XP Pro replacing XP Home on a bigger HD

Since my vostro 1400 has apparently picked up a
virus from some player streaming Imus every day,
and since the HD is about full anyway, I'd like
to put in a bigger HD and reinstall the OS.

But XP Home is SP2 on the reinstall CD.

Can I install a SP3 XP Pro for a Latitude laptop
and then use the XP Home driver CD that came with
the machine?

Or is there something that will prevent it.

I don't care Home or Pro but getting the latest SP
release is important.
--


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Dell's OS Reinstallation CDs are not model-specific, so assuming your
Latitude CD is a Dell version there is no technical reason that would bar
installation on the Vostro. Strictly speaking, it's not legal, though it
will work. To be legal the version installed is supposed to match the COA
sticker on the computer's case.

If your concern is getting SP3, why not just download and save the SP3
update file? You can use any machine to download SP3 from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/downl...ils.aspx?id=24
Save the file, do your clean install of XP-SP2, then launch the saved SP3
update file and you'll have SP3.

Regardless of how you get to SP3, keep in mind there will still be a few
hundred other Windows updates to install.

dg1261 wrote:

Dell's OS Reinstallation CDs are not model-specific, so assuming your
Latitude CD is a Dell version there is no technical reason that would bar
installation on the Vostro. Strictly speaking, it's not legal, though it
will work. To be legal the version installed is supposed to match the COA
sticker on the computer's case.

If your concern is getting SP3, why not just download and save the SP3
update file? You can use any machine to download SP3 from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/downl...ils.aspx?id=24
Save the file, do your clean install of XP-SP2, then launch the saved SP3
update file and you'll have SP3.

Regardless of how you get to SP3, keep in mind there will still be a few
hundred other Windows updates to install.

Arrgh, your replay was about two minutes too late.

I tried installing SP2 home and drivers and all went well until I tried
windows update, which crapped out (can't display webpage) with no obvious
recourse.

So I reformatted and loaded the Latitude Pro XP3 and that seems to be working
with the updates.

It's quasi-legal because I don't use any XP Pro features, I guess.

Their own fault in any case for not leaving an update path open for
people with SP2 reinstalls.
--


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.