Which OS To Choose? Win XP vs. XP Pro

Of all the options to select when configuring your new notebook, assuming it's Windows, the OS can be a confusing choice. Most come with XP Home but will offer an upgrade to Pro for $75-$100. Is the upgrade worth the expense? Take a look at this chart from Microsoft to see if you need the additional features of Pro, most of you will not.

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

Brian

Editor in Chief bargainPDA.com
http://www.bargainPDA.com

 

Thanks for the heads-up, Brian - the list was very informative.

If I could put in my 2 cents, I'd like to say that XP Pro is more useful for one's desktop than one's laptop. Of the most useful features:

1. Remote Desktop
Remote desktop is a good way to control your home PC from work, school or vacation. You only need XP Pro on the home machine to do this - a laptop with Win 2000, XP Home or even 9x can control a home PC with Remote Desktop.

2. Multi-Processor Support
Centrino and Athlon laptop users are fine with XP Home, but bear in mind that P4 HT owners who buy Home are gypped - Home only supports a single CPU, meaning you can't use Hyperthreading (since HT simulates a second virtual CPU).

So, I'd recommend Home for most laptop users, and Pro for owners of P4 HT laptops, and people with security needs.

Cheer,
V.

 

The multiprocessor bit is important...though I wonder how many people do that with PC's these days. I know with a G5, most of them are dual, but aside from servers, I just don't see that many people going multi-processor any more.

B

Editor in Chief bargainPDA.com
http://www.bargainPDA.com

 

I was thinking the same thing as Voldenuit. The comparison makes it seem like my desktop would work better with the Pro then my laptop. Which helps since after attemping several times over the last week to get my laptop, a ACER 1501LCi to take the upgrade and evertime I got the same message about it needing a VIAAGP1.SYS file. I was planning on installing the PRO on my desktop. Now I see that it looks to be the right way to go.

 

The following desktop operating systems include optimizations for HT Technology and are currently eligible to carry the new Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology logo:
Microsoft* Windows* XP Professional Edition
Microsoft* Windows* XP Home Edition

The following desktop operating systems are not recommended for use with Hyper-Threading Technology. If you are using one of the following desktop operating systems, it is advised that you should disable Hyper-Threading Technology in the system BIOS Setup program:

Microsoft Windows 2000 (all versions)
Microsoft Windows NT* 4.0
Microsoft Windows Me
Microsoft Windows 98
Microsoft Windows 98 SE

 

Voldenuit is right.What will happen if I order a 3.0 w/ HT will it autamatically come with XP Pro though?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::HP zx5000:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::: 4 3.0Ghz w/ HT:::1GB DDR 333Mhz:::60GB Hitachi 7200 RPM:::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::Radeon M10 9600 128MB:::15.4 SXGA+::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::MAD H®T CHICKS ARE RARE::::MICE ARE COOL::::::::::::::

 

No, it does not. You usually have to order computers preloaded with Windows XP Pro from CTO or business manufacturers. Just Microsoft trying to make some extra dough.

 

what's this mean:

Software Installation and Maintenance – automatically install, configure, repair, or remove software applications.

can someone give me a concrete example of how this is applied? is this much of a disadvantage?

 

For college students purchasing a notebook computer, check with your university to see which OS they support for wireless computing. For example, James Madison University's (~16,000 students) wireless network with Cisco VPN client only works with XP Pro! Students who arrive on campus with XP Home must upgrade before they can use the universities wireless network.
See: http://www.jmu.edu/computing/network/wireless.shtml

 

Please suggest whether it is possible to opt for Windows 2000 server as the OS?

 

No one offers that option, but if you bought it, you could install it in place of whatever OS you have.

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Voldenuit

 

bootleg2go, is it possible that XP Pro offers more applications for managing your HT?

Or should I not worry about getting Home with an HT CPU at all,..

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by bootleg2go
Hi Voldenuit,
One of your statements is wrong.
XP Home does support hyperthreading. It does not supprt two physical CPUs, but hyperthreading only emulates two processors and hyperthreading is fully supported under XP Home and this can be verify by reading about this on the Intel site or just have someone who has a CPU with HT technology insatlled on an XP home system show you....It works.
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

I agree with bootleg2go. My r3000t has hyperthreading and I run it on Windows XP Home. The performance tab on windows task manager (two processors actually show up here and both show utilization), System Information, CPU-Z, Perfmon, and sandra 2005 all agree that hyperthreading is enabled/supported on my system.

Since there is no way to turn off HT in my bios, I can't verify an actual increase in system performance. But yeah, since HT doesn't mean two physical processors with seperate execution units, I don't see why it wouldn't be supported.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>The performance tab on windows task manager (two processors actually show up here and both show utilization), System Information, CPU-Z, Perfmon, and sandra 2005 all agree that hyperthreading is enabled/supported on my system.<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>Yup, I just setup an hp desktop and was surprised to see under 'device manager', 'processors' two pentium 4 2.8's, and it's running xp home.

