Using a Win XP OEM cd to perform and upgrade

[Mike]

We sold several machines with XP downgrades to 2000 for a year or two after XP was released. Well as more and more software only supports XP or higher, many of these machines need to be upgraded. I found a way to use the OEM cd to perform an upgrade from 2000 to XP without formatting the pc.

The trick is to use an upgrade or retail XP cd first. With windows booted up and running, insert the XP retail cd and tell it to start an upgrade. Enter any product key that will work, legit or not. The upgrade will go through the process of copying the boot files to the hard drive, then reboot. As soon as the machine reboots swap cd's so the OEM disc is now in the drive. The machine will boot into XP setup and copy files, then reboot again, and now you're into the gui part of the XP install. After a few minutes it should ask you for the product key. Enter the key from the sticker on the pc. Finish the install, and you're all set! You now have a legit OEM install of XP done as an upgrade from Win 2000.