Have XP Home-Upgrade to Pro?

Hello All:

I can get a legitimate OEM version of XP Pro for $160.US. Full version, not an upgrade.

I have XP Home installed, upgrade version over 98SE. Question, is XP Pro $160. better than XP Home?

Next question: Can it be installed as an upgrade, or would I be looking at re-install of everything?

I'd really hate to start over, considering what I've been through getting this machine where it is today, that is, for the most part, it works.

Opinions will be appreciated.

 

Thanks for the replies gentlemen.

If money is no object, based on what I have read on the links from Pete and Johanna, it seems as if this is a no brainer.

Has anybody had to use the feature to restore from a catastrophic failure? Does it work as advertised?

I have no faith in XP Home's "System Restore" feature, of maybe 5-6 times I've had to try to use it it actually worked twice.

If that works, and the OS is so much more stable and secure, I'm going to start scrapping together some bucks for the upgrade.

Martin

 

Martin,
Unless Pro has a feature you would like to have, you may as well stay with your already-paid-for Home version. Yes, Pro has more options, and yes, I would buy Pro if I were starting from scratch. But unless a particular feature of Pro holds some appeal, there is no sense spending more money because the two OSes are essentially the same. Both are reliable and efficient, Pro just offers more options. Only if one of those options is important to you, does it make sense to buy Pro. ASR does work, but a program like Ghost or GoBack does, too, for less money.

If Home is not performing the way you would like, I would suspect the upgrade as being the problem ( you didn't do a clean install of XP, right?) and suggest ironing out whatever issues you have with Home, first. What specifically are the reasons you are not satisfied with Home? I don't think upgrading to Pro over existing difficulties is going to do anything except lighten your wallet.

Johanna

 

Good Morning Johanna:

Are you interested in a job as my money manager? You may have just saved me $160.

The features that attract me to Pro are:

1. Increased security ability to encrypt files. I do all my banking online, and not too long ago, we were entertaining out on the patio, I came in and found one of the guests mucking around in my machine. I didn't think he could have gotten anything except knowledge of my financial status, but the ability to encrypt files appeals to me. And the fear that some hacker could get into those files from the net is definately unappealing. I know I could use a local password to boot, but to me, password on every boot is a pain, I'd rather autologon and decrypt financials when I want to work with them.

2. Restore after disaster. I had GoBack Deluxe 3 on this machine, and when I really needed it, it failed with an error message that there had been too much hard drive activity, all images wiped out. I have Ghost, it tells me it won't work with NTFS. I have PowerQuest's Drive Image 7, and not a lot of confidence in that either, due to when booted from CD, it moves the drive letters around to the point where it is difficult to figure out where the restoration should be made.

3. Stability. I have been constantly changing hardware, all in the name of upgrade, have had stability problems. Just yesterday I got a BSD installing a USB Printer from HP! I couldnt believe what happened, machine refused to boot through BIOS, wiped out my Firewire connection disabled my scanner and web cam and generally wreaked havock. Had to clear CMOS, use safe mode system restore just to boot. A recent upgrade of ATI video card drivers from Windows Update crashed this OS.

(note of caution to everybody: Don't use the driver updates from the Windows Update site, they cause more trouble than anything.)

4. The EGO thing, I just like to have the latest and greatest of everything, (at least as far as the computer is concerned, I drive a 16 year old Ford PU truck!) the thought that I am using the 2nd best OS and there is something better out there nags at me.

5. $160. is a lot of money to me but it won't drive me to the poor house either.

Yes, this is an upgrade from 98SE, but there is nothing left from that OS, everything has been installed new, I'd be surprised if there was a byte left from the old system.

Am I just talking myself into the upgrade?

Martin

 

In order:
1. Encryption
Put a strong password on your computer and even set it to be required when resuming from your screensaver. Any "friend" who touches your computer without permission should be banned from the house, and then shot, after being issued one one stern warning, upon a repeat violation. Get a good internet security program (EZ Trust, Norton, whatever) install and enable it, and follow a cautious security protocol, like only dealing with reputable companies, and never be online without your firewall.
2. I don't use any restore programs, and am not qualified to discuss them. I do make regular backups of things I do not want to lose, and my OS is on a different partition than my data. I have never lost my second partition "by accident ", only when I have deliberately wiped it. My disasters and system failures are almost always operator-related (I can't quit my freakin' tweakin'!), but when I first began, I had some hardware issues from brown-outs and lightning. Get a reliable UPS (A surge protector is not adequate) and a box to go between your cable/telephone connections and your modem. They are relatively inexpensive.
3. XP Home and Pro are equally stable. (Side-note- when I clear CMOS, I always lose my restore points...now that I am thinking about it, I am wondering why? That info should be safe on the hard drive, shouldn't it?)
4. Ego. Hmmm... My car is 11 years old. My computer was top of the line when I built it two years ago, now it is outdated and "slow" compared to the newer ones. Would I notice the fractional differences in speed if I upgraded? Probably not. Do I want a 64 bit XP 3000+ system? You can bet your booties! That one only you can decide. If I had extra money, and a working right hand, I would be building a new one, I'm sure, and passing this one down to the kids! Why? Because I can, and the new technology is available. Yeah, I understand the ego thing!

