XP Language Change

LFCMCGRATH

Can anyone help i have a XP machine that is in Dutch\german?? dont ask !!!
Can i change it back to english ? if so how?

Capt'n Midnight

If you have a foreign language version of Windows of Office and aren't in a type licensing contract that only medium to large companies then you can't even buy a the option to use other languages.

So AFAIK microsoft would insist on you buying a NEW copy of windows to put on the machine , you can't move another copy of XP OEM to that machine. And if the copy of XP on that machine is OEM you can't move it to another machine, and Microsoft won't let you upgrade it either. Some please correct me if I'm wrong but if anyone can spot a loophole in the XP / XP Oem license I'd like to know.

Things you can do - you can download english versions of IE, you can try to install english language service packs/patches manually (this used to work on 98 but Colm MST reckons it won't work on XP and he'd know better)

[pimp]www.openoffice.org comes in many languages as a replacement for non-power users of word powerpoint and excel[/pimp]

LFCMCGRATH

i tried to install SP2 but it wouldn't let me because of the language difference. It really is great fun trying to work with a foreign OS no matter how well you think you know it.

vibe666

have tried before to no avail. afaik it needs the OS re-installing in the correct language with XP. sorry.

seamus

Yep. Had a dude come into me with a Dutch Win98. No option but format + reinstall of english 98. Same for XP. I researched the problem for a bit. Sucks.

Capt'n Midnight

If you already had english you could add a few other languages..

http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/DrIntl/faqs/muifaq.mspx#MUIques6
MUI is not supported on consumer versions of Windows such as Windows 9x, Windows Me, and Windows XP Home Edition.

How can I acquire Windows MUI?
The Windows XP/2000 MUI is sold only through Volume Licensing programs such as the Microsoft Open License Program (MOLP / Open), Select, and Enterprise agreement (or with a new computer as an OEM version at customer request). It is not available through retail channels.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0db2e8f9-79c4-4625-a07a-0cc1b341be7c&displaylang=en
The Microsoft Windows XP Language Interface Pack (LIP) is a high-quality, localized "skin" for emerging or minority language markets, such as Catalan, Lithuanian, and Thai. Based on MUI technology, LIP provides the desktop user with an approximately 80% localized user experience by translating a reduced set of user interface elements. LIP is installed on a licensed copy of Windows and a fixed base language.

Available Windows XP Language Interface Packs:

Bulgarian Interface Pack
Catalan Interface Pack 2968 KB http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=f18e1512-5333-434d-b8d6-5710dd493552&displaylang=ca
Croatian Interface Pack
Estonian Interface Pack
Hindi Interface Pack
Latvian Interface Pack
Lithuanian Interface Pack
Romanian Interface Pack
Serbian (Cyrillic) Interface Pack
Serbian (Latin) Interface Pack
Thai Interface Pack
Ukrainian Interface Pack


Anyone know the reg setting that service packs use to ID the language version of windows ??? - it might be hackable.

http://www.ficorp.com/intl_xp.html
Installing Multilanguage Support
For Windows XP, there is a separate CD or DVD with files labeled Microsoft® Windows® XP Multilingual User Interface Pack, Discs 1-5.