This post is OLD (January 2009). Support for Windows XP ended in.

107 rows Nov 03, 2016 Find out how to download and install additional language.

I no longer check Comments on this blog, but will leave this post up because it seems to have helped many people previously. I recently needed to change languages in my Windows XP Operating System because I teach English in Korea, and all the computers in the office have Windows installed in Korean. Though I’m learning the language, nothing beats being able to read about the computer problems and solve them on your own in your native language (mine = English). Therefore, here are the steps, links, and images I used to successfully change my Windows XP from Korean to English.

Download the Windows Service Pack 3 installer to your computer IN YOUR DESIRED OS LANGUAGE (in my case English). You can find the download from the Microsoft website, here: 2. Open Regedit from the start menu (Start ->Run ->“regedit”), to change the Language Registry Key values.

The Registry Keys to change are located in “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/Control/NIs/Language” **IMPORTANT** Always create a Backup of your Registry Keys before changing any values. Wouldn’t want to create a huge problem to fix later. This can be done by clicking on “File ->Export” and saving the values anywhere you can find them later (if there is a problem you can always restore the original keys with “File ->Import” and choosing those keys you saved earlier. Restart your computer to apply the new Language settings. Install your chosen language Windows SP3 from the place you downloaded it earlier. (If you try to install this before you restart your computer with the new language settings, Windows will give you an error like “Cannot install Service Pack 3 because the system you are installing to is a different language than the Service Pack.”) 5.

After successful installation of SP3, restart your computer again for the settings to all take effect. Upon Restart, Windows should now be in the language of your choosing. You may need to reinstall any applications into the language of your choice as Windows settings don’t necessarily affect the language settings of individual programs (in my case I had to reinstall in English, and in English). UPDATE** Still need the original language? Trick your computer into reading other programs in their native language. Since moving to, I’ve needed to access a Korean computer program and make it read Korean characters.

However, after the switch to English, the Korean characters that should have told me student names only showed up as “boxes.” Find out how to fix that in my next post: Trick your Windows XP computer into reading programs in their native language. What about you? Has this article helped you out? Do you know of any simpler ways to change languages in Windows? I’ve not played around much with Vista. Do you know how to change languages in Vista? Jason de Souza Says: Wow, I cannot believe this!

For ages I had been searching for a solution and up till now everything that I’d read stated the only option was to re-format and re-install with the new language or a multi-language CD. This has saved me so many headaches as I have a bunch of computers to install with Latin-American Spanish and I only have access to an English installation. BTW – re-installing the SP3 with the new language worked perfectly. Ipod Shuffle Reset Utility Windows 7 64 Bit Download here. My American Heart The Meaning In Makeup. Thank you very much for this brilliant tutorial! Jekkilekki Says: The reason parts of your OS remain in the original language is because your ACTUAL Operating System IS STILL in the original language.

You’ve merely tricked it into installing Service Pack 3 and some updates in your choice language over the top of your original language. But that doesn’t change what’s underneath. It’s like if you’re a non-American, but dye your hair, get plastic surgery, and learn English perfectly, then go to New York and get a job, you may successfully convince people that you’re an American.