You should always have such materials on hand, as any non-destructive
OS install can melt down to bare metal. It's also good to preserve an
"undo" path, e.g. by imaging off the C: partition before you start;
easier if C: is small and your data is elsewhere.
Yes, you may; for literal values of "lose", even a repair install can
do this. You'd be prompted to create new user accounts, and these
won't point to existing data, creating a scary speed bump to regaining
access to what is "lost" (tho not yet irretrievably).
If you've embraced features such as "make my data private", NTFS
permissions, or EFS (OK, no EFS on Home, it's Pro-only) then be
particularly careful. It helps if the shell is set to "show all
files" etc., if you need to wander about looking for stuff.
Certain practices that are safe in XP Home are unsafe in XP Pro.
For instance, you may have a weak password on your user account to
satisfy an apparent need for a non-blank password so that Tasks will
run. In XP Home, this does not expose hidden admin shares to
networks; in Pro, it will. As "hidden" admin shares always have
static names (so attackers don't have to guess) and expose EVERYTHING
on all HD volumes to writes, you really want to contain that risk.
To start with it needs to be either a an upgrade CD or a full retail XP Pro
CD. OEM versions cannot do an in place upgrade which is what you want,
which preserves data and installed apps.
Second backup the system first. Always have a full and complete backup.
Acronis True Image Home version 10 to image the system to an external hard
drive is an excellent backup and recovery solution.
It also helps if backups can be selectively restored, and browsed as a
file system to select what is restored.
AFAIK, free solutions don't give you both the ability to restore a
living OS installation (as partition imagers can do) plus file-level
browsability and selective restore (as "copying off the files" would
do. So there may be value in a feeware solution, as long as it does
the above. If it doesn't, IMO it's money wasted as you'd be left with
the same limitations you could get for free.
Third, the current OS needs to be running fine with no problems. Trying to
upgrade a system with problems will only make matters worse.
AMEN!! Can I get a witness? Er... OK, queue here, I'll only need the
first thousand of you, thanks...
See:
http://cquirke.mvps.org/reinst.htm
Disable any AV programs and 3rd party firewalls.
BEFORE you do that, make sure you are off all networks (unplug cables,
kill all wireless stuff). Re-assert av as soon as possible, before
installing saved drivers or data, and re-assert firewall (the built-in
one will do, but it's off by duhfault in < SP2) before any networking.
BTW: If HD > 137G, then the OS installation disk MUST be at least XP
SP1; it is NOT safe to install XP "Gold" on such drives. SP1 is safe
to install, but could be unsafe to use without SP2, as certain
circumstances (e.g. writing crash dumps after BSoDs) uses code that is
not save > 137G. The same SP2 package works for both XP Home and Pro,
so you don't have to download it again if you have a complete copy.
From the running OS insert the installation CD and do the upgrade. If
things don't work out you can restore the image of the OS that you just made
with Acronis True Image. Data and programs should be preserved.
There shouldn't be a problem with drivers, but make sure you have them
available in case one needs to be reinstalled.
Rarely, some drivers may differ pre-and post-SP2, less so SP1. You
didn't mention whether this upgrade process will cross SP levels, and
if so, in what direction. In particular, reverting an SP level has
numerous pitfalls; no firewall, exploitable RPC and LSASS, etc.
Why do you want to upgrade to Pro. Home and Pro are the same in their core
functions. XP Pro has some additional features such as the ability to join
a domain, Encrypting File System (EFS), allows for 10 concurrent connections
instead of 5, and allows you to turn off Simple File Sharing. Unless you
need one of these features there is no reason to upgrade.
Amen, too. True multi-processor systems need Pro to use the extra
cores, but multi-core processors such as Pentium D and Core 2 Duo will
use both cores in XP Home, so that's one less reason to switch.
--------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - -
Who is General Failure and
why is he reading my disk?
