Windows XP professional

[Guest]

I bought a laptop computer which comes with Windows XP home sp2. I have a
copy of Windows XP professional. Can I install it into my laptop without
losing all the other installed program and data? Should I choose "upgrade"
in the beganning of the installation?

Wilson Chu

 

[Guest]

Yes, if you install Windows XP Professional on your laptop using the upgrade
option then you should not lose any of your installed programs or data.

I should add that you are only allowed to install Windows XP Professional on
one computer per license/CD. You will not be able to activate Windows XP
Professional on your laptop using a CD key that you've already used on a
different computer.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[Tom]

I bought a laptop computer which comes with Windows XP home sp2. I have a
copy of Windows XP professional. Can I install it into my laptop without
losing all the other installed program and data? Should I choose
"upgrade"
in the beganning of the installation?

Wilson Chu

Yes, you should choose "upgrade" to keep your files and settings. BUT!, You
(IIRC) will need to make a slipstreamed disk of XP PRo with SP2, or it may
not upgrade, (you'll get a warning that a newer version already exist
message). If you have a CD burnere, here are good instructions to do this:

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp

OR, you can download, install and use this automated program to do the
slipstreaming for you:

http://www.autopatcher.com/autostreamer.html

Keep in mind; although most upgrades are seamless, things can go wrong (like
a power failure during the upgrade) and you could lose your files and
settings. If you can backup anything important to you, I would recommend
that highlyjust in case.

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Wilson,

Yes and yes, but the WinXP Pro upgrade disk *must* have SP2 installed as
well. If it does not, you will need to uninstall SP2 from the XP Home
installation, or create your own slipstreamed version of WinXPw/SP2. You'll
find instructions here:
http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp2_cd.htm

The upgrade must have the same service pack level or higher than the
existing installation, or you will get an error message to the effect that
the installed system is newer than the upgrade, and installation cannot
proceed.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I bought a laptop computer which comes with Windows XP home
sp2. I
have a copy of Windows XP professional. Can I install it into
my
laptop without losing all the other installed program and data?
Should I choose "upgrade" in the beganning of the installation?

I see you've already gotten good answers to your question. I'll
add just one other point.

Are you sure you want to do this? Are you aware that XP Home and
Professional are identical except that Professional includes a
few features (mostly related to security and networking) missing
from Home? Most home users don't need and would never use these
extra features and will see no benefits by upgrading.

 

[Guest]

Thank you for all of your information. If I just want to setup an small home
& business network, does it matter that I use Windows XP professional version
or home version?

Wilson Chu

 

[Malke]

Thank you for all of your information. If I just want to setup an
small home & business network, does it matter that I use Windows XP
professional version or home version?

It really depends on what you will want to do in the business and how
many machines will be on the network. It also depends on whether you
will want to create fine-grained permissions for your users. Here is a
link to a comparison between XP Pro and Home to help you decide:

Comparison Guide -
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx

Malke

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Thank you for all of your information. If I just want to setup
an
small home & business network, does it matter that I use
Windows XP
professional version or home version?

Generally, no. Both handle a small simple workgroup, or
peer-to-peer network just fine. Professional's networking
improvements are in two areas.

1. It permits joining a domain (which Home does not), but those
are typically used only in large corporate networks.

2. Professional allows ten concurrent network connections, and
Home only five.

So unless you need more than five concurrent network connections,
Home is probably all you need.