-David

 

I do alot of windows network/security administration, and I would not have XP home if there was any way out of it. The only real consideration when choosing to go with XP Home VS XP Pro is price, that is it.

I have not found XP Home to perform any different than XP Pro as far as performance goes, XP Home is just lacking in functionality.
If you never do any file sharing, or joining your computer to a network you may not need XP Pro, but to me it is worth the extra money to get the fully functional version of XP.

 

XP home offers more security functionality, so isn't it the obvious choice, if you must choose a windows version? what does home offer (aside from price, which shouldn't matter if you're at all concerned about your machine) that pro doesn't?

Got a man of the people, says keep hope alive: got fuel to burn, got roads to drive

 

Well my brother just give me an win xp pro can i upgrade this to my notebook that has xp home without connecting to microsoft?

 

If you install a version of XP that is different from yours, even as an upgrade, you will have to reauthenticate it. Often it will not work correctly anyhow. The only upgrades I have heard of going smoothly for most people were from Win2k to XP.

XP Pro has too many little features enabled in it to name. Suffice to say it seems that I am constantly running into some little inconsistency between the two that leaves me wishing that XPhome didn't exist on any of our systems. XPhome seems to destabalize easier over time, as well. I rarely have weird issues with XPpro that I've seen on the XPhome systems.

Maybe it is a conspiracy to get you to fork over for the upgrade, maybe it's just shoddy design or support, whatever the reasons, these have been my observations...someone you just met on the internet.

Given the choice of XPhome or XPpro, I will choose XPpro without hesitation in every situation. And yes, some applications require XPpro, but not ones that most people will use.

 

I think home edition is better for laptop because it's cheaper and I don't notice the difference, also you could always upgrade to xp pro.

_____________________
Plagueth

 

thanks knight. i believe i'm in your corner when it comes to OS services and functionality. I have a desktop and a new laptop. file sharing and system administration are one of my computing requirements. xp pro it is. i will upgrade soon.

 

I personally use Pro on desktop (times 2) and home edition on laptops. I also use logmein and webexpc to log in instead of the remote desktop connection. They are good programs and very easy to use. Good Luck....

Isnt' today the day after yesterday and the day before tommorrow?

 

a bit off topic but where does windows xp media edition come in?

 

I wonder what Microsoft will do with dual cores...

 

You CAN file share with XP Home, but you can NOT connect XP Home to a domain. For a home user that works in a workgroup environment, you can share files. I just got my laptop with XP home because i already have another version of XP Pro.

But, I have not reformatted to Pro yet, I decided to try home and see just how stable/instable it is compaired to pro.

So far I have not had problems. Although, I am finding the issue of not being able to log into a domain to be a little issue. I run a server at home and I can not log into my home domain.

Dell Inspiron 9300
Pentium M 1.8
1024MB DDR2
60GB 7200RPM HDD
Go6800 256MB

 

I'd choose XP home!

 

find yourself a college student and have him buy it for you for $10

 

hmm i have a desktop that i bought with XP Home, and shortly after i upgraded to XP Pro..

the CPU is a P4 HT.. so do i need to activate this 'multiprocessor' support once i upgraded to xp pro?

how do i kno if my PC is actually using my CPU's full capabilities of the HT?

 

Hi,
I am gonna buy a new notebook and have a question about installing Windows XP on it. In general, is it OK that I do it by myself instead of having the company install it (which costs >= $150)? I just wonder if there are important settings for installation which I might not know.

Thanks a lot for your informations!!

 

it's easy as cake. but if you have absolutely no idea what you are doing i would just ask someone to help. you just have to be careful when selecting the option to reformat (erase everything on hard drive) or just upgrade from xp home. the easiest is just to upgrade and keep all your documents and programs.

 

indeed, my r4000 is less then a month old. I'm running XP home on it (thanks to my dad who didn't buy Pro). I have Pro on my home computer, and on my laptop I've run into really strange problems such as DEP deciding that explorer.exe was evil and terminating it for no reason. And at one point it would input gibberish when I tried typing.
I've run into a series of really strange issues with home and I'm going to upgrade to Pro soon. But I'm a little paranoid because I've been told by my brother that someone he knew upgraded to pro and his laptop went Fubar.
I'm fairly sure that won't happen to me though.


woo! first post!

 

Ashex,

Let me be the first to welcome you to the site!

In regards to XP Pro, it is usually recommended to perform a full install of XP Pro (format the HDD) rather than upgrading XP Home. You may come up with compatibility issues between file versions or even problems that you had with XP Home will transfer to XP Pro if you don't do a full install. Now days, XP Pro will generally run on any system that has an option for XP Pro & Home at the time of purchase. I don't think you'll have any problems.

