Aug 05, 2012 WIN XP Media center, Can not upgrade to SP3! XP WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER (2005) Product number: PX769AA Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2 GHz Socket 939. Feb 08, 2015 You'll also need a valid activation code for it. Windows XP Media Center Edition. Windows xp media center edition 2005 sp3 iso, windows xp media center edition iso.

If Microsoft wants Windows 7 to succeed, to do better than limp like Vista, it has to convince the majority of users to ditch their comfortable-as-an-old-shoe -- older than an old shoe, actually -- OS. Microsoft has to beat itself by one-upping its most successful OS edition of all time: Windows XP. That's going to be tough. Even Microsoft knows that.

Last month it conceded to critics, including Gartner's Michael Silver, who had complained that the company's policy for continuing XP 'downgrades' was a In response, Microsoft actually until April 2011. So the pressure's on to make an XP-to-Windows 7 upgrade as painless as possible.

But is a pain-free process what you'll face if you make the move? Where are the bumps in the upgrade road? How difficult will the migration really be?

Excellent questions. We'll try to answer them. Can I upgrade from Windows XP straight to Windows 7? And no, you don't have make Vista a middleman.

There's always a catch. What's the catch this time? Unlike people running Vista, you can't do an 'in-place' upgrade from XP to Windows 7 (even though that was offered as an upgrade choice to Vista, and Microsoft's bragged numerous times about how Windows 7 Presumably, Microsoft doesn't want to repeat the drama -- and complaints -- that XP users generated when they threw up their hands over in-place upgrades to Vista.

It hinted as much in an April post to the blog: 'We realized at the start of this project that the 'upgrade' from XP would not be an experience we think would yield the best results. There are simply too many changes in how PCs have been configured (applets, hardware support, driver model, etc.) that having all of that support carry forth to Windows 7 would not be nearly as high quality as a clean install.' Whatever the reasons, you'll have to do what's called a 'clean' install of Windows 7, which means you'll need to restore backed up data, recreate settings throughout Windows and reinstall all applications. ('Clean install' isn't a choice on the Windows 7 install-type selection screen; you'll pick 'Custom' from the two-option list.) What are the system requirements for Windows 7? They're very similar to those for Vista.

According to Microsoft, here's what you need: • 1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor • 1GB RAM (32-bit) or 2GB RAM (64-bit) • 16GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit) • DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver Take those with a grain of salt. Vista runs slowly on a PC with just 1GB of memory; Windows 7 may do better, but you're still likely to be disappointed. How do I know if my XP machine can handle Windows 7? Run the 'Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor,' which as of July, was in beta., download and install the advisor, then run it. The advisor will give you a bottom-line appraisal of your XP-based hardware and give you the green light, tell you the machine won't make it as is or spell out what you need to beef up.

Can I buy the cheaper Upgrade edition of Windows 7, or do I have to fork over a small fortune for the 'full' version? Yes to the first, no to the second. Windows 7's Upgrade editions, such as Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade -- $120 suggested list -- check to see if there's a legitimate, activated copy of Windows on the PC before it lets you proceed. At the least, Windows XP and Windows 2000 qualify here.

(Even older editions, such as Windows 98 may be eligible -- Microsoft's not been clear -- but it's very unlikely that hardware that old will take the Windows 7 strain.) I'm running XP Home now. What are my Windows 7 choices? You can upgrade to Home Premium ($120), Professional ($200) or even Ultimate ($220) if you want. If you were smart, you bought your upgrade during the two-week sale that Microsoft ran from June 26 through July 11, when Home Premium was priced at $50, Professional at $100. Unfortunately, those discounts are done. I'm running XP Professional.

What are my Windows 7 choices? Same as if you were running XP Home now: You can upgrade to Home Premium ($120), Professional ($200) or Ultimate ($220). What's the process going to be like? We won't know for sure until Microsoft makes final Windows 7 Upgrade discs available, but the company will help you back up and then restore settings and data with the Windows Easy Transfer utility it includes on the Windows 7 DVD.

The process is too long to spell out here, but Microsoft posted a back in January, while added screenshots to those instructions. What should I do before I start the upgrade? Tops on our list: Make a disk image of your XP machine as it exists now so that, if you later decide Windows 7 isn't worth the disc it's written to and you want to revert to the ancient XP, you can do so without a lot of hassle.

