Convert and Upgrade Windows XP Home to Professional Without Reinstalling
After installing Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional Edition onto a computer, officially it’s impossible for user to convert, or upgrade from Windows XP Home to Pro edition, or downgrade from Windows XP Professional to Home edition without reformatting and reinstalling the operating system from clean and fresh state.
A lot of people always associate conversion of Windows XP edition to illegitimate or privacy reason, but sometimes, there may be legitimate and genuine reason for change, such as customer, who all the while using Windows XP Home Edition (HE) finally buy a genuine license product key for Professional edition to replace the illegal pirated version installed, or user receives additional license as gift, but don’t want to go through clean install Windows XP again, or want to keep using the computer with all data intact without interruption.
Here’s a trick to convert and turn Windows XP Home Edition to Windows XP Pro Edition, from within the operating system without going through installation again. Ok, let’s be frank. The hack doesn’t actually install and add in all the features from Windows XP Professional that Windows XP Home lacks of, such as Remote Desktop Server (see guide to install Remote Desktop on XP Home) and Group Policy Editor (GPedit) utility tools, which has been removed on Windows XP Home edition. Some functions which turned off and disabled via integrated switches which read from registry flag whether it’s Home or Professional edition, such as EFS, RAID support and ability to join domain, may or may not work after migration. Basically, the trick only work to let Windows XP recognizes itself as Professional edition.
To convert and upgrade Windows XP Home to Windows XP Professional, follow procedure below.
- Open Registry Editor (regedit).
- Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet00X/Control/ProductOptions, where ControlSet00X is the one with the highest number.
- Delete the ProductSuite registry key.
- Then, create a new DWORD value and named it as Brand.
- Set the “Brand” value data as 0.
- Reboot the system.
- On boot up after the BIOS screen, press F8 to display Windows XP Startup Menu.
- Choose Last Known Good Configuration (LNG) and hit Enter.
Windows XP will start up as usual. After logging into the desktop, check the system properties to verify that it’s now Windows XP Professional.
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Entries (RSS)
November 9th, 2009 07:50
It worked smoothly on my eeepc 1000h with asus’ oem m$ xp home.
Nice stuff you got here. Congrats.
November 6th, 2009 07:15
Ok, so this is for illegal versions of XP, but I just got a second hand pc with XP Home and I think it is a legal version (I got it as a gift from a lawyer company wich deals with copyrights and stuff). And I happen to have an original Microsoft legal CD of XP Professional somewhere in my room, I just need to find it.
Is there any way to upgrade it legaly, with the true XP Professional without reformating? I also got Microsoft Office with the new PC and I don’t want to lose that on the reformat as I don’t have a legal copy of MS Office and I would rather keep as much legal programs as possible…
Hum, I mean, I always keep everything legal, don’t you think I have an illegal copy of Photoshop or anything, or even the entire Adobe Creative Suite 4 for everyday professional use. No, no, of course not.
October 31st, 2009 03:48
Ok, so I used this trick on my desktop when I had XP Home, but I just installed Windows 7 Home Premium and I’m wondering if this could be adapted for changing Windows 7 Home Premium to think it is Pro or Ultimate? Any ideas would be appreciated.
October 23rd, 2009 18:49
Nice trick!
It realy works with WInXP Home SP3 !
October 22nd, 2009 00:56
i don’t think this will work on sp3. cause what happens is system freezes up on restarted. also editing registry keys doesn’t work… it’ll revert back to original values???
October 16th, 2009 03:27
EDIT ON THAT LAST POST: when i said clear the registry i didn’t mean clear the registry like whipe it clean i just meant clear the registry key for ProductSuite.
October 16th, 2009 03:24
Thanks a lot man, took me a few tries, at first it was giving me the error message I couldn’t erase the registry key, then tried to just clear the registry, rebooted & it still wasn’t working. But after like the third try I saw that they added controlset006 to the registry (previously just controlset003 was highest), changed the settings in control set 6 and vuala! It’s now recognized as xp pro, thanks a lot dude!
