Using a Dell OEM XP Pro disk to do an upgrade from Dell OEM XP Home

[Art Vandelay]

Here's the situation:

(All disks are SP2)

One of our Dell desktops was seriously messed up with malware, viruses, etc.,
and we decided it would be easier to just reinstall XP Pro. However, one of
my co-workers used the wrong Dell OEM disk for the reinstall: he used an XP
Home OEM disk from another Dell that we own, rather than the Dell XP Pro
OEM disk that came with the computer in question. He also reinstalled a huge
number of applications, settings, data, etc.

It has been said many times in this newsgroup that an OEM XP Pro disk can
not be used to do an upgrade - it can only be used to do a full install.
However, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try using the Dell XP Pro OEM disk to do
an upgrade from Home to Pro because the worst thing that could happen would
be that it wouldn't work and we would have to start from the beginning, and the
best thing that could happen would be that it would work and we wouldn't have
to reinstall all the applications, settings, data, etc., all over again.

So I started the installation on the XP Pro CD-ROM disk from within XP Home
and it gave me an option to do an Upgrade install and I proceeded with that.
After a rather long install and a reboot, the installation was complete. The
applications all seem intact, the data is all there, under My Computer /
Properties it says "Windows XP Professional", I can turn off simple file
sharing, etc.

My questions are:
Is this going to be a stable, reliable, XP Pro installation?
and
Is there any way to test it to make sure everything is OK an XP Pro is
correctly installed?

Art V.

 

[paulmd]

Here's the situation:

(All disks are SP2)

One of our Dell desktops was seriously messed up with malware, viruses, etc.,
and we decided it would be easier to just reinstall XP Pro. However, one of
my co-workers used the wrong Dell OEM disk for the reinstall: he used an XP
Home OEM disk from another Dell that we own, rather than the Dell XP Pro
OEM disk that came with the computer in question. He also reinstalled a huge
number of applications, settings, data, etc.

It has been said many times in this newsgroup that an OEM XP Pro disk can
not be used to do an upgrade - it can only be used to do a full install.
However, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try using the Dell XP Pro OEM disk to do
an upgrade from Home to Pro because the worst thing that could happen would
be that it wouldn't work and we would have to start from the beginning, and the
best thing that could happen would be that it would work and we wouldn't have
to reinstall all the applications, settings, data, etc., all over again.

So I started the installation on the XP Pro CD-ROM disk from within XP Home
and it gave me an option to do an Upgrade install and I proceeded with that.
After a rather long install and a reboot, the installation was complete. The
applications all seem intact, the data is all there, under My Computer /
Properties it says "Windows XP Professional", I can turn off simple file
sharing, etc.

My questions are:
Is this going to be a stable, reliable, XP Pro installation?
and
Is there any way to test it to make sure everything is OK an XP Pro is
correctly installed?

Art V.

Clean installs are invariably more reliable. But the only way to know
if your install is going to be stable and reliable is to USE it and see
if it crashes.

Being as the Home install was clean, your odds are better than average.

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

My questions are:
Is this going to be a stable, reliable, XP Pro installation?
and Is there any way to test it to make sure everything is
OK an XP Pro is correctly installed?

Does it matter at this point? i.e., the installation went OK and the
programs are running... what MORE could you ask for?

 

[Bruce Chambers]

My questions are:
Is this going to be a stable, reliable, XP Pro installation?
and
Is there any way to test it to make sure everything is OK an XP Pro is
correctly installed?

I'm somewhat surprised that the upgrade worked; Dell must do something
peculiar with their OEM CDs. No matter, though. You're good to go.

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

I don't see any reason whatsoever for you to be any more worried about
this particular upgrade than you would be about a more "conventional" one.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of
chains and slavery? .... I know not what course others may take, but as
for me, give me liberty, or give me death! -Patrick Henry

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Clean installs are invariably more reliable.

That's utter nonsense. Why would you even make such a claim? Have any
documented empirical data to support it?

Granted, many uninformed people do recommend that one always
perform a clean installation, rather than upgrade over an earlier OS.
For the most part, I feel that these people, while usually
well-intended, are living in the past, and are basing their
recommendations on their experiences with older, obsolete operating
systems or hearsay. One would save a lot of time by upgrading a PC to
WinXP, rather than performing a clean installation, if there're no
hardware or software incompatibilities. Microsoft has greatly improved
(over earlier versions of Windows) WinXP's ability to smoothly upgrade
an earlier OS.

Certainly, there are times when an in-place upgrade is
contra-indicated:

1) When the underlying hardware isn't certified as being fully
compatible with the newer OS, and/or updated device drivers are not
available from the device's manufacturer. Of course, this condition also
causes problems with clean installations.

2) When the original OS is corrupt, damaged, and/or virus/malware
infested. I've also seen simple, straight-forward upgrades from WinXP
Home to WinXP Pro fail because the computer owner had let the system
become malware-infested. Upgrading over a problematic OS isn't normally
a wise course to establishing a stable installation.

3) When the new OS isn't designed to properly, correctly, and safely
perform an upgrade.

