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.