This is probably a retarded ? to be asking here, but I was wondering...So my sister just got a new laptop with XP Pro and I've been running XP Home for about 2 yrs. Just wondering if there's any way I could capitalize off of her re-installation CD for XP Pro? Meaning, is there any way I could put Pro on my comp using her newly acquired Pro CD?...dismissing legality as an issue...

8/10/2006 6:56:33 PM

assuming she has a full copy of xp pro, i dont see why not.

8/10/2006 7:06:34 PM

full copy should come with the laptop..correct?

8/10/2006 7:14:25 PM

not normally. usually they come with an oem version which wont install on yours unless its the same brand/model

8/10/2006 7:26:25 PM

it generally specifies if it is a full version, check ur specs.

8/10/2006 7:39:04 PM

comes in tom...which should be about the same time I'll be installing if I get the go-ahead from you guys...thanx

8/10/2006 7:44:14 PM

It should work.

8/11/2006 12:23:15 AM

can you really justify why you need XP Pro vs. XP Home? That should be the real question here.

unless of course you just want to reinstall your OS to have a clean slate to start new with, that would be the only acceptable answer.

this article is old, but it has the info needed to show you that you may not really need XP Pro after all: http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp

Do you really need Domain access, multiprocessor support (2 for Pro vs. 1 for Home), do you need to host a remote desktop session (they make VNC for this very purpose), etc...

[Edited on August 11, 2006 at 9:54 AM. Reason : detail]

[Edited on August 11, 2006 at 9:56 AM. Reason : .]

8/11/2006 9:48:19 AM

well i'm going to reformat my comp anyway...just figured why not? ya know? If i can't its not really a big deal. like I said...just wondering...but thanks for the link

8/11/2006 3:23:20 PM

you might want to think about finding a legit serial that has not been activated yet before you decided to reformat and reinstall an operating system that will turn your box into an expensive paperweight if you do not activate within 30 days. some keys can be used more than once though. just a thought.

8/11/2006 6:40:47 PM

thanx for all the input but the damned thing has a built in system resource CD...so that basically negates the whole thread. Oh well...can't blame me for trying

8/11/2006 9:47:04 PM