-Vb-

 

To All:

Upgrading XP home to Pro isnt that difficult of a task, but as VB said you should reformatt. I have done this myself on my r4000, (like ashex, my parents who purchased didnt bother to get XP Pro, or even wireless for that mater, but thats a different topic ) All you need is a Windows XP Pro Install CD, which you can either purchase for the full $150, or get from a college student (or if you are a college student ) for about $10. college students, be sure to check your University for this. Now, Most notebooks come with application recovery CD's (or DVD's, w/e) and the OS recovery CD. The way to install XP Pro is just as if you were recovering your OS, reformat and install XP Pro, then use your Application and Driver Recovery CD (DVD) to re-install any OEM Applications and drivers you may need/want

 

For those in the market right now, HP is offering XP Pro upgrades for $29 with backup CD (just got a notebook myself). Not bad! XP Pro works for me (although I am not a heavy user of its features), I think it even looks slicker than Home...

 

This thread is really interesting! I bought my daughter a notebook for use at college (a Gateway M250X) and got it with Windows XP Home because her University offers XP Pro for $10 to students. Before I installed XP Pro I tried it in her dorm room and it works fine. I am now reluctant to put the XP Pro disk in since everything is working. Could someone in this thread let me know:

1. Will I have to reinstall applications if I put XP Pro on?
2. What is the big Security advantage I hear about (can these features be downloaded from MS)?
3. Is there any good reference site for the upgrade if I decide to do it?

I really would like tips and have enjoyed reading the posts/replies of others.

Mike

 

I say XP Home because its just easier on laptops. N600c ran a lot slower because of the networking stuff XP Pro has. But if you still want XP Pro, you can get XP-2000 Lite from Lite PC Corporation. It makes Windows faster overall

 

1. it depends. if you reformat and reinstall xp pro, then yes, you will be starting from scratch. if you just upgrade, then theoretically no, but the risk of conflicts is higher.
2. i don't know about any big security advantage. the only real difference between the home and pro are the ability to log into a domain and more robust sharing features for pro (see the article in the first post on this thread)
3. if you do elect to upgrade, it's pretty easy. the process will ask you to make a couple decisions during the upgrade and that's it. it's very selfexplanatory and easy.

 

my uni has given me the option to buy the winxp pro upgrade disk for C$100, the same amount as it costs to get winxp home from the company i'm ordering my laptop from.

if i ask to not have an OS installed on my laptop and get a win xp pro upgrade disk instead will that work?

 

I recently bought a new notebook & purchased a new HD & ready to install it. I currently have XP Home but I am considering updating because I may want to log in at a domain (most colleges have this design) & I have XP Pro on my PC.

I will mention XP Home will run HT & will network.

My question is the XP Pro software out there. Someone mentioned the media edition & it is supposed to be based on XP Pro. My question is full retail vs OEM. Some say with OEM you don't have free tech support, which I've never used in my life anyway. Some say the OEM version will only work on the one brand it was licensed to.

I would like some clarification on the OEM vs full retail & some suggestions on the cheapest price. I am not interested in an update, I want a clean install. Thank you.

 

I would say that OEM and full retail is exactly the same in terms of what it does and what it includes, except that for OEM it may include your manufacturer's logo and as you said, no support.

 

One nice feature of Pro is that you can control your pc from a PDA or another computer via wifi or just internet from another country.

 

I just bought the retail version of the XP Pro as I think the extras are worth it, especially on a laptop. Thanks for the info.

 

With retail XP, you only get a couple of free calls for warranty. After that it's paid support. At least that's the way it worked a year ago when I was doing XP support. MCE is built off of Pro edition and still has remote desktop. Domain support is there but not. It is possible to get MCE on a domain, but there's a trick to it.

 

Probably of limited interest for most people but some software is only certified against XP Pro - I'm mainly thinking of Oracle. But then I am probably the only person sad enough to want to run oracle on their laptop.....

 

lies...i have Xp home..works great...learn how to use it kid

 

OK, so i have an xp home. given the option to get a full xp pro version, retail 300 or so, for 91 bucks. If i was to get it, on my laptop, what RAM would be needed to run that exceptionally well and how the heck would i reformat my computer?

 

a reply would be nice...

 

RAM is irrelevant. Whatever runs Home, will run Pro just fine. As for reformatting... You boot from the XP Pro setup CD and it offers you various options - reformat or not, fresh install or upgrade, etc...

 

I think win xp pro is ok ,but i hope no play games

look here for somethink different

http://www.insidelaptops.com/portal.php?sid=23af62440108c210f2c8a6ec1574303b

 

XP Pro is the way to go. the price is worth the upgrade. (eg: from XP Home) it has capabilities / features that improve productivity (the remote desktop app alone is worth it) plus it's the OS the Real World uses.