Dell says system wont work with XP pro?!

i want to reinstall windows on my inspiron e1505. the laptop is 2 years old, and shipped new with xp media center edition. i haven't reinstalled windows since i got the laptop new, so i called dell to get the original disks. i don't use the media center at all, and asked the rep if i could get xp pro shipped to me instead of media center edition (id rather just not have it on there). she said that would be possible, but that my systems wouldn't be able to run xp pro after having run xp media center??? if i do a full reinstall with xp pro, will i run into any problems? or will everything be fine?:confused

also, i want to repartition the hard drive (120gb) to only give windows 20-30gb, and keep all my other files on a different partition. is this a good idea/will it improve system performance to keep windows on a separate partition?

thanks in advance (i love this forum):drool
- etragedy

 

Yes, you can do a full clean install with XP Pro and all will be well. I think the Dell rep was trying to say that you couldn't switch from Media Center Edition to XP Pro unless you format the drive and do a clean install of XP Pro.

There are differing opinions on this, but, IMO, creating 2 partitions is usually more trouble than it is worth. And if the hard drive crashes or runs into any problems, everything is still on one drive so it doesn't help in that scenario. Performance-wise, I don't think there's any benefit to cutting up a single drive into 2 or more partitions. If anything, I think it would slow down the system. If you had a secondary drive devoted to your files (like documents, music, pics, vids, etc) then that makes more sense. Personally, I have a 250gb SATA for Windows and my programs and games and what-not, and a 320gb (soon to be a 750gb) for my downloads, videos, music, and misc junkola. Because my 320gb is only accessed about one-fifth as often as the 250gb, it is much less likely to run into problems. I keep anything I don't want to lose on the 320gb, and the stuff I really don't want to lose is burned to CD/DVD and stashed away from roomies and children. Everything on the main drive C: (the 250gb) can be re-installed from CDs so if it crashes, I'm OK. And because the 320gb is primarily a storage unit, I don't really worry about defragging it or keeping it in top performance (but I do defrag it once every 2-3 months). one other thing about using the single-drive-two-partitions method is that if you start running out of space on the Windows partition, you're screwed. You wouldn't be able to expand it without destroying the second "storage" partition. So- unless you can do it with 2 separate hard drives, I'd keep everything on just one partition, and make regular back-ups of important stuff to DVDRW discs (you can erase 'em and re-use 'em if needed).

Just some things to think about....
:-D

(BTW- hard drives are dirt cheap right now; 250gb drives are under $60!!! Look at this! 1tb drives are only about $90! Look at this!!)

 

Thank you so much for responding. That was A LOT of helpful information. It looks like I will go ahead and order the xp pro version from dell. I guess I should do some more internet research on whether or not to partition the drive. But your point about it being the same drive anyway made sense. I do kind of want to gwt all of my personal files away from the system files, to me they are always bundled together. I like to think of myself as a very organized person, so that doesn't really jive. Thanks again.

 

Glad I could help! :-D That's what we're here for!

[dlb]
:major