Installing WinXP Pro over WinXP Home

[rushab143]

Guys, I got myself a genuine WinXp Pro. I want to install it over my WinXP Home.... but I don't want to loose any data....everything should be just the way it is... but I should have WindowsXp Pro.

Please help

[rajas700]

IT'S HIGH RISK.SO BACKUP UR DATA AND THEN TRY.I SUGEST U FRESH INSTALLATION.

[Vishal Gupta]

U can select New Installation option from the drop-down box and select separate drive for it, after that u'll get Dual boot between Home and Pro.

No problem...

[theraven]

when u put the cd in the drive and the autorun pops up see if u get the "UPGRADE" option
if not then select new installation ...
computer will restart with familiar blue setup screen
when asked CHOOSE A NEW DIRECTORY
OR EVEN OVERWRITE CURRENT INSTALLATION

do NOT FORMAT the drive in any case
now ur pc will boot in dual boot if u choose a new directory .
in that case after first boot right click on my computer then properties
then under recovery change the default os to winxp pro
then open boot.ini in root folder and edit out the WINXP HOME line from there
then proceed to delete the winxp HOME isntall directory

btw i dun care if ur new .. if u dun post in the right section I WILL put u on warning indefinitely
read the rules.

[rushab143]

@rajas700 @Vishal Gupta @theraven
-----------------------------------------
Guys, I guess I wasn't clear of what I wanted when Iposted my question, thats the reason you have given me guidance to Install A Brand New OS (WinXp Pro)... no I don't want that.

What I want is that my WinXp Home should be removed (not my data) and WinXp Pro should be installed. And I should be able to work without having to install al the s/w I've installed now.

For Example---I've FIREFOX, GIMP, TALLY and a couple of s/w installed..... now if I do a fresh installation of WinXP Pro... it's obvious that I'll have to re-install all the s/w again..... right? Or even if I format only my default Windows Drive ('C' in my case).... I'll have to reinstall all the s/w!

I don't want the above to happen, it should work just the way it is now. I don't want two OS on my PC.

Actually the main reason I want to upgrade from WinXP Home to WinXP Pro is that WinXP Home does not support dual processors whereas WinXP Pro does and since I've dual core processor, one of my processor is lying waste.

Thanks one and all for your guidance, hope you'll reply.

[naveenchandran]

Originally Posted by rushab143

What I want is that my WinXp Home should be removed (not my data) and WinXp Pro should be installed. And I should be able to work without having to install al the s/w I've installed now.

Not Possible :roll:

[theraven]

it is ONLY if the first part of my post is clear
lemme quote

when u put the cd in the drive and the autorun pops up see if u get the "UPGRADE" option

with the upgrade option u wont loos any software/data

[sakumar79]

If I remember correctly, WinXP Professional (without SP2) will not upgrade a system having WinXP Home with SP2... (at least for me, I had a system with XP Home OEM+SP2 integrated. when i tried to upgrade to XP Professional without SP2 integrated, it said something like cannot upgrade because current OS is newer)

If not, upgrade will allow you to replace the old OS with the new OS without having the hassle of reinstalling software (just like TheRaven said)

In any case, it is advisable to back up your data before doing this... WinXP has a handy file and setting transfer wizard that can come in handy for this occasion...

Also, if you do a fresh install, I think (but not sure) that you can choose not to format the partition, so data should not be lost... In any case, I think it is better not to have data files in C drive as it will affect the performance of your system...

Arun

[sakumar79]

BTW, here's a useful site... http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.htm

Arun

[theraven]

sakumar that happens if the os u installed contains more updates than a fressh install from the cd

so yeah .. in most cases this will fail
but its the only way

so if required integrate the latest hot fixes along with sp2 on the winxp pro cd .. then it'll upgrade ..
a longer procedure i feel tho