Windows XP Supported Upgrade Paths

Daniel Petri

Jan 7, 2009

What are the Windows XP supported update paths?

You can upgrade most Windows client operating systems directly to Windows XP Professional. If you upgrade instead of doing a new installation, you will not lose the existing settings and applications on the partition. When preparing for an upgrade, you should first complete the tasks listed on the pre-installation checklist that appears in the Planning Your Installation section of this module, and then prepare your system for the upgrade. Preparing for an upgrade consists of these additional tasks:

Identifying the upgrade path
Preparing your system

Windows 3.x: No supported upgrade paths
Windows 95: No supported upgrade paths
Windows 98\Windows 98 SE\Windows ME: Windows XP Home Edition Retail (Full) Version, Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade Version, Windows XP Professional Retail (Full) Version, Windows XP Professional Upgrade Version
Windows NT 3.51 Workstation: No supported upgrade paths
Windows NT 4.0 Workstation: Windows XP Professional Retail (Full) Version, Windows XP Professional Upgrade Version
Windows 2000 Trial Edition: No supported upgrade paths
Windows 2000 Professional: Windows XP Professional Retail (Full) Version, Windows XP Professional Upgrade Version
Windows NT 3.51 Server: No supported upgrade paths
Windows NT 3.51 Server with Citrix: No supported upgrade paths
Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server: No supported upgrade paths
Windows XP Home Edition: Windows XP Professional Retail (Full) Version, Windows XP Professional Upgrade Version
Note : All Versions of Windows NT 4.0 (Workstation, Server, Enterprise and Terminal Server) require Service Pack 5 to be installed prior to upgrading to Windows XP.
Note: Windows XP Professional provides an uninstall tool when upgrading from Windows 98 on a drive formatted as FAT or FAT32. Therefore, when upgrading this type of drive, you will not have the option to upgrade to NTFS, as this would negate the uninstall option. However, you can convert the drive to NTFS after installation if you choose.