Using XP Home and loading programs

[Jeff Barnett]

I've just ordered a little computer (an Asus EEE Box EBXB202-X0081 Intel
Atom N270 (1.60GHz) 1GB DDR2 160GB Intel GMA 950 preloaded with Windows
XP Home). I know my way, fairly well, around XP Pro but have never used
XP Home so I have a few questions:

I presume it will be a one-user machine. Will that user have
administrative privileges, i.e., can that user load new programs?

How do I get in administrative mode if not? I recall that you must
reboot and do something or other. What is that "something or other"?

I've packed all of by XP books so I don't have easy access to the above
information.

Thanks in advance for any information or pointers that you can give me.

-- Jeff Barnett

 

[Malke]

I've just ordered a little computer (an Asus EEE Box EBXB202-X0081 Intel
Atom N270 (1.60GHz) 1GB DDR2 160GB Intel GMA 950 preloaded with Windows
XP Home). I know my way, fairly well, around XP Pro but have never used
XP Home so I have a few questions:

I presume it will be a one-user machine. Will that user have
administrative privileges, i.e., can that user load new programs?

How do I get in administrative mode if not? I recall that you must
reboot and do something or other. What is that "something or other"?

I've packed all of by XP books so I don't have easy access to the above
information.

User accounts are either computer administrators or Limited in XP Home. You
can create whatever users you want, just like you could in XP Pro. So I
don't know what you mean by "it will be a one-user machine". It will only
be one user if you choose not to make others!

To access the built-in Administrator account (unnecessary in either Pro or
Home), you must boot into Safe Mode in XP Home.

Malke

 

[Jeff Barnett]

Jeff Barnett wrote:



User accounts are either computer administrators or Limited in XP Home. You
can create whatever users you want, just like you could in XP Pro. So I
don't know what you mean by "it will be a one-user machine". It will only
be one user if you choose not to make others!

To access the built-in Administrator account (unnecessary in either Pro or
Home), you must boot into Safe Mode in XP Home.

Malke

Part of my confusion is based on belief that there is no welcome
screen/fast user switching in Home. As I said, I've never used it and
just wanted to get a few things clarified before I start.

Thanks for the reply.

-- Jeff Barnett

 

[Kayman]

I've just ordered a little computer (an Asus EEE Box EBXB202-X0081 Intel
Atom N270 (1.60GHz) 1GB DDR2 160GB Intel GMA 950 preloaded with Windows
XP Home). I know my way, fairly well, around XP Pro but have never used
XP Home so I have a few questions:

I presume it will be a one-user machine. Will that user have
administrative privileges, i.e., can that user load new programs?

How do I get in administrative mode if not? I recall that you must
reboot and do something or other. What is that "something or other"?

I've packed all of by XP books so I don't have easy access to the above
information.

Thanks in advance for any information or pointers that you can give me.

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/usingwindowsxp.mspx

 

[Malke]

Part of my confusion is based on belief that there is no welcome
screen/fast user switching in Home. As I said, I've never used it and
just wanted to get a few things clarified before I start.

Yes, you can use the Welcome Screen and Fast User Switching in both XP Home
and XP Pro. You can also use the classic logon box in both operating
systems.

Really, there are very few differences between XP Home and Pro that would be
noticed in a home environment. Pro allows you to set fine-grained
permissions/restrictions on users and groups. Pro allows you to choose
whether to connect over a LAN as guest or not while Home only connects as
guest. Pro can join a domain where Home cannot. Pro allows 10 inbound
concurrent connections over the LAN and Home allows 5. Pro has some
administrative tools that would be used in a business environment that Home
doesn't. And that's about it.

A simple Google for "difference between XP Home and XP Pro" will tell you
all of this very quickly if you want more in-depth information:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...P+Home+and+XP+Pro&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=

Here is just one of the useful links from that search:
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/wxpdifs.html

Malke

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I've just ordered a little computer (an Asus EEE Box EBXB202-X0081 Intel
Atom N270 (1.60GHz) 1GB DDR2 160GB Intel GMA 950 preloaded with Windows
XP Home). I know my way, fairly well, around XP Pro but have never used
XP Home so I have a few questions:

I presume it will be a one-user machine.

If that's the way you want to configure it, it can be.

Will that user have
administrative privileges, i.e., can that user load new programs?

That also will be entirely up to you.

How do I get in administrative mode if not? I recall that you must
reboot and do something or other. What is that "something or other"?

By design, the only way to log into the built-in Administrator
account of WinXP Home is to reboot into Safe Mode.


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, Simple File Sharing cannot be disabled in WinXP Home, 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


--

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

 

[Lil' Dave]

I've just ordered a little computer (an Asus EEE Box EBXB202-X0081 Intel
Atom N270 (1.60GHz) 1GB DDR2 160GB Intel GMA 950 preloaded with Windows XP
Home). I know my way, fairly well, around XP Pro but have never used XP
Home so I have a few questions:

I presume it will be a one-user machine. Will that user have
administrative privileges, i.e., can that user load new programs?

How do I get in administrative mode if not? I recall that you must reboot
and do something or other. What is that "something or other"?

I've packed all of by XP books so I don't have easy access to the above
information.

Thanks in advance for any information or pointers that you can give me.

-- Jeff Barnett

Unless I missed something in your post, a pre-loaded XP Home single user
will have admin privileges by default. Otherwise, installing 3rd party
applications would be impossible under that scenario.

Some muddling around and searching will easily locate how to setup a user
and password in XP Home's native environment. As well as setting admin
privileges and so forth for said user as well. Its very straightforward and
simple.

 

[Jeff Barnett]

Unless I missed something in your post, a pre-loaded XP Home single user
will have admin privileges by default. Otherwise, installing 3rd party
applications would be impossible under that scenario.

Some muddling around and searching will easily locate how to setup a user
and password in XP Home's native environment. As well as setting admin
privileges and so forth for said user as well. Its very straightforward and
simple.

Dave,

You caught the essence of my concern - the OS is preinstalled and I
wasn't quite sure how to start poking around.

-- Jeff Barnett