There are scads of free and for-a-fee backup programs for XP, some of which create a disk image, a bit-for-bit copy of the hard disk. Among the free choices are and, which run on XP and let you create an image on a CD/DVD, external drive or flash drive. I hear that the Windows 7 media comes on a DVD. I don't have a DVD drive, just a CD-ROM drive, on my XP PC. What do I do? Start crying. Microsoft recommends that you 'rent, borrow, or buy one if you want to do the installation yourself.

Alternatively, you can take your PC and DVD to a service provider that has a DVD drive available that can be used to do the upgrade.' The $50 to $120 you've laid out for Windows 7 Home Premium just wasn't enough to spend, was it?

That Microsoft may offer Windows 7 Upgrade on a flash drive -- a 4GB thumb drive has more than enough room -- but, so far, it's only wishful thinking on the part of the drive-less, like people running netbooks. You can do it yourself by buying Windows 7 as a download from Microsoft's own e-store -- the only one that now offers that delivery method -- then build a bootable USB drive. There are several how-to-do-that guides on the Web; our favorites are by noted Windows blogger, and this. Can I upgrade to a 64-bit edition of Windows 7?

Yes, if the processor inside your PC supports 64-bit. Retail copies and electronic downloads of Windows 7 will ship with both the 32- and 64-bit versions of the operating system, and since you have to do a clean install anyway -- also a requirement if you're moving from, say Vista 32-bit to Windows 7 64-bit -- you can move up to 64-bit if you want. Download and run the to see whether your processor supports 64-bit; as an added bonus, it also says whether you'll be able to run the Windows XP Mode available to users of Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate. Will I be able to run my old Windows XP software?

Yes, if you bought the upgrade to either Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate. Those two editions let you run, an add-on (and separate download; it doesn't come on the DVD), that creates an XP virtual environment running under Virtual PC, Microsoft's client virtualization technology, within Windows 7. XP Mode comes with a fully-licensed copy of Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), so you don't have to spring for an additional license. The mode, however, requires processor-based virtualization support. To determine whether your PC's CPU provides that support, download and run the. A can be downloaded from here and run with Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC). I'm not forking over another $80 to Microsoft just to run programs in XP mode.

What are my options? You have several. First, you can wait until you upgrade to Windows 7, then install and try out the software you've been running on XP. It might work fine. (Most likely to have fewest problems: Products from Microsoft and other major vendors.) If the program won't run, you can try to run it in 'compatibility mode.' Right-click on the program's shortcut, select 'Properties,' then click the 'Compatibility' tab.

Next, check the 'Run this program in compatibility mode' box, and in the drop-down list, choose the version of Windows, in this case Windows XP. Or you can run free virtualization software on Windows 7, such as Sun's with a copy of Windows XP as the 'guest' OS within the virtual environment. You'll need an XP license to install inside the virtual machine. That may be your biggest hurdle, since if the copy of XP you're now running came with the PC, you're not allowed to transfer it to another system, even a virtual one (even if that PC is now running Windows 7). And if you're upgrading from XP to Windows 7, no matter how you acquired the license for XP, the activation key on the XP CD will probably not work. (During the upgrade, the PC sends a key-cancellation request to Microsoft's servers to nullify the XP activation/product key and link the machine to the new Windows 7 key.) You can still buy copies of XP, but they're pricy.

On Newegg, for example, we found a copy of XP Home (the OEM edition, designed for small computer makers, but you can use it, too) for $90. What happens if I hate Windows 7.

Can I revert to Windows XP? Yes, you can, but you'll have to do another 'clean' install, this time scrubbing the drive of Windows 7 and replacing it with XP.

Before you do that, you'll need to back up your data files and note your settings. Don't bother with Easy Transfer Utility, which is available for XP; it's a one-way street and doesn't help in 'downgrade' scenarios, which is what we're talking about here. You'll need to reinstall all your applications on XP, too.

If you thought of this before, you'd simply wipe the drive and restore from the disk image you made earlier (see 'What should I do before I start the upgrade?'

