Upgrade To XP Pro

[Richard Eaton]

I'm considering the purchase of a new system that has Windows XP home
preinstalled.
If I purchase the XP Professional Upgrade disc, Will it install on top of
home? Or will I need to perform a fresh install and reinstall all other
software.

If both are possible, what are the disadvantages of installing on top of XP
home.

Thank you for your help.

Richard from Va.

 

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

Why not just go ahead and order Pro preinstalled? You'll probably come out cheaper in the long run.

The only real issue to consider when upgrading from Home to Pro, in my opinion, is ensuring that the upgrade package is the same service pack level as what you already have installed. I.E. XP Pro with SP2 integrated, if you're upgrading XP Home with SP2 installed.

 

[Richard Eaton]

Yea... I'm considering a Gateway Remanufactured Desktop.
I've been holding out to see if a similar PC becomes available with XP-PRO
preinstalled.
Just hate to loose out on what might be a good buy.

Thanks for your help!

++++++++++++++
Why not just go ahead and order Pro preinstalled? You'll probably come out
cheaper in the long run.

The only real issue to consider when upgrading from Home to Pro, in my
opinion, is ensuring that the upgrade package is the same service pack level
as what you already have installed. I.E. XP Pro with SP2 integrated, if
you're upgrading XP Home with SP2 installed.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I'm considering the purchase of a new system that has Windows
XP home
preinstalled.
If I purchase the XP Professional Upgrade disc, Will it install
on
top of home?

Yes.


Or will I need to perform a fresh install and reinstall
all other software.

No.


If both are possible, what are the disadvantages of installing
on top
of XP home.

None. It's the easiest and most likely successful of all
upgrades. Worst case, you can always change your mind and
reinstall cleanly if problems develop.

But are you sure you want to do this? Are you aware that XP Home
and Professional are identical except that Professional includes
a few features (mostly related to security and networking)
missing from Home? Most home users don't need and would never use
these extra features and will see no benefits by upgrading.

 

[T. Waters]

Richard, there are some considerations to make in decidieng what to do.
1. Pro will install on top of Home, either as upgrade or clean-install. In
fact, the full version of Pro can perform an upgrade also.
2. Advantages of upgrade installation:
Your drivers and any preloaded applications remain untouched.
3. Disadvantage of buying the upgrade version of XP:
Any clean-install you may need to do in the future requires showing the
installation program your qualifying media for XP Home. If you buy a
preloaded computer whose restoration method does not consist of "qualifying
media" (like a hidden partition, for instance), your Pro upgrade disk may
not work to install XP.
My advice is to either:
-make sure you are buying a preloaded computer accompanied by a full XP Home
disk
or
-if you do not get a full XP Home disk, then buy a full (non-upgrade)
version of XP Pro.
or
-if you do not mind doing a clean-install of Pro, then you could purchase
(for a lot less money) the OEM versio of Pro. It does not do upgrades.

 

[Richard Eaton]

Yes!
The security and network features missing from Home is what I'd like to
have.
This system is for my work place.

Thanks for the advice!

Richard in Va.
++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[Richard Eaton]

Thanks for the really good advice!
I own a retail XP Home upgrade disk.
Hopefully that will do!

I did not consider Gateway's restoration methods.
Their remanufactured PC's disc set may cause issues, I'll be sure to ask.
Otherwise, I'll hold out to see if one becomes available.

But then, the PC I'm looking at has a huge 250GB drive and I would want to
partition it anyway.
Probably an old mentality, but it sure helps me to organize my work files.
Anyway... that's my problem!

Thanks again for the good help!
I'll copy-and-paste this for future reference.

Best regards,
Richard in Va.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

Call Gateway and order it over the phone and tell them you want to upgrade it to XP Pro. There will be an additional charge, most likely, but if they want your business....................

 

[T. Waters]

Thanks for the really good advice!
I own a retail XP Home upgrade disk.
Hopefully that will do!

**Richard, please note that an Upgrade disk is not "qualifying media."
Only a full version is qualifying media.

 

[Moore's Machine]

T. Walters, thanks for repeating yourself.

I did not know this...!

I always thought you could upgrade forever. Each upgrade wanting to see a
legitimate previous OS disc or installation.

When I upgrade my current PC (PII-350) from Win98 to WinXP Home (Upgrade),
The Xp install was perfectly happy and simply wanted to see the Win98 disc
provided with the PC from Gateway.
I purchased a new hard drive along with XP (upgrade) and
partitioned/formatted via the XP upgrade disc.

I told my boss that by the time we purchase the remanufactured PC and then
purchase (at retail) the other hardware/software I will want/need.
i.e.: XP Pro, MS Office Small Business, maybe a DVD/CD Burner, a 2nd SATA
drive for backup and additional memory.
We're probably pushing the cost of a new PC anyway.

But like before... this is my problem!

Thanks again for all the good help!

Best regards,

Richard in Va.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Yes!
The security and network features missing from Home is what I'd
like
to have.
This system is for my work place.

OK. I just wanted you to make sure you really need it. A lot of
people get it without really understanding the differences.

Thanks for the advice!

You're welcome. Glad to help.