October 5th, 2009 04:47
Restored System and got back to normal Home edition.
October 5th, 2009 04:07
The trick is useless, local security policy console did not show up.
September 30th, 2009 04:30
It really works (on wmware workstation)
September 10th, 2009 23:29
you are genius!!! worked on my win xp home at first try. but it’s better to blank the value of product suite instead of deleting it.
September 10th, 2009 03:45
Wow, thanks so much!
August 24th, 2009 13:11
This worked great and allowed us to use remote desktop on my wife’s pc. However, shortly after this change the system installed SP3 and afterwards we couldn’t access the system. I tried a solution to use recovery console to overwrite the necessary files but we still got the same error. I restored back to a system restore point to get access to the machine, but when I try to reverse the changes it won’t allow me to. Recreating the ProductSuite key is not permitted -it gets deleted as soon as you exit regedit. I was even clever and saved the reg configuration to I could restore the key back when I initially did this hack but it too is not allowed.
In all not a big deal but something to keep in mind for those looking to try this. Either make sure you have sp3 already installed, or live without auto update (minor updates work fine)
August 18th, 2009 12:12
Woowww Thanks!!
August 14th, 2009 21:49
I didn’t think yhat this would work, but i wanted professional to work certain software, so i tried it. Now my computer reads as professional. Thank you
August 14th, 2009 04:01
hey..it worked…thanx…bt it says I have to activate windows again in 27 days….didn’t get that one…but thanks..
August 8th, 2009 15:18
this one works..
August 8th, 2009 11:10
what is a registry editor? step 1.
sorry noob here. =(
July 15th, 2009 21:25
Hmm, I am interested in this hack to be able to install / run MS Windows Services for UNIX 3.5 (I’m looking to use the NFS mount capability from Windows to a Linux box)
Any idea if this hack will allow me to do this?
July 14th, 2009 15:58
woow this really works!
but in the computer properties the remote tab dissapeared… what happened?
is it truely a win XP PRO now, or winXP just “thinks” that it is?
July 13th, 2009 23:04
This worked perfectly for me – win xp home sp3. Thank you.
July 13th, 2009 11:19
I wouldn’t try this if I were YOU, unless you already have a hacked version of XP Home.
Assuming this criteria is met, the functionality you gain is minimal. But if you have a hacked version already you might as well, especially if:
1) you desperately need to join a domain
2) you need remote desktop capability
3) you need to bypass restrictions imposed by certain programs
For people like me looking to add a Local Security Policy panel to XP with Home there is yet a solution…
July 10th, 2009 07:15
Some people seem confused about the currentcontrolset00x instruction thought the steps are clear, i figured i’d try to clear up some of the confusion. As i understand it currentcontrolset001 is the working configuration of the system – i would assume this is not a value we are changing because the system may detect the tampering. Instead we edit the values that are loaded when Last known good is chosen.. which from what i remember from studying XP was the one with 002 value, however my system had 002 and 003 i just followed the steps for both.
System properties now shows XP Pro, so now i guess the fun part is to try to apply the XP pro features..
if you’re not a computer teckie i’d do this with caution as i would not be surprised if future service packs or windows genuine tests melt down the system
cheers
June 26th, 2009 03:23
unfortuately, IIS is not found in optional Window Components even though the OS became Windows XP Pro. RDP and new games are enabled but those aren’t what i’m looking for.
June 20th, 2009 02:59
it didnt work for me i have xp home sp2
May 31st, 2009 15:39
didn’t work for me. I have sp3
May 31st, 2009 09:32
You are a genius.
You just saved me hours of installing Win XP Pro on 3 machines.
I was installing a software which just installs on Pro, it checks this reg value so did not let me.
I followed these instructions and voila, i could install the software on those 3 machines with out the painful process of buying/downloading/installing/customizing xp pro.
Thanks, thanks , thanks
May 29th, 2009 14:35
I tested and wala…!!!
I can share folders on the first boot after the change…!!!
