Dell Vista upgrade questions

[bhaney]

A couple family members recently ordered new Dells that included the express upgrade to Vista once it's released. Does anyone know if it will be possible to wipe their current XP installations off and reinstall using their XP product code? This would give them a fresh install and get rid of all the preinstalled Dell junk.

Thanks,
-Brett.

 

[regnez]

Did the computers come with the XP reinstallation discs? If so, then you should be able to reinstall XP without a problem.

However, my father ordered an HP awhile ago and the only reinstallation discs it came with there from HP; so while they did reinstall XP, they also reinstalled all the junk that came on the computer in the first place. Be sure this is not the case before you waste two or three hours of your/their time.

 

[RebateMonger]

Get the Dell XP Re-installation disk from Dell. If you call, they usually send them for free.

Dell's XP reinstall disk is "bare" XP, with no "craplets" added. This is one of the reasons that I recommend Dells to clients.

Before reformatting and re-installing with the XP Install CD, use Belarc's utility (http://belarc.com) to recover all the Keys for any software installed. Just in case you don't have any of them. You won't need a Key to install or Activate XP itself.