Complete system restore advice

[chrisbenwalker]

I have just discovered my recently bought second hand PC is running a pirated version of Windows XP, and I am in the process of sourcing an original version for my pc. My question is: I have ran (and restored) several backups of my hard drive in the past, and have a current backup of my entire C drive stored on an external hard drive.

If, once I have purchased my legitimate version of XP and installed on my HD, will the restore overwrite the new version with the old version again (activation info etc)? I don't want to have to re-install everything from scratch, although ultimately I might have to as cannot continue with a non-legit version of XP.

I want to be able to install SP1 and SP2 and I currently can't due to the illegal software I have.

Thanks for reading, Chris

[Long View]

when you restore the first thing that happens is that the partition or drive to which the image is being restored is deleted - everything goes - and the image is then restored.

I can't see how you can avoid a full reinstall. All I can say is that once you have a legit copy of Xp and your programs on partition C and your data on another partition - both of which you can then image on a regular basis you won't have to do a full for a while.

good luck

[chrisbenwalker]

Thanks Long View. I thought as much. Looks like I have several hours in front of a pc monitor ahead of me.........

[Ralphie]

Yes, the Restore will overwrite the new version with the old one. But here's how I would procede:
You can do what is called a Repair install of Windows with your newly bought CD of Windows and this will not interfere with your other programs already installed.
When you boot with the legit CD, ignore all options to choose Repair or Recover until you get to the EULA page. And after you agree to the EULA, by pressing F8, I think you then have to enter the legit Product ID and right after this is the Repair option you need. From here on out, just let Windows do its thing. When done you'll have a legit Windows and all your programs will be intact. And of course, save your data first before doing this.