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windows home / windows xp

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by maureen

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Question. Computer A is running windows home. Computer B is running windows xp. I want xp on both computers. Can I use my windows xp CD to upgrade computer A to xp from home? If so, do I have to unistall home first?

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by dumphrey

You can upgrade XP Home to XP Pro, but you can not upgrade Vista Home to XP pro. Note: the upgrade requires a legally purchased disk ($130ish atm for an OEM upgrade disk), using the disk from the other computer you have would be a violation of the MS EULA, and is considered software piracy.

by thechas

First, if your XP CD is for your computer that is running XP, you cannot install that copy on any other computer while you are still using the computer it was originally installed on.

Further, if the copy of XP is an OEM version, per the End User License Agreement, it can ONLY be used with the original hardware. Some OEM copies will only install on hardware from the original system manufacture.

At a minimum, you need a second license for XP in order to legally install it on another system.

I presume that computer A is running Windows Vista home. If so, you may be able to "downgrade" that installation to XP under the Vista license.

One big issue that is a problem for a number of systems that shipped with Vista is finding drivers for all of the hardware that work with XP.

Before you start any form of downgrade, list ALL of the hardware devices and find XP version drivers for them.

Chas

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