XP Upgrade

[Guest]

If I upgrade my Windows XP Home addition to Windows XP Professional (I
already have the XP Professional installation CD), will all my data files and
programs remain in tact and usable?

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

First, make sure you really need the features found in Windows XP
Professional before contemplating and investing in an upgrade:

Windows XP Home Edition Comparison Guide
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx

An upgrade to Windows XP Pro is a smooth transition will not affect your
current programs or files if you use the following procedure:

1. Purchase a conventional "Retail Upgrade Version" [boxed] of Windows XP Professional.
2. Uninstall your antivirus program.
3. Perform a backup of your important documents and files to a CD, DVD, or other backup media.
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.

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

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:

| If I upgrade my Windows XP Home addition to Windows XP Professional (I
| already have the XP Professional installation CD), will all my data files and
| programs remain in tact and usable?
| --
| Bill Lucca

 

[Malke]

If I upgrade my Windows XP Home addition to Windows XP Professional (I
already have the XP Professional installation CD), will all my data
files and programs remain in tact and usable?

Yes, they should remain intact. However, it is always wise to backup
your data first.

Malke

 

[Ken Blake]

If I upgrade my Windows XP Home addition to Windows XP Professional (I
already have the XP Professional installation CD), will all my data files
and
programs remain in tact and usable?

By definition, an "upgrade" (as opposed to a clean installation) means that
all data, programs, etc. are kept intact.



However there are no guarantees that it always works perfectly. However
unlikely, it's always possible that something might go wrong. For that
reason it's prudent to be sure you have a backup of anything you can't
afford to lose before beginning.

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 (even most of those with home networks) don't need and would never use
these extra features and will see no benefits by upgrading.

 

[Rock]

If I upgrade my Windows XP Home addition to Windows XP Professional (I
already have the XP Professional installation CD), will all my data files and
programs remain in tact and usable?

As long as it's a retail copy. OEM copies cannot upgrade.

 

[Plato]

If I upgrade my Windows XP Home addition to Windows XP Professional (I
already have the XP Professional installation CD), will all my data files and
programs remain in tact and usable?

All data and settings can be lost in just under a second with *any* OS
upgrade.

 

[-rwxrw-r--]

All data and settings can be lost in just under a second with *any* OS
upgrade.

Bullshit. I can upgrade GNU/Linux on my box and not lose any of my user
settings. You see, Plato, with a real operating system (as opposed to a toy
one), one can keep the user accounts on a separate partition that doesn't
get overwritten when the OS is upgraded or replaced with another version.