Upgrading from XP Home to XP Pro Questions

[wchull]

My PC has a copy of Windows XP Home on it (full retail copy) that I bought when XP first came out. The copy on my PC has been upgraded to SP2 and patched with all patches through August 2006. Yesterday I was able to get my hands on a full retail copy of XP Pro still sealed in the box from a trusted friend for nothing.

I've created a new install CD with SP2 slipstreamed inside and I want to upgrade my copy of Home with Pro instead of doing a clean install (I have my reasons). Before I upgrade I have a few concerns that revolve around patching and registry tweaking....

Can anyone who has upgraded Home with Pro tell me what my system will be able to detect about my current patch level? Will it roll everything back to the initial SP2 state and require me to repatch or will it assume rightly or wrongly that I am fully patched? If It gets confused about my curent patch level is there anything that help me with the task of over-patching what is already there?

What about registry tweaks? I have several utilities that I have used to tweak the registry and I have manually tweaked the registry based on numerous magazine articles for performance. I'm wondering what the impact will be on these tweaked settings after the upgrade.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

[linney]

The level of ServicePack on your current install must be the same as this new XP CD otherwise it will refuse to be upgraded to an older ServicePack level.

If the new CD has the ServicePack 2 slipstreamed, then the install you end up with will be equal to the the files (and any slipstreamed patches) included in your new CD.

Have a look at this site, it will show you how to slipstream Window's Updates.

http://www.ryanvm.net/msfn/updatepack.html

The settings in the Registry should be carried across into the new install.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP (Q315341)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q315/3/41.asp

 

[bcastner]

Do not use the "In-Place upgrade" method described in linney's last link to upgrade from XP Home to XP Pro. That method is intended for repair of XP from a CD with the same SKU.

Neither should you use this method to try and change from one localized language version to another.

When you boot from the XP Pro CD it will detect the XP Home installation and ask you if you Want to do an Upgrade installation. That is the way in which you want to run winnt from the CD, not as an "In-Place Upgrade."

Registry "tweaks" are preserved to the extent they are not in conflict with XP Professional default security settings or policy.

 

[wchull]

Thanks for the Update.

A couple of questions....

I'm confused about the state of the CD neede to do the upgrade from Home to Pro. I read a thread on a Microsoft forum that stated that the CD had to be slipstreamed to SP2 only but Linney (previous poster) indicated that the CD had to be patched to the August Patch level. Which is it?

I'm really concerned about the post update state of the machine in regard to patches. I have heard that the upgrade returns you to the state of patching on the Slipstreamed CD. If I use a slip streamed CD that is SP2 then any patches that have been applied since will need to be re-patched. I have also heard just the opposite. To be safe I either need a fully slipstreamed CD or something that would allow me to reapply all patches regardless of what the OS thinks has been applied. Do you know how best to handle this concern?

 

[bcastner]

Whatever has been slipstreamed, Service Packs and Hotfixes, are applied.

To make the slipstream of Hotfixes easier, they have already been compiled into a bundle for you:

RyanVM + RyanVM Integrator:

http://ryanvm.msfn.org/updatepack.html

AutoPatcher:

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?s=129235285df7b2ab227abb62edc7c4e3&showtopic=486480

 

[linney]

That article was used to support the answer on Registry settings not as a way to install XP Pro over Home. Sorry for the confusion.

Just insert the XP Pro CD and follow the displayed
instructions for your upgrade.

 

[wchull]

AutoPatcher is a separate app. Based on what I have been told it detects what is needed and will only what you need unless you specifically override the detection and apply more.

Looks like the RyanVM Integrator will do the integration of the SP2 and the patches into 1 SP2 + CD.

There also appears to be something called NLite that can also take the SP2 and the files post SP2 files from

http://WWW.RYANVM.NET

and build a SP2 + CD. Looks interesting.

Question to bcastner.... Have you done the before (Upgrade XP Home to XP Pro)? If yes, is the performance as good as before you started? What kind of problems did you have? Any pre or post advice on things to do?

I'm just a bit concerned about the before and after as my current Home install is working pretty flawlessly and if I'm going to be creating more headaches for myself I may opt to forget about upgrading as I really don't have a lot of time to spend on this and cannot afford a lot of down time.

 

[bcastner]

Please do not NLITE to do such a major upgrade.
Please.

I have done the upgrade several times without issue.
I always made a backup "just in case" but I never needed it.

The only thing to do when you finish is to defragment the drive. It really gets torn apart by the process and this exacts a performance penalty.

Best wishes.
Bill

 

[wchull]

So which method did you use the RyanVM Integrator or do you use a SP2 SlipStramed CD and then run AutoPatcher aferward?

 

[linney]

Nlite should probably only be used if you have used that program previously to slipstream files into your old CD. In that case RyanVM might fail. Ryan covers that point on his site.

Home to Pro is the easiest upgrade that there is, the two operating systems are identical except that Pro has more parts to it that are not included with Home.

But as with anything things can go wrong so prepare for that possibility.

Upgrade from XP Home to XP Pro
thread779-551955

XP Home to Pro Upgrade
thread779-624396

How bad is upgrade from XP home to XP pro?
thread779-472923

307229 - Icons, Favorites, E-Mail Messages, and Customization Is Missing After Upgrade to Windows

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307229&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

 

[bcastner]

XP Pro slipstreamed SP2.
Windows Update afterwards.