Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.customize (
More info?)
In news:d3g8hj$780$1@titan.btinternet.com,
Jimbo <notexist@domainnotexist.com> typed:
> Hello again people,
> Another question about XP Pro upgrading from Home Edition.
>
> As someone suggested I have spoken to a university colleague
> who does
> all the system maintenance. He does not recommend doing an
> upgrade as
> it often goes seriously wrong, and suggests doing an XP Pro
> install
> from scratch.
First of all, your colleague is wrong. Unlike with previous
versions of Windows, an upgrade to XP replaces almost everything,
and usually works very well.
In particular, for *this* upgrade, since Home and Professional
are so similar (they are identical except that Professional just
includes some extra features) it is *extremely* rare that a
problem results.
My recommendation is to at least try the upgrade, since it's much
easier than a clean installation. You can always change your mind
and reinstall cleanly if problems develop.
> So my question is this, if I do a complete re-install using an
> XP Pro
> CD will the upgrade license key work? After all, an upgrade is
> what I
> want to do, and an ugrade is what I get.
Are you asking if you can do a clean installation with the XP
Professional Upgrade CD and its key?
Yes you can, assuming that you have an XP Home CD. The
requirement to use an upgrade version is to *own* a previous
qualifying version's installation CD (with an OEM restore CD, see
below), not to have it installed. When setup doesn't find a
previous qualifying version installed, it will prompt you to
insert its CD as proof of ownership. Just insert the previous
version's CD, and follow the prompts. Everything proceeds quite
normally and quite legitimately.Y
You can also do a clean installation if you have an OEM restore
CD of a previous qualifying version. It's more complicated, but
it *can* be done. First restore from the Restore CD. Then run the
XP upgrade CD from within that restored system, and change from
Upgrade to New Install. When it asks where, press Esc to delete
the partition and start over.
> I have already purchased and installed XP Pro on a new machine
> I
> bought, I am now just wanting to upgrade my existing home
> laptop.
But that makes it sound like you want to use the same copy of
your XP Professional upgrade on two machines.
No, you can *not* do that. The rule is quite clear. It's one copy
(or one license) for each computer.
There's nothing new here. This is exactly the same rule that's
been in effect on every version of Windows starting with Windows
3.1. The only thing new with XP is that there's now an
enforcement mechanism.
If yours is a retail version, not an OEM one, you can buy extra
licenses (see
<http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/addlic.asp>).
But it's not generally a good deal. The problem is that Microsoft
sells additional licenses at only a small savings over the list
price. You're almost certainly better off just buying a complete
second copy from a discount source.
--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram