How to install XP Pro (English) over XP Home (Deutsch)?

[bancsaba]

I just bought a Vaio notebook, with XP Home (German version) pre-installed, together with several utilities (antivirus, digital image processing, etc.).
Now, I would like to change the operating system to XP Pro (English version). The point is changing the language, not the version. I do have an installation CD for XP Pro (English), and I have already made an attempt to install it OVER the existing German OS.
Since the notebook has two partitions, the new OS was automatically installed on the empty partition - but then on this partition, none of the pre-installed utilities are present.

My question is therefore:

How to install this new English OS ***instead of*** the existing German OS?

Do I have to specify something in the regular installation process? Or do I have to enter BIOS (which I am not really familiar with...)?

Or is it in option to install the English OS on the empty partition (actually, I have already installed it there), then somehow drag and drop the utilities, etc. from the partition that has the pre-installed German OS into to the English partition? (I tried this, but I cannot install the utilities - something has to be changed in the system registry. I am not a computer geek, just a power user.)

Thank you for your ideas.

Csaba Ban
Hungary

[TygerTyger]

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Regional and Language Options.
3. Click the Languages tab, click Details, and then click Add.
4. Under Input Language, add the language that you want to use.
5. Under Keyboard layout/IME, click the keyboard layout that you want, and then click OK

This is off the microsoft website, and i wont test it because then i wont be able to read how to change it back probably. You will have to restart after you have done the above. Then it's most likely just a normal upgrade from the now english xp home to pro.

I'm not totally sure this is how you do it so sorry if i got it wrong.

[bancsaba]

Thanks for the idea, but this is not what I am looking for. I know it is easy to change the keyboard layout.

What I would like to change is the operating system. The notebook came pre-installed with XP Home in German. As my German is limited (although I understand some of it), I would like to change to OS into English, but still keeping all the pre-installed utilities.

[TygerTyger]

Oops sorry my bad I thought that changed the language. It does but only to a certain extent, the base language remains the same.

The link at the bottom should help you out, the guy there had exactly the same problem.



Link at the bottom