Hi i have a toshiba lap top with xp home on it. i want to install xp pro on
it. Can i install xp pro without having to reinstall all the software that i
already installed on my machine

"bsg92056" <bsg92056@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>Hi i have a toshiba lap top with xp home on it. i want to install xp pro on
>it. Can i install xp pro without having to reinstall all the software that i
>already installed on my machine

If you use the Retail Upgrade or Retail Full Install version of
Windows XP Pro then you can upgrade your XP Home to XP Pro and all of
your installed applications, user data files, and configuration
settings will be preserved. But make sure you have everything
critical backed up just in case things do go blooey.

If you use an OEM version of XP Pro then it will not upgrade your
existing install and you will have to do a clean install, then
reinstall all your applications, reconfigure them as necessary, and
then restore your user data files from backups.

Also if your Toshiba is still under warranty then changing the
operating system could adversely affect the status of your warranty.
You might want to check this out before proceeding.

And are you certain that you have a current or anticipated future need
for at least one of the functions or features that are included with
XP Pro but which are not part of XP Home? Because other than these
specific items the two versions are identical, and they are both
produced from the same source code base. In particular there is zero
difference in performance or stability between the two versions.

Good luck
Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm

bsg92056 wrote:

> Hi i have a toshiba lap top with xp home on it. i want to install xp
> pro on it. Can i install xp pro without having to reinstall all the
> software that i already installed on my machine

Yes, you can upgrade XP Home to Professional. There is no special upgrade
version just for this, but the regular XP Professional Upgrade works fine
(although it doesn't say so on the box). Note that an OEM XP Professional CD
will *not* do an upgrade.

But 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.

Also note thaqt if do the upgrade, 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.


--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
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