Install XP Home to replace XP Pro

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lori
  • Start date Start date
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Lori

Hi. I bought a laptop from another individual who was
running XP Professional. I suspect that this was a
pirated version, and I have purchased my own legitimate
version of XP Home Edition. I am having trouble
installing it, though, without losing all my info and
settings. I guess they don't expect you to downgrade.
Any advice that will help me avoid a clean wipe of my
system to reinstall Windows?
 
Greetings --

The only way to change from WinXP Pro to WinXP Home is to
format the drive and start over. There is no supported downgrade path
or technique.

Simply boot from the WinXP Home installation CD. You'll be
offered the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as
part of the installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the
order of boot devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm

Anyway, with a second-hand computer, particularly if acquired from
a stranger, your wisest course of action would probably be to format
the hard drive and start fresh. You don't want to get in trouble
because the original owner may have filled the hard drive with kiddie
porn, or have problems because the original owner downloaded/installed
viruses or other malware. Some unscrupulous people could even sell a
used computer preconfigured with the necessary key-loggers and spyware
to collect your personal information for future use.


Bruce Chambers
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Lori said:
Hi. I bought a laptop from another individual who was
running XP Professional. I suspect that this was a
pirated version, and I have purchased my own legitimate
version of XP Home Edition. I am having trouble
installing it, though, without losing all my info and
settings. I guess they don't expect you to downgrade.
Any advice that will help me avoid a clean wipe of my
system to reinstall Windows?
Click to expand...


Sorry - you are not going to get what you want on this one. =(

Essentially XP Home is a sub-set of XP Professional. All the same inner
workings, less features and such. Therefore, the only way to replace
Windows XP Professional with Windows XP Home is to format your computer and
start over.

You may be able to use the Files & Settings Transfer Wizard built in to move
your files and settings (not applications) somewhere and burn them to CD/DVD
or to a network location while you format... But you will need to reinstall,
firewall, connect to the Internet, patch, install your applications and then
use the Files & settings transfer wizard to import your profile back in.
 
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