XP Pro or XP Home???

[Spike9458]

My daughter is entering her 3rd year of college in Sept, and is saving for a
new computer. The dorms are set up on a lan. She has been told by somebody
that she needs to have WindowsXP Pro in order to be able to use the internet
hookup in her dorm room. It doesn't make sense to me. I think she should be
able to get by fine with XP Home. I think she may have misunderstood what
the person was telling her, and that the person meant that XP Pro was
necessary to work as a server in a lan. Can anybody clear this up for me
before she spends boo-koo bucks on an OS she doesn't really need?

Thanks

Tuition-poor Dad ---------------------> Jim

 

[Nicholas]

If you need domain membership and group policy, improved security
through IPSec or EFS, or granular protection of shared folders,
Windows XP Professional is the solution.

Difference between XP Home and XP Pro networking
http://asia.cnet.com/itmanager/tech/0,39006407,39039863,00.htm


--
Nicholas

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| My daughter is entering her 3rd year of college in Sept, and is saving for a
| new computer. The dorms are set up on a lan. She has been told by somebody
| that she needs to have WindowsXP Pro in order to be able to use the internet
| hookup in her dorm room. It doesn't make sense to me. I think she should be
| able to get by fine with XP Home. I think she may have misunderstood what
| the person was telling her, and that the person meant that XP Pro was
| necessary to work as a server in a lan. Can anybody clear this up for me
| before she spends boo-koo bucks on an OS she doesn't really need?
|
| Thanks
|
| Tuition-poor Dad ---------------------> Jim
|
|

 

[larry samuels MS-MVP \(XP Shell/User\)]

Check with the college for their requirements.They are the only ones that
can answer your question correctly.

Some college and university IT departments ARE requiring XP pro because it
simplifies their admin and support tasks (IE--they don't have to work around
XP home's limitations on networking).

Also,if the university network requires that students actually log on to the
domain for access rather than just using domain resources,XP pro will be
required.

--
Larry Samuels MS-MVP (Windows-Shell/User)
Associate Expert
Unofficial FAQ for Windows Server 2003 at
http://home.earthlink.net/~larrysamuels/WS2003FAQ.htm
Expert Zone -
_____________________________________________

 

[Thomas Wendell]

Depends on how the campus LAN is set up. If they use domains (eg. 1/dorm +
1/faculty etc) and 1 or more servers per domain, then she needs XPpro, as
XPhome is not able to join a domain. (She may have to log on to campus LAN
to access gateway to get onto internet)..

 

[Spike9458]

Thanks to both of you for your responses. My daughter has been using
Windows98 SE for the past 2 years with no problems. She hasn't been required
a logon to the lan itself, she just uses the connection for internet access.
I will check with the school for their requirements, but given this info ...
will XP home fit the bill?

Thanks for your quick responses!!!!

--Jim

 

[Nicholas]

Your daughter is probably eligible to purchase the "Academic Version"
of Windows XP at a good discount. The local campus bookstore should
be able to help you.

--
Nicholas

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


| Thanks to both of you for your responses. My daughter has been using
| Windows98 SE for the past 2 years with no problems. She hasn't been required
| a logon to the lan itself, she just uses the connection for internet access.
| I will check with the school for their requirements, but given this info ...
| will XP home fit the bill?
|
| Thanks for your quick responses!!!!
|
| --Jim

 

[Tom Foolery]

Dear Tuition-Poor Dad,
I feel your pain, but it is really worth it!!

XP Pro will allow your daughter to connect to a "domain", but for regular
lan connection, XP home will be fine.