Upgrading my PC

[Victson]

Well i have a crappy Pc for the moment, so i got different things to make a better one, just changing some of the components, which are the Mobo(Intel 945 PSN), V Mem (DDR2 for compatibility, actually not acquired), and CPU( IP4 LGA775), but the question is: Do I have to get a new Windows XP program?
'cus i heard that if I do this kind of upgrade, i would have to get the system again, whcih cost up to 250 euros
And if i do is there a cheaper way to get it, like a file transfer or something?
Thanks in advance,
Victson

[hockey man]

The cheapest way for a os is to buy an oem version. That will cut the price about in half I believe. What Windows version do you have now?

[Victson]

So I do have to get a new pack,NO!!!, Well I have windows familly edition

[jlreich]

You can reuse the copy of windows as long as you only have it on one machine at a time. So if you wipe the other machine you will be fine. But you will have to reinstall and reactivate if you change the motherboard, or windows will not be stable if it even boots at all.

[pop pop]

So I do have to get a new pack,NO!!!, Well I have windows familly edition

Geez, Vic. Mello out man. You're good to go, assuming you have the key.

Windows Family Edition? Must be a French thing.

[Victson]

yeah i think so it's the home edition in english, so i don't have to get a new CD, 'cus i'm actually upgrading a PC that was preconfigured, i got 2 or 3 CD's with it but i'm not that sure that i have the actual program, i have the drivers&utility CD, and the windows recovery CD, but those aren't the right ones are they? They don't seem to have the information for installing the windows system.

[Victson]

oh teah i forgot, those CD's are for Fujitsu siemens, but i don't know how that works, so i don't know if it makes a difference

[Fruss Tray Ted]

If you have recovery cd's they are designed to work only with your original configuration. You will need to purchase an operating system such as XP, Home or Pro, your choice. I don't know how expensive things are in France or any retailers for that matter but hopefully you can find a deal somewhere. 250 Euros sounds like alot! With the Euro being close to the American dollar these days, we can get XP Pro for around $130

1.00 EUR
Euro = 1.21731 USD
United States Dollars

That should give you an idea what you should pay or at least search for.

Keep your Recovery Disk 2 with the drivers as you may need it if you reuse any expansion cards such as sound or video. But 'Explore' each of your 3 cd's to see if you have a stand alone operating system with installer before giving up on them. Dell used to provide the os separately but HP and Compaq I don't think ever did but I don't know Seimens, so you'll have to find out by trying.

[Victson]

Great, well then i have to find another 100 euros...
Well thanks anyways for the help

[jlreich]

Definitely keep those restore CD's. You may be able to get an "upgrade" version of windows a little cheaper than the regular version. If so you can put those disks in when windows asks for them during the install. It will read the disks and find the qualifying OS and proceed to install. The difference may only be a few euros but anything helps.