How can I get XP Pro to boot automatically in the boot selection menu?

I have Windows XP Home and XP Professional on my laptop. How can I promote XP Pro to the default operating system? What's the best way to port applications and files to XP Pro?

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I'm assuming you mean that you want XP Professional to boot automatically in the boot selection menu. To do this, boot any of the above versions of Windows and go to My Computer | right-click | Properties | Advanced | Startup and Recovery, and select the default operating system from the drop-down there.

If you want to port applications from one installation of Windows to another (assuming they are on different partitions, because if they're not, you're looking at some serious conflicts!), there really isn't a way to do this safely other than reinstalling the application on the new target OS.

I know there are vendors of third-party programs who claim to be able to do something like this, but I haven't worked with any of them and can't vouch for their safety or accuracy. One such tool is Funduc's Application Mover, but I do not believe it handles programs that, for instance, install COM+ objects or other complex components.

Bottom line: You're probably best off just reinstalling the programs from scratch.

This was first published in December 2006

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