Question

Cant upgrade from XP Home to XP Professional - upgrade

Asked by: rwandamark

I had posted a question  back on 9/2/09 about upgrading from Windows XP home to professional, using the Upgrade.  I was told I can upgrade without a problem.
Well, here's my problem:
I go to put the windows XP professional upgrade CD in the drive, and I get the message:
Setup cannot continue because the version of Windows on your computer is newer than the version on the CD.

Warning: If you decide to delete the newer version of Windows that is currently installed on your computer, the files and settings cannot be recovered.

1) IT DOESNT LET ME CONTINUE.  CONTINUE IS GREYED OUT.
2) NOW, reading the box, it says the upgrade is for users of MS Windows 98 SE, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT Workstation 4, or Windows 2000 Professional.  IT DOESNT SHOW FOR USERS OF XP HOME!

So, I now have this upgrade CD for XP Professional.  What can I do so that I can upgrade form XP Home to Professional???
Thanks,
Mark

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2009-09-17 at 15:38:04ID24741745
Tags

XP

,

Windows

,

network

Topics

Miscellaneous Networking

,

Windows XP Operating System

Participating Experts
3
Points
500
Comments
4

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Umax Astra 1200S scanner with Windows Millennium
    I want to connect my Umax Astra 1200S (scsi-type)scanner to my newer computer, which uses Windows Millennium. What kind of scsi card should I install? What is the appropriate driver and how might I get it (other than by spending $14.50 on a VistaScan 3.55 CD that is mentioned...
  2. From XP to SE
    I installed Window XP over Window 98SE and several problems are occuring. So I want to restore my window 98 SE but don't know how ? I am told that when you install XP over Win 98 that you can revert to Window 98 ,but I don't any restore function in Window XP. I want to keep m...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: David-HowardPosted on 2009-09-17 at 15:48:54ID: 25361825

Rwandamark, I located your same issue here within EE. The problem is based on a system that has XP Home with SP2 (that's important) and the upgrade CD is XP Pro BUT with Service Pack 1. XP will not allow an "upgrade" if the installed service pack is higher than the one attempting to load with the upgrade OS.
In short, the answer was to uninstall the current Service Pack, reboot and attempt the upgrade as usual.
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Operating_Systems/WinXP/Q_21713706.html

 

by: TechForcePosted on 2009-09-17 at 16:11:00ID: 25361963

i'd reccomend backing up all of your daa/files/documents etc and doing a fresh install of xp pro over home, rather than upgrade. if you can.

you can use this tool 'Fabs AutoBackup' to backup your main documents and files, emails from outlook, bookmarks etc automatically: http://www.fpnet.fr/index2.php?lang=en&section=software

to do this insert your xp cd, enter the BIOS of your computer when it's starting (should tell to hit a certain key to enter Bios or setup (typically delete or f2)) and scroll along till you find the boot optons, set it to boot from CD-Rom first.

then when your machine is starting watch the screen and you'll probably get a 'press any key to boot from cd...', press any key and from there install a fresh copy of xp pro, make sure you can get all your drivers etc for your machine also, or you can back them up and restore them with a tool called 'double driver' which is free: http://www.boozet.org/dd.htm

the reason it won't let you install is as David Howard stated, the service packon your machine currently is newer than the one that is on hte cd, you can eitheir make a slipstreamed cd and install sp3 into it, or  just make a fresh install as advised and then update to SP3 via windows update.

 

by: rwandamarkPosted on 2009-09-17 at 19:22:54ID: 31630322

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...