XP Pro versus XP home

[tigersty1e]

What are the differences between these 2 OS?

Is XP Home good enough for basic use (gaming, apps, etc.) or is Pro generally better?

Also, what are the prices of these softwares? Thanks.

 

[Aluvus]

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx

Performance is identical, only features vary a bit. Home is fine for most users. For prices try Newegg.

 

[tigersty1e]

I recall reading somewhere that Pro has some kind of system recovery mode?

What is this?

 

[corkyg]

It has System Restore - but doesn't Home have that also? The biggest think Pro has over Home is networking capability.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Do you need to join a domain? If not save yourself the money and get Home.

 

[Eos]

Originally posted by: Aluvus
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx

Performance is identical, only features vary a bit. Home is fine for most users. For prices try Newegg.

Looking over that kick ass guide, I see this Encrypting File System - protects sensitive data in files that are stored on disk using the NTFS file system.

Does that mean XP Home uses FAT32 by default? A quick search says no, but I'd like to confirm.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: eos

Originally posted by: Aluvus
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx

Performance is identical, only features vary a bit. Home is fine for most users. For prices try Newegg.

Looking over that kick ass guide, I see this Encrypting File System - protects sensitive data in files that are stored on disk using the NTFS file system.

Does that mean XP Home uses FAT32 by default? A quick search says no, but I'd like to confirm.

I'm pretty sure it uses NTFS by default on new installs, but you can partition and format with either FAT32 or NTFS from the installer. If you install it over Win98 as an upgrade, it will be using FAT32.

EFS requires NTFS, so you can't use it on any FAT32 volumes. That's all it means.

 

[RebateMonger]

Microsoft didn't inlcude EFS in XP Home because, if you don't know what you are doing, EFS is a REALLY good way to lose all your encrypted files permanently. Most Home users don't make system backups or Certificate backups, so are at high risk to lose their EFS-encrypted documents when their hard drive fails.

If you are working in a business, then you should use XP Professional. For a home user, 99% are likely fine with XP Home. There is NO difference in performance between the two.

 

[corkyg]

I agree with all but the last sentence, RebateMonger. I think you are talking about speed, etc., but . . . XP Pro can most definitely perform things that Home cannot. There is actually a big difference in performance.

"Remote Desktop - All versions of Windows XP--including Home Edition--support Remote Assistance, which is an assisted support technology that allows a help desk or system administrator to remotely connect to a client desktop for troubleshooting purposes. But Only Pro supports the new Remote Desktop feature, which is a single-session version of Terminal Services with two obvious uses: Mobile professionals who need to remotely access their corporate desktop, and remote administration of clients on a network. You can access a Windows XP Remote Desktop from any OS that supports a Terminal Services client (such as Windows 98 and, interestingly XP Home). XP Home can act as the client in a Remote Desktop session; only Pro can be the server.
"Multi-processor support - Windows XP Pro supports up to two microprocessors, while Home Edition supports only one. Automated System Recovery (ASR) - In a somewhat controversial move, Microsoft has removed the Backup utility from the default Windows XP Home Edition, though it is available as an optional installation if you can find it on the CD-ROM (hint: it's in the /valueadd folder). The reason for this the integration of Microsoft's new Automated System Recovery (ASR) tool into Backup. In Pro, ASR will help recover a system from a catastrophic error, such as one that renders the system unbootable. ASR-enabled backups are triggerable from XP Setup, allowing you to return your system to its previous state, even if the hard drive dies and has to be replaced. Unlike consumer-oriented features such as System Restore, ASR is not automatic: It must manually be enabled from within the Backup utility in Windows XP Pro. In any event, while there is a Backup utility available for Home Edition, you cannot use ASR, even though mentions of this feature still exist in the UI. Confusing? Yes. But it's better than no Backup at all, which was the original plan.
Dynamic Disk Support - Windows XP Professional (like its Windows 2000 equivalent) supports dynamic disks, but Home Edition does not (instead, HE supports only the standard Simple Disk type). Dynamic disks are not usable with any OS other than Windows 2000 or Windows XP Pro, and they cannot be used on portable computers. Likewise, Home Edition does not include the Logical Disk Manager.
"Fax - Home Edition has no integrated fax functionality out of the box, though it is an option you can install from the XP Home CD.
Internet Information Services/Personal Web Server - Home Edition does not include the IIS Web server 5.1 software found in Pro.
"Security
Encrypting File System - Windows XP Professional supports the Encrypting File System (EFS), which allows you encrypt individual files or folders for local security (EFS is not enabled over a network). EFS-protected files and folders allows users to protect sensitive documents from other users.
"File-level access control - Any user with Administrator privileges can limit access to certain network resources, such as servers, directories, and files, using access control lists. Only Windows XP Professional supports file-level access control, mostly because this feature is typically implemented through Group Policy Objects, which are also not available in Home Edition.
""C2" certification - Microsoft will attempt to have Windows XP Professional certified with the "C2" security designation, a largely irrelevant status, but one which will not be afforded to Home Edition.
Management
"Domain membership - Home Edition cannot be used to logon to an Active Directory domain. For obvious reasons, the Domain Wizard is also missing in Home Edition. Group Policy - Since Home Edition cannot be used to logon to an Active Directory domain, Group Policy--whereby applications, network resources, and operating systems are administered for domain users--is not supported either.
"IntelliMirror - Microsoft lumps a wide range of semi-related change and configuration management technologies under the IntelliMirror umbrella, and none of these features are supported in the consumer oriented Home Edition. IntelliMirror capabilities include user data management; centrally-managed software installation, repair, updating, and removal; user settings management; and Remote Installation Services (RIS), which allows administrators to remotely install the OS on client systems.
"Roaming profiles - This feature allows users to logon to any computer in an Active Directory network and automatically receive their customized settings. It is not available in Home Edition, which cannot logon to an Active Directory domain.
"Corporate deployment
Multi-language support - Only Windows XP Professional will ship in a Multi-Language version or support multiple languages in a single install.
"Sysprep support - Windows XP Pro will support the System Preparation (Sysprep) utility, while Home Edition will not. RIS support - See the IntelliMirror heading in the previous section; Home Edition does not support RIS deployments.
64-bit Edition
"Microsoft is shipping a 64-bit version of Windows XP for Intel Itanium systems that mirrors the Professional Edition feature-set.
"Networking features
The following networking features are not included in Home Edition:
The user interface for IPSecurity (IPSec)
SNMP
Simple TCP/IP services
SAP Agent
Client Service for NetWare
Network Monitor
Multiple Roaming feature
User interface features
"Windows XP Home Edition has some different default settings that affect the user interface. For example, Guest logon is on by default in Home, but off in Pro. The Address bar in Explorer windows is on in Pro by default, but off in Home. During the beta period, Microsoft had intended to use a business-oriented shell theme ("Professional") by default in Pro and the "Luna" consumer theme in Home Edition. But feedback from corporate users suggested that everyone liked the consumer-oriented Luna theme better, and development of the Professional theme was cancelled. Other user interface features that are present in Pro but not Home include:
Client-side caching
"Administrative Tools option on the Start menu (a subset of the Admin tools are still present in Home, however)."