Note: My XPH have SP3 installed
May 28th, 2009 00:44
Wow! This really works. Never thought it would be so easy to change ‘home’ to ‘professional’. Thanks for saving me time and agravation!
May 27th, 2009 18:15
my registry edit has 2 control sets u said controlset00x
i have
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet002/
wich one do i change
May 18th, 2009 11:38
Worked on my Acer Aspire one.
May 16th, 2009 01:26
I think I followed the instruction correctly
1. I deleted Productsuite
2. I changed Dword/brand to zero file was already on my sytem
4. I rebooted several times as the XP pro was not in windows system. Still is not there
4. Also rebooted with F8 as instructed.
I need to change to windows XP Pro to load SAS Enterprise guide 4.1. one of the requirements is that XP Pro must be on my system.
Can someone advise on what I am doing wrong.
May 13th, 2009 20:17
i have controlset 001,002,003 not OOX :S
April 29th, 2009 08:44
anyway im using acer aspire one zg5 and i want my home edition to be upgraded into xp pro….
April 29th, 2009 08:42
in my registry editor
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CONTROLSET00X
There is no CONTROLSET00X IN MY REGISTRY WHAT WILL I CHOOSE?
April 21st, 2009 23:47
Worked as posted, any other tip for pro app.
April 5th, 2009 02:26
if you actually want to upgrade to Win XP Pro it is possible if you simply uninstall the service packs down to the service pack of the install disc you have. I just did this, works much better.
April 3rd, 2009 12:54
Before I attempt this, could you clarify for me how to “create a new DWORD value”? Thanks.
March 16th, 2009 05:12
Tried this on a New Acer netbook that came with XP Home w/ SP3 already installed. I had did a lot of data migration and application installations. I wanted to be able to join my domain at home and use offline files and folders (neither feature available on XP Home). I purchased XP pro but didnt want to have to reinstall and do all that customization again. I Followed the steps exactly as written (including step
and the machine came up as a professional (screen splash and all). I was able to run windows update (including the validation tool) without any problems. its been 2 weeks now and no discernable problems yet. Im still amazed that was so simple, oh BTW i was able to join my domain and offline files and folders was not available.
Thanks !!
March 5th, 2009 04:24
[...] [...]
March 2nd, 2009 00:37
Just ditch xp…go to linux. its simple. you dont even have to put linux on your box, you can run it via a flash drive look into it :google: Ubuntu linux via QEMU
March 1st, 2009 06:51
This worked well for me. I upgraded Home edition to SP3 first, then did this change. Worked well.
February 27th, 2009 05:28
Yes, system restore does work but when you have tried this fix months before sp3 came out windows would have deleted the restore points anyway.
February 14th, 2009 01:48
You dorks, before you do anything like this BACKUP YOUR REGISTRY!!!
System restore works pretty good you know!
I did this to try it out, created a restore point, tried it, worked, but did not want to invalidate the lisence. Restored, return beautiful. If you do this and want the upgrade, you will have to buy a XP license.
February 12th, 2009 09:05
Create a system restore point before you do this. That will make sure you do get any funky effects that other people are complaining about.
February 11th, 2009 21:22
This works great!
BUT, is there someone who has a solution on how to get SP3 on this XP Pro? You can install SP3, but when you reboot, you get an error, so you have to use safety mode to remove SP3 again to login.
So, anybody know if it’s possible to install SP3?
February 6th, 2009 02:14
Nice!
Just a small note: don’t delete the ProductSuite registry key. Empty it.
That way you don’t need to create a new key, Brand, and you can easily restore the system — just put the string (’Personal‘ I think it was) back in place.
If this hack doesn’t work for you, it’s most likely because you didn’t follow point 8 properly.
February 5th, 2009 00:10
Nothing! what did i do wrong? any ideas for me?
February 3rd, 2009 22:56
I’ve followed the instructions as described above on a Compaq machine, freshly installed with the recovery partition and I’ve successfully joined the ‘hacked’ xp pro (previously home) to a 2003 SBS Domain.
Thanks!
