Converting Japanese OS to English (XP Home (Japanese Version))

**Adrigen** · 2003-10-08 13:54

Hi,
I have just bought a Toshiba notebook from japan. It has a japanese keyboard and OS.
Can anyone give me some pointers as to how to convert it to English? (im not worried about the keyboard, just the software)
If it helps , i have another Toshiba notebook with XP Home English, so i have original cds and licences for both. (1 each)
Will i need to format? Is that a pain on a laptop?
Any suggestions are welcome
Adrian

**kaplinb** · 2003-10-08 15:20

Set aside licensing questions (you can run only one copy of your OS at the same time), think about Japanese and English Windows as two different operating systems (OS), the same way as Win95 and WinNT, for example. You cannot "upgrade" from one to another, but theoretically you can install one "on top" of the other (I saw such installations, it's a mess: for example, you will see both English and Japanese Startup Menus at the same time). That's why I would recommend to do "clean install", fully formatting your hard drive or partitioning it and installing new OS on a separate partition as dual-boot.
It is relatively easy to install WinXP from Installation CD, all you need just time (usually around 40 minutes). And remember, you will loose all your documents (backup them to removable media!), you must to re-install all programs you installed from the original sources (CDs, Internet), re-apply all your settings etc, etc. Also consider to apply all security patches, starting with SP1 (if you don't have WinXP Installation CD with SP1 already). It will be much faster to have SP1 on CD, rather then download it from Internert. On Windows Update website (you must visit it to install the latest drivers for your notebook) you will see dozens "critical" and "recommended" updates, so depending of your network connection speed, add at least additional 40 minutes for downloads.
In my experience, clean fresh installation (Windows, Office and couple other programs) requires 4-5 hours of work (mostly just waiting). If you are doing it the first time, consider to finish the job in 2-3 days.

**Adrigen** · 2003-10-09 01:31

Thanks. I understand.
Two more questions...
Can you do a clean instal just by using the XP cd? I remember seeing clean install as an option. Or is formating a separate process?
Can i do it now and buy a licenced copy afterwards? Or can you only enter the licence key at setup time?
Thanks again Adrian

**Adrigen** · 2003-10-09 03:39

more information:
The software cds i have are the oem XP and driver cds for the english laptop.
Do you think i will be able to use them considering the computer models are different?
Or should i try to find just a normal version of XP home?
thanks
Adrian

**kaplinb** · 2003-10-09 15:29

1. Yes, you can do a clean install just botting from Installation CD.
2. You can change installation key later, but it is a little bit tricky - you must boot from CD again and install Windows "on top" of existing installation. You'll loose nothing of your configuration, but you will be prompted to input the installation key.
3. I don't know will OEM CD will work on different model - just try.

4. a) Insert WIndows XP Installation CD and reboot your computer.
[img]/forums/images/smilies/cool.gif[/img] When you see the message "Press any key to boot from CD" press Enter immediately. You have only 5 seconds to do it.
c) On the first screen, press Enter "to set up Windows XP now"
d) On the second screen, press F8 to agree with EULA.
e) On the third screen, press D to delete existing partition with Windows installation (make sure that partition is highlighted).
f) On the next screen, press Enter to confirm, and on the next screen, press L to delete partition.
g) On the next screen, press C to create partition. Make sure "Unpartitioned space" is highlighted. On the next screen, choose the size of partition (you can choose recommended by Windows).
h) Highlight "New (Raw)" partition you created and press Enter to install Windows on it.
i) I would recommend to format partition in NTFS (the next screen; you cannot use "quick format").
j) Just follow installation procedure...

Good luck!

**Adrigen** · 2003-10-11 11:02

Ok i will try that.
I tried just switching the Hsrd disks of my english toshiba and the more recent japanese one, and when i booted up the new one, it kept stopping at the "windows did not load successfully... choose safe mode.." screen. Every time i tried safe mode, there would be a few seconds, the screen would go back to the same choice.
Any ideas what that could have been?

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