 

[Aluvus]

Originally posted by: corkyg
I agree with all but the last sentence, RebateMonger. I think you are talking about speed, etc., but . . . XP Pro can most definitely perform things that Home cannot. There is actually a big difference in performance.

XP Pro has more features, but all things being equal has identical performance.

I don't get the impression that any of the extra features would be all that important to the OP.

 

[corkyg]

Semantics are always a problem - I see performance as two parts - what it can do, and the speed at which it can do it. You separate the "what" as "features. Features equal a major part of performance of the package. It not only means how well it can do, but what it can do. I see it this way:

Performance = Features plus rate of doing things.

 

[Matthias99]

Performance = Features plus rate of doing things.

This is an exceedingly odd definition of "performance" as it is usually used in a computing context. I'm not saying that you don't have a point, just that most people will be confused if you refer to something's features or capabilities as its "performance".

Using that definition also makes it nearly meaningless to say if performance is "better" or "worse"; for instance, if product B can do more things than product A, but is significantly slower at all their common features, would you say B "performs better"?

 

[corkyg]

QED

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: corkyg
QED

This is an exceedingly odd definition of "performance" as it is usually used in a computing context.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/performance

1. a musical, dramatic, or other entertainment presented before an audience.
2. the act of performing a ceremony, play, piece of music, etc.
3. the execution or accomplishment of work, acts, feats, etc.
4. a particular action, deed, or proceeding.
5. an action or proceeding of an unusual or spectacular kind: His temper tantrum was quite a performance.
6. the act of performing.
7. the manner in which or the efficiency with which something reacts or fulfills its intended purpose.
8. Linguistics. the actual use of language in real situations, which may or may not fully reflect a speaker's competence, being subject to such nonlinguistic factors as inattention, distraction, memory lapses, fatigue, or emotional state.

In a computing context, definition #7 is the one most people would understand. That is, 'performance' describes how well/quickly something is done, and is not a way to describe what is being done.

 

[MrColin]

If all you are going to do is gaming, internet browsing and email then XP home should work just fine for you and it will be 100 - 200 dollars cheaper. XP Home will run office and graphics apps just fine too.

If you want to set up your own network with sophisticated access restrictions then pro might be worth it. Personally, remote desktop is the key feature pro has that I want but there are free sftwares like ultra VNC and others you can use to control an XP home box remotely if you really want to. There are other free apps that offer most of the features of XP pro that are not in XP Home.

 

[t0mn8r]

For general home use Home is just fine.

having said that I wouldn't be caught dead personally running Home, only Pro for various reasons such as better networking support.

Performance wise I have never seen any differences between the two.

HTH

PS
I wish I were running XP Pro again. I'm on Vista. :-(

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: corkyg
It has System Restore - but doesn't Home have that also? The biggest think Pro has over Home is networking capability.

I think he heard about Automated System Recovery. Quite powerful, but not used much.

Personally, I like XP Pro's ability to use Software Restriction Policy, which XP Home and Vista Home editions can't do. I'd spend the extra for that capability alone, except at this point I'd get Vista instead.