Windows XP Home Edition -> Windows XP Professional?

[Elian]

I am planning upgrading Windows XP Home with Windows XP Professional.
I have a laptop PC, Packard Bell EasyNote R, that came with Windows XP Home
Edition installed. Will I have any problems if I install Pro? I mean both
application/OS problems and legal? Note: Both XP Home Edition and Windows XP
Professional are genuine.
Do you have any links on the Web
Will I save programs like MSN or should I install them again?
Is Windows XP Professional more stable than Home?

 

[Bob I]

I am planning upgrading Windows XP Home with Windows XP Professional.
I have a laptop PC, Packard Bell EasyNote R, that came with Windows XP Home
Edition installed. Will I have any problems if I install Pro? I mean both
application/OS problems and legal? Note: Both XP Home Edition and Windows XP
Professional are genuine.
Do you have any links on the Web
Will I save programs like MSN or should I install them again?
Is Windows XP Professional more stable than Home?

Do you need the domain joining features of Pro? Or the encryption
capabilities? If not, what is the purpose? A retail copy of Pro can
perform the Upgrade install without issues, but backup important files
in the case of a gotcha! Pro and Home are equally "stable"

 

[Elian]

Do you need the domain joining features of Pro? Or the encryption
capabilities? If not, what is the purpose? A retail copy of Pro can
perform the Upgrade install without issues, but backup important files in
the case of a gotcha! Pro and Home are equally "stable"

Well, I don't need the XP Professional capabilities stated by you right NOW,
but in the future I think that maybe I'll need any of them. As of stability,
I've read a lot of Internet resources stating that XP Home Edition is a
stripped-down version of XP Professional and has more security holes than
it. Is this true?

 

[Guest]

In general the Home>Pro upgrade process goes straighforwardly. You should
never assume this though- always backup first.

Packard Bells are one of the more heavily-modified OEM Windows versions,
hence in their case I would advise more caution than with a
near-to-MS-original copy such as you might find on an Acer or HP.

In fact, my inclination (If I were presented with the job) would be to
download all the drivers you need, and do a clean install of Pro. More work
but you may be glad you did, most PCs work infinitely better with all the OEM
junkware removed. Do make sure you fully understand what's involved before
taking this route, though.

I am planning upgrading Windows XP Home with Windows XP Professional.
I have a laptop PC, Packard Bell EasyNote R, that came with Windows XP Home
Edition installed. Will I have any problems if I install Pro? I mean both
application/OS problems and legal? Note: Both XP Home Edition and Windows XP

MSN itself is included with Windows. Just select it in the Add/Remove
Programs options. Your personal data will be in your userprofile, and you
need to back this up. If you go for a 'clean' reinstall you will then need to
reinstate your profile from a backup, which as been covered in other posts
here.

Home and Pro are both very stable when installed correctly. If you have
stability problems it's probably all that OEM junk that PB add.

 

[Bob I]

Well, I don't need the XP Professional capabilities stated by you right NOW,
but in the future I think that maybe I'll need any of them. As of stability,
I've read a lot of Internet resources stating that XP Home Edition is a
stripped-down version of XP Professional and has more security holes than
it. Is this true?

Security holes? Maybe the convenience features like guest? No particular
difference actually. Most of the security holes are the users and what
they install. And that would be the BIG difference in security.

 

[Rock]

Well, I don't need the XP Professional capabilities stated by you right
NOW, but in the future I think that maybe I'll need any of them. As of
stability, I've read a lot of Internet resources stating that XP Home
Edition is a stripped-down version of XP Professional and has more
security holes than it. Is this true?

XP Home and Pro are the same in core functionality. XP Pro has some
features such as the ability to join a domain, EFS file encryption, and the
ability to set file and folder permissions without going into safe mode
which is needed for XP Home. Other than the feature differences the two OSs
are the same in terms of stability and the ability to keep the OS secure
from malware.

If things are running well now and you have no need for these particular
features of Pro, don't bother with the upgrade.