By Gerald Maffeo Microsoft Corporation Abstract Microsoft® Windows® Product Activation (WPA) is aimed at reducing casual copying and hard disk loading. It applies primarily to 32-bit retail and system builder systems. Activation is not needed for 64-bit systems, or for customers using Microsoft volume licensing programs, such as Select or Open Licensing. Most large original equipment manufactures (OEM) will ship pre-activated systems. This article is intended for administrators who need to activate Windows XP on machines as part of a large scale deployment. On This Page Acknowledgements Michael Kessler, Technical Editor, Microsoft Corporation. Introduction Microsoft® Windows® Product Activation (WPA) is an anti-piracy technology designed to reduce casual copying and hard disk loading.

WPA will apply to all 32-bit versions, except volume licensing, and to all distribution channels. WPA is primarily of interest to retailers and System Builders for the following reasons: • Direct original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) usually choose to implement a version of WPA that will be locked to a machines firmware (BIOS). This bypasses activation by effectively pre-activating these machines. • Windows Product Activation is not needed in 64-bit versions of Windows XP. (Considering this, none of the automation functionality described in this article is relevant to 64-bit systems.) • Volume Licensing (VL) media—often referred to as select media—do not require activation.

As a result, VL customers (Enterprise, Select, Campus, School, and Open) will probably not find much applicable information in this article. Setup does require entry of an organization's unique product key, which is generally provided in an answer file. Note: In the past, VL customers often used retail and VL media interchangeably. Windows XP no longer permits this: retail media must now be installed using retail product keys, while VL media must be installed using VL product keys. The ProductID (PID), discussed below, can be used to determine whether the correct media is installed on a machine. • Evaluation media do not support WPA automation and are not considered in this article.

How WPA Works WPA works by associating a machine's PID (which is derived from the product key) to the hardware configuration. It does this by creating an installation ID. The installation ID comprises the PID and a 'hardware hash,' which is derived from a number of elements that characterize the machine.

It also includes a random component that is generated each time it is requested. In order to activate the machine, the installation ID is sent to a Microsoft license clearinghouse, which validates it.

My Disney Kitchen Pc Cracker there. The clearinghouse returns a corresponding confirmation ID that is then used to activate the machine. After Windows XP has been activated, reactivation should only be necessary if the operating system is completely reinstalled, or if machine's hardware is substantially changed. Users must activate Windows XP with their unique product keys within the defined grace period. For the released product, this is 30 days from the time the system is installed—MSDN versions have 60 days. After expiration, Windows will disallow interactive logons until the system is activated. The machine is otherwise fully functional (services are still loaded and running), and the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) automation mechanisms are still available. (WMI is a management infrastructure in Windows that supports monitoring and controlling system resources through a common set of interfaces.) Validating Automated WPA Microsoft's Information Technology Group (ITG) has validated the fully automated solution described below in the Scripted Activation—Putting It All Together section.

It did this by successfully deploying over 100,000 machines (cumulatively) since Release Candidate 1 (RC1) of Windows XP. This process ensured that the built-in Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) activation feature works as intended when using WPA. Automation Overview Not every Windows installation is done manually.

Large scale deployments would be too costly and time-consuming if an administrator had to personally set up large numbers of machines. Such installations are therefore usually automated, using unattended or remote (RIS, SMS, etc.) processes. And administrators often will not want end users to personally activate their machines. WPA automation methods in Windows XP are designed to support automated deployments and accommodate these scenarios. Note Most enterprise customers will deploy volume licensing media and will not need WPA automation.

WPA Automation Options An administrator can choose whether to automatically activate a machine during setup or to defer activation to a later time. The WPA automation options presented in this article include: • Unattended Activation (Setup) – WPA supports the use of unattended answer files to set product keys, set temporary proxy settings, and to auto-activate during setup. • Sysprep Activation Rollback – WPA adds activation rollback to standard sysprep to support drive imaging as a deployment option. • Scripted Activation (Post-setup) –WPA's WMI provider supports scriptable, post-setup automation to query activation-related properties and to activate the machine—all on a fully automated, unattended basis.

Automating WPA—Something to Consider One of the difficulties of automating activation during setup is that a machine's unique product key must be specified, either in the answer file itself, or in a uniqueness database file (UDF). Since a UDF is not commonly used, some administrators might therefore choose to generate a machine-specific answer file with the required product key on demand. This is not a Microsoft-provided feature and would require a customer-provided utility.

