Xp Home to XP Pro on Laptop

[Freddie Clark]

I just bought an Acer Aspire 2025WLMi, It has XP home installed on it. I
would like to change this to XP pro ( I have a full version not used).
Should I just reformat and install from scratch or can I 'upgrade' using the
full install version. Also are there any Gotcha's in doing this on a laptop.

regards
Freddie

 

[Danny Sanders]

You might check with Acer. I had a Sony laptop with XP home that I formatted
and installed a retail copy of XP pro on and had problems with the
"function" keys. It could only be solved by using the restore disk to get it
back to the way I bought it then I had to buy Sony's version of XP pro to
upgrade it with


You might be able to upgrade from XP Home to XP Pro using a retail version,
depending on the laptop. In fact it may be better. There may be some
propritary laptop drivers incorporated into your Home version that comes
with your laptop that may not be present in an retail version of XP pro.

..

I had a few Dells that worked fine with retail installations.


hth
DDS W 2k MVP MCSE

 

[Ron Martell]

I just bought an Acer Aspire 2025WLMi, It has XP home installed on it. I
would like to change this to XP pro ( I have a full version not used).
Should I just reformat and install from scratch or can I 'upgrade' using the
full install version. Also are there any Gotcha's in doing this on a laptop.

regards
Freddie

If you have *just* purchased it then you may be able to return it and
get one with XP Pro already installed. That would be the best
solution.

Because of the proprietary hardware in laptops they almost always need
the special OEM version of Windows from the laptop manufacturer. If
you have have a retail full install or retail upgrade version of XP
Pro then you can install that over top of the existing XP Home and
automatically retain the Acer hardware drivers that are needed.

A clean install is likely to result in both hardware problems and a
voiding of your warranty on the laptop.

p.s. are you certain that you need XP Pro on the laptop? You are, I
hope, aware that there is zero difference in performance or stability
between the two versions. It is just that certain features and
functions, mostly (but not all) network and security related, are
found in Pro but not in Home.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

 

[Freddie Clark]

If you have *just* purchased it then you may be able to return it and
get one with XP Pro already installed. That would be the best
solution.

Because of the proprietary hardware in laptops they almost always need
the special OEM version of Windows from the laptop manufacturer. If
you have have a retail full install or retail upgrade version of XP
Pro then you can install that over top of the existing XP Home and
automatically retain the Acer hardware drivers that are needed.

A clean install is likely to result in both hardware problems and a
voiding of your warranty on the laptop.

p.s. are you certain that you need XP Pro on the laptop? You are, I
hope, aware that there is zero difference in performance or stability
between the two versions. It is just that certain features and
functions, mostly (but not all) network and security related, are
found in Pro but not in Home.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

Yes the reason for the upgrade is network capabilities. The security issue
isnt a problem as I use third party security software which is superior to
that found in XP Pro.
regards
Freddie