Whether to get Win XP Home or Pro

[Bob Stringer]

I'm think of getting a new computer (either a Dell Dimension
8300 or Dimension XPS) and need to decide whether I want to
pay to go up to XP Pro. I'd appreciate some advice on that.

Apologies for the length of this, but I have a lot of
questions.

I currently have Win2K Pro, which someone more knowledgeable
than I set up for me. I don't do networking, and the whole
thing about "administrative privileges" and all that is
beyond me, but I was sick of how unstable Win98 was. It's
been just great for me. Very stable.

So -- here are my needs. This is for a home computer. I work
at home a couple days a week, doing a lot of work processing
and online legal research. I communicate with my office
machine (on Win2k Pro) using pcAnywhere (not wonderful, but
seems to suit my purpose of getting files I need). I have a
voice recognition program (Dragon Naturally Speaking Legal
Solutions) and a single game program -- I'm otherwise not a
gamer, both of which make great demands on the computer, but
which I believe are handled by lots of memory, and don't
care which of the two OS's I use. Beyond that I use the
browser mainly for information (i.e., not to go to gaming
sites that make graphics important) and I subscribe to a
variety of new groups -- in other words, nothing very
demanding there. I have two hard drives mainly for the
purpose of back ups and imaging.

I checked the MS web site which compares Home and Pro, and
eliminating everything related to networking, which I don't
care about, here's where the site says Pro is better than
Home. I don't particularly understand all of these points,
and so I'd appreciate some elaboration.

Here there are, with what MS says about the OS's in quotes:

-- "Scalable processor support - up to two-way
multi-processor support."

I have no idea what this means. Can someone explain?

-- "Encrypting File System - protects sensitive data in
files that are stored on disk using the NTFS file system."

I have an idea about this, but not all the way. On Win2k, I
was told that the file system was NTFS, because it was more
secure. Is MS saying here that WinXP Home doesn't use NTFS
at all? Or just that there's something more secure using XP
instead of home? Also, I have an encryption program I use
for anything that's exceptionally sensitive (fairly ), and
keep the most sensitive stuff of all encrypted on removable
disk, rather than on the computer itself.

Is there something in XP that, given my uses, should appeal
to me more than Home on the security angle?

"Access Control -- restrict access to selected files,
applications, and other resources."

Not sure what is being described here. Is this saying that
on WinXP Home if I can get to it, anyone can? What
protection does XP provide that's not available by using
Home with an encryption program for the very few things that
matter. (I'm the only one who used my computer, and should
someone break into my home, I suspect they'll have more than
sitting down at my computer in mind). Is the advantage of XP
simply that it makes encryption simpler and easier, or is
there some other side to this?

"Software Installation and Maintenance -- automatically
install, configure, repair, or remove software
applications."

What is it (and how) that XP Pro does whatever is being said
here? I haven't found software installation to be all that
difficult in any version of Windows, going back to 95, so
what's the improvement in XP Pro that XP Home can't do?

And what kind of "software maintenance" does WinXP Pro do?

Twos final questions -- aside from the stuff on the MS site.

First, do I understand correctly that WinXP (home or pro)
has its own CD copying ability? If so, is it good enough,
or is there any reason I'd be happier using Ahead Nero?

Second, I recently learned how to do imaging to back up my
stuff, and while I'm no wiz at it, the program I use
(Acronis True Image) is pretty straightforward. However,
someone recently suggested I consider RAID. I searched
online a bit and figured out, in *very* general terms, what
RAID is, but finding out the advantages and disadvantages is
another matter. My initial reaction is that whether or not I
went with RAID, I'd still want to image and transfer to
removable disks, so that the backup can be kept off site.
But beyond that, can someone either clue me in on RAID or
refer me to a web site that gives me the background I need?
Also, what additional expense is involved to use it right?

Thanks very much.

Bob Stringer

 

[Wesley VogelX]

Bob;
Have a look here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/evaluation/default.asp

 

[Bob Stringer]

Bob;
Have a look here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/evaluation/default.asp

Thanks for the site, Wesley. I had checked that one and
several others before I posted my question, however, and I
really couldn't find the answers I was looking for. The MS
sites, naturally, are very broad brush and directed toward
promoting the products. The generalities they state don't
explain what I was asking about.

Here again, pared down, are the questions I had. The stuff
in quotes being statements from the MS site that I either
didn't understand or didn't find useful without further
explanation.

What does "Scalable processor support - up to two-way
multi-processor support" mean and what use might it be to
me?

"Encrypting File System - protects sensitive data in files
that are stored on disk using the NTFS file system." Does
that mean NTFS is available only on WinXP Pro and not XP
Home? Is that important if I'm the only one using my
machine?

"Access Control -- restrict access to selected files,
applications, and other resources." What does this mean?
Does it refer to something comparable to what I have in
Win2k -- administrative privileges, etc.?

"Software Installation and Maintenance -- automatically
install, configure, repair, or remove software
applications." I don't understand this at all. I'm
currently able to install, configure, repair and remove
software, so I don't know why this is being promoted for XP
Pro. I assume that they're touting the "automatic" part ,
but I don't understand what "automatic" means in this
context. I can't believe I'm supposed to take it literally
-- meaning that all sorts of apps will be installed,
configured, repaired and removed without my knowing it.

