I just purchased a laptop with XP Media Center Edition. When I placed the
order for my laptop I forgot to order it with XP Pro installed, so I
purchased the XP Pro disk afterwards from the manufacturer.

I started the XP Pro upgrade from within XP Media Center Edition on the
laptop. After the upgrade collected initial configuration information it
started the uprade, rebooted, and continued the upgrade to XP Pro from the
booted CD. The upgrade started to prompt me to insert the XP Pro CD2 for
additional files that it needed. Problem is, there is only one CD for the
installation.

Is it possible to upgrade to XP Pro from XP Media Center Edition, and if so,
what is the best way to proceed without having to do a new install resulting
in overwriting the software applications that were already installed?

Luckily I made an image of the drive before attempting the XP Pro upgrade
and copied it back on the laptop so I can try this again.

"michkal" <michkal@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:7CF973FA-6286-40F8-81D7-BE08BFBF39C1@microsoft.com
> I just purchased a laptop with XP Media Center Edition. When I
> placed the order for my laptop I forgot to order it with XP Pro
> installed, so I purchased the XP Pro disk afterwards from the
> manufacturer.
>
> I started the XP Pro upgrade from within XP Media Center Edition on
> the laptop. After the upgrade collected initial configuration
> information it started the uprade, rebooted, and continued the
> upgrade to XP Pro from the booted CD. The upgrade started to prompt
> me to insert the XP Pro CD2 for additional files that it needed.
> Problem is, there is only one CD for the installation.
>
> Is it possible to upgrade to XP Pro from XP Media Center Edition, and
> if so, what is the best way to proceed without having to do a new
> install resulting in overwriting the software applications that were
> already installed?
>
> Luckily I made an image of the drive before attempting the XP Pro
> upgrade and copied it back on the laptop so I can try this again.

Media Center Edition is a super-set of WinXPPro. It contains _everything_
that WinXP Pro contains. Going from WinXP Media Center Edition to WinXP Pro
is a DOWNgrade. You would have to format the partition and make a clean
install.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE
Please respond in Newsgroup. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

One cannot upgrade from Windows Media Center Edition
to Windows XP Professional. A "clean install" of
Windows XP Professional is required and requires
a "Full Version" and not an "Upgrade Version" of
Windows XP Professional unless you have a qualifying
Microsoft Windows 98 or 2000 CD.

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

NOTE: If you have an internal Zip Drive installed, physically disconnect the
EIDE and power cable to it before proceeding, otherwise your main
hard drive may not be assigned the customary C: drive letter.
After installing Windows XP, you may then reconnect it.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete all the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu...t/default.mspx

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]


--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"michkal" wrote:

| I just purchased a laptop with XP Media Center Edition. When I placed the
| order for my laptop I forgot to order it with XP Pro installed, so I
| purchased the XP Pro disk afterwards from the manufacturer.
|
| I started the XP Pro upgrade from within XP Media Center Edition on the
| laptop. After the upgrade collected initial configuration information it
| started the uprade, rebooted, and continued the upgrade to XP Pro from the
| booted CD. The upgrade started to prompt me to insert the XP Pro CD2 for
| additional files that it needed. Problem is, there is only one CD for the
| installation.
|
| Is it possible to upgrade to XP Pro from XP Media Center Edition, and if so,
| what is the best way to proceed without having to do a new install resulting
| in overwriting the software applications that were already installed?
|
| Luckily I made an image of the drive before attempting the XP Pro upgrade
| and copied it back on the laptop so I can try this again.

michkal wrote:

> I just purchased a laptop with XP Media Center Edition. When I placed
> the order for my laptop I forgot to order it with XP Pro installed, so
> I purchased the XP Pro disk afterwards from the manufacturer.
>
> I started the XP Pro upgrade from within XP Media Center Edition on
> the
> laptop. After the upgrade collected initial configuration information
> it started the uprade, rebooted, and continued the upgrade to XP Pro
> from the
> booted CD. The upgrade started to prompt me to insert the XP Pro CD2
> for
> additional files that it needed. Problem is, there is only one CD for
> the installation.
>
> Is it possible to upgrade to XP Pro from XP Media Center Edition, and
> if so, what is the best way to proceed without having to do a new
> install resulting in overwriting the software applications that were
> already installed?
>
> Luckily I made an image of the drive before attempting the XP Pro
> upgrade and copied it back on the laptop so I can try this again.

