Windows XP Professional - Installation Question

[MusicWriter0984]

Hi guys. Sorry to bother you with what will most likely turn out to be a simple question.

Right now, I have Windows XP Home edition my laptop (how it came when ordered). For one of my classes this semester, I will need to have XP professional on there. I was able to order XP professional from my college for a very good price.

It is not the upgrade version of XP pro. It is the full version. The upgrade version was not availbable to be purchased from the college.

Is there any installation option (or method of installation) available that won't wipe out my file system? I'd like to not have to reinstall the program I already have on there.

Thanks guys.

- MusicWriter0984

 

[fastco]

Not too sure but put the cd in while and it should still give you the option to upgrade to XP Pro.

 

[MusicWriter0984]

Not too sure but put the cd in while and it should still give you the option to upgrade to XP Pro.

Thanks. I wasn't sure if it would do that or not since I could only get my hands on the full version of XP Pro and not the upgrade version.

 

[IPEX computing]

Installing windows XP

If you have the full version as opposed to the upgrade then you will prob loose you data but y installing it when you have loaded up windows and see it you can upgrade it.

If not try plugging in an external hard drive to back up your old driver onto install windows XP Pro and tansfer you data back.

 

[MusicWriter0984]

If you have the full version as opposed to the upgrade then you will prob loose you data but y installing it when you have loaded up windows and see it you can upgrade it.

If not try plugging in an external hard drive to back up your old driver onto install windows XP Pro and tansfer you data back.

That was going to be my plan if the ideal situation wasn't possible...save the drivers off on a disk or a hard drive or something and then bring them back.

 

[Sharkfood]

I'm a bit unsure why you'd need to go to XP Pro in the first place.

Are you being asked to:
a) Participate by SHARING your drives on the laptop on a domain?
or
b) Have remote desktop capabilities FROM your laptop?

If either question is NO, then you should NOT have to upgrade from Home -> Pro as these are the two main benefits in the change that would apply to a laptop.

As far as the upgrade is concerned, you'll first and foremost NEED to get your laptop and installation media to the same XP service pack level. If your XP Pro install CD's are Service Pack 2, and your laptop is plain Home or SP1, you will add a lot more complication to the upgrade. If it's the other way around, your XP media is older/sp1 and your laptop is SP2, you'll want to make a slipstream SP2 (google SLIPSTREAM XP) install disk for the upgrade procedure.

From here, I'd suspect installing over your old OS with the full would fix things, albeit some of your application may not work. You're still much better off backing up your important files and doing a fresh re-install.

 

[Tedster]

my I ask why the class needs XP pro over home? Many of the functions in XP pro are also in home, but they are hidden or must be unlocked.

 

[MusicWriter0984]

my I ask why the class needs XP pro over home? Many of the functions in XP pro are also in home, but they are hidden or must be unlocked.

It's a little bit of a personal preference too, and the price was right

 

[gbhall]

what about dual-booting?

Thanks. I wasn't sure if it would do that or not since I could only get my hands on the full version of XP Pro and not the upgrade version.

Personally, I would install XP pro as a dual-boot installation, with pro as the default. That way you lose nothing, including the ability to run anything that objects to pro but will run home (doubt if there is anything, but....). The advantages are - you get a fresh install, with no rubbish like your home copy will have accumulated. You can go back to home without losing anything.

The drawback is you have to re-install anything you need to use, like anti-virus, firewall, application software etc.

Please be aware that to do this is not quite trivial - you will, for instance have to have a drive partition-manager to shorten your home partition. If you're not following what I say, forget it, just do an upgrade.

 

[MusicWriter0984]

Personally, I would install XP pro as a dual-boot installation, with pro as the default. That way you lose nothing, including the ability to run anything that objects to pro but will run home (doubt if there is anything, but....). The advantages are - you get a fresh install, with no rubbish like your home copy will have accumulated. You can go back to home without losing anything.

The drawback is you have to re-install anything you need to use, like anti-virus, firewall, application software etc.

Please be aware that to do this is not quite trivial - you will, for instance have to have a drive partition-manager to shorten your home partition. If you're not following what I say, forget it, just do an upgrade.

I follow what you're saying. I'd actually rather just dump the current partition and do a clean install than that option.

The only thing I'm really concerned about is the network driver, but I could just go online to HP to make sure I have that saved on a disk or something. As long as I can get on the internet after I get XP Pro on there, then I could get any other drivers that may have been lost.

Then it would just be reinstalling all my programs.

 

[LNCPapa]

Most large universities provide 0 support for XP Home or Media Center. If he ends up having a problem with a specific application distributed by the university then when they see he has XP Home he may not get any help with the actual problem.