Pro back to Home

[Terry Croom]

Hi
I've just built a new pc and installed XP Pro and connected it to my network
where all the other PC's are running Home. It's been nothing but agro so
I've decided to install Home over the Pro. Should I format the hard drive
and do a clean install (nothing yet to backup)? Or can I just intall Home
over Pro?

PS: there are no partitions on the hard drive and I'm thinking perhaps I
should create one for the OS at this stage....what size partion do you
think?V

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I've just built a new pc and installed XP Pro and connected it to my
network where all the other PC's are running Home. It's been nothing
but agro

"Agro"? What's "agro"?

so I've decided to install Home over the Pro.

Since I don't know what "agro" is, I don't know why you want to do this, but
if you have been having problems with XP Professional, let me point out that
almost certainly your problems have nothing to do with its being
Professional, and you would have exactly the same problems with Home. XP
Home and Professional are identical except that Professional includes a few
features (mostly related to security and networking) missing from Home.
There's nothing in Home that's not also in Professional, and therefore no
sense in which Home can be superior.

You haven't told us anything about what problems you're having, but since
this is a newly-built computer, I would first suspect the hardware. Or you
might have malware infestation.

Should I
format the hard drive and do a clean install (nothing yet to backup)?

That would be your only option.

Or can I just intall Home over Pro?

No, you can't. That would be a downgrade and downgrades aren't supported.

PS: there are no partitions on the hard drive

A word on the terminology: every drive has to have at least one partition,
or else it can't be used. If XP Professional is installed, it's installed on
a partition.

Presumably what you mean is that you have only a single partition.

and I'm thinking
perhaps I should create one for the OS at this stage....what size
partion do you think?V

If you're asking whether you should have two partitions, one for Windows and
installed programs, the other for data, that's a partitioning scheme that
many people use and are happy with. My personal view is that you should
first decide on a backup scheme, then choose the partitioning scheme that
makes that backup scheme easiest to follow.

 

[Guest]

Hi Ken thanks for the advice. Agro is UK slang for agravation.

The problems I'm having are with networking, I cant get the XP Pro to be
seen by the rest of the network and now I cant get on line through th XP Pro
system. The XP Home network seems easier to me and I don't really need all
the security, management and administration for my network.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi Ken thanks for the advice. Agro is UK slang for agravation.

You're welcome, and thanks for the explanation of "agro." Never heard it
before.

The problems I'm having are with networking, I cant get the XP Pro to
be seen by the rest of the network

How many computers in the network? Are you aware that XP Home has a limit of
five simultaneous connections (it's ten in Professional)?

and now I cant get on line through
th XP Pro system.

What kind of connection? What firewalls are in place? What happens when you
try?

The XP Home network seems easier to me

Your choice of course, but if you're dealing with a workgroup, a
peer-to-peer network, it's almost exactly the same in either Home or
Professional. Neither is easier than the other.

and I don't
really need all the security, management and administration for my
network.

Understood. Few home users do. Nevertheless it doesn't hurt you for all that
to be there unused. It isn't worth the money to buy another copy of Home,
and it isn't worth the trouble of changing from one operating system to the
other. If you don't use Professional's extra features, you can hardly tell
the two apart.

I wouldn't do it, but as I said, it's your choice, not mine.

 

[Plato]

I've just built a new pc and installed XP Pro and connected it to my network
where all the other PC's are running Home. It's been nothing but agro so
I've decided to install Home over the Pro. Should I format the hard drive
and do a clean install

Yes.

 

[ll]

XP Home and Professional are identical except that Professional
includes a few features (mostly related to security and networking)

When you're buying a new Dell computer you go through the
configuration process (choosing from a multiple choice list
for each line item), For the OS, XP Home is listed as "free",
meaning that Dell has already bundled their cost for Home into the
price that they are showing you. The _upgrade_ cost for Pro
(the delta cost between Home and Pro) is $119 _more_.
Why is that?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

When you're buying a new Dell computer you go through the
configuration process (choosing from a multiple choice list
for each line item), For the OS, XP Home is listed as "free",
meaning that Dell has already bundled their cost for Home into the
price that they are showing you. The _upgrade_ cost for Pro
(the delta cost between Home and Pro) is $119 _more_.
Why is that?

Sorry, I don't work for Dell, and can't explain their pricing policies. My
guess is that they charge so much more for so little extra because they can
get away with it because their corporate customers need Professional for its
ability to join a domain.

 

[Bob I]

Because they pay more for the Pro license and so they charge more. Take
cars as an example, the 4 cylinder engine comes stock, of you want the
V-6 there is an option to pay the difference to get the bigger engine.

 

[Alan]

When you're buying a new Dell computer you go through the
configuration process (choosing from a multiple choice list
for each line item), For the OS, XP Home is listed as "free",
meaning that Dell has already bundled their cost for Home into the
price that they are showing you. The _upgrade_ cost for Pro
(the delta cost between Home and Pro) is $119 _more_.
Why is that?

The only people that can explain Dells pricing policy is Dell. Dell set
those prices, not MS', not anyone in this newsgroup. So- Ask Dell.