The Media Center-to-Pro is not an upgrade; it is a downgrade since Media
Center is a *super*set of XP Pro. You will need to do a clean install
and yes, this means reinstalling programs and drivers from installation
media and restoring data from backups. There is no other way.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Reverse question: can you upgrade WinXP and/or WinXP Pro to Media
Edition?

Nope it's OEM
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/m...e/default.mspx

tacker wrote:

> Reverse question: can you upgrade WinXP and/or WinXP Pro to Media
> Edition?
>

"tacker" <thetacker@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1135878836.724353.192990@g47g2000cwa.googlegr oups.com
> Reverse question: can you upgrade WinXP and/or WinXP Pro to Media
> Edition?

Media Center is only available OEM on a new machine.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE
Please respond in Newsgroup. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/

I throught Media Center Edition is positioned between XP Home edition and XP
Pro, and that XP Pro contained addtional capabilities that Media Center
Edition or Home Edition does not support, such as easier network
connectivity, connecting to domains (for my job), advanced security... Isn't
this true?

I would love to stick with Media Center Edition, but I just want to make
sure that I have all the networking capabilities that I know XP Pro has for
my home network, and support when I connect to my employer's network. Any
further insight into this is appreciated.

Thanks again!


"Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE" wrote:

> "michkal" <michkal@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:7CF973FA-6286-40F8-81D7-BE08BFBF39C1@microsoft.com
> > I just purchased a laptop with XP Media Center Edition. When I
> > placed the order for my laptop I forgot to order it with XP Pro
> > installed, so I purchased the XP Pro disk afterwards from the
> > manufacturer.
> >
> > I started the XP Pro upgrade from within XP Media Center Edition on
> > the laptop. After the upgrade collected initial configuration
> > information it started the uprade, rebooted, and continued the
> > upgrade to XP Pro from the booted CD. The upgrade started to prompt
> > me to insert the XP Pro CD2 for additional files that it needed.
> > Problem is, there is only one CD for the installation.
> >
> > Is it possible to upgrade to XP Pro from XP Media Center Edition, and
> > if so, what is the best way to proceed without having to do a new
> > install resulting in overwriting the software applications that were
> > already installed?
> >
> > Luckily I made an image of the drive before attempting the XP Pro
> > upgrade and copied it back on the laptop so I can try this again.
>
> Media Center Edition is a super-set of WinXPPro. It contains _everything_
> that WinXP Pro contains. Going from WinXP Media Center Edition to WinXP Pro
> is a DOWNgrade. You would have to format the partition and make a clean
> install.
>
> --
> Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE
> Please respond in Newsgroup. Do not send email
> http://www.fjsmjs.com
> Protect your PC
> http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/
>
>
>
>

If your employer requires that the PC join the domain, not just access
resources, stick with XP Pro.

michkal wrote:

