Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with WindowsXP and upgrade

Upgrade from W2K to XP

samstarling — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 07:37:21 -0800

I want to upgrade my laptop from Windows 2000 to XP. How can I preserve my Outlook settings between the upgrade? I ask because I connect to an Exchange Server with settings on Outlook which have been tweaked heavily over time. Also, will the XP install give me an option to preserve my previous system? In case everything goes pear-shaped, I'd like to be able to roll back to my previous state. If it goes right, can I delete all the data needed to roll-back after to optimise disk space? Thanks in advance.

Windows Genuine Advantage Validation tool

schoenbc — Sun, 07 May 2006 09:07:48 -0800

I was prompted to download the "Windows Genuine Advantage Validation tool". Any reason why I shouldn't do this?

Windows ME to XP upgrade questions

Termite — Sun, 02 May 2004 22:30:42 -0800

The bell tolls for ME. Help this loser to upgrade from Windows ME to XP Pro. [4 questions inside...] I have two hard drives. The operating system and all programs are on hard drive 1; all the files are on HD 2. If I do a clean install on HD 1, to make sure anything that could cause problems is wiped out, what will happen to my files on HD 2? Do I have to backup HD 2 on CD-R and load everything back? That's about 27 GB, so I'm not looking forward to it...

When upgrading to XP, people recommend changing the file system from FAT32 to NTFS. What about the files on hard drive 2? Can I convert hard drive 2 to NTFS without damaging the files?

Where is the desktop background picture hidden? I've made my own and I'd like to save it.

Finally, could someone explain why I shouldn't log into the computer as administrator? It seems like I need to create two accounts for myself - administrator and user.

Will upgrading my Vaio to XP wreck my settings?

Vidiot — Fri, 02 Jan 2004 14:04:10 -0800

I'm about to upgrade my beloved Sony Vaio laptop from Windows Me (blecch) to XP. Will this screw up my previously installed drivers, software, documents, etc? Anything I should know before I start?