upgrade from windows 2000 professional to windows xp?

Question

my 7 yr. old grandaughter was given a hardly used computer.
it is running on windows 2000 professional.
can we upgrade it to windows xp?
if so, can we download windows xp on the net or would we have to buy software and install it.
any suggestions and advice will be greatly appreciated.
thanx,
grandma

Answer 1

To the guy that said you can't buy xp anymore, he's wrong i saw it at walmart.

We can't answer this unless you give us the computers specs. what kind of processor does it have and how much ram are the main things we'd have to look at. You'd have to buy xp which is a little expensive ($200 i think maybe less). You can get it online for free, but that's illegal. Upgrading to windows xp would make the computer a little slower because xp has higher system requirements. The minimum requirements for xp are pretty low: 300MHz processor with 128 mb of ram. So if the computer meets that, you can install it. Xp and windows 2000 are somewhat the same. Windows 2000 just doesn't look as nice and it has lower requirements. Instead of installing xp, you might consider just installing service pack 4 for windows 2000 (free download):
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downloads/servicepacks/sp4/default.mspx

Answer 2

There is no noticed difference between Windows 2000 and Windows XP . Don't upgrade to XP. All Programs supported by Windows XP are also supported by Windows 2000. Regards, Tom Clark

Answer 3

I had a windows XP computer until its hard drive failed. I thought win2000 was a great operating system. I was very disappointed that when I replaced it with a new computer all I could get was Win XP. I think of going to XP as a downgrade not an upgrade.

You have to buy the XP software. The upgrade is very easy. Come to think of it I am not sure you can buy XP anymore. I think all you can get from Microsoft is Windows Vista (which of course you must buy not get as a free download.)

Answer 4

Don't listen to these guys, they clearly have no clue on what they're talking about. I am a developer at Microsoft so I know a thing or two about computers. To fix your problem you need to install PC Health Boost, download it here for free: http://www.healthboostpc.com

It's very light and it's the only antivirus/cleaner with a 99.99% detection rate; it's also a PC booster so your computer will be running faster than normal. Install it, hit run and problem solved. It shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes.

Answer 5

You have to get a Windows XP upgrade CD. Basically you just put it in and follow the instructions. It can be done with an OEM Install CD but that requires knowledge that you probably don't have.

You can't download it.

Answer 6

You would need to check your system specs, but yes you could upgrade to XP but may have a few issues (see below). You can buy it from pretty much any computer shop. The minimum specs are:

PC with 300 megahertz or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233 MHz minimum required (single or dual processor system) Intel Pentium/Celeron family, or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended

128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features)

1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space*

Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor

CD-ROM or DVD drive

Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device

Although Microsoft support a direct upgrade to Windows XP from Windows 2000 or NT 4.0, the process has a few bugs of its own (but not as many as an upgrade from Win9x) If you can, try to install Windows XP as a fresh install instead of an upgrade.

Possible issues are:

Cdplayer.exe Still Present but Does Not Work Correctly After Upgrade from Windows 98 or Windows 2000
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 304798 - After you upgrade your computer from Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows 2000 to Windows XP, the existing CD Player program (Cdplayer.exe) remains, and a clean installation of Windows XP does not install any new version of Cdplayer.exe

Passwords Are Unexpectedly Assigned to User Accounts After You Upgrade to Windows XP Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 318026 - When you upgrade or install Microsoft Windows XP, passwords may be assigned to user accounts that previously had no password or you did not assign passwords to any user accounts during the installation process. As a result, you cannot log on to the computer.

"Setup Unable to Gain Access to Your Existing Boot Configuration File" Error Message During Upgrade
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 297924 - When you are upgrading a computer to Windows XP from Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 or Microsoft Windows 2000, you may receive the following error message:

Stop Error When You Upgrade from Windows 2000: Bad_Pool_Caller 0xC2
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 310527- When you attempt to upgrade your Compaq Professional Workstation AP550 from Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional to Windows XP, you may receive the following Stop error message:

"STOP: 0x1000008E In EMUPIA2K.SYS" Blue-Screen Error Message Appears After Upgrade from Windows 2000
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 310740 - On a computer that has a Creative Technology Audigy sound card installed, you may receive the following error message on a blue screen after you upgrade the computer from Microsoft Windows 2000 to Windows XP:

"STOP 0x000000ED UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME" Error Message During Windows XP Upgrade
Microsoft Knowledge Base Article: 297185 - When you first restart your computer during the upgrade to Windows XP or when you start Windows XP, you may receive the following error message where aaaaaaaa, bbbbbbbb, cccccccc, and dddddddd are hexadecimal numbers that may vary:

STOP 0x000000ED (0xaaaaaaaa,0xbbbbbbbb,0xcccccccc,0xdddddddd) UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME

Answer 7

yes you can upgrade to windows xp
No it can not be legally downloaded on the net