Windows xp?

I have recently purchased a pc from a computer fare. i unwittingly took the bloke's word for it that windows xp was genuine, but when i try to update, microsoft tell me it is not. i've had a look in a few pc shops, and have seen xp professional for £271 and xp home upgrade for £60. if i buy the home edition, will it work? how would i upgrade from xp to xp? or would i be better off buying the professional version? plz help!!!

Answer

Woa. good prices. is that gbp? first of all. you cannot *upgrade* an illegal version of xp to a legal version of xp. if yours is not cosher you'll have to buy a full one. an upgrade is only legal when you have and keep the version you upgraded from. since you don't have that. you won't have a legal copy. besides that. you cannot upgrade from xp to xp. there some difference between home and pro. most are network related. if you're an average user you don't have to invest into pro. the prices however appear to be moon prices if that's in gbp. pro sells for around 116€ as full version. i have seen the full version of home for less than 80. make sure you look for a consumer version.