Downgrade Pro to XP Home

[artleknock]

I have XP Pro installed and have been informed by Microsoft that it
may be a pirate copy. When I try to purchase a Genuine windows licence
I am told that the ordering process is unavailable. Being on a
pension, to cut costs I have ordered online from Euroffice XP Home
OEM.
Is it possible to install this over XP Pro? or will a format and new
install be necessary?

 

[Nepatsfan]

(e-mail address removed),

I have XP Pro installed and have been informed by Microsoft
that it may be a pirate copy. When I try to purchase a
Genuine windows licence I am told that the ordering process
is unavailable. Being on a pension, to cut costs I have
ordered online from Euroffice XP Home OEM.
Is it possible to install this over XP Pro? or will a format
and new install be necessary?

Unless you are absolutely certain that your copy of XP Pro
isn't legitimate, you might want to post a question to this
forum:

WGA Validation Problems
http://forums.microsoft.com/Genuine/default.aspx?SiteID=25

In order to install XP Home, you'll need to perform a clean
installation. Backup whatever files you wish to transfer from
your current installation. Don't forget your email messages and
contacts. How that is done depends on which program you use to
read your email. I've found that it's usually not a good idea
to depend on the File and Settings Transfer wizard as the only
source of backed up files. Copying data files and exporting
email stores to an external hard drive or CD/DVD is the best
route to take.

Take a look here for some more info:

Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP
Clean install Windows XP
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

Clean Install Procedure with Illustrative Screen Captures
http://www.theeldergeek.com/xp_home_install_-_graphic.htm

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Larry Gardner]

Sorry, you cannot downgrade. You will have to install Windows XP Home over
Windows XP Pro, and use the format option during the install.
However, if you can, burn a CD of all personal data, you should also be able
to use Windows XP Migrate tool.

That way, after you are finished setting up your new Windows XP Home, you
can put all your personal data back.
And remember, if you have any third-party programs that haven't stored their
data under My Documents AND you want to keep that data, you will need to
save them off too.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have XP Pro installed and have been informed by Microsoft that it
may be a pirate copy. When I try to purchase a Genuine windows licence
I am told that the ordering process is unavailable. Being on a
pension, to cut costs I have ordered online from Euroffice XP Home
OEM.
Is it possible to install this over XP Pro? or will a format and new
install be necessary?

Sorry, downgrades are not supported. You will have to format and do a clean
installation.

 

[artleknock]

I have XP Pro installed and have been informed by Microsoft that it
may be a pirate copy. When I try to purchase a Genuine windows licence
I am told that the ordering process is unavailable. Being on a
pension, to cut costs I have ordered online from Euroffice XP Home
OEM.
Is it possible to install this over XP Pro? or will a format and new
install be necessary?

Thank you all for your answers, not what I was wishing for though :-(

My C drive has 24Gig used and I have a lot of spare space on my D
drive, over a 100Gig. would it work if I copied the entire C drive
into a folder on the D drive, formated C and installed the new XP Home
and other programs that I use regularly. I would then have a copy of
the complete drive so that I could move data back to C as I needed it.
Isn't that one way of making sure that I don't miss anything when
backing up?
Do you see any problems with this?

 

[Larry Gardner]

No, in fact that is what I did when I upgraded from Windows 98 to XP.
Just remember, you cannot just copy Program Files from D: to C: and expect
them to work.
They have to be installed from scratch, updated (if needed) and then you can
bring support files over.

Normally what I have done, is under my My Documents, I created a My
Downloads folder. Everything that I download that is in support of the
system (that does not come with the system), I crate a sun-Folder and
download file to there. Then I install from there.

That way if I ever have to re-install, I have my complete system ...
eventually I archive to CD when not adding for a while.

There are certain steps you must follow (believe me ... I am doing this on
three systems concurrently ... and I know problems ... others can add).

1. Re-install Windows XP
2. On initial login as Admin ... and AFTER Hardware Wizard completes for new
Hardware ... IMMEDIATELY create another admin user.
3. Logout ... login as new admin user.
4. If SP1, IMMEDIATELY update to SP2.
5. Reboot
6. Login as new admin user
7. IMMEDIATELY, Setup your Newtork Connections then go to Windows Update
8. After Windows Update configures itself, Choose Cutsom in order to get ALL
patches (not just Critical) install all patches.
8. Reboot
9. Login as new admin user.
10. Setup user as you like.

NOW ... install support driver updates (downloads) ...

11. Re-install any Microsoft software (Office, ...)
12. Go back to Windows Update (which should be called Microsoft Update by
now), Choose Custom
13. Microsoft Update should not recognize all Microsoft Software (Office,
Live, ...) if installed. If you have Office, there are A LOT of Security
Patches and Office updates (Custom will get them all).

Basically, you only need the basics as far was Windows XP to start prior to
going to Windows Update ... the Hardware Wizard should recognize Graphics,
USB support, Monitor, Modem, ...

If there are updates that Windows knows about, the first Windows Update
should catch them

Then, go to any third-party site to download updates (Windows does not
update all that oesn't pertain to Critical)

 

[John John]

Larry Gardner wrote:

There are certain steps you must follow (believe me ... I am doing this on
three systems concurrently ... and I know problems ... others can add).

1. Re-install Windows XP
2. On initial login as Admin ... and AFTER Hardware Wizard completes for new
Hardware ... IMMEDIATELY create another admin user.
3. Logout ... login as new admin user.