Martin, IMO, you don't need Pro, but if you want it, get it. Just don't expect it to resolve any problems you are currently having- it won't. But if your comp is your toy-hobby-whatever, and you can afford it, then have fun. That's what it's all about. Your signature always stands out in my mind. My kids' real father went to work one day, and dropped dead of a heart attack at age 50. In a split second, all our lives were changed forever. You never know what's coming, so enjoy every minute you live.

Johanna

 

Hi Johanna: The reason that signature line is there is because my father-in-law, a good and trusted friend, who I ran ito at Burger King on October 30th and had a pleasant chat, was fixing his morning coffee on October 31 and collapsed over the stove.

The next time I saw him, after receiveing a panic call from mother- in-law, the paramedics were futily trying to revive him. It was a very sad day. You and the children have my sypathy for your loss.

Johanna, about that "friend" who was using my machine without my knowledge, I am taking your advice to heart, and am going to shoot the guy!

Still undecided about the change. This machine is both my hobby and my toy, and I have wanted that 64bit processor since the minute I read it was out. Kind of pricey, out of my league. I just hate to have to enter a password every boot, as many times I have had to re-boot, always having to fix something. I did set one up, but after so many times entering it......

Thank you for your input, it has given me a lot of food for thought.

Martin

 

Martin - my only comment about your OS choice is that you should do what feels best to you. I run XP-pro, have never seen XP-home, but have a serious bias against it based on the specific items that are disabled/crippled in that version. On the other hand, I'm a networking geek and most of their changes hit right where I live so I'm a lousy one to recommend.

I do suggest a couple of things though, regardless of which OS you decide on.
- bite the bullet now and build a CD slipstreamed with the OS you pick and the latest SP for it.
- back up stuff you want to keep onto CD and then wipe out your system and get a fresh start. It will certainly take you some hours to get a working system and more hours to get it tweaked to suit yourself but from the way you sound (lots like I am) I think it will be hours well spent.
- set up your file system as NTFS (and if you already have, good on ya. Can't see your signature while typing a post).
- do set a strong password for both logon and reactivation after a passworded screen saver time out. Awkward at first but after a fairly short while you won't even notice doing it.

I think Johanna is probably correct that keeping XP-home makes sense if you have a single PC at your house. Very few of the home vs. pro differences even come in to play then. If you have more than one and have them networked, it might be worth moving to the pro version. But DO NOT put pro on over a home setup that isn't working right. Bad idea.

 

Hi Newt: Thanks for the input on this, yes, using NTFS. Yes, more than one computer. Have three XP Home machines here, me, son, daughter, networked by cable. Have all wireless gear from D-Link, could never get it to work unless computers within 10 ft, so I stuck the wireless PCI cards in a drawer and cabled the machines. Pulled antenae off Wireless Acccess Point D-Link 614+ using it for DSL router/switch. Hoping nobody in the neighborhood can hack it, but since it wouldn't reach the bedroom 20 ft away, I'm not too worried. Nearest neigbor a couple of hundred yards away.

Most downloads within 10% of 768Kbps ADSL line. I'm happy with that and only have to reconfigure network about once a week when for reasons known only to it, it quits.

Your advice of clean install of XP Pro is well taken, I just hope if I go forward with it, bite the bullet as you so well put it, it is the last time. It really would be nice to have a nonbuggy machine for a change. One that won't change it's spots just by being booted.

Today I got a new one on boot. Instead of the Windows splash screen, I got a medium green desktop with vertical striping that slowly faded out to pure white before I got the "Loading your Personal Settings" screen. No Windows splash screen, no little progress bar. Just green to white. While I was in the middle of installing USB printer.

After a couple of boots it went back to normal where it is now.

Just hope it stays that way.

Thanks again for your interest and kindness.

Martin