Reverting XP Home Edition to XP Pro

[David]

When I purchased my computer it came with Windows XP Home
Edition, as many computers do. I upgraded it to XP Pro. I
decided it ran much smoother with Windows XP Home. If I
don't have the Home Edition CD, Is there anyway I can
revert back to Windows XP Home?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

An upgrade to XP Pro is a one-way ticket with no uninstall option.
Backup your important files and documents to a CD, then perform a
"clean install" of XP Home:

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete all the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]


--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| When I purchased my computer it came with Windows XP Home
| Edition, as many computers do. I upgraded it to XP Pro. I
| decided it ran much smoother with Windows XP Home. If I
| don't have the Home Edition CD, Is there anyway I can
| revert back to Windows XP Home?

 

[wojo]

Your computer should have come with an OEM disk and you could use that to do
a clean install of XP Home but Home and Pro are essentially the same. The
only differences are some added features to PRO that most home users would
never even notice. Changing back isn't likely to solve whatever problem your
having with how "smooth" it runs.

--
kwoyach[SPAM]@yahoo[SPAM].com
TO Email: Remove [SPAM]

**Useful Links**
AdAware:
www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
Spybot S & D:
www.safer-networking.org/
Check for Parasites/Worms:
www.gemal.dk/browserspy/parasites.html
Blaster Security Patch:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/blast.asp
TweakUI and other PowerToys:
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

If I can help you I will.
If you can help me thanks.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

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. In order to do this, you must have the WinXP Home
installation CD.

If you no longer have the original WinXP Home OEM installation CD,
you'll need to contact the PC's manufacturer to see if you can obtain
a replacement. However, bear in mind that, by changing replacing the
OEM OS on your PC, your may well have voided your warranty and may no
longer be entitled to the manufacturer's support. (This varies from
manufacturer to manufacturer, so it can't hurt to ask.)

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

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_clean.asp


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:




You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Just for your information, Wojo, this isn't always necessarily
correct. Not that the differences between WinXP Home and WinXP Pro
factor in - you're right about that. Rather, it's the differences
between an OEM installation and one performed using a retail CD that
are crucial.

Some OEMs (Compaq and HP come immediately to mind as prime
examples) sometimes use very proprietary, non-industry-standard
components that require proprietary, non-industry-standard device
drivers. Sometimes, the use of these non-standard device drivers
requires the "customization" (to use a polite term) of some of WinXP's
APIs and other peripheral system files -- supposedly "minor"
alterations that are permitted under the OEM's contract with
Microsoft. If one upgrades one of these "customized" OEM
installations using a standard, retail upgrade CD, rather than one
provided by the OEM, these "proprietary" APIs and systems files can
get overwritten by their normal versions, which can adversely affect
the way the PC functions.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:




You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Alex Nichol]

When I purchased my computer it came with Windows XP Home
Edition, as many computers do. I upgraded it to XP Pro. I
decided it ran much smoother with Windows XP Home. If I
don't have the Home Edition CD, Is there anyway I can
revert back to Windows XP Home?

Only by running the restore to ex-factory state that came with it. But
the difference you perceive is almost all illusion - the two systems are
identical apart from the few additional features of Pro, that do not
affect central performance. More likely you had done some tweaking of
settings in Home (especially perhaps in the Visual effects) and
upgrading to Pro put these back to default.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

When I purchased my computer it came with Windows XP Home
Edition, as many computers do. I upgraded it to XP Pro. I
decided it ran much smoother with Windows XP Home.

Any differences in how smoothly it runs have nothing to do with
XP Home vs. Professional. The two versions are identical except
that Professional includes a few extra features; if you don't use
those features, you should see no difference.

So the difference has to be in how you have it configured now vs.
the way it was configured before. If you will describe the
problems you're having, it's likely that someone here can help
you fix them.

If I
don't have the Home Edition CD, Is there anyway I can
revert back to Windows XP Home?

Sorry, but no.

 

[wojo]

What your sayng makes sense but I can tell you from personal experience with
Compaq that upgrading has not had any negative results. I have upgraded
numerous Compaq computers from 98SE to XP (Home & Pro) without any system
degradation or driver conflicts. I have not, however had the experience of
upgrading a OEM XP to XP Pro so I can't speak to that. But, as I said, your
point is well taken and it makes sense.

--
kwoyach[SPAM]@yahoo[SPAM].com
TO Email: Remove [SPAM]

**Useful Links**
AdAware:
www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
Spybot S & D:
www.safer-networking.org/
Check for Parasites/Worms:
www.gemal.dk/browserspy/parasites.html
Blaster Security Patch:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/blast.asp
TweakUI and other PowerToys:
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp

If I can help you I will.
If you can help me thanks.

Greetings --

Just for your information, Wojo, this isn't always necessarily correct.
Not that the differences between WinXP Home and WinXP Pro factor in -
you're right about that. Rather, it's the differences between an OEM
installation and one performed using a retail CD that are crucial.

Some OEMs (Compaq and HP come immediately to mind as prime examples)
sometimes use very proprietary, non-industry-standard components that
require proprietary, non-industry-standard device drivers. Sometimes, the
use of these non-standard device drivers requires the "customization" (to
use a polite term) of some of WinXP's APIs and other peripheral system
files -- supposedly "minor" alterations that are permitted under the OEM's
contract with Microsoft. If one upgrades one of these "customized" OEM
installations using a standard, retail upgrade CD, rather than one
provided by the OEM, these "proprietary" APIs and systems files can get
overwritten by their normal versions, which can adversely affect the way
the PC functions.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:




You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. -- RAH