Further, there is no guarantee that activation will actually succeed during setup, thereby limiting its value. The most useful deployment methods will therefore employ sysprep (for imaged systems) and post-setup scripted activation. Using Product Keys During Setup A product key of the correct type (retail, volume, or OEM, as well as the correct full or upgrade type) is always required during setup. For activation media, it is possible to enter a generic product key of the correct type and then change it to the required machine-specific product key at a later time.

You can use the keys provided in the Generic Product Keys section below. These keys cannot be activated, since they are blocked at the clearinghouse. They do however permit setup to complete and start the activation timer. Note: WPA provides both manual and automated methods to correct the product key before the products grace period expires. Unattended Activation If your installation scenario requires activation to be completed during setup, you can use an unattend answer file.

Unattend Answer File An unattend answer file is a text file that is used in conjunction with Setup to bypass normal setup prompts. An unattend file can enter the product key automatically; configure the proxy setting; and then auto-activate the system on behalf of the end user, either through the target machine's local area network or default Internet connection. In order to complete a successful unattended activation, the machine being set up must of course have Internet connectivity, either directly or through a firewall. An administrator must first configure the answer file appropriately.

Types of Answer Files There are several variants of answer files. These include: • Support for manual invocation • CD installation • Mini-setup • Remote Installation Services (RIS) Note: Discussion of unattended setup is beyond the scope of this document. Extensive documentation for Setup Manager and unattended installation is available on the installation CD. Targeted documentation is also available on OEM pre-installation kit CDs and accompanying RIS tools.

See the section below for specific references. Unattended Setup— An Example A common way to use an answer file (for example unattend.txt) during an unattended installation is to invoke the Winnt32 /U: command. Listing 1 below illustrates an unattend file that will accomplish a fully automated activation during setup using the above command. Note: Syntax varies depending on the type of setup and the required answer file. In this example only the highlighted lines specifically relate to activation. Other parameters may not apply or be appropriate to your needs. Refer to the documentation for complete information.

Sysprep Activation Rollback Sysprep is a tool designed for deploying Windows XP on multiple computers. Typically, you set up a master image on a computer's hard disk, run sysprep, and then duplicate the hard disk. This master image will usually be used to create 'cloned' images for a fairly long period of time—certainly well beyond the standard activation grace period. Sysprep Supports Cloning In order to support cloning scenarios using activation media, sysprep can roll back the activation grace period up to three times. When an image that was prepared with sysprep is rebooted, its activation timer will restart with the full grace period.

After the third time, however, the activation timers will no longer be reset. Sysprep can be repeated any number of times, but the activation rollback will only occur up to three times.

This process is completely automatic and requires no action on your part. Note: A master can be used to create additional and more specific levels of master images, subject to the three activation-rollback limit. Activation Rollback Limitations Activation rollback is not supported on pre-release beta media, post-release evaluation media, or MSDN media. It is also not available on volume licensing media. Note: Detailed discussion of sysprep is outside the scope of this article.

The sysprep tools, including extensive documentation, are available on both the release CD and the OEM Pre-installation Kit (OPK). See the Related Links section below for further information. Generic Product Keys All of the examples provided above used a beta key for illustration purposes. The product keys listed in this section can be used with any of the answer files and scripted examples.

They are blocked at the Microsoft clearinghouse and therefore cannot be used to activate any systems. They provide a number of days (assume 14 days) for you to complete the activation process. It is absolutely essential that you use the correct type of key, which is a function of the platform type and the media.

Summary Large scale deployments of Windows XP would be too costly and time-consuming if an administrator had to personally set up large numbers of machines. Such installations are therefore usually automated, using unattended or remote (RIS, SMS, etc.) processes.

WPA automation methods in Windows XP are designed to support automated deployments. If your installation scenario requires activation to be completed during setup, you can use an unattend answer file. As an administrator, you may want to activate your users' retail Windows XP installations after setup, using command-line scripts. You can automate activation completely so that your connected users are totally unaware of it by using WPA's WMI provider. WMI lets you query activation-related properties, set new product keys, and request activation.

Microsoft's Information Technology Group (ITG) has validated the fully automated online activation solution described above in the Scripted Activation—Putting It All Together section. It did this by successfully deploying over 100,000 machines (cumulatively) since Release Candidate 1 (RC1) of Windows XP. This process ensured that the built-in Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) activation feature works as intended when using WPA.