> mce
> back in!
> wish me luck..
>
>
>> You can install XP Home. All of the hardware in your computer needs
>> drivers
>> though, including the motherboard chipset which is important for full
>> functionality. Your computer manufacturer included all of that in their
>> original software, XP Home does not. Rather, XP Home will have some basic
>> drivers for more or less standard hardware, like basic mouse and keyboard
>> drivers, generic VGA displays etc., enough to get it to boot up. I even
>> got
>> lucky with one HP having a modem that XP Home came with drivers for (it
>> used
>> a very common chipset). Drivers for motherboard chipsets, multimedia
>> keyboards, ethernet cards, modems, sound cards etc. you may have to find
>> for
>> yourself. HP offers a few drivers for download that you could still
>> install
>> after replacing their OEM operating system. Their downloads are usually
>> keyed to not install on non-HP OS's, so you'll need to find drivers from
>> the
>> various manufacturers of the hardware itself.
 >> Stay informed about: replace MCE with xp home? 

I just went through this, out of warranty and wanted to get away from the
Sony "version" of Windows. The only tricky part was the SATA drive; there
is a point during setup where you are asked to press F6 if you want to
install drivers for a SCSI drive, and, well, Windows XP is so old, I guess
they have no SATA capabilities; so you need to get that on a floppy (got
mine from Intel, which gets iastor.sys installed). SP2 was already on the
disc, which helped, though there are still a lot of updates to download).

The long story here is I wanted to have a disc to use, not be told by Sony
Tech Support to "reinstall from my recovery discs or partition." The only
device that has been left out (and is not detected by XP Home) is the TV
Tuner card, which is OK by me. Now I can troubleshoot, if need be, with a
disc to insert when prompted, instead of going back to day 1 (and getting
back all the things like AOL that just have to be removed).

Bill Halvorsen

"vladdy" <vladdy.DeleteThis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:7156D147-3D0C-4FBB-9F03-61D315CB60F0@microsoft.com...
>
> hi gang,
>
> i'm running an HP media center desktop. after a series of misadventures,
> windows has become severely crippled and i have no option now but to do a
> destructive, fresh install from scratch. even my restore partition is
> screwed
> up.
>
> it's a long story but i would like to install xp home now on this computer
> instead of re-install xp MCE. my basic question is, is this possible? are
> there any internal or hardware reasons why xp home would not run properly
> on
> a media center computer?
>
> further, can i count on the xp home installation disc to totally wipe out
> all the existing partitions on here? do i just boot with the disc, or do i
> need to erase and format the whole drive beforehand...?
>
> thanks!
>
 >> Stay informed about: replace MCE with xp home? 

thanks for the tips RalfG, that was all extremely helpful!

i installed the new xp home OS and everything appears to be in good shape.
and i've actually had no errors or notifications of missing drivers, at least
not yet. all systems go!

there's one thing though that might not be good news, i'm not sure. when i
installed xp home, i did so on the main partition, thus overwriting my
existing MCE.
however when i reboot the desktop, MCE still shows up in my startup list of
bootable operating systems.

out of curiosity i chose to boot MCE, wondering if it may still be there and
i might have a dual boot system by accident, however it gave me a simple
error screen, "windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware
configuration problem", etc, and then reboot itself.

so it appears as though i have an empty shell of a partition where MCE used
to be.
or maybe something else, i'm not sure. is this a bad thing? is there an easy
way to remove it? or should i just ignore it and always boot into xp home?
 >> Stay informed about: replace MCE with xp home? 

Always good when things go (relatively) smoothly. Sounds like you didn't
have XP Home repartition and reformat the harddrive before installing
though.

I'm guessing that you can simply delete the unwanted startup option in
Control Panel System-Advanced-Startup and Recovery-Settings-Edit.

There were originally 2 partitions on your harddrive, one for the System
Recovery and the other was your C: partition with the operating system and
files on it. If you didn't repartition (fdisk) and format that could explain
why the obsolete data is still on the harddrive.



"vladdy" <vladdy.DeleteThis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:DCA9D546-0E98-4A43-9FEA-BA0201E2AEFA@microsoft.com...
> thanks for the tips RalfG, that was all extremely helpful!
>
> i installed the new xp home OS and everything appears to be in good shape.
> and i've actually had no errors or notifications of missing drivers, at
> least
> not yet. all systems go!
>
> there's one thing though that might not be good news, i'm not sure. when i
> installed xp home, i did so on the main partition, thus overwriting my
> existing MCE.
> however when i reboot the desktop, MCE still shows up in my startup list
> of
> bootable operating systems.
>
> out of curiosity i chose to boot MCE, wondering if it may still be there
> and
> i might have a dual boot system by accident, however it gave me a simple
> error screen, "windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware
> configuration problem", etc, and then reboot itself.
>
> so it appears as though i have an empty shell of a partition where MCE
> used
> to be.
> or maybe something else, i'm not sure. is this a bad thing? is there an
> easy
> way to remove it? or should i just ignore it and always boot into xp
> home?
 >> Stay informed about: replace MCE with xp home? 

well, since i don't think the partition is taking up any space i may just
"leave well enough alone" and pretend it isn't there every time i try to
mess with the partitions i end up with a total disaster on my hands.

oddly, i noticed last night that some of my old "program files" from MCE
were still listed in said folder. they were no longer installed, they just
appeared to be artifacts of the previous OS. i could be mistaken but i wonder
if when xp home overwrote MCE it preserved a few things? that might explain
also why i had no trouble with restoring drivers? interesting.

in any case since i have everything up and running now and protools finally
seems to be fully operational maybe i shouldn't ask too many questions
 >> Stay informed about: replace MCE with xp home? 

Leave well-enough alone?

Normally there shouldn't have been anything of the MCE installation left on
the harddrive.

The MCE recovery partition takes up about 6.5Gigs of drive space BTW.


"vladdy" <vladdy.DeleteThis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:A1CD102B-E58E-493B-8EDF-96A829C7F971@microsoft.com...
>
> well, since i don't think the partition is taking up any space i may just
> "leave well enough alone" and pretend it isn't there every time i try
> to
> mess with the partitions i end up with a total disaster on my hands.
>
> oddly, i noticed last night that some of my old "program files" from MCE
> were still listed in said folder. they were no longer installed, they just
> appeared to be artifacts of the previous OS. i could be mistaken but i
> wonder
> if when xp home overwrote MCE it preserved a few things? that might
> explain
> also why i had no trouble with restoring drivers? interesting.
>
> in any case since i have everything up and running now and protools
> finally
> seems to be fully operational maybe i shouldn't ask too many questions
 >> Stay informed about: replace MCE with xp home?