Help, which version of Xp am I running?

Question

How do I tell which version of XP I'm running? If I go to System Information (accessories - system tools - system information) is says Windows XP Professional version 5.1.2600 service pack 2. If I go to System Properties (My Computer - View System Information - general tab) it says Windows XP Media Center Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 2. The cd they sent with the computer is XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Update Rollup 2 - the years don't even match up. If I go to Computer information (Help and support center -under Pick a Topic) it also says XP Professional version 5.1.2600. Why does it say two different versions in different places?

I've called technical support a couple times and asked them about this and they just sent me another copy of the exact same cd that I already have. Shouldn't XP Professional have 2 cds? The first time I called technical support, they told me I should have 2 cds. The last time I talked to them they said I had XP Professional, but they upgraded it to Media Center Edition and I only needed that one cd. I don't think they even know what version I have installed. I thought Media Center Edition was an upgrade from XP Home. Can someone please tell me some other ways to check which version I'm running, like things to look for that I would only have on my computer if Professional is installed.

Also, one of the screen savers was messed up so I tried to reinstall it with the cd. It didn't want the one I have. It told me to insert XP Professional disk 2. Doesn't that mean that I have XP Professional installed and they should have sent me 2 disks that say Windows XP Professional Disk 1 and Disk 2?

If I posted this in the wrong place please tell me where I need to post it.

Here's what I have:

XPS 600
Pentium D 830 (3.0 GHz) w/ Dual Core Technology
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667 MHz
256 Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX
500 GB Serial ATA II hard drive (7200 RPM)

JRosenfeld · Answer

As far as I know, XP Pro comes on one CD, as do other flavours of XP.

XP media centre edition is XP Pro with some multimedia extras added and domain joining facilities subtracted.

http://discussions.hardwarecentral.com/showthread.php?t=169084

What do you get when you click start, run, type winver, click OK?

Message Edited by JRosenfeld on 08-10-200610:18 PM

npurplerose · Answer

Thanks for the reply. I guess I have Professional upgraded to Media Center. When I type winver it says version 5.1 (build 2600 Service Pack 2). I just wanted to make sure I had the right cd.

But on Dell's website it says Media Center 2005 is XP Home Plus enhancements for movies, music, photos and more. It is free to upgrade from Home to Media Center, but it cost $149 to "upgrade" to XP Professional.

I was reading on another forum and it says you should have 2 cds. One with XP Professional and one with Media Center enhancements. Some people say it depends on the year and they changed it sometime in 2005 to make it Home plus media enhancements.

My disk says:
OPERATING SYSTEM
ALREADY INSTALLED ON YOUR COMPUTER
Reinstallation DVD
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Update Rollup 2

Does this dvd have everything I need to install XP Professional with Media Center (if something messes up and I need to do a clean install)? Or does Dell need to give me another disk(s)?

What about the years not matching up? System Properties (My Computer - View System Information - general tab) it says Windows XP Media Center Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 2. But if I actually run Media Center is says Media Center Edition 2005 Version 5.1.2715.2773 Update Rollup 2. Which one is installed, 2002 or 2005? It's not possible to have both versions installed, is it? Maybe they installed 2002 then upgraded to 2005 and that's why different years are showing up?

JRosenfeld · Answer

You state   'My disk says: OPERATING SYSTEM ALREADY INSTALLED ON YOUR COMPUTER Reinstallation DVD Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 with Update Rollup 2'   As it says it is a DVD (which can of course hold much more than a CD), I am sure it is the full MCE 2005 install disk (with update roll up 2 included).   I don't have MCE, but it is very possible that some were issued on 2 CDs, but obviously 1 DVD would be ample to hold the contents of both of those. As a parallel example, I have the whole of Encarta suite on one DVD, or it can be obtained on several CDs for those who don't have a DVD drive.   As to whether MCE is an enhancement of XP Home or XP Pro, as I said in my previous post, it is generally considered to be an enhancement of XP Pro minus domain  joining. Maybe the lack of that XP Pro component prompts Dell to say it is an enhancement of XP home, to be on the safe side. The other differences between home and pro aren't all that great either, generally not important for home user. Whatever, it is MCE of which there is only one, so I would not worry about that apparent diference in the description.   I'm sure you have Media center 2005, since that is what it says when you run media center (I don't think that Media center even existed in 2002). I think that the general tab is giving 2002 as the date of XP. For my XP Home, it also says 2002. For MS Office, for example, Office XP is interchangeably described as Office 2002. Windows XP can be considered to be Windows 2002 (the year it became available). I would not worry about it, you have the right DVD should you need to reinstall.

npurplerose · Answer

Your response was very helpful, and I greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Windows General

Help, which version of Xp am I running?

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