Hi all
here's my deal
I am reloading my laptop
due to some issues with sequel server that in my case can't be repaired because of some propritary software
My copy of win xp was always used as an upgrade load win 98 or me what ever and update it from there
however about 6 months ago I used the cd abd booted to the cd and I was able to run the install without loading a different OS first. The problem is is that I can't find the notes I made myself to do this again
I'm pretty sure I browsed to the I386 folder and used one of those .exes that are in there, but there are a lot in there and the ones I tried didn't work. So I loaded win2k and ran the upgrade no problem
My question is (finally) does anybody know which exe I should use? Just info for next time because it sure saves time

I havent tried this with XP but with any other version it works. If you want to install windows fresh and its an upgrade and you dont have a previous install here is waht you do.
Boot to windows with cd support (I assume you know how to do that). Then run setup on the Windows you want to install. Windows will begin installing, at some point it will say it can find a previous version of windows. When it does this, remove the windows cd your installing and put in an earlier version of windows in the cd drive. Then just click on the browse button thats asking where windows is and point it to the CD that has the old version of windows in it; if you have to cd rom drives you can just put the older version of windows in your other cd drive and do the same thing. When windows gets done verifying that you had an older version, put your upgrade cd back in and continue the install. And there you have it, a clean install with an upgrade version

thanks for the response dr-gonzo
however the setup for the winxp upgrade won't run when I boot to the cd
it says it must be run in windows
but I wish I knew that a couple years back when I had a 2k upgrade cd

that ius reall ystrange. I have used xp pro upgrade and done fresh installs with a 98 se cd. Are you using pro or home? Make sure that it boots to the cd first before anythign else.

Wich normally means you need to set your bio's to see your CDrom first for boot up. that way it wont try to go to the hdd install.

If I boot to the cdrom
and type setup
it will say this can't be run from DOS mode or something like that
I have booted to the cd and installed other OS'es but with my xp pro I haven't been able to do this
I can do a fresh install if there is another os installed but I start the process in windows and the comp reboots and starts the process automatically from the cd
I guess I'm looking for the process that the system starts automatically when I start the install from within windows
Then I can browse to it and start it from dos like I did once before and setup started from there
no switching no nothing it just installed to a fomatted Hard drive

that doesn't make sence. With a windows cd if you boot to it it automatically starts the instilation process no matter what version you have. You shoudl not have to type anything. Is it truly booting to cd rom. as it starts to boot it shoudl say pres any key to boot to cd rom. You have to hit a key in time for it to boot to cd rom then it will do the instalation. After a couple of min if it is a upgrade it will ask you for a different version windows cd to do a fresh install for proof owning a prior version of windows to qualify you for the upgrade.

Upgrade disc's cannot be booted from to install xp on a clean drive. Check your PM's campy.

Tek I did it a lot at college wit ha student upgrade version of xp and I know others that do the same thing. Maybe there is something on the education xp pro that is different.

I have used several upgrade versions of both PRO and HOME to do a clean install. Yes you have to supply a older windows cd to do it ( this is where that OEM of Win ME comes in handy ). From there it will install just like an XP OEM. I have never had a problem, and having installed XP over 100 times, (My machine about 60 times itself....) i can safely say it can be done, UNless it is a "Burned" copy then all bets are off.....

Not all versions of windows automaticly start a install if you boot to the cd. With 98 and Me they give you 3 choices, start an install, start at comand prompt with CD support and start at command prompt w/o cd support. I'm going from memory so the wording may not be exact, but thats the idea. BTW I'm talking about OEM or full versions. I have never tried it with windows XP upgrade though. I should have mentioned you need to boot with a boot disk or full version to install an upgrade with the method I mentioned up. Its possable that the XP upgrade wont let you do that (maybe M$ has caught on).
BTW; I have installed upgrade versions the way I mentioned in my previous post for years.