Why should I go with XP Pro instead of XP Home

[FrustratedUser]

Yeah , I know this is OT mut there is much more activity here.

For a home user, who is not going to network many computers together. Why go with XP Pro?
What are your opinions about the important differences?
XP Home is cheaper and uses the same core. Is there any reason to go with XP Pro?

Edit:spelling

 

[SherEPunjab]

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Yeah , I know this is OT mut there is much more activity here.

For a home user, who is not going to network many computers together. Why go with XP Pro?
What are your opinions about the important differences?
XP Home is cheaper and uses the same core. Is there any reason to go with XP Pro?

Edit:spelling

IF you are purchasing it, i would go with XP home.

if you aren't networking, or having a lot of different users where you want controls on, it doesn't really matter IMHO.

If you have a dual cpu system, you will need xp pro or 2k because they support smp.

I forget... is xp home NTFS? if it is not, there are many advantages to that file system. I find it noticeably faster than FAT 32 systems.

XP pro uses NTFS.

 

[Darein]

Pro lets you mess with the OS more.

 

[her209]

XP Home is for the dummies out there.

 

[Anubis]

Pro just because you can do more things with it. and if you decide to network your computers you wont have to buy it later

 

[FrustratedUser]

Originally posted by: her209
XP Home is for the dummies out there.

Thank you, it makes me feel real good

 

[fatbaby]

Originally posted by: TheEvil1
Pro just because you can do more things with it. and if you decide to network your computers you wont have to buy it later

i network on home just fine and i have yet to encounter any networking problems

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Which Windows XP Version Is Right For You?

- M4H

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: fatbaby

Originally posted by: TheEvil1
Pro just because you can do more things with it. and if you decide to network your computers you wont have to buy it later

i network on home just fine and i have yet to encounter any networking problems

Try making XP Home join a network domain. I defy you.

- M4H

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire

Originally posted by: fatbaby

Originally posted by: TheEvil1
Pro just because you can do more things with it. and if you decide to network your computers you wont have to buy it later

i network on home just fine and i have yet to encounter any networking problems

Try making XP Home join a network domain. I defy you.
- M4H

The regular user doesn't have a domain at home.

 

[BillGates]

My vote is to skip XP altogether.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Originally posted by: fatbaby

Originally posted by: TheEvil1
Pro just because you can do more things with it. and if you decide to network your computers you wont have to buy it later

i network on home just fine and i have yet to encounter any networking problems

Home's networking only allows for small networks. You can't connect to a professional network or corporate network with Home, IIRC. I don't know how that's possible, but who knows. There's a lot I don't know. For instance, I dunno how some of my customers managed to get computers in the first place if they can't figure out which button to click: next or cancel.

 

[Conflict]

whats the diff between home/pro?

 

[NogginBoink]

Originally posted by: Conflict
whats the diff between home/pro?

Basically, Pro lets you join a domain and has remote desktop.

From a practical perspective, that's the only difference between the two.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Conflict
whats the diff between home/pro?

XP Pro lets you read all the posts in a thread before posting stuff like this when I already answered it five posts ago.

Originally posted by: her209
The regular user doesn't have a domain at home.

Precisely. If you're not a "power user" then go ahead and get Home. But my vote goes to Pro. EFS, advanced networking, remote desktop - they're all in Pro, not Home.

Edit - Here's an excellent chart from TechTV
Errors: Fast User Switching is available in Pro, dumbasses. Why would they take that out?

- M4H

 

[cleverhandle]

Grr.. it's not that this is a bad question, but that there are still so many misconceptions flying around. "Home sucks at networking," "Home doesn't have NTFS," etc. Here are the notable features that Pro has, which Home does not, along with my commentary (I have both, by the way).

Encrypted File System - Pro's EFS can encrypt your files so that a burglar cannot read your files after stealing your hard drive. It also produces at least one post per week about someone who permanently lost GB's worth of data. I suspect a lot of people have delusions of grandeur about the importance of their pr0n. Note that both versions will let you keep folders private so that other users cannot access your files within the OS.

Group permissions for shared files - Pro lets you limit access to shared folders to specified groups. If you're a typical home user with one or two accounts on the machine, this is pretty pointless. See delusional comments above. Home will still allow per-group permissions on reg keys, so that you can tweak programs to allow a limited account proper privileges.

Domain support - Pro allows you to log into a Windows domain. Which I'm sure everyone has at home...

SMP - Pro supports multiple processors (just 2, I think), Home does not. This is certainly a valid concern if you've got the hardware.

Remote Desktop - Pro allows Remote Desktop connections. Cool in theory, but few people actually use it...

Automated System Recovery (ASR) - some kind of automated recovery tool, don't know much about it. Entirely different than System Restore, which both versions support.

Dynamic Disks - for software RAID or online disk expansion. Software RAID is arguably useful, but you'd be better off buying a card to handle this anyway. If flamers think Dynamic Disks have anything to do with SCSI performance, go reread the SR forums for a while.


Home is fine for the vast majority of home users (funny, huh?), whether self-proclaimed "power users" or not. Apart from SMP or possibly software RAID, the only reason to get Pro at home is if you're studying for an MCSE or similar and need domain logon capabilities to test things out.

Flame away...

 

[osage]

seems like cleverhandle has got it about right. Home will be fine for 99.9% of the users that use the OS on a comp in the home rather than a buisness.

 

[skyking]

Try making XP Home join a network domain. I defy you

Farking wizards!! GRrrrr! I use pro, but a friend brings over a computer with XP home on it now and then. He insists on running those small network wizard thingamabobs, rather than let me set it up manually. Takes way longer, and rarely works the first time

 

[TheOmegaCode]

Originally posted by: her209
XP Home is for the dummies out there.

I thought that was Windows in general

The only reason to go with Pro is so you can tell you're friends that you're l33t.

 

[osage]

" Farking wizards!! GRrrrr! " I agree with you skyking the network wizard is a total POS , it just does not work.

 

[prosaic]

One particular issue that has been mentioned, but perhaps not emphasized from the most relevant point of view, is that small networks limitation people keep talking about. Windows XP Home Edition is intended to be used on peer-to-peer networks containing 5 or fewer computers. When you start going beyond 5 PCs on the LAN you WILL start seeing connectivity issues with the Home Edition -- at least if you the PCs on the LAN are accessing each others' shares a lot. I have a mixture of Professional and Home Edition machines on my home LAN. The ONLY reason I allow Home Edition on any machine at home is that the software that comes with some of these specialized OEM images, like the applications on my two video editing machines, will not allow itself to be installed on a regular retail version of the OS. And the danged vendors don't offer the systems with the Professional version of the operating system!

The improved granularity of security control afforded by Professional's group policy editor and other tools could be very useful to knowledgeable home users who wish to set up specific restrictions on specific users or groups of users. But the same knowledgeable users could approximate the same sorts of controls using CACLS and XCACLS from the CLI in Home Edition.

- prosaic