Upgrade XP Home to XP Pro

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Guest

I have XP Home edition and don't want to spend the money on XP Pro until I
know that it will upgrade and I won't have to reformat. Can XP Home be
upgraded to XP Pro?
 
Liz said:
I have XP Home edition and don't want to spend the money on XP Pro
until I
know that it will upgrade and I won't have to reformat. Can XP Home
be upgraded to XP Pro?
Click to expand...

Yes, XP Home can be upgraded to Pro but not without buying an upgrade
copy of XP Pro. Is there some reason you feel you need Pro? Here's a
link to a comparison between Pro and Home so you can choose wisely:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx

Doing an upgrade should leave your programs and data intact but it is
always wise to have a current backup because Stuff Happens.

Malke
 
Liz Steffen said:
I have XP Home edition and don't want to spend the money on XP Pro until I
know that it will upgrade and I won't have to reformat. Can XP Home be
upgraded to XP Pro?
Click to expand...

Yes. A full, retail XP Pro CD or an upgrade XP Pro CD will upgrade an
existing XP Home setup. An OEM CD will not perform an upgrade.
 
I am choosing to upgrade because XP Home will be an "end of life" product by
2006-12-31.

Thank you for the information.
 
Liz said:
I am choosing to upgrade because XP Home will be an "end of life" product by
2006-12-31.

Thank you for the information.
Click to expand...

If that's the only reason, don't waste your time and money. XP Home will
have SP3 the end of next year, as will Pro.

Alias
 
Liz said:
I have XP Home edition and don't want to spend the money on XP Pro
until I know that it will upgrade and I won't have to reformat. Can
XP Home be upgraded to XP Pro?
Click to expand...


Yes, it can, but are you sure you need to? XP Professional and XP Home are
exactly the same in all respects, except that Professional has a few
features (mostly related to networking and security) missing from Home. For
most (but not all) home users, even those with a home network, these
features aren't needed, would never be used, and buying Professional instead
of Home is a waste of money.

For details go to
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.asp

Also note one other point not mentioned on any of those sites: Professional
allows ten concurrent network connections, and Home only five.
 
Liz said:
I have XP Home edition and don't want to spend the money on XP Pro until I
know that it will upgrade and I won't have to reformat. Can XP Home be
upgraded to XP Pro?
Click to expand...


Certainly. WinXP is designed to install and upgrade the existing
operating system while simultaneously preserving your applications and
data, and translating as many personalized settings as possible. The
process is designed to be, and normally is, quite painless. That said,
things can go wrong, in a small number of cases. If your data is at all
important to you, back it up before proceeding.

The upgrade from WinXP Home to WinXP Pro, in particular, almost
always goes smoothly, as both operating systems use the same kernel.

However, do you really need to upgrade? The WinXP Home and WinXP Pro
versions are _identical_ when it comes to performance, stability, and
device driver and software application compatibility, but are intended
to meet different functionality, networking, security, and ease-of-use
needs, in different environments. The most significant differences are
that WinXP Pro allows up to 10 simultaneous inbound network connections
while WinXP Home only allows only 5, WinXP Pro is designed to join a
Microsoft domain while WinXP Home cannot, and only WinXP Pro supports
file encryption and IIS. (Oh, and WinXP Pro usually costs roughly $100
USD more than WinXP Home.)

Windows XP Comparison Guide
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.asp

Which Edition Is Right for You
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp

Windows XP Home Edition vs. Professional Edition
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp


--

Bruce Chambers

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