I upgraded from XP Home to XP professional. All started OK but hung half way through installation part. Restarted installation and eventually got message that installation had been stopped to prevent further DAMAGE to system. Now unable to start in safe mode, cannot get to prompt - in fact cannot ACCESS anything at all. If put XP Pro disc in drive and boot from it, see XP Pro screen then eventually takes me into blue screen with above message.

I have the reinstall discs supplied with PC to get back to start point when PC was purchased but all data will be lost.

Any ideas as to how I can get access to C prompt so I can at least copy data files? I do not have XP Home disks as these are on the reinstall disk, the only option on which is to DELETE all data.

Is an upgrade from XP Home to XP Pro incompatible?Paul,

Unfortunately we were able to locate any additional information regarding your “installation had been stopped to prevent further damage to system” error message. Does the error message have any additional information or error codes that you could provide us with?

One quick suggestion you can try is to disconnect any hardware such as scanners, printers, USB devices, or any other devices that are not required and try running the install again.

It is LIKELY that software or settings in your system are causing conflictions with the Windows XP professional setup; unless you could provide us with any additional information about the error we are unable to provide you with any additional recommendations.

In regards to your question about restoring your computer back to starting point, doing this will most likely erase any data that is currently on the computer.

Finally, it should be possible to upgrade Windows XP home to XP professional.
I know, it says "UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME" right?I know, it says "UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME" right?You are right - it says UNMOUNTABLE BOOT VOLUME. How do I get past this? I have downloaded an XP Home and an XP professional boot disk from the web site as I am not sure which system I now have as the upgrade did not complete. When I boot up at the moment I get the XP Pro screen before the blue screen with the above message appears. Will these boot disks enable me to get to the C prompt and therefore get at the data files?Please try the SUGESTION in the below link:

http://www.techtips4u.com/kb/sw/SW00014.htm
XP pro says it is for upgrade only and not an upgrade for XP home. I never got it to install. Thanks Admin for posting this link http://www.techtips4u.com/kb/sw/SW00014.htm
After trying countless other sites this is the one that finally worked. Yay, I now have my computer up and running and my daughter will be soooo happy she doesn't have to 'share' hers with me any more.
Thanks again.
Lorri.