Last year I purchased a Dell PC with Windows XP home pre-installed. I asked a sales rep about the cost to upgrade to XP pro and heard I would need to purchase XP pro for $470 (which is more than the cost of a new Dell PC with XP pro pre-installed). Does anyone know of any other (cheaper) ways to upgrade to XP pro?
What "features" of XP-Pro are you looking for? It all can be had with 3rd-party software for much cheaper.l
The most important issue is longevity. Support for XP home will end 2 years after Vista comes to market, so says Microsoft. Extended Support for XP Pro will continue 5 years beyond after support for Home is ended.
You can buy XP Pro on eBay for a lot less. I'd buy the full install version rather than the upgrade usually, but Vista, their new operating system is coming out in early 2007. So maybe the update's okay or maybe just wait for the new version. I used to be a Powerseller on eBay and sold Microsoft software. And on further reflection, maybe it's best to not buy the new version for 6 mo. or so while they debug it, although they have been taking forever to release it. Good luck.
Go to NEWEGG.COM and purchase an OEM version of WIN XP Pro it will save you a decent amount of money.