Windows XP home vs Windows XP pro Best answer on the web

Jan 08, 2009 @ 05:15 am by webmaster
  • I am getting an Alienware laptop as a gift for son and i am wondring what is better XP pro or XP home edition. He will be useing it mostly for gaming and some school releated work. I would like to know whats the diffrence between them and witch will be better.


  • Hi jashnimal,

    I have to agree with my colleague - robertskelton. I'm quite pleased with the performance of XP Home. I never once wished I had the pro version.
    Regards,

    tlspiegel


  • Hi there,

    I would suggest that you get XP Home Edition for the following reasons:
    1) It is cheaper.
    2) Things are less likely to go wrong, like locking yourself out of the system. 3) The extras that come with Pro are aimed at networked and multi-user environments, and aren't of much use to someone doing homework and playing games.
    If you count Google Answers as my homework, then I have the same general needs as your son, and I have been happy with XP Home Edition. Not once have I had a situation where I wished I had the Pro version.
    XP Pro and Home editions are the same product, except that Pro has some extra bits and pieces, like these:
    Remote Desktop - for accessing your computer from a remote location.

    Multi-processor support - not needed for regular home use. Aimed at power users who have an existing multi-processor system and wish to upgrade their Windows operating system.
    Automated System Recovery (ASR) - the Home version already has the roll-back feature which is very good for home use.
    Fax - the Home Edition can have fax functionality but requires an extra installation from the XP Home CD. Pro has it installed automatically.
    Encrypting File System - not needed unless the computer contains sensitive information and more than one person is using it.
    File-level access control - again, only useful if multiple people are using the computer, and he wants to control who can do what.
    ...and other stuff aimed at the corporate or networked environment

    For more detailed info, also see:

    Windows XP Comparison Guide
    http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.asp

    Windows XP Home Edition vs. Professional Edition: What's the difference? http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp

    Windows XP: Go Home or Go Pro
    http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/windowstips/story/0,24330,3354933,00.html

    Search strategy:
    "xp home" "xp pro" differences


    Best wishes,
    robertskelton-ga


  • BootLIST 058
    Date: 11/22/2002 4:40:59 PM Pacific Standard Time
    From: ask@bootdisk.com

    XP Home Or XP Pro?

    Mike C. inquires - I am considering changing from xp home edition to professional. Is it worth it?

    Bruce C. answers:
    It depends entirely upon what you do with your computer, and
    which features of either OS meet _your_ needs. Decide for
    yourself:

    Windows XP Comparison Guide

    http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.asp

    Which Edition Is Right for You

    http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp

    Windows XP Home Edition vs. Professional Edition

    http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp


    Mossberg’s Maibox December 13, 2001-Wall Street Journal

    Ever since reading that Windows XP Home edition was just a "dumbed-down" version of Windows 2000, I have determined that I will get the Professional edition of XP the next time I upgrade. However, I have found myself wondering if we consumers lose anything by purchasing the Professional edition of XP instead of the Home edition. A: It's not true that Windows XP Home edition is merely a "dumbed-down" version of Windows 2000. While it is built on the same architecture as Windows 2000, Windows XP has a number of improvements, including much greater compatibility with consumer software and hardware and much better handling of wireless networks. It also has a richer user interface. These features, and others, are shared by the Home and Professional editions. The Home edition has nothing the Professional version lacks. The added features in the Professional version, which costs $100 more, are very few, and mainly apply to people on corporate networks. http://ptech.wsj.com/ptech.html

    October 17, 2002
    Guide to PC Buying: You Can Find Bargains, but Watch USB

    The Windows XP Home edition is more than enough for most people, though some people trying to connect to certain kinds of corporate networks will want the costlier Professional version.