*** Install chipset drivers before anything else***

4. If SP1, IMMEDIATELY update to SP2.

John

 

[Nepatsfan]

(e-mail address removed),

Thank you all for your answers, not what I was wishing for
though :-(

My C drive has 24Gig used and I have a lot of spare space on
my D drive, over a 100Gig. would it work if I copied the
entire C drive into a folder on the D drive, formated C and
installed the new XP Home and other programs that I use
regularly. I would then have a copy of the complete drive so
that I could move data back to C as I needed it. Isn't that
one way of making sure that I don't miss anything when
backing up?
Do you see any problems with this?

While a far safer approach would be to backup your files to an
external drive or CD/DVD, you can use the D drive if that's
your only option.

You won't be able to simply copy and paste the entire contents
of your C drive to the D drive from within My Computer or
Windows Explorer. It will fail to copy files that are in use
and stop right there.

The simplest way to get around this problem and still copy the
actual files is to open a command prompt window (Start ->
Run -> cmd.exe) and use the xcopy command with the appropriate
switches. You'd need to use a command like this:

xcopy C:\*.* D:\Backup /e /c /h /y

Note: You'll need to create a folder named Backup on your D
drive.
Some files would still not be copied. These would be files that
are in use by Windows.

For more info, look here:
Microsoft Windows XP - Xcopy
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/xcopy.mspx?mfr=true

A far better approach would be to use a third party backup or
imaging program to create a copy of your C drive. A program
such as Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image would do the job.

Symantec Norton Ghost
http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/products/overview.jsp?pcid=br&pvid=ghost10

Symantec Save and Restore
http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/products/overview.jsp?pcid=br&pvid=nsr

Acronis True Image
http://www.acronis.com/

There's also Windows own backup program, ntbackup.exe, which is
available through your Start Menu -> Accessories -> System
Tools -> Backup. If you decide to use ntbackup, make sure your
new XP Home installation is at the same service pack level that
Windows was in when you created the backup file before
attempting to restore your files. You'd need to install
ntbackup on your new installation as it is not installed by
default on the Home Edition version of XP. You can find the
installation file in the VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP folder on your
XP Home installation CD. Also, when you want to restore your
files, choose the option to restore them to an alternate
location. That will give you a source from which you can safely
pick and choose which files to restore at your convenience.

For more info, look here:
How To Use Backup to Back Up Files and Folders on Your Computer
in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308422

Installing the Backup Program on the Home Version
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/windowsxp_tips.htm#backup_home

Now that you've got all your data backed up, here's where the
File and Setting Transfer Wizard becomes a useful tool. Running
the wizard and selecting "Settings only" now will save you some
time when configuring your new installation. Save the file that
the FAST wizard creates on your D drive. Once again, both the
new and old installations must be at the same service pack
level for this utility to work correctly.

Finally, whatever backup option you use make sure you verify
that you can access and restore your data before wiping out
your C drive. Also, if after installing XP Home, you find that
you are denied access to the files on your D drive you may need
to use the procedure outlined in these articles:

How to take ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421

"Access is Denied" Error Message When You Try to Open a Folder
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810881

Note: Because you are running Microsoft Windows XP Home
Edition, you
must start the computer in safe mode, and then log on with an
account that has Administrative rights to have access to the
Security tab. To start in Safe Mode, reboot your computer and
start tapping the F8 key as soon as you see anything displayed
on the screen. Keep hitting F8 until the Advanced Startup
Options menu appears. Use the up and down arrow keys on your
keyboard to select Safe Mode. Hit Enter.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Larry Gardner]

Nepastin:

Doesn't Windows XP Home edition have access to the Windows Explorer | Folder
Options | Use Simple File Sharing option?
I don't have any Windows XP Home, so I don't know.

If it does, they can just uncheck it, and the Security tab will appear when
using Properties.

 

[Nepatsfan]

Windows XP Home Edition uses Simple File Sharing by default and
it cannot be disabled. The entry "Use Simple File Sharing
(Recommended)" doesn't exist in Folder Options on an XP HE
system. The Security tab that you see displayed on a file or
folder's Properties sheet is only available in Safe Mode on a
computer running XP HE. Only then would you be able to change
permissions or take ownership.

For more info:
How to set, view, change, or remove file and folder permissions
in Windows XP
Note the Windows XP Home Edition section
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308418

There are ways to add the Security tab to XP Home. Here are a
couple of options:

Courtesy of Doug Knox, MS-MVP
How Do I see the Security Tab in XP Home?
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_home_sectab.htm

FaJo XP File Security Extension
http://www.fajo.de/portal/index.php?lang=en&option=content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=47

Hope that clarifies the issue,

Nepatsfan



(e-mail address removed),

 

[Jim Macklin]

That will be fine.



| On Fri, 02 Jun 2006 14:39:16 GMT, artleknock
<[email protected]>
| wrote:
|
| >I have XP Pro installed and have been informed by
Microsoft that it
| >may be a pirate copy. When I try to purchase a Genuine
windows licence
| >I am told that the ordering process is unavailable. Being
on a
| >pension, to cut costs I have ordered online from
Euroffice XP Home
| >OEM.
| >Is it possible to install this over XP Pro? or will a
format and new
| >install be necessary?
|
| Thank you all for your answers, not what I was wishing for
though :-(
|
| My C drive has 24Gig used and I have a lot of spare space
on my D
| drive, over a 100Gig. would it work if I copied the entire
C drive
| into a folder on the D drive, formated C and installed the
new XP Home
| and other programs that I use regularly. I would then have
a copy of
| the complete drive so that I could move data back to C as
I needed it.
| Isn't that one way of making sure that I don't miss
anything when
| backing up?
| Do you see any problems with this?