I think there was a long discussion about the option to install from scratch versus the upgrade existing OS options. The thinking was that the new install was better - despite the painfully slow job of rebuilding the whole software/hardware on the new OS. Upgrading works fine but it carries over a lot of garbage from the previous OS that may be long redundant - old drivers for hardware long dumped, DLL's for software long ago removed but had bad uninstall routines that didn't clear everything out and the inevitable Registry entries left by both the above. My problem is that I still have an original XP disk here too and I know that once I install it I am going to face a huge online process of upgrading with all the SP2 changes and security patches. I'm tempted to ask MS if I can upgrade the CD to an SP2 version and save all the hassle. The last time I did the above routine I didn't have any AV software running and in the hours I was online I picked up a good few attacks and then had to clear the viruses out. That's the snag - the installation requires an online connection to complete and it is only when completed that you can add further software to stop the hacks.. bones -----Original Message----- From: jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jhb-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mike Lucas Sent: 07 January 2008 15:44 To: jhb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [jhb] Re: Windows XP Frank As well as some features (encrypting file system, access control, offline files) which I want but which are not available in XP Home, the obvious thing is that there is no upgrade path from Win 2K Pro to Win XP Home. You mention availability of OEM versions. As I said in my initial post, I already have the OEM version - but it does not allow upgrading an existing Windows o/s. I would prefer to upgrade rather than install XP from scratch, in order to avoid the considerable added burden of re-installing a LOT of software. From my experience last week installing XP Pro from scratch on a spare Win 2K box, together with all patches, security updates, then all applications and settings, it took the best part of a day. With Linux this would take 15 minutes - you can see why I prefer it. Mike L franklyn fisher wrote: > Mike > > Any particular reason for XP Pro as against plain XP? > > OEM versions are available for around £60 for a good search. > > Frank F > >