Shift to Windows XP home to Windows XP Pro

Hi
Just wanted to know wether i would have to format my hard drive to shift from Windows XP home to Windows XP Pro.
Otherwise all my software such as Antivirus updates and others will have to back-uped or deleted and re-loaded

and i think that would be a pain in the b*** as well.
Please give me your thoughts and solutions.

T

nope u wont have to format if u do it right
first thigns first pro has more features than home .. even as default
so when u pop in the cd u can just do a simple upgrade
no if it says the windows version ur installin is older than the one u have ... it just means u have all the updates ... and thats casuing the problem
in this case just back up ur files
boot from the disk
and do an overwrite install
that is on the same partition .. and SAME folder ( the installation will ask u for this so dun worry )
ofcourse registry etc will be overwritten and ur comp will be a clean slate
but u WILL have all ur data if uve backed it up on ur hdd well enuff
when u install the programs again .. copy old folders over the new ones and ur updates/settings should be preserved
this is ofcourse incase the first option fails

ok............thanks so much............... i will do it and see what happens,
Also another thing: the XP home that i have is a trial version and it will expire before my XP pro comes from the US. is there anything you can suggest i should/can do?? :cry:

J

It's not a trial version, you have to "Activate" your copy of OS over the internet, then it will work properly.

If you install WinXP prof on that even after the activation period is over, it will install without problem, but the WinXP prof will also require to be activated within 1 month of install date.

Yes i know it has to be activated but i would rather activate the XP pro when i get it then the home edition.
What i was asking is that what happens if the home edition activation time runs out??
1.Does the computer OS stop working?
2.Does it allow me to put in a new OS (XP pro in this case) after expiring?

Pls let me know?
thanks

T

yup
the os will stop working
itll ask u to activate each time u boot up .. if u click cancel it'll simply shut down
u can put the new os .. but then the upgrading option will no longer be an option since u wont be able to boot up
maybe from safe mode ull be able to run setup im not sure

ways ard activation of windows is illegal and hence not discussed/solicited here

Please understand that i am not for illegal software anyways. I always used licencsed versions only.
Just wanted to know what would happen in this scenario.
Thanks for the help !

No, you need not.Just upgrade ( possible with retail version not with OEM version)

T

Hey Mr. rohanbee, in your case why on the earth you want to upgrade your home edition, if u are getting a fresh Pro edition then u need not upgrade in the first place, just uninstall the home version and then install the Pro version a fresh this will be a clean install and u will more benifit from such installation method then upgrading. Moreover dont talk about illegal method to activate winXP this is not the forum for this, if u mean to know ways to install XP illegally we cannot help. Always use LEGAL SOFTWARE benifits are endless, try it.!

Tech&ME said:
Hey Mr. rohanbee, in your case why on the earth you want to upgrade your home edition, if u are getting a fresh Pro edition then u need not upgrade in the first place, just uninstall the home version and then install the Pro version a fresh this will be a clean install and u will more benifit from such installation method then upgrading. Moreover dont talk about illegal method to activate winXP this is not the forum for this, if u mean to know ways to install XP illegally we cannot help. Always use LEGAL SOFTWARE benifits are endless, try it.!

FIRSTLY, WHAT ARE U TALKING ABOUT?? WHERE DID I WRITE THAT I WANT TO USE WINDOWS XP ILLEGALLY??
Please check your facts before you write your fiction. It Seems that you answer before you read other peoples posts properly. All i asked was that i have a trial orignal version XP (fully legal) & i did not want to activate it, BECAUSE i have bought a retail version Win XP pro version (Fully LEGAL) from the us which i will get after a months time.

So my question had been what do i do in the meantime in case my trial XP expires......?

I have already received the answer so i think we can close this discussion unless some one else has some queries about the same.

Thanks to the raven and jnpandya for help. my problem is solved.