Uninstalling XP (xp pro)

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HELP PLEEEEASE!!! I have installed windows xp pro, and apparrently my warranty on the PC is invalid because of this. I bought my PC with XP home on it.
Does ANYONE know how to uninstall the PRO version, and get me back to XP home, without using the XP pro CD ROM to do it??? and without using the “restore to factory settings” floppy?? (don’t ask what happenned to the pro disc – its a long story!!!) Any help appreciated!!

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The only case I’ve ever heard of this happening is when a “pirated” copy of XP Pro is used. Are you sure that the CD you had was a legit one? MS had tracked the ID’s of some of the copies and built in a sort of timeout feature to disable the copied version.

In any case, exactly what is happening to cause you to want to restore back to XP Home? More info is needed.

Bob

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Since you bought your PC with Windows XP Home, you have the valid key for it. Just install Windows XP Home “on top” of your installation, using your key. This way you will not loose your data.

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When i bought the PC (from PC World) it wasn’t supplied with a “home” disc – only a “restore to factory settings” floppy – apparrantly they can do this!!! Mad eh?
And if i use the floppy, i’ll lose all my info.

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I go along with Viking. We need more info. I can’t believe that a PC seller would “void” your hardware warranty because you install a “better” operating system. Seems to me, the choice of software you run on ANY computer is yours, not the manufacturer or seller. Can you tell us more, please? From whom did you buy this PC? What tells you that your warranty is void? Please post more…..

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The PC was bought brand new from PC World, 4 months ago, and it’s Packard Bell who say that it is void if i change my version of Windows…..BUT that’s not the point! I actually WANT to go back to XP HOME. Hope this answers any questions, and gives you a better idea of what i’m talkin about.
Oh yes, as i said in the mail above this one – there is no “xp home” CDROM, just a floppy, which can restore to factory settings.

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I’m certainly not notting on your choice of XP’s flavors – but Pro is exactly the same code base as Home, with some additional components and a higher price tag. Outside of the fact that Home has a little green bar while booting and Pro has a blue one, the differences are completely transparent. Can I ask why you want home installed in lieu of Pro? If you don’t use the features Pro offers, they should not be getting in your way.

This very trend (‘restore CDs’) has been covered in past Woody’s Watches. It might be worth the effort to call Packard Hell and demand a full installation CD. You paid for the license, after all. Someone in the company would (or should?) certainly care if you mention that you won’t be a repeat customer unless they make good on it.

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The OEM’s will ONLY support the OS that was installed on the machine at time of assembly. This is standard, as for Pro being the same OS as Home, in general yes, but NO in the long run.

As for the Floppy only, is your ONLY choice. This is how some of the OEM’s are supporting their machines.

Some of the problems people have with using OS CD’s that did NOT come with the machine, the required drivers for that model and version are NOT on the MS retail version of the OS. Also some OEM’s have special software and tweaks , in other words it has been “Branded”. Good luck in getting ANY OS CD from this OEM. You might check out the other bigs boys and they are doing the same thing. This is why I will only deal with a OEM in my back yard with a full OS CD and then I can reach accross the counter and have a hand full of the throat to get the job done. Buying a machine at a local store of a chain is NOT a OEM.

Now that “The Law Suite” is some what over we are going to see more of this.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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To Wyllywylly. Since i installed pro, my internet connections seem to have gone belly-up! Seems like i’m gonna have to use the floppy. At the time of purchase it worried me because there was no CDROM, but they assured me it was ok, cos that was P. Bells way of doing it. Actully, ill call them today and INSIST on a CDROM.
Someone mentioned (may have been you) that when PC’s come ready installed with windows there may be certain “tweaks” that they have done – if this is the case, then installing PRO would account for the internet cock-up!!!!! Cheers.

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“…they assured me it was ok”
What they did – they put the image of their installation on hidden partition on your hard drive. If your hard drive fails (or, say, you want to install a larger hard drive) there is no way to restore your OS and any other programs came with computer. DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE IN THE FUTURE (and do not buy machines from Packard Bell – I have a bad experience with them).

What you need now, is to restore your Internet connections. It is possible, but we need more information. Who is your Internet provider, what kind of connection do you have (modem, cable modem, DSL etc), what the error message when you’re trying to connect to the Internet and so on. Reinstalling your OS may not bring your connection back – consider it.

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Not at all familiar with XP home so this may be a silly question. But, does XP Home have the system restore capabilities as does XPP? If so, couldn’t she use that? Or if she made this change recently isn’t there some way to go back to a Registry that functioned correctly before she made the change? I can’t remember the command but I thought I read about XP having 5 or so previous registry files in memory somewhere.

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You know, that’s an interesting idea. I’m betting that it would not just because of the subtle differences between the versions. Pro installs a few extra files, etc, and more importantly also sets the product type in the registry. I don’t believe you can change that particular item with system restore, but it’s an idea worth testing…if only I had a copy of home to test it with. In normal practice altering the product type in the registry will invalidate your installation.

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Thanks to everyone who tried to help re: uninstalling XP PRO .
I ended up taking the damm thing back to PC World and they restored it to factory settings – its working fine now.
Merry Xmas all, and thanks again. Diane.

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Am I going soft in the head? What made me think Packard Bell stopped marketing systems under their name (thank goodness) in the US and only sold to the Oriental marketplace. This was at least a year or two ago. Did they come back to haunt us again? I’m not knocking the original posters choice of systems but I really thought we had seen the last of those things.

Bob

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Greetings everyone!,

Regarding the issue of void warranties… I have a Dell that came with Win ME. I wanted to upgrade to XP and wasn’t sure whether to get Home or Pro (thanks to all who replied to my post – I purchased Pro). I called Dell to check on my warranty status if I purchased a ‘different’ OS than the one that came from factory (I have lifetime tech phone support). They said that any OS related problems would NOT be supported and they would have me restore ME, etc. Then they would try to diagnose the problem from that point (duh!). However, if the OS is purchased from Dell they would continue to fully support the system and I would have access to any updates from their website. The OS is not tweaked in any way, shape or form. It’s a straight MicroSoft upgrade box. I went ahead and purchased it from them ($179 U.S. dollars, free shipping, NO SALES TAX). I installed it Monday and, after a few tweaks and perusals to this board, it’s working like a charm and much better/efficient than ME ever did!

Anyway, just my two cents.

Thanks to all,

LMD

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Oh, I forgot to mention one more thing about DELL and restore cd’s. Dell does NOT include a System Restore cd!

They include all cd’s containing everything in the system. You have to do a number of turns and twists to get everything back, but it’s all there. You have 120 days from the day the order is placed to request an SRCD and Dell does not mention it at all. After that time frame you are out of luck. You must restore the long way. I don’t mind having all the disks but I would like the ‘all in 1’ method also!

So, if anyone is going to get a Dell (which I am pleased with except for the SRCD not being included by default), INSIST ON RECEIVING AN SRCD. “Now you know the rest of the story, … Good Day!”

LMD

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You’re not going soft – but I believe they distribute everywhere except the US. They haven’t come back to the US marketplace.

I’d have to agree with you on the ‘haunting’ – during my tenure at DEC, we were an authorized service center for PB machines, and the volume of failed machines under warranty was frightening. I’m sure that’s little consolation to Diane at this point since she owns one, but I’m hoping that their corporate godfathers, NEC, have made efforts to improve upon the quality.

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