WinXP OEM Home to Pro update

[MaleManGuy]

Hi Everyone.
I have an old PC with WinXP Home SP2 OEM. I have a New Machine with WinXP
Pro OEM SP2.

I want to copy the old XP Home hard drive over top the new XP Pro hard drive
and then do a repair install if possible with WinXp Pro OEM.

basically I want to end up with WinXP Pro and move the contents of my old
hard drive to the new machine.

What is the best upgrade path? Thanks.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi Everyone.
I have an old PC with WinXP Home SP2 OEM. I have a New Machine with WinXP
Pro OEM SP2.

I want to copy the old XP Home hard drive over top the new XP Pro hard drive
and then do a repair install if possible with WinXp Pro OEM.

Putting it simply, you can *not* do this.

basically I want to end up with WinXP Pro and move the contents of my old
hard drive to the new machine.

What is the best upgrade path? Thanks.

Is what you want to have all the data and programs that were on the
old XP Home computer moved to the new computer?

If so, you are complicating things enormously. You can't do anything
like what you have in mind. Forget about doing anything to the entire
drive or to the operating system. Simply copy the data files over and
reinstall the applications on the new computer.

 

[MaleManGuy]

Putting it simply, you can *not* do this.

I wanted to put the old HD in the new PC and use ghost to image it over. I
can get the complete drive copied... but you're saying a repair install
wouldn't work afterwards? (a repair with XP pro. Or maybe a repair with XP
Home and then upgrade to XP pro afterwards? Is OEM the problem? Would this
work with a retail version? It could take me a long time to re-install all
the development apps I have and then try to recover their configuration
information. I was looking for the fastest way

On my home computer I've replaced the HD motherboard and all system
components in a big upgrade and ended up doing a repair install... it usually
works.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I wanted to put the old HD in the new PC and use ghost to image it over. I
can get the complete drive copied...

You *may* be able to do that technically, but it would be a license
violation. The license for an OEM version permanently ties it to the
first computer it's installed on, and it may never be moved to
another.

But you may not be able to do it at all, if the computer came with
Windows installed. Many OEM version are BIOS-locked to the computer
they are installed on, and won't work on another one.

Even if got it installed, its being on a different computer would
require that you do at least repair installation to make it work
properly. Sometimes the repair installation isn't enough, and a clean
installation is required.

but you're saying a repair install
wouldn't work afterwards? (a repair with XP pro.

No. You can't repair XP Home with XP Professional.

Or maybe a repair with XP
Home

As I said, at least that will be required (if you even get that far).

and then upgrade to XP pro afterwards?

OEM versions don't do upgrades. You need a retail version to do that.

Is OEM the problem?

Part of the problem.

Would this
work with a retail version?

It might, if you got past all the other obstacles.

It could take me a long time to re-install all
the development apps I have and then try to recover their configuration
information. I was looking for the fastest way

You may be looking for the fastest way, but what you're proposing is a
way that isn't likely to work at all, besides being a license
violation. Doing it the wrong way, and then having to do it all over
again the right way is likely to be the slowest way, not the fastest
one.

On my home computer I've replaced the HD motherboard and all system
components in a big upgrade and ended up doing a repair install... it usually
works.

"Usually" is correct. But, as I said, above, not always.