January 24th, 2009 16:35
Will it delete all of my documents?
January 19th, 2009 22:43
“mine
January 12th, 2009 17:57 37
my system completely fucked up, yes…it change to xp professional…but vga color won’t go higher than 4 bit…what a mess….better think twice before trying to do as told above.”
I get the same problem but what i did was restart and log in safe mode and admin. then i restart it again and voila!
January 13th, 2009 05:32
if you, like me, has forgoten to backup the registry you can still undo it!
go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet00X/Control/ProductOptions
delete the dword that you created
(just click ok if it complains about windows tampering)
right click and select multi string value
type Personal
click ok
right click on the key and rename it ProductSuite
restart tap F8
go to last known config
then update to sp3
January 12th, 2009 17:57
my system completely fucked up, yes…it change to xp professional…but vga color won’t go higher than 4 bit…what a mess….better think twice before trying to do as told above.
January 11th, 2009 23:55
will it delete all of you computer’s programs?
January 11th, 2009 16:08
Do you have to backup any of your computer files?
January 8th, 2009 13:06
This worked great! Thank you
December 22nd, 2008 22:00
Get winternals and backup registry b4 completing this.
December 16th, 2008 10:58
ok so how do I go back to XP Home Edition ? I really regreted that I did this . and you over at DIGITALLIFE SHOULD PUT SOME KINDA DISCLAIMER THAT THE PC’s WON’T UPDATE AFTER THIS HACK . f*********k
December 15th, 2008 21:11
nothing
December 6th, 2008 14:15
how do you undo this?
everytime i try to type in productsuite it wont save the change?
November 28th, 2008 18:26
Thanks, I upgraded from XP Home to XP Professional as easy as that.
November 28th, 2008 00:03
Your statement that one cannot upgrade XP Home to XP Pro without formatting is not true. However, one can get error message that upgrade not possible due to newer version on computer. In this case, XP Home is SP 3 but upgrade XP Pro is SP2. Simple solution: control panel/remove programs/delete SP3. Now install XP Pro.
November 26th, 2008 04:43
I suspected that would cause problems with updates. When it comes to my software, I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I still know when to stay IN the shed!
November 13th, 2008 00:47
After playing around with it for some time, I have determined that this modification will not add any significant functionality to Windows XP. It will, however, cause the Windows Genuine Advantage Validation tool to flag your OS as hacked, preventing you from installing certain updates and applications. Make sure you backup your registry before trying this hack and that you know how to restore it.
November 12th, 2008 18:51
Shit, this really worked.
October 29th, 2008 23:40
turk yok mu lan turk
October 29th, 2008 23:39
amugakoyum
October 18th, 2008 15:01
Can anyone verify if this modification will enable dual processor support?
October 11th, 2008 16:25
Wow..Now system property says XP Professional 2002 SP1..
Great work!!
October 11th, 2008 01:37
Wow.
October 3rd, 2008 00:35
FABULOSO…. JUSTO LO QUE NECESITABA , LAMENTO HABER TRASNOCHADO TANTO INTENTANDOLO ANTES… UFFF. REALMENTE ERA SENCILLO FLATABA SOLO LA AYUDA< DE E X P E R T O S ……
October 1st, 2008 04:56
how do you get the productsuite key back because i want windows xp home back. Could you tell me what the information is for the productsuite key and then i will just put it back in. Thanks
September 20th, 2008 07:22
I have 4 Compaq 1220nx, all came with xp home. all upgrades were performed to sp3. Decided needed server with domain, did not want to reload all software. XP Pro (OEM) did upgrade on 3 of the 4 perfectly, making networking better. the 4th would not. So got XP pro retail, same deal would not offer option of upgrading, without loss of programs. Is there some way of migrating the programs to XP Pro, even if I have to install another hard drive? Why, we have several cad programs that we do not wish to reinstall and spend weeks figuring out how we got them to the present configuration.
