Non genuine XP Pro-Downgrade to XP Home

[blinton25]

Hello,



I have a Dell computer with non genuine XP Pro (vlk) which has a key for XP home on the side. I would like to revert back to XP Home since I know the key is legitamite but there is software installed on the computer which I don't wish to lose. Trying to determine the best way to proceed, which option should I choose:



1. Is there a way to downgrade to XP Home but keep my software?



2. XP Pro prices have dropped since Vista came out. Can I purchase XP Pro from a retailer (at less than the $149 that the Genuine advantage kit suggests) and use this to change my key? Any good sites that i can get genuine XP software from?



3. Purchase the genuine advantage kit?

 

[linney]

XP Home would not be able to upgrade (repair) a XP Pro machine, but Vista Business or Ultimate would. The cost would be way outside of your stated prices however.

In theory (a rather messy theory) you could copy all the entires for your program, including the myriad of registry entries, if you could find all of them, and paste them into in to a clean install of XP Home. Like I said, messy.

Can you not locate the original Install/Setup of this program and re-install it on a clean install of XP Home?

How to get Windows software at half-price

http://windowssecrets.com/comp/070412/

A repair install using a legit XP Pro version would save your programs.

Repairing windows by running it over itself. You will lose all your windows updates but your files and installed programs will be untouched.

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

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

Depending how this vital program is setup on your machine there may be a very slight (very slight indeed) possibility that parallel installing XP Home with the XP Pro install, that you may be able to run the program from XP Home, but I doubt it.

Read the paragraph in this article.

"To install Windows XP to a new folder (to perform a parallel installation):"

How to install or upgrade to Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316941&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

 

[blinton25]

Hello,

Ok, I installed Home and it is running alongside Pro ok. Home was installed to WinXPHome, and under c:\documents and settings, my documents has been created in the format username.machinename.

There is still a Program Files directory however, which contains the programs which run from Win XP Pro. Is there a way that I can have any programs which are installed default to a directory like c:\Program Files2?

 

[blinton25]

Hello,

Found it at:

http://www.jsifaq.com/SF/Tips/Tip.aspx?id=1302

"If you want to change the Default application install from "C:\Program Files", use Regedt32 to navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

Alter the paths at:

ProgramFilesDir

AND

ProgramFilesPath

You may also alter:

CommonFilesDir