Thinkpads Forum

Hi,

I have a Lenovo laptop which has Windows XP Home preinstalled on it. For some reason I want to install Win XP Pro on it. How should I go about it?

- Can I upgrade a home installation to Pro?
- Can I format and install XP Pro from scratch? If so, will I be able to recover the original installation using the recovery CD provided along with the laptop?
- What limitations are there in Win XP Home? Do all programs which run on XP Pro run on XP Home?

Thanks in advance.

The issues with XP Home are network and security. Any application that runs in Home runs in Pro and vice-versa (so far as I know in my extensive testing).

I have successfully upgraded Home to Pro by inserting the Pro upgrade CD and running it. Everything was preserved that I can recall.

... JD Hurst

Thanks for the quick reply. Sorry for the noob questions but I don't have any upgrade CD. Just a normal Win XP Pro CD which I had used for my old computer. Now I run Linux on that. So can I use that CD for upgrading to Pro? The laptop's not mine so I want to make sure before I do any changes to it.