Problem with Operating System

[simleaguer]

Hey guys,

I kinda screwed up my PC. It crashed a week ago and i couldn't recover it using the F10 recovery for some reason. So I got an XP Pro CD and over-installed it over the existing XP Home OS. Now I find out that the product key was invalid and I can't update my PC. So what do I do now? Format my PC so I start off with a clean slate? I don't really mind doing that as I have backup but is there any way I can delete the XP Pro Operating System that I installed over my previous OS as my harddrive is almost full.

Any help will be appreciated

 

[NightSurge]

Yes, just reformat the drive when you reinstall XP Home. It will wipe everything clean including your XP Pro install as long as you have it delete all visible partitions (during the setup).

 

[Naphtali14]

Yes, I would do a clean install if I were you. It is a bit of work to back up any files you need; but it feels so good to have a clean install =) everything is so fast.

 

[simleaguer]

So will I need an XP Home CD to get it back since that was the OS when the PC was bought? Or will XP Home be already be installed on it when it was reformatted?

So I reformat first, wipe out everything and THEN install XP Home via CD? Or will XP Home already be installed on it when its reformated (w/ XP Pro erased) since it was my original OS?

 

[Baez]

You have to reformat the computer and then install XP.

Insert the XP CD and boot from it. The formatting and installing process are both done from the CD.

 

[simleaguer]

Crap, that means I'd have to find a XP Home CD. Does the product key from the original XP CD work on more than 1 PC? I know its a noob question but I've seen many people share XP CD's and their PC still updates fine..

 

[Baez]

Yes there is a way to have the same key on more than 1 computer but we are not allowed to discuss illegal methods on these forums. You can do a google search and you should find it.

 

[KSoD]

OS question should go in the OS area.

Format means to get rid of all information on the drive. OS and all. So you would have to reinstall XP Home using the serial you had before. Since it was already installed on that machine you are jsut reinstalling it there is nothing illegal about that.

 

[simleaguer]

Yeah, but how would I find my serial key for my XP Home OS which currently is below XP Pro that is running? The XP Home came preinstalled on the PC..

 

[KurrentEweser]

Yeah, but how would I find my serial key for my XP Home OS which currently is below XP Pro that is running? The XP Home came preinstalled on the PC..

Isn't there product key sticker pasted on the case somewhere?