upgrade from XP home SP2 to XP Professional SP2

[GrandMufti]

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? What is the least expensive way to do this? My OS was installed by
PC manufacturer.

Thanks.

 

[Tom [Pepper] Willett]

Why has your IT professional recommended it?

: 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? What is the least expensive way to do this? My OS was installed
by
: PC manufacturer.
:
: Thanks.

 

[Maincat]

Why has your IT professional recommended it?

: 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? What is the least expensive way to do this? My OS was
installed
by
: PC manufacturer.
:
: Thanks.

Comparison chart at
https://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx
Unless you are using your PC on a network that requires certain features eg
Remote Desktop, then I don't see the need. Do you need to access work from
home?
In the end your IT professional should have reasons to change the OS - you
need to ask what they are.

 

[Unknown]

Not needed for your home computer.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

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? What is the least expensive way to do this? My OS was installed by
PC manufacturer.

Why did he recommend it? If there were benefits to you, *he* should
have told you what they were. Without that explanation of benefits,
his recommendation is meaningless.

I can't tell you whether it's advisable for *you*, because I know
nothing about how you use your computer and what you use it for. But I
can tell you that for the vast majority of home users, it would be a
complete waste of time and money. XP Home and Professional are
identical except that Professional includes a few features (mostly
related to security and networking) missing from Home. Most home users
don't need and would never use these extra features and will see
absolutely *no* benefits by upgrading.

For details go to

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/whichxp.asp>

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.asp

Also note another point, not included in any of the above:
Professional allows ten concurrent network connections, and Home only
five.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

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

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot

 

[Xandros]

Short answer .... ask the IT pro