XP Pro vs. XP Home; Are they now the same? 3

[Vol4Ever]

Have these 2 products "merged" as the various service packs have come out? My boot up screen at home used to have a XP Home logo & my work boot up screen used to say XP Professional. Now both simply say Windows XP.

I'm contemplating a format/re-install at home to clean things up a bit. 4 years of clutter = slow PC! In the end will I get the same functionality regardless of which version is used for the base installation?

~Vol

 

[bcastner]

Microsoft removed the XP and Home designations from the Boot screens.

Host: PaulRichardson (Microsoft)
Q: Why now all Windows XP Editions have the same bootscreen?
A: It was a change made to make it easier to release localized builds - so we don't have as many files to change since it was made more generic.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/chats/transcripts/04sept08.mspx

The service packs were not efforts to merge the products. Home and Pro continue to offer distinctly different feature sets.

 

[tfg13]

Excellent answer Bill!

 

[Vol4Ever]

Got it. Since they are different, that raises another question. I went here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx

to review the technical differences between Home & Pro. There is very little missing from the Home list that I care about, but there is one that makes me nervous.

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

Does that mean that in Home version, there is no Add/Remove Programs button? Surely not. . . . .

 

[linney]

Windows XP Comparison Guide

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx#top

If you have a NTFS partition try these links to beef up Home to something more resembling PRO, but it will always remain the "poor cousin".

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_securityconsole.htm

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_home_sectab.htm

 

[linney]

Software installation and maintenance.

Administrators can use the software installation and maintenance feature of IntelliMirror to install and maintain applications on computers. If any of the applications need to be updated, the network administrator can update them from the server.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...l/proddocs/en-us/sag_imirrorsim.mspx?mfr=true