> I throught Media Center Edition is positioned between XP Home edition and XP
> Pro, and that XP Pro contained addtional capabilities that Media Center
> Edition or Home Edition does not support, such as easier network
> connectivity, connecting to domains (for my job), advanced security... Isn't
> this true?
>
> I would love to stick with Media Center Edition, but I just want to make
> sure that I have all the networking capabilities that I know XP Pro has for
> my home network, and support when I connect to my employer's network. Any
> further insight into this is appreciated.
>
> Thanks again!
>
>
> "Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE" wrote:
>
>
>>"michkal" <michkal@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>>news:7CF973FA-6286-40F8-81D7-BE08BFBF39C1@microsoft.com
>>
>>>I just purchased a laptop with XP Media Center Edition. When I
>>>placed the order for my laptop I forgot to order it with XP Pro
>>>installed, so I purchased the XP Pro disk afterwards from the
>>>manufacturer.
>>>
>>>I started the XP Pro upgrade from within XP Media Center Edition on
>>>the laptop. After the upgrade collected initial configuration
>>>information it started the uprade, rebooted, and continued the
>>>upgrade to XP Pro from the booted CD. The upgrade started to prompt
>>>me to insert the XP Pro CD2 for additional files that it needed.
>>>Problem is, there is only one CD for the installation.
>>>
>>>Is it possible to upgrade to XP Pro from XP Media Center Edition, and
>>>if so, what is the best way to proceed without having to do a new
>>>install resulting in overwriting the software applications that were
>>>already installed?
>>>
>>>Luckily I made an image of the drive before attempting the XP Pro
>>>upgrade and copied it back on the laptop so I can try this again.
>>
>>Media Center Edition is a super-set of WinXPPro. It contains _everything_
>>that WinXP Pro contains. Going from WinXP Media Center Edition to WinXP Pro
>>is a DOWNgrade. You would have to format the partition and make a clean
>>install.
>>
>>--
>>Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE
>>Please respond in Newsgroup. Do not send email
>>http://www.fjsmjs.com
>>Protect your PC
>>http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/
>>
>>
>>
>>

michkal wrote:

> I throught Media Center Edition is positioned between XP Home edition
> and XP Pro, and that XP Pro contained addtional capabilities that
> Media Center Edition or Home Edition does not support, such as easier
> network connectivity, connecting to domains (for my job), advanced
> security... Isn't this true?


Not exactly. Media Center has everything in XP Professional with *one*
exception. It can't join a domain.


> I would love to stick with Media Center Edition, but I just want to
> make sure that I have all the networking capabilities that I know XP
> Pro has for my home network,


Assuming that your home network is a peer-to-peer (workgroup) network, yes
it does.


> and support when I connect to my
> employer's network.


If your employer's network is a domain (and most large companies use
domains, not workgroups), no it doesn't.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


> Any further insight into this is appreciated.
>
> Thanks again!
>
>
> "Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE" wrote:
>
>> "michkal" <michkal@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:7CF973FA-6286-40F8-81D7-BE08BFBF39C1@microsoft.com
>>> I just purchased a laptop with XP Media Center Edition. When I
>>> placed the order for my laptop I forgot to order it with XP Pro
>>> installed, so I purchased the XP Pro disk afterwards from the
>>> manufacturer.
>>>
>>> I started the XP Pro upgrade from within XP Media Center Edition on
>>> the laptop. After the upgrade collected initial configuration
>>> information it started the uprade, rebooted, and continued the
>>> upgrade to XP Pro from the booted CD. The upgrade started to prompt
>>> me to insert the XP Pro CD2 for additional files that it needed.
>>> Problem is, there is only one CD for the installation.
>>>
>>> Is it possible to upgrade to XP Pro from XP Media Center Edition,
>>> and if so, what is the best way to proceed without having to do a
>>> new install resulting in overwriting the software applications that
>>> were already installed?
>>>
>>> Luckily I made an image of the drive before attempting the XP Pro
>>> upgrade and copied it back on the laptop so I can try this again.
>>
>> Media Center Edition is a super-set of WinXPPro. It contains
>> _everything_ that WinXP Pro contains. Going from WinXP Media Center
>> Edition to WinXP Pro is a DOWNgrade. You would have to format the
>> partition and make a clean install.
>>
>> --
>> Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE
>> Please respond in Newsgroup. Do not send email
>> http://www.fjsmjs.com
>> Protect your PC
>> http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/