Upgrading XP Home OEM to PRO

[Guest]

What are the best options for this, just bought new pc with home addition OEM
and relised it doesnt have the capabilities of file sharing I would like, pro
handles it, how do I upgrade?

 

[Ron Martell]

What are the best options for this, just bought new pc with home addition OEM
and relised it doesnt have the capabilities of file sharing I would like, pro
handles it, how do I upgrade?

First thing to do is to contact the retailer where you purchased the
PC and see if there return/exchange policy will allow you to exchange
the computer for an identical model with XP Pro installed. That would
be the cheapest option, if it is possible. It may not be, especially
with a major brand system such as HP/Compaq, Gateway, etc.

If that is not practicable then your next option is to purchase the
Retail Upgrade version of XP Pro and install that. It will upgrade an
OEM version okay.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

 

[Ross Durie]

You mean "inferior brand".

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

1. Purchase a conventional "Retail Version" of Windows XP Professional.
2. Uninstall your antivirus program.
3. Perform a backup of your important documents and files to a CD.
4. Disconnect all hardware peripheral devices, except the monitor, keyboard and mouse.
5. While running Windows XP Home, insert the Windows XP Pro CD in the drive and select
the default "Upgrade" setup option. [Do not select "New Installation"]
6. Visit the Windows Update site to download all the critical updates.

Note if you already installed SP2:

Unless SP2 is integrated into XP Pro, then one cannot
upgrade an existing XP Home w/SP2 installation using
a non-SP2 version of XP Pro. What you need to do is
create a SP2 "slipstreamed" version of XP Pro, then use
the new CD to upgrade over XP Home w/SP2.

You have two options:

1. Uninstall SP2 from XP Home, then upgrade to XP Pro.

or

2. Create a SP2 slipstreamed version of XP Pro (preferred)
and use the new XP Pro w/SP2 to upgrade.

Either one of the following utilities makes slipstreaming
(integrating) SP2 into Windows XP a breeze:

Windows Slipstreaming and Bootable CD Guide
http://www.msfn.org/articles.php?action=show&showarticle=49

Information on AutoStreamer 1.0
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=188337&st=0&#entry245

Windows XP Service Pack 2 - Direct Download
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...BE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en

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

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

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

:

| What are the best options for this, just bought new pc with home addition OEM
| and relised it doesnt have the capabilities of file sharing I would like, pro
| handles it, how do I upgrade?

 

[Opinicus]

Note if you already installed SP2:
Unless SP2 is integrated into XP Pro, then one cannot
upgrade an existing XP Home w/SP2 installation using
a non-SP2 version of XP Pro. What you need to do is

Oh dear. I hadn't thought of that...

 

[Alex Nichol]

What are the best options for this, just bought new pc with home addition OEM
and relised it doesnt have the capabilities of file sharing I would like, pro
handles it, how do I upgrade?

You will need an XP Pro Upgrade CD (same as for upgrading Win98 or NT).
Quite expensive, so make sure you are really prevented from doing what
you want; for broad settings as opposed to daily small ones, you can do
much of the file permissions setting in Home if you logon in Safe Mode
as Administrator

 

[Guest]

I just got a new HP Pavilion with XP Home on it. I did essentially
everything you outline except steps "2" and "6". It failed the first reboot
step and I had to resort to the HP Recovery process to get back to the newly
purchased state. Should I assume it was the lack of step "2" that is at the
root of that problem?

Also, HP Support told me if I upgraded the OS I would lose their support.
Does that sound right?

 

[Barry Watzman]

Re: "Should I assume it was the lack of step "2" [uninstall virus
software] that is at the root of that problem?"

Possible but not certain. Virus software will often block writes to the
boot sector, which an OS install will try to do. But more often than
not, it will ask you if it should be allowed. In any case, it's best to
disable AV software during an OS install. Usually, simply disabling it
is enough (without actually removing it). And with Norton, if you do
neither, while you will get an alarming dialogue box during
installation, it CAN proceed successfully.

Re: "Also, HP Support told me if I upgraded the OS I would lose their
support. Does that sound right?"

Yes, it's normal. They won't support an OS that they didn't supply (nor
should they be expected to). However if you have hardware problems,
simply don't tell them that you changed the OS, and if you have to
return the computer, well, you obviously know how to use the factory
recovery process. Some mfgrs. have attempted to use this to get out of
the warranty for the HARDWARE, which is a bunch of BS.

I just got a new HP Pavilion with XP Home on it. I did essentially
everything you outline except steps "2" and "6". It failed the first reboot
step and I had to resort to the HP Recovery process to get back to the newly
purchased state. Should I assume it was the lack of step "2" that is at the
root of that problem?

Also, HP Support told me if I upgraded the OS I would lose their support.
Does that sound right?


:

1. Purchase a conventional "Retail Version" of Windows XP Professional.
2. Uninstall your antivirus program.
3. Perform a backup of your important documents and files to a CD.
4. Disconnect all hardware peripheral devices, except the monitor, keyboard and mouse.
5. While running Windows XP Home, insert the Windows XP Pro CD in the drive and select
the default "Upgrade" setup option. [Do not select "New Installation"]
6. Visit the Windows Update site to download all the critical updates.

Note if you already installed SP2:

Unless SP2 is integrated into XP Pro, then one cannot
upgrade an existing XP Home w/SP2 installation using
a non-SP2 version of XP Pro. What you need to do is
create a SP2 "slipstreamed" version of XP Pro, then use
the new CD to upgrade over XP Home w/SP2.

You have two options:

1. Uninstall SP2 from XP Home, then upgrade to XP Pro.

or

2. Create a SP2 slipstreamed version of XP Pro (preferred)
and use the new XP Pro w/SP2 to upgrade.

Either one of the following utilities makes slipstreaming
(integrating) SP2 into Windows XP a breeze:

Windows Slipstreaming and Bootable CD Guide
http://www.msfn.org/articles.php?action=show&showarticle=49

Information on AutoStreamer 1.0
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=188337&st=0&#entry245

Windows XP Service Pack 2 - Direct Download
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...BE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en

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

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

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

:

| What are the best options for this, just bought new pc with home addition OEM
| and relised it doesnt have the capabilities of file sharing I would like, pro
| handles it, how do I upgrade?

 

[Guest]

Issue resolved. Search on "a630n" (in Setup forum) for details. The net is
it required a "parallel" install to alternate folder then reinstalling
various drivers to resolve about 6 hardware/driver issues. At least for this
machine (hp a630n) everything is not on the retail CD to allow successful
Upgrade.