Going from xp to 2000?

[dloreski]

Hi all.
I'm a computer novice here.
I have an HP desktop with Windows XP and it has a ton of bugs.
Since HP puts XP on a partioned section of the HD, they don't give you an XP cd.
I have a 2000 cd here.
Can I just put it in and install it?
If I do, would it give me the option to format the whole HD when I do it?
Thanks!
- Dave

[jefftech]

Originally Posted by dloreski

Hi all.
I'm a computer novice here.
I have an HP desktop with Windows XP and it has a ton of bugs.
Since HP puts XP on a partioned section of the HD, they don't give you an XP cd.
I have a 2000 cd here.
Can I just put it in and install it?
If I do, would it give me the option to format the whole HD when I do it?
Thanks!
- Dave

What a bummer. Why can't you raise hell with HP and get them to send you a Recovery CD for XP? I got eMachines to send me (for $20) their Recovery CD for a corrupted XP machine.

If you have a Win 2000 install CD, you should be OK to zap your hard drive and start from scratch. However, you could get screwed because some of your HP hardware built into the motherboard would require Win 2000 drivers which are NOT on your install disk.

For example, on a client's PC, I used a "Win 2000 upgrade" CD to upgrade her PC from Win 98 SE--a huge improvement! Win 2000 allowed me to repartition and reformat (zap) the hard drive converting from FAT32 to NTFS. BUT...I'm still looking for 2000 drivers for the built-in audio on the motherboard.

On my own PC's, I still prefer XP Pro over 2000, which, as of this past June is NO LONGER SUPPORTED by Microsoft.

However, after you install 2000, make sure that you download and install Service Pack 4 and any subsequent critical updates for 2000.

Good luck.