Johanna's "Differences between Home and Pro XP"

Johanna- Please post your accumulated list of the differences between XP Home and Pro!
We might even add to it as we go along. This is a question that seems to come up all the time.

Thanks

 

Hello Doc,

To get started, in this thread I referenced Fred Langa's comments and links on this subject: http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24248

Regards - Charles

 

Well, here it is, out of the horse's mouth: MS

Hope this helps.

Johanna

 

Hi Johanna,

Every so often I'll work on a Pro system in a office setting and there its a must. I think you wrote that at home you have Pro and at work? you have Home.

Seems to me that in the multi-user environment that Pro should be used because of the many more security options plus the joining of a Domain option, none of which so far I've felt a need for.

But aside from that, I don't think Pro inherently runs any better than Home does. Running well or not depends on the standard factors of the hardware/software/operator that applies to any OS.

At roughly twice the cost, people should think long and hard about what they need. So its sort like asking: which is better, a car or truck?

Regars - Charles

 

Yes, Charles, you remembered correctly. I have Pro at home, and Home at work (Our church network of 5 computers). If someone wants to network or needs a server, Pro is the best choice. Having said that, yes, you are right, there is not a noticeable difference for the average user between Pro and Home. You said

and that is very true.

For myself, these features of Pro were worth the extra money:

Remote Desktop "“ remotely access your Windows XP
Professional PC, from another Windows PC, so you
can work with all of your data and applications
while away from your office.

Encrypting File System - protects sensitive data in files that are stored on disk using the NTFS
file system.

Access Control "“ restrict access to selected
files, applications, and other resources.

Multi-lingual User Interface (MUI) add-on -
change the user interface language to get
localized dialog boxes, menus, help files,
dictionaries, and proofing tools etc.

ASR "“ the Automated System Recovery feature is
included in Pro, in addition to System Restore
(which is also included in Home)


And, I like you car analogy. I have a family Oldsmobile, a run-around Honda Civic, an elderly Pontiac and a Ford 350 Dually truck. Which one I drive depends on what I'm doing, where I'm going and who is going with me.

You have to decide WHAT you expect from your computer, and then choose the hardware and software to get the job done. I prefer Pro, because of what I do, but Home might suit someone else just fine. The user's expectations are the deciding factor.

Johanna

 

Thank you for posting this comprehensive list... what a time saver!

The kernels for Home and Pro are identical as far as I know... for folks on a single-user machine using it as a net browser, typewriter and CD player and videogame, Home probably does all they'll ever need.

An interesting slant came up in another discussion... a Home user implied that Home might run faster than Pro because it has fewer features to "get in the way "...

Has anyone ever benchmarked the two versions on the same machine to see if it makes any difference? If so, do you have a link?

My guess would be exactly the same performance...

 

You are probably right, and the performance between Home and Pro is probably the same, but every Home system I've encountered has been on an OEM machine, and so bogged down with "other stuff" or limited in memory, I've not seen the speed or efficiency of my home (Pro) computer. So, I cannot make an accurate comparison (apples and oranges)!

Johanna

 

Hi Doc,

*for folks on a single-user machine using it as a net browser, typewriter and CD player and videogame, Home probably does all they'll ever need.*

I think you're going a little overboard in you're "village idiot" characterzation of Home.

I use CAD apps on Home and other development tools, nothing wanting with home here.

look at Johanna's list again, what are they about? Mostly about multi-user security and remote access capabilities. I've read some articles that MS will add some of the Pro capabilities, such as encryption, to home in a future service pack.

You are correct that Pro puts a bigger load on the system, more features and capabilities don't run on air.

Since Home is roughly half the cost of Pro, and a Pro upgrade is half the cost of the "Full" Pro as well, upgrading at need makes more sense.

Regards - Charles

 

When I first built my system, it had win98 on it. (In a nutshell, I am running a 1100 Athlon, 512MB ram, 15 & 60GB drives, 32MB AGP video on a ALi chipset.) I dumped it and went with XP Home... After two days, I was fed up with Home's crashing, slowness, and general "misbehaving ". I went out and BOUGHT a copy of XP pro, installed it, and my system has been great ever since (about a year now). I find that my pro system runs circles around clock faster systems that have home on them.