INSTALLING WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL FROM AN EXISTING OPERATING SYSTEMIF...

2-32 Chapter 2 Installing Windows XP Professional

Lesson 4: Upgrading Earlier Versions of Windows to

Windows XP Professional

You can upgrade many earlier versions of Windows operating systems directly to Win-

dows XP Professional. Before upgrading, however, you must do the following:

■

Ensure that the computer hardware meets the minimum Windows XP Professional

hardware requirements.

■

Check the Windows Catalog or test the computer for hardware compatibility using

the Windows XP Professional Compatibility tool. Using compatible hardware pre-

vents problems when you start the upgrade on a large number of client computers.

After this lesson, you will be able to■

Identify client upgrade paths to Windows XP Professional.

■

Generate a hardware compatibility report.

■

Upgrade earlier Windows client operating systems to Windows XP Professional.

Estimated lesson time: 10 minutes

Client Upgrade Paths

You can upgrade most client computers running earlier versions of Windows directly to

Windows XP Professional. However, computers running some earlier versions of Win-

dows (including Windows 95, Windows NT 3.1, and Windows NT 3.5) require an addi-

tional step. Table 2-5 lists the Windows XP Professional upgrade paths for various

client operating systems.

Table 2-5

Windows XP Professional Upgrade Paths for Client Operating Systems

Upgrade From Upgrade To

Windows NT 3.1, 3.5, or 3.51 Windows NT 4.0 Workstation first, and then upgrade to

Windows 95 Windows 98 first, and then upgrade to

Windows 98 Windows XP Professional

Windows Me Windows XP Professional

Windows NT Workstation 4.0

with Service Pack 6 or later

Windows 2000 Professional Windows XP Professional

Windows XP Home Edition Windows XP Professional