Trying to do a recovery of XP Pro, due to an accidental loss of files while attempting to rid my computer of spyware/viruses. But I can't find my boot/recovery disk for XP Pro (recently moved). I do have a recovery CD from my laptop, but it is for XP Home Edition. I ran it to see what would happen and it brings me to the system recovery section and it appears that I could run it - but will it fix my problem or load XP Home onto the computer?

considering that XP Home is a downgrade of XP Pro, it would most likely do a new install of Home, or mess up your computer since the OS system is different and less advanced from XP Pro.

Recovery Cd's are, as far as I know, specific to the system for which they were made. So it would likely not work even if it was an XP Pro cd from another computer, unless it was an identical system.

Like for my problem, i was going to try to use a XP Home recovery disc to do a new install of Home Edition(trying to go over XP Pro)but they were meant for recovering XP Home on a Compaq so it would have caused serious problems, or it would have rejected the cd.

I guess I'll keep searching through the basement. Thanks for your input!

if all else fails, go to pricegrabber.com and look for a new copy of XP Pro. They have it for about $95 dollars. My uncle got me my copy of XP Home from there for $82 dollars and they arent pirated they are the real deal.

PARTITIONING AND FORMATTING YOUR HARD DRIVE TO DOWNGRADE FROM WINDOWS XP PRO TO WINDOWS XP HOME Here is what you need to do: First, get a copy of a Windows 98 boot disk from Bootdisk.com Any version of Windows 98 will be acceptable. While on this website, also download and unzip the updated Fdisk utility for partitions up to 180 GB. Later, you will copy it to your boot disk after deleting the original Fdisk file. The Win 98 "boot disk" files on Bootdisk.com include IDE CDROM drivers. These boot disk files are also image files and cannot be copied directly to your floppy disk. When you have downloaded the Windows 98 boot disk file, open the folder and double-click the file ending with.exe This is the image file. You will be prompted to put a floppy (use a newly-formatted one) into your floppy drive. When you insert the floppy, click "Yes" at the prompt, and the image file will be copied to your floppy, making it a usable boot disk. Now, open the folder on your boot disk to view its files. Highlight and delete Fdisk.exe. Now copy the unzipped, updated Fdisk.exe to your boot disk. Next, use your BIOS Setup utility to change the boot sequence so the floppy drive will be accessed first, because that's where your boot disk will be located. If you have never altered BIOS settings before, read about BIOS settings on Microsoft's web site (or elsewhere) first! Before invoking the BIOS Setup utility, first remove any CDs or floppies from the drive. Then shut down your computer and reboot, watching the messages on the screen carefully, and hitting the Delete key when prompted. Follow further instructions on changing boot sequences in material you have printed from Microsoft. After you have set up the floppy drive to be first in the boot sequence, read (do NOT skip this step) this Microsoft article on using Fdisk and Format: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q255867/ Follow its directions to partition and format your hard drive. If you have more than one physical hard drive, be sure you are formatting the hard drive you want to format! Choose the FAT32 file system, not the FAT16. You can change this to NTFS later if desired. When the format of your hard drive is complete, remove the floppy disk. Then put in the Windows XP Home CD and follow the instructions as they appear on your screen. After installing Windows XP Home, you may need to run the CD that came with your computer's motherboard to reinstall device drivers. Also, you may need to reinstall the device driver for your sound card if it is separate from the motherboard (sound cards like SoundBlaster, for example). While my instructions are complete enough for someone with above average knowledge of their computer, I recommend that keen beginners carefully read about how to modify boot sequences and read the Microsoft article on how to use the Fdisk and Format utilities. If you are unsure of anything, talk to a technician or other knowledgeable person at a computer store before working on your computer. Good luck! And if I've overlooked anything, I don't mind being reminded by others (it is 04:44 hours and I need some sleep!).