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Remove Windows XP Home Edition and Install Windows XP Pro
I would like to remove Windows XP Home Edition and replace it with Windows XP Pro. Can I simply purchase an original copy of Windows XP Pro, intstall it, and designate it as the default operating system at startup? I need to run Windows XP Pro without installing the "upgrade" version because I am trying to run some peripherals which will not run from the upgrade and must have Windows XP Pro as the operating system.
GreyMack
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April 20th, 2009 14:00
Yes, you can replace XP Home with XP Pro, and the process of a clean installation eliminates the previous installation when you boot to the Windows XP CD and then delete the hard disk partition containing the Windows installation and create a new partition in it's place, followed by formatting the partition prior to the new installation. You'll also need to install Windows updates, drivers, utilities, applications, plug-ins, codecs, and whatnot to the new XP Pro installation, and set everything up to your personal taste.
Alternatively, you might install XP Pro in a separate partition giving you the option of booting to either Home or Pro. You would still need to dedicate a partition to XP Pro and install all subsequent softwares, you just wouldn't be eliminating the XP Home installation.
A disk may have several partitions, or virtual drives, so a good starting point would be to examine what's currently being used.
The Radified site provides a good article on partitioning strategies.
http://partition.radified.com/
GM
emhho
4 Posts
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April 21st, 2009 07:00
Will XP Pro guide me through the clean installation process when I insert the XP Pro CD? I'm fine with eliminating the previous installation because I do not need anything contained on the existing computer (the one with XP Home). Would I be better off to purchase the SP3 version in terms of Windows updates, drivers, utilites, etc?
Thanks, Eric
muto
872 Posts
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April 21st, 2009 10:00
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TheRealFireblad
4.6K Posts
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April 21st, 2009 10:00
If you've already got a (legit) copy of XP Pro Eric, you don't need to worry about whether it includes the latest service pack (SP), because SP3 can be downloaded/installed later.
XP SP3.
After you've installed SP3, you can then use Windows Update to get all the latest important/security updates.
As for the OS guiding you through the installation process: It doesn't. But there are LOADS of guides available:
Dell provide this 'How To Restore or Reinstall Microsoft Windows on a Dell Computer'.
But there are many others available - a number of which include screenshots of each step:
Official Microsoft (with screenshots) Install Windows XP
+
Official Microsoft How to install or upgrade to Windows XP
Paul Thurrott's 'Windows XP Clean Install (Interactive Setup)'
With screenshots Install Windows XP
+
How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
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Clean install XP
:emotion-21: