upgrade for XP home to XP Pro

[Guest]

I am inheriting a machine that has XP Home. My old machine, which I will be
putting out of service, has XP pro. How do I put XP pro onto the inherited
machine? Will it upgrade if I insert the XP Pro disk and run the install
program or must I reformat the hard drive on the inherited machine?

 

[HotRod]

I think this depends on whether the CD was an upgrade CD or the full
version. You will also need to contact Microsoft and get a new Key.

 

[Malke]

I think this depends on whether the CD was an upgrade CD or the full
version. You will also need to contact Microsoft and get a new Key.

The OP may not need a new key. If the XP Pro that was on the old machine
was a retail version - not OEM which would be tied to the original
machine - then he is perfectly free to use it and its Product Key.

To answer the question about the upgrade, it is normally very easy to
upgrade from Home to Pro. See the links below. However, with a used
machine I always recommend doing a clean install. You don't know what
was on the machine and/or what problems it may have had. Much safer to
start fresh.

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/xpupgdissues.html - Upgrade Issues
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install How-To
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Reinstalling_Windows -
What you will need on-hand


Malke

 

[Tim Slattery]

I am inheriting a machine that has XP Home. My old machine, which I will be
putting out of service, has XP pro. How do I put XP pro onto the inherited
machine? Will it upgrade if I insert the XP Pro disk and run the install
program or must I reformat the hard drive on the inherited machine?

Upgrading from XP Home to Pro is generally very easy. Whether you can
do it is another question.

If the XP Pro on your old machine is a retail copy, then you should be
able to use it to upgrade your new machine, provided that the old
machine is no longer used (or gets a different OS). If it's an OEM
version, you're stuck. OEM versions are valid only for the first
machine they're installed on. They cannot be moved, even if the
original machine ceases to exist.

 

[Rock]

I think this depends on whether the CD was an upgrade CD or the full
version. You will also need to contact Microsoft and get a new Key.

It doesn't necessarily depend on whether it's an upgrade version. If the XP
version is OEM then in the first place per the license it can't be moved to
a different computer. Secondly, generic OEMs cannot do an upgrade.

On the other hand a retail version can be moved to a different computer, and
the full version can do either an upgrade or a clean install. The upgrade
version can also do either an upgrade or a clean install, but the difference
is that for the clean install the OP must insert the installation CD for the
qualifying media as proof when prompted. No such shiny media check require
for a clean install with the full version.