    Home All Topics Operating Systems Windows XP Viewing a Question

    Title: Whats better Xp home or Xp Pro

    From: Blind5-0
    Date: 01/18/2003 07:33AM PST

    I'm will be buying a new comp in the next month and was wondering whats the difference between Xp home and Xp pro. How much more expensive is pro? What more do you get with pro, is pro that much better than home, etc... My computer will be used mostly for gaming.
    Question History
    Comment from CrazyOne 01/18/2003 07:34AM PST
    Windows XP Home Edition vs. Professional Edition: What's the difference
    http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp



    The Crazy One
    Comment from CrazyOne 01/18/2003 07:36AM PST
    >>>How much more expensive is pro?

    Depends where you buy it but generally it costs $90+ more

    Comment from CrazyOne 01/18/2003 07:37AM PST
    >>>is pro that much better than home

    In my opinion yes but if you are just going to use it for gaming and not much else then Home should suffice. Home lacks a lot of the built-in security found in Pro. If you are sure that you don't need this security then go with Home.
    Comment from CrazyOne 01/18/2003 07:39AM PST
    But if you can afford it go with Pro. You may find down the line that you may want or need the other features that are in Pro.
    Comment from CrazyOne 01/18/2003 07:42AM PST
    Basically what it says in that link what Pro has that Home doesn't

    Power user
    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

    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).
    Comment from dankungen 01/18/2003 07:47AM PST
    There is nothing to discuss
    If you are so advanced so you can find and post to this forum... thats more than most of the comuter users...then you will feel limited in Home edition its like a demo pro when you want to do the fun stuff you are locked
    its for computer newbees :)

    Regards // Daniel


    Comment from MDoorackers 01/18/2003 09:58AM PST
    It all depends on security. With the pro version you all the options for professional security settings. Not really necessary if you use it only for games, internet and such. However i you want to get the most out of your os or use it in a network, go for the pro version.
    Comment from jmiller47 01/18/2003 12:08PM PST
    Please listen to crazyone on this one. He really does know what he is talking about. The differences are listed very openly above. Windows XP Home has plenty of security and other features. Pro just has a few more features. Look over the features listed in Crazyone's post and see if you need any of them. If you do, and it is worth it, get Pro. If not, get Home. It's as simple as that. One large feature of Pro is the Remote Desktop. You will not have that feature in Home Edition. That usually cliches the deal for most people.



    Comment from anonobomber 01/18/2003 12:22PM PST
    if you are going to primarily use it to play games, and you dont need to logon to a domain server, and you have only one processor in your system then go with windows xp home edition.


  • This may not apply, but if your son is interested in developing software especially internet client-server programs, XP-Pro is better suited for that use. XP-Pro is better for someone that likes to muck around with software. If the user intends to just run developed applications, XP-Home is fine.

    JF


  • Well I don't know how much help this will be to you but heres my 2 cents worth I have both XP home edition on my computer and my partner has XP Pro on her computer we have a home/office network setup I'am going to college to get my cisco networking degree and the home edition serves me just fine for most of my home work issues except for when it comes to microsoft office needs they do have a student/teacher microsoft office edition version but only comes with 3 of the 4 programs it dose not come with Access but it dose come with Powerpoint/Word /Excel though not quite the full version of the normal program but since the reason my partner got the XP pro version is because it came with Microsoft Office she needed the data base program for several reasons one being that she writes softwear models for a computer company and she needs the data base program she paid extra for it but it was cheaper than getting home version and then buying the office softwear but and fortunately for me when i had access homework i could just use hers so after all that what I tring to say is what courses will your son be taking? is it likely that he will be useing his computer in a possable work environment? I concure with what other people have suggested research the pros and cons of both and go with the that will best fit his needs for a least the next couple of yrs but i will say from my personal experiance windows XP is the most stable OS as well as being the most user friendly out there very helpful to the new users but not limiting to experianced users either ok so maybe it wasn't just my 2 cents worth... more like a nime's worth have fun


  • I think Pro is the better choise. I have it and I'm happy. It's very stable and has extendended configuration options. I expect that some day your son wants to get connected to a network with his notebook. Then XP Pro IS the best choise. Home Edition may be nice, but its absolutely useless in a network. That's my opinion, maybe yours is different.


  • Great.