Bruce
Fri May 02 17:47:52 PDT 2008
GrandMufti wrote:
> My IT professional at work has recommended to upgrade from XP home SP2 to XP
> Professional SP2 on my home PC. Is this advisable, i.e. what are the
> benefits?
If you have to ask this question of us, there likely won't be any real
benefit to you (or you'd already know which feature(s) of WinXP Pro you
need). What was the reasoning your "IT professional" gave?
The WinXP Home and WinXP Pro editions are _identical_ when it comes
to performance, stability, and device driver and software application
compatibility, but are intended to meet different functionality,
networking, security, and ease-of-use needs, in different environments.
The most significant differences are that WinXP Pro allows up to 10
simultaneous inbound network connections while WinXP Home only allows
only 5, WinXP Pro is designed to join a Microsoft domain while WinXP
Home cannot, and only WinXP Pro supports file encryption and IIS. (Oh,
and WinXP Pro usually costs roughly $100 USD more than WinXP Home.)
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
> What is the least expensive way to do this? My OS was installed by
> PC manufacturer.
>
Purchase a WinXP Pro Upgrade license.
--
Bruce Chambers
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