Difference between Vista and XP & XP Pro and Home

[Graphic Queen]

OK, I am going to be buying a new laptop and they all come with Vista.
From all that I have read and heard, this is not an os I want or need.
But, what exactly is the differences between Vista and XP and are they
worthwhile? I use XP Home Edition on my desktop at this time and am
very happy with it. I am thinking of buying another copy of XP but
thinking seriously about the Pro edition for the laptop. What are
differences between the XP Home Edition and the XP Pro edition and are
they worthwhile for the new laptop I plan on getting? It looks as if I
am going to have to get the Vista with the laptop since even online
they tell me that I am not able to get XP as the OS for it so I plan
on just formatting the hard drive and partitioning and then installing
the new XP I buy. Any suggestions from all of you that know about
these things?

GQ

 

[S4 hangar 18]

I dont think you will notice much difference between home and pro...

I use pro for remote desktop, that means I can log into that computer from
anther computer and use it as if I was in front of it...

it also has IIS web server

and a few other minor things that a simple user wont notice..

 

[Jack Gillis]

One thing with which you might run into a slight problem with when
installing a retail XP are the drivers for the on board hardware such as the
video adapter, modem and sound card. At least I did with the modem and
video on my Compaq. I had to download drivers from Compaq to get them
working right. No big deal, just an extra step.

 

[Ork .]

I think you can buy a new Dell Laptop without Vista..(Good Idea.??)
Stay with XP...

I have an XP Desktop (love it) and a Vista Notebook (struggling with
it)..

 

[Tim Slattery]

OK, I am going to be buying a new laptop and they all come with Vista.
From all that I have read and heard, this is not an os I want or need.
But, what exactly is the differences between Vista and XP and are they
worthwhile?

There are lots of differences in Vista, not all of them good (IMHO).
More drastic DRM enforcement, for one. There are good things too.

Here's a page that discusses differences between XP and Vista:
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/93929171-8e24-1e6a-cf68-b48eb22073611033.mspx

I use XP Home Edition on my desktop at this time and am
very happy with it. I am thinking of buying another copy of XP but
thinking seriously about the Pro edition for the laptop. What are
differences between the XP Home Edition and the XP Pro edition and are
they worthwhile for the new laptop I plan on getting?

Probably not. XP Pro can join a domain, and has some better security
abilities. For a home machine, it's probably not worth the extra
money.

It looks as if I
am going to have to get the Vista with the laptop since even online
they tell me that I am not able to get XP as the OS for it so I plan
on just formatting the hard drive and partitioning and then installing
the new XP I buy. Any suggestions from all of you that know about
these things?

Keep looking, maybe. I think that some manufacturers will still supply
XP on new computers.

 

[Rock]

OK, I am going to be buying a new laptop and they all come with Vista.
From all that I have read and heard, this is not an os I want or need.
But, what exactly is the differences between Vista and XP and are they
worthwhile? I use XP Home Edition on my desktop at this time and am
very happy with it. I am thinking of buying another copy of XP but
thinking seriously about the Pro edition for the laptop. What are
differences between the XP Home Edition and the XP Pro edition and are
they worthwhile for the new laptop I plan on getting? It looks as if I
am going to have to get the Vista with the laptop since even online
they tell me that I am not able to get XP as the OS for it so I plan
on just formatting the hard drive and partitioning and then installing
the new XP I buy. Any suggestions from all of you that know about
these things?

If getting a new computer, in my opinion you should go with Vista. I
personally like Vista though there it is definitely different from XP.
There are issues with compatibility for legacy software and hardware, so you
need to do some research on the hardware and software if you want to use any
of these on Vista.

Some new models do not have support for XP, so if it comes with Vista and
you thought of installing XP on it, either by itself or in a dual boot you
need to check on the manufacturer's web site to see if there are XP drivers
for it.

That said many manufacturer's are still providing XP with certain, new
laptops. I don't know what vendor you are looking at, but I do know that
Dell and HP both have models with XP.

XP Home and Pro are the same in their basic implantation. Unless you need
some of the features provided by Pro, there is really no need to get it.
Pro allows you to join a domain, has EFS, and allows for 10 concurrent
connections instead of the five in Pro. Pro allows you to turn off simple
file sharing. Editing permissions and ownership in Home requires you to
start in safe mode and use the built in Administrator account.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

OK, I am going to be buying a new laptop and they all come with Vista.
From all that I have read and heard, this is not an os I want or need.

Why? What, specifically, have you read? Although I will concede that
you certainly don't "*need*" any version of Vista, or even a computer,
for that matter. You do "*need*" food, water, oxygen, etc.

But, what exactly is the differences between Vista and XP and are they
worthwhile?

Since you haven't bothered to tell us how you plan on using the
computer, we can't even begin to answer that question. You'll have to
decide for yourself:

Choose an Edition
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/default.mspx

Compare Editions
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choose.mspx

I use XP Home Edition on my desktop at this time and am
very happy with it. I am thinking of buying another copy of XP but
thinking seriously about the Pro edition for the laptop. What are
differences between the XP Home Edition and the XP Pro edition and are
they worthwhile for the new laptop I plan on getting?

Again, the "worth" depends almost entirely upon the uses to which
you'll be putting the computer, and you're still keeping this
information a secret.

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

It looks as if I
am going to have to get the Vista with the laptop since even online
they tell me that I am not able to get XP as the OS for it so I plan
on just formatting the hard drive and partitioning and then installing
the new XP I buy. Any suggestions from all of you that know about
these things?

Double check with the computer manufacturer to ensure that you won't
void your warranty and support contracts by changing to an unsupported
OS. Also make sure that the computer's manufacturer provides
WinXP-specific device drivers for all of the computer's components
before starting.

(Or you could find a manufacturer who still provides WinXP pre-installed.)


--

Bruce Chambers

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[Plato]

OK, I am going to be buying a new laptop and they all come with Vista.

Then buy one that comes with a choice of putting XP on.