But to cavalierly dismiss *all* upgrades as unsafe and inadvisable
is patently absurd. A properly prepared and maintained PC can almost
always be successfully upgraded by a knowledgeable and competent
technician. I've lost count of the systems I've seen that have been
upgraded from Win95 to Win98 to Win2K to WinXP, without the need for a
clean installation, and that are still operating without any problems
attributable to upgrades.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of
chains and slavery? .... I know not what course others may take, but as
for me, give me liberty, or give me death! -Patrick Henry

 

[paulmd]

That's utter nonsense. Why would you even make such a claim? Have any
documented empirical data to support it?

Granted, many uninformed people do recommend that one always
perform a clean installation, rather than upgrade over an earlier OS.
For the most part, I feel that these people, while usually
well-intended, are living in the past, and are basing their
recommendations on their experiences with older, obsolete operating
systems or hearsay. One would save a lot of time by upgrading a PC to
WinXP, rather than performing a clean installation, if there're no
hardware or software incompatibilities. Microsoft has greatly improved
(over earlier versions of Windows) WinXP's ability to smoothly upgrade
an earlier OS.

Certainly, there are times when an in-place upgrade is
contra-indicated:

1) When the underlying hardware isn't certified as being fully
compatible with the newer OS, and/or updated device drivers are not
available from the device's manufacturer. Of course, this condition also
causes problems with clean installations.

2) When the original OS is corrupt, damaged, and/or virus/malware
infested. I've also seen simple, straight-forward upgrades from WinXP
Home to WinXP Pro fail because the computer owner had let the system
become malware-infested. Upgrading over a problematic OS isn't normally
a wise course to establishing a stable installation.

3) When the new OS isn't designed to properly, correctly, and safely
perform an upgrade.

But to cavalierly dismiss *all* upgrades as unsafe and inadvisable
is patently absurd.

I did not say that upgrades were unreliable, only that clean installs
are more reliable. After all, upgrades do tend to inherit the old
problems. Sorry if it came arcoss that way.

A properly prepared and maintained PC can almost
always be successfully upgraded by a knowledgeable and competent
technician. I've lost count of the systems I've seen that have been
upgraded from Win95 to Win98 to Win2K to WinXP, without the need for a
clean installation, and that are still operating without any problems
attributable to upgrades.

Can't be THAT many ten year old computers running XP...

 

[Leythos]

That's utter nonsense. Why would you even make such a claim? Have any
documented empirical data to support it?

I agree that clean installs are more reliable, and I've got more than 30
years of experience to back my statement up. I never do an in place
upgrade unless there is no other means, and there always is.

Upgrades, OS version to another, are always leaving something behind,
software that isn't going to work properly with the new OS, etc...

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I agree that clean installs are more reliable, and I've got more than 30
years of experience to back my statement up.

You've 30 years experience upgrading to WinXP? However did you manage
that? ;-} As I said, "... living in the past, and are basing their
recommendations on their experiences with older, obsolete operating
systems."

I never do an in place
upgrade unless there is no other means, and there always is.

You're choice, of course, but it's certainly not a technical necessity.

Upgrades, OS version to another, are always leaving something behind,
software that isn't going to work properly with the new OS, etc...

I repeat, "... living in the past, and are basing their recommendations
on their experiences with older, obsolete operating systems."


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of
chains and slavery? .... I know not what course others may take, but as
for me, give me liberty, or give me death! -Patrick Henry

 

[Leythos]

You've 30 years experience upgrading to WinXP? However did you manage
that? ;-} As I said, "... living in the past, and are basing their
recommendations on their experiences with older, obsolete operating
systems."


You're choice, of course, but it's certainly not a technical necessity.


I repeat, "... living in the past, and are basing their recommendations
on their experiences with older, obsolete operating systems."

Funny, I do about 400 systems a year on XP since they came out, already
done more than 200 this year, and that's not counting Windows 2000 Small
Business Server Premium installs, Server 2003 Enterprise edition
installs, Server 2003 Standard installs, etc... Hardly living in the
past.

When it comes to upgrading 98/ME/2000, it's better to wipe and install
from scratch - many, many, many, fewer problems in the long run.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Here's the situation:

(All disks are SP2)

One of our Dell desktops was seriously messed up with malware, viruses, etc.,
and we decided it would be easier to just reinstall XP Pro. However, one of
my co-workers used the wrong Dell OEM disk for the reinstall: he used an XP
Home OEM disk from another Dell that we own, rather than the Dell XP Pro
OEM disk that came with the computer in question. He also reinstalled a huge
number of applications, settings, data, etc.

It has been said many times in this newsgroup that an OEM XP Pro disk can
not be used to do an upgrade - it can only be used to do a full install.
However, I figured it wouldn't hurt to try using the Dell XP Pro OEM disk to do
an upgrade from Home to Pro because the worst thing that could happen would
be that it wouldn't work and we would have to start from the beginning, and the
best thing that could happen would be that it would work and we wouldn't have
to reinstall all the applications, settings, data, etc., all over again.

So I started the installation on the XP Pro CD-ROM disk from within XP Home
and it gave me an option to do an Upgrade install and I proceeded with that.
After a rather long install and a reboot, the installation was complete. The
applications all seem intact, the data is all there, under My Computer /
Properties it says "Windows XP Professional", I can turn off simple file
sharing, etc.

My questions are:
Is this going to be a stable, reliable, XP Pro installation?
and
Is there any way to test it to make sure everything is OK an XP Pro is
correctly installed?

Art V.

Thanks to all for the comments.

Art V.