The MS site refers to CD burning for WinXP Pro but not for
Home. But knowing how things are, I don't want to assume
that means that XP Home doesn't have it. Does it? And as for
XP Pro, is the feature dependable and high quality, or would
I find myself wanting to install something like Ahead Nero?
If so, then having that feature as part of the Pro package
and not Home isn't any use to me, since I'd get Nero in
either case.

Finally, as I mentioned in my original message, someone
recently suggested I consider RAID. Through online research
I learned in very* general terms what RAID refers to, but
nothing that explained, in language comprehensible to a
non-geek, how easy or hard it is to use, and what the
advantages, disadvantages and costs are -- as opposed, say,
to imaging

If you or someone else can comment on these points, I'd
really appreciate it.

Thanks.

Bob Stringer

 

[Richard]

In simple lay-man terms.
Scalable processor support, means that XP pro will work on computers
designed to use two CPUs on the same motherboard.
NTFS is available on both Home and Pro
Pro is designed for an large office environment where you need to share some
data and restrict other data on the same hard drive
Hence the Encryption restricted access capability. If you have a home
computer I doubt you need these features.
Both Home and Pro have CD burning capability, however, third party software
does a better job than the MS software.
RAID is the capability of setting up two hard drives to either act as a
single large hard drive, or to automatically duplicate the first hard drive
onto the second hard drive. This is an important feature if your business
could go down the tube if you lost a hard drive.
Hope these help you decide. The Pro version is a powerful operating system,
but I never recommend it to the average home user as they seldom have the
need for the extra features and they can use the extra money for software or
accessories.

 

[Alex Nichol]

Here there are, with what MS says about the OS's in quotes:

-- "Scalable processor support - up to two-way
multi-processor support."

I have no idea what this means. Can someone explain?

The machine can be one that has two separate CPU chips in it - you won't
be getting one, so it does not matter.

-- "Encrypting File System - protects sensitive data in
files that are stored on disk using the NTFS file system."

I have an idea about this, but not all the way. On Win2k, I
was told that the file system was NTFS, because it was more
secure. Is MS saying here that WinXP Home doesn't use NTFS
at all? Or just that there's something more secure using XP
instead of home? Also, I have an encryption program I use
for anything that's exceptionally sensitive (fairly ), and
keep the most sensitive stuff of all encrypted on removable
disk, rather than on the computer itself.

Both Home and Pro use NTFS, but Home has its security aspects only
available in a simple way. For one, it means you can't have multiple
users and say 'A B and C are allowed to read this file, but no more,
while D can modify them as well, and E is allowed no access'. It does
not sound as if you need this. The encryption (also only in Pro) is
very strong, and allows the owner of the file to access the files with
them decrypted 'on the fly', so it is not apparent that there is any
encryption. There are two disadvantages - if anyone else can get at the
machine and guess your regular password so as to log on as you, he has
access - so things are no more secure in practice than that password.
But if you reformat the system and have *not* made secure backup of the
'encryption certificates' used, the files are irretrievable.

The other Pro only matter is any need to connect to an office network by
formally 'joining a domain' - but it does not sound as if that is
something you need. On the whole I think you are probably better off
with the encryption program you are used to, and would find Home
entirely adequate to your needs.

 

[Bob Stringer]

In simple lay-man terms.

[snip]

Thanks Richard. Very helpful.

Bob Stringer

 

[Bob Stringer]

[snip]

Thanks, Alex. Big help.

Looks like I'll be getting Home.

Bob Stringer

 

[XS11E]

I'm think of getting a new computer (either a Dell Dimension
8300 or Dimension XPS) and need to decide whether I want to
pay to go up to XP Pro. I'd appreciate some advice on that.

Apologies for the length of this, but I have a lot of
questions.

I currently have Win2K Pro, which someone more knowledgeable
than I set up for me. I don't do networking, and the whole
thing about "administrative privileges" and all that is
beyond me, but I was sick of how unstable Win98 was. It's
been just great for me. Very stable.

Bob, this doesn't answer your question at all, but here's my own
personal experience, as they say on TV, "Your mileage may vary".

I got a new laptop with Windows XP Home installed so I bought a copy of
Windows XP Pro for my desktop and did a clean install with it thinking
my laptop and desktop would then match fairly well.

Short version: My laptop and desktop are now both running Windows 2000
Pro, Windows XP Home and Windows XP Pro are installed in my desk drawer
and will probably never come out of there again.

Long version: Both encountered the recursive upgrade problem and after
spending several days trying every recommended fix, it wasn't fixed.
Windows XP Home lacks NTBackup, I had to expand it from my XP Pro CD to
have it in Home. Both refused to connect to the internet after the
screen saver came on, no idea why, no fix that I could find. Etc. etc.
etc. etc. I really don't feel like listing all the dozens of problems I
encountered....

Maybe by the next Service Pack XP will be ready for prime time but not
now in my opinion, too many problems that I never encountered with
Win2k.

If Windows 2k has the necessary drivers for your new computer or if you
can find them, you might be MUCH happier running it. The only driver I
had any problems with was the video driver for the laptop and I Googled
that up on the second hit.

Again, YMMV.

 

[Bob Stringer]

Bob, this doesn't answer your question at all, but here's my own
personal experience, as they say on TV, "Your mileage may vary".

[snip]

Thanks for the advice. I'm ordering the computer today, and
I've decided to go with XP. However, I'll always have my
Win2k disk if I end up having the same experience you did.

Bob Stringer