question about xp pro vs home and windows media player 10

[BigJim]

I have a desktop with xp pro and media player 10
it will rip mp3's with no problem but I can't do
it with the home edition on my dell laptop.
the question is, is it the home edition or is it
dells home edition or does pro have the extra software
in it already.

tia

 

[T. Waters]

Are you saying that your laptop does not have WMP on it at all?
If so, you can download the program here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/AllDownloads.aspx?dis
plang=en&qstechnology=

 

[Kelly]

No, that is not what he is saying.

--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP)

Troubleshooting Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com

 

[BigJim]

what I am trying to explain is that xp pro and windows media player 10 will
let me rip
mp3's from cd audio, pro is installed on my desktop computer.

I have xp home edition installed on my laptop with media player 10 and it
will not
let me rip mp3's, it will do wma's.

I have no added software for xp pro it rips mp3's no problem.
when I try it with xp home edition it tells me I need an encoder to do the
same thing.

the question is what is causing this? the xp pro is OEM
the xp home edition is from Dell both using sp2.

tia again

 

[Tim Slattery]

I have xp home edition installed on my laptop with media player 10 and it
will not let me rip mp3's, it will do wma's.

There's an option setting somewhere in WMP10 that governs the format
for ripping. I don't have WMP10 on my work computer here in front of
me, so I can't tell you exactly where it is (but look under
Tools|Options).

In WMP10 you don't get a chance to choose the output format every time
you tell it to rip. You set this option, and all rips produce the
format specified there.

 

[BigJim]

thanks Tim I know this and how to set it.
That is why I am asking. It must be the Dell Oem xp home edition version
causing this
over the Oem xp pro version.

 

[Tim Slattery]

thanks Tim I know this and how to set it.
That is why I am asking. It must be the Dell Oem xp home edition version
causing this over the Oem xp pro version.

You're saying that the option doesn't exist? I know that MP3 ripping
was not implemented in WMP9, is it possible that you're really looking
at that version, not 10?

I find it very difficult to believe that Dell would make a separate
version of WMP (or that MS would make it for them) that omits MP3
ripping.

 

[BigJim]

No it is version 10 and I have been using computer since 1988
I have a CS degree and work in the field. Not to much programming anymore
mostly supervision. I think it is the difference between XP Home Edition and
XP Professional.
Thanks anyway.

 

[T. Waters]

Officially, Home and Pro are identical with respect to WMP.
"Windows Media Player works identically in Windows XP Home Edition and
Professional."

-from Windows XP Inside Out

They also have this to say about MP3 ripping. Sounds like the desktop may
have 3rd party MP3

ripping software if my book is not lying:

What Happened to MP3?

Windows Media Player, as shipped with Windows XP, does not allow you to
create MP3

files from CD audio tracks. It does, however, play any MP3 files that you
might have or

obtain, without sacrificing fidelity, and it does support the addition of
MP3 encoders from

third parties.

The WMA format supported by Windows Media Player achieves audio quality
equivalent to

that of MP3 at much higher compression. A CD track encoded via WMA generally
uses no

more than half the disk space of an MP3 file of comparable quality. (In some
cases, the

size of the WMA file is closer to one third the size of the equivalent MP3.)

If you want to rip files from a CD and save them in MP3 format, you can use
one of many

third-party programs that excel at this task. We recommend downloading one
of these three

inexpensive third-party plug-ins that allow you to create MP3 files at bit
rates of up to 320

Kbps: MP3 PowerEncoder from Cyberlink Corporation; MP3 XPack from
InterVideo, Inc.; or

CinePlayer MP3 Creation Pack from Sonic Solutions. Conveniently, a link in
Windows Media

Player takes you to a Web page with direct links to these and other add-ins:
Choose Tools,

Options. On the Rip Music tab, click Learn More About MP3 Formats.