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How many people have installed, say, Windows 98 before installing their upgrade version of Windows Me or Windows XP? You don't need to, says David Dorn
A friend rang me and asked how to get a clean installation of his upgrade version of Windows and whether it was possible to do it without having to install the version he was upgrading from - and, of course, it is. Here's how:
You'll need:
- The new Operating system CD
- Your old operating CD
Begin by Formatting your C: drive, assuming that you have already backed up all your data files and any downloads you want to keep.
Continue by booting from the NEW operating system install CD, if possible (this certainly is possible with Windows Me and Windows XP as well as Windows 98SE). The install process should start automatically, and will do a disk check to see whether you have a 'qualifying product' for it to upgrade.
As it happens, you have - at this point, you can slip the OLD operating system install CD into your CD drive (or your CD Writer, if you have one), and the new system will find it and accept it as proof that you have a 'qualifying product' to upgrade. It will then happily toddle on, and install the new operating system, exactly as it should.
With earlier operating systems, you may need to insert the original boot floppy or install diskette into your floppy drive. You may also have to point the installer to the drive using the 'Browse' button that it presents - it varies with each new release of Windows.