September 16th, 2008 04:24
DESPUES DE HABER CAMBIADO DE XP HOME A XP PROFESSIONAL, TIENES QUE CAMBIAR TAMBIEN LA CLAVE…PARA HACER ESTE HACK TE VAS A EJECUTAR EN EL MENU INICIO DESPUES REGEDIT
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWSNT\.
CURRENTVERSION\WPAEVENTS
UNA VEZ AHI MODIDFICAS DOBLE CLIC SOBRE “OOBETIMER” Y BORRAS EL VALOR QUE CONTIENE, UNA VEZ HECHO ESTO TE VAS A EJECUTAR Y ESCRIBES LO SIGUIENTE:
%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\OOBE\msoobe.exe /A
LE DAS OK Y TE APARECE EL CUADRO DE ACTIVATE WINDOWS, Y LE DAS EN LA OPCION TELEFONEAR A UN REPRESENTANTE, Y BUSCAS LA OPCION CAMBIAR CLAVE AHI PONES UNA CLAVE VALIDA DE WINDOWS XP PROFESSIONAL EXISTEN MUCHAS EN EL INTERNET GRATIS YO NO LA PONGO POR MOTIVOS YA CONOCIDOS.
BUENO PUES SUERTE Y ESPERO QUE LES FUNCIONE A MI ME FUNCIONO, NO OLVIDEN HACER UN BACKUP ANTES DE MODIFICAR CUALQUIER VALOR EN EL REGISTRO DEL SISTEMA(REGEDIT).
September 16th, 2008 04:06
ES FACIL GHASS AQUI LA RESPUESTA:
August 23rd, 2008 08:22
Hi Kjeld,
I have the same problem now and i can’t access to windows. It gives the same error message “cannot verify the windows licence”. So, how can i resolve this problem?
Thanks.
August 22nd, 2008 14:09
Awsome
Love the remote desktop conection/terminal server
July 26th, 2008 05:00
Hello, I tried this conversion and it worked out just fine. Except, afterwards I tried upgrading to SP3. It says the machine cannot verify the Windows license (and therefore Windows cannot start).
Luckily I was able to roll back the SP3 installation.
July 19th, 2008 09:51
bbman101
July 12th, 2008 07:02
8
my registry edit has 2 control sets u said controlset00x
i have
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet002/
wich one do i change
Reply:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet002/…
…the one with the highest number.
July 19th, 2008 07:02
how do you reverse it?
July 16th, 2008 23:21
[...] To run Remote Desktop Terminal Services (server component) in Windows XP Home Edition, the operating system must first made to recognize itself as Windows XP Professional Edition. To do so, follow the guide to convert Windows XP Home to Windows XP Professional. [...]
July 12th, 2008 07:02
my registry edit has 2 control sets u said controlset00x
i have
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet001/
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/ControlSet002/
wich one do i change
July 8th, 2008 00:07
Well I tried it for poops and giggles and it didn’t work.
June 23rd, 2008 21:14
[...] June 23, 2008 by TARONO refer this page [...]
June 20th, 2008 05:42
[...] Convert and Upgrade Windows XP Home to Professional Without Reinstalling [...]
June 14th, 2008 00:17
[...] To run Remote Desktop Terminal Services (server component) in Windows XP Home Edition, the operating system must first made to recognize itself as Windows XP Professional Edition. To do so, follow the guide to convert Windows XP Home to Windows XP Professional. [...]
June 14th, 2008 00:08
mfk, it’s useful to install rdp in xp home.
June 13th, 2008 17:28
I think one stronger reason, is a company that buy a domain controller, and realize that home ed. cannot be added to domains. Contrary to what you have said, is it possible to upgrade from home to professional normally with no hack. Just put the professional cd and chose the upgrade option. Nothing will be lose and the features of professional will be enabled (of course you will need a valid pro key). From pro to home isn’t possible.
June 13th, 2008 13:10
Dear Admin,
Then what is the added advantage? And has anybody checked out the effect it has on wga, automatic updates etc.?
Unless for some real benefit, there is no point! I love your tips, but this is not upto your standard!
Regards,
MFK.