I just purchased an HP computer that has XP Home on it, I own XP Pro that I
purchased last year to upgrade my old computer--can I load XP Pro on my new
HP computer without reformating the hard drive and wiping out my HP media
programs? Thanks in advance for your help!

In news:38617510-1F5C-4B21-9F3D-352A0081ECBE@microsoft.com,
Dmcghee <Dmcghee@discussions.microsoft.com> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

> I just purchased an HP computer that has XP Home on it, I own XP Pro
> that I purchased last year to upgrade my old computer--can I load XP
> Pro on my new HP computer without reformating the hard drive and
> wiping out my HP media programs? Thanks in advance for your help!

It depends. First is XP Pro still installed on the old computer? If so than
the EULA clearly states that you can not. If not and you want to then just
use the upgrade path to install it. All of your applications and settings
should be retained without issue. However - be sure to backup all your data
before this...

Backup! Image/Clone:
http://kgiii.info/windows/all/advanced/image-clone.html

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"We approached the case, you remember, with an absolutely blank mind,
which is always an advantage. We had formed no theories. We were simply
there to observe and to draw inferences from our observations." -
Sherlock Holmes

Galen, I purchased XP Pro as an upgrade for my old computer so it is
installed on my old computer. Could I use the same disc and upgrade this
computer? I actually just tried it and installed it from the C promp
directly from the disc--I now have both Home and Pro on my new computer--when
I start my computer in Pro it does not see any of the programs and data,
however, when I log on in XPHome all my programs and data are there--any
suggestions? Thanks for your help

> I just purchased an HP computer that has XP Home on it, I own XP Pro that I
> purchased last year to upgrade my old computer--can I load XP Pro on my new
> HP computer without reformating the hard drive and wiping out my HP media
> programs? Thanks in advance for your help!

In news:C27D38A7-AAA7-4482-A1FE-E4AEB5252B5F@microsoft.com,
Dmcghee <Dmcghee@discussions.microsoft.com> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

> Galen, I purchased XP Pro as an upgrade for my old computer so it is
> installed on my old computer. Could I use the same disc and upgrade
> this computer? I actually just tried it and installed it from the C
> promp directly from the disc--I now have both Home and Pro on my new
> computer--when I start my computer in Pro it does not see any of the
> programs and data, however, when I log on in XPHome all my programs
> and data are there--any suggestions? Thanks for your help
>
>> I just purchased an HP computer that has XP Home on it, I own XP Pro
>> that I purchased last year to upgrade my old computer--can I load XP
>> Pro on my new HP computer without reformating the hard drive and
>> wiping out my HP media programs? Thanks in advance for your help!

Start
Run
Type "winver" without the quotes
Press enter
Click on End-User License Agreement
Read section 1.1

You can only have it installed on one PC at any one point in time.

If you want to install the OS on the other PC you'll want/need to buy an
additional license or you'll probably face activation issues and genuine
advantage issues when trying to update your PC.

This being said and done...

What you have done is a side-by-side installation of XP Pro. When you asked
if you could upgrade it I was under the impression that you knew how to do
so. Instead of choosing to Install (after booting to CD) select Upgrade.
That will upgrade your XP Home to XP Pro.

Again, just to make sure, if you have it currently installed on one system
and attempt to upgrade the system to XP Pro and find that you can't activate
it and they don't let you activate it over the phone or that you can't get
updates to your Windows software there will be NO downgrade path. So it's in
your best interest to ensure that you have the single licensed copy of XP
installed on only one PC at any one time.

Quick Upgrade to Windows XP:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...tallquick.mspx

Anyhow, now that you have two copies of an OS... The first thing you'll want
to do is go ahead and remove all the files associated with the XP Pro
installation that you just made and then edit the boot.ini file to show only
one operating system choice. After that, and after you've removed XP Pro
from the old computer, you'll want to perform the upgrade via the method
detailed in the link above.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"We approached the case, you remember, with an absolutely blank mind,
which is always an advantage. We had formed no theories. We were simply
there to observe and to draw inferences from our observations." -
Sherlock Holmes