Windows XP Pro upgrade

[Guest]

I currently have XP home. Can I upgrade safely to XP Pro without losing any
data or have software issues?

 

[Gordon]

I currently have XP home. Can I upgrade safely to XP Pro without losing any
data or have software issues?

yes but why? Do you need to join a domain?

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

Matt

Yes, but it is always mandatory to backup any important data that you cannot afford to lose. Upgrading the OS on a computer is a major operation.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I currently have XP home. Can I upgrade safely to XP Pro without
losing any data or have software issues?

Yes, you can upgrade XP Home to Professional.

Will you lose any data or have software issues? Because so little has to be
changed, this is probably the easiest and most-likely successful of all
possible upgrades.

However 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.

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 don't need and would never use these extra features and will see no
benefits by upgrading.

 

[Chuck Davis]

I currently have XP home. Can I upgrade safely to XP Pro without losing any
data or have software issues?

You can always install a backup even though it was not included in the Home
Edition install.
HOW TO: Install Backup from the CD-ROM in Windows XP Home Edition
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q302894
If you have one of the computers where you don't have an Installation CD, or
the manufacturer didn't include the program, you can download it here:
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/software/ntbackup.msi

 

[Guest]

I have a problem with XP home which I thought may be fixed by upgrading.
However since posting this note I have been directed to a fix. Therefore
there is no need for me to upgrade. I suppose in my desperation I thought
this was a potential cure.

Thanks Matt

 

[Gordon]

I have a problem with XP home which I thought may be fixed by upgrading.

Pro is not an "upgrade" for Home. the only difference between Home and Pro
is that Pro contains some additional networking and security functions -
otherwise the underlying OS is identical.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I have a problem with XP home which I thought may be fixed by
upgrading.

Most upgrades go well. The one time that an upgrade is *least* likely to go
well is when you are experiencing a problem. One should *never* attempt to
solve a problem by doing an upgrade. It is more likely to exacerbate a
problem than to fix it.