Upgrading Windows XP Home to XP Pro

[tango]

I am planning to upgrade my system to XP Pro from XP Home. Since I have an
HP Laptop (hp dv4000), I believe I have more than enough power but I am
concerned about all the HP stuff they put in there when new. Is there a good
way to identify all the drivers so that I don't get skewered and can't get
back? I'm kind of a newbie, but can work my way through most things with a
little guidance. Am I taking on too much here?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I am planning to upgrade my system to XP Pro from XP Home. Since I have an
HP Laptop (hp dv4000), I believe I have more than enough power but I am
concerned about all the HP stuff they put in there when new. Is there a good
way to identify all the drivers so that I don't get skewered and can't get
back? I'm kind of a newbie, but can work my way through most things with a
little guidance. Am I taking on too much here?

Before you get concerned with the details of how to do this, perhaps
you should revisit the question of *whether* to do it. Why do you want
to? What do you hope to gain?

Are you aware that 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.

 

[DL]

XPPro uses the same drivers as XPHome, as they are the same o/s
You cannot go back in any case, other than a clean install of XPHome

 

[philo]

I am planning to upgrade my system to XP Pro from XP Home. Since I have an
HP Laptop (hp dv4000), I believe I have more than enough power but I am
concerned about all the HP stuff they put in there when new. Is there a good
way to identify all the drivers so that I don't get skewered and can't get
back? I'm kind of a newbie, but can work my way through most things with a
little guidance. Am I taking on too much here?

I seriously doubt if you need XP pro...
just ;leave it as-is

 

[tango]

I am going to install Adobe CS3 Photoshop. I also want to get a proforma
install so that I can do this about 1/qtr. My system is just getting too
slow and I regularly use the Registry "fixit" software and Adaware, but
system still is too slow. I read somewhere that some users will erase the
hard drive (after backup of course) and re-install software from scratch to
get that "new" performance again. I am very frustrated with performance
after about 2yrs without starting over from scratch. Is this a "bad"
approach? To me, it just makes sense to get rid of all the crap accumulated
from spyware, viruses that get past Norton, etc. What do all of you say?

 

[philo]

I am going to install Adobe CS3 Photoshop. I also want to get a proforma
install so that I can do this about 1/qtr. My system is just getting too
slow and I regularly use the Registry "fixit" software and Adaware, but
system still is too slow. I read somewhere that some users will erase the
hard drive (after backup of course) and re-install software from scratch to
get that "new" performance again. I am very frustrated with performance
after about 2yrs without starting over from scratch. Is this a "bad"
approach? To me, it just makes sense to get rid of all the crap accumulated
from spyware, viruses that get past Norton, etc. What do all of you say?

There is no need to use XP pro...
if you are absolutely convinced that your OS is unrepairable...
all you need to do is perform a fresh install of the version of XP you
already have.

OTOH: I'm sure your system could be "reapired" fairly easily...

I've been running XP since it came out...and have never had to reinstall it.

BTW: CS3 is a great application...but to work with large files...
you should really get a dual core cpu and a mahcine with at least 2 gigs of
ram.

 

[Xandros]

Try turning off the indexing service. That in itself is worse than much of
the spyware that get accumulated. To disable indexing do this:
Right click your C drive icon and select Properties. On the first Properties
Tab (General) uncheck the box that says "Allow Indexing Service to index
drive for faster file searching". Then click the Apply button. Click Ok on
the next little window that pops open that says apply changes to C:\
subfolders and files. Let the process run until it completes. If it stops
and says it can't apply changes to such and such a file because it is in use
just click the Ignore all button and let it finish. Indexing Services
creates a data base of all files and folders. It eventually become a real
resource hog. While the service may be useful to business programs it is a
PITA for home users.

Run Defrag and use the built in Windows Disk Cleanup program
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_Cleanup to clean the system. Avoid third
party registry fixers that likely do very little to help and may cause more
problems than are actually repaired. Adaware is fine but you may need more
than one spyware cleaner. I use the free version of SpyCatcher Express to
prevent a lot of bugs from hitting me in the first place
http://www.tenebril.com/downloads/ Once again avoid the free registry scan
as XP really doesn't need the registry cleaned in the same way that earlier
versions of Windows did.

 

[DL]

I note you mention Norton; You will find that this is a resource hog, as is
McAfee. There are better solutions out there

 

[Bob Harris]

With respect to Norton, it may be running in continuous scan mode, meaning
that 24/7 it is roving the hard drive checking files. Try changing that to
scan-on-demand, meaning only when you access/copy/move a file, and also set
a full PC scan for once a week.

Also, try using the XP task manager to see what is running and home much CPU
it is using. Look under the processes tab, not the applications tab. If
you are not actively doing something, then "system idle process" should be
above 90%, maybe close to 100%. If anything else is using more than a few
percent, try to determine what it is and whether you really need it.

To find where things start and to change that, use a free tool by Microsoft
called AUTORUNS:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

In general, do not prevent from starting most processes by Microsoft. One
obvious exception, mentioned in a previous reply, is the indexing service.

For more detailed information on what is really necessary vs nice, go to the
black vipre website:

http://www.blackviper.com/

By the way, I have never heard of XP Pro running faster/better on the same
hardware as XP home. So, if speed or responsiveness is the issue, upgrading
to Pro will not help, and might actually hurt.

 

[tango]

I seriously doubt if you need XP pro...
just ;leave it as-is

 

[tango]

Whoaa.. I believe that I can see a difference already. Took a few minutes,
I have many files placed there over the last 2 yrs, I think. Getting ready
to try the other things you suggested. Thanks much.

 

[Xandros]

You are welcome. Turning off indexing is the first thing I do after an
install.