if im running win xp home is there any reason to upgrade to xp pro? i can get it through msdnaa but dont know if there is any advantage.
also if i installed it is there anyway to not lose all my files?

1/24/2006 1:07:39 PM

There are differences.


Pro will allow you to connect to a Domain, for 1.

Other differences can be found on google, but chances are you wont need the ~$200 upgrade

1/24/2006 1:09:28 PM

generally if you don't even know if you need it, then no, you don't need it. Here are the list of differences:
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_home_pro.asp
big differences are Remote Desktop, Dynamic Disk support and Windows Domain support. And if you aren't aware that you're missing those right now, then you probably don't need them.

You can always install Windows on top of itself without losing any files, but it's generally never recommended. You'll almost always get better performance if you back up all your data files to another disk or partition, reformat and reinstall. There's no reason to do all this just to go from Home to Pro though.
If, however, you need to do a full reinstall for some other reason (virus, too much spyware you can't get rid of, corrupted programs), then sure - go with Pro if you can get it.

1/24/2006 1:14:07 PM

no

[Edited on January 24, 2006 at 1:15 PM. Reason : http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx]

1/24/2006 1:14:21 PM

yeah i was planning on just saving it for if i needed to reformat/reinstall
although i could use remote desktop

1/24/2006 1:17:05 PM

^remote desktop is nice but if you really need it you could always try vnc

1/24/2006 4:16:14 PM

folks if we could just get a Raige post in here

1/24/2006 4:27:59 PM

Quote :

"And if you aren't aware that you're missing those right now, then you probably don't need them. "

On the money. If you aren't change any system settings on a frequent basis, probably don't need it.

1/24/2006 5:11:21 PM

if it weren't for remote desktop, i would probably be just fine with xp home. i dont like vnc

1/24/2006 5:44:10 PM

Froshkiller asks and I appear!

1) If you're a CSC student you can get it for free
2) If you're not a CSC student, chances are you know one who doesn't want it. Score.

3) Even if you have to buy it it's $79, not $200 for students at the student bookstore. (last i heard)

4) RDP client that windows has can be downloaded for home so that's no biggie
Driver support is just about the same. 99% of the time you'll download the drivers you need anyway. It's just more helpful with network cards really

Xp home vs Pro isn't worth the money in my opinion. 2000 versus XP pro, XP pro wins out a lot depending on your use of it. But that's a whole other thread where people posted who really didn't know what they were talking about. Very glad I did my own research. I'm happy to reply in PM's to those who disagree and explain.

1/24/2006 5:52:05 PM

it would be free
the only difference i was thinking off was connecting to a domain, something i dont need so i was wondering if there were any other reasons. didnt even think about remote desktop, thanks.

1/24/2006 7:53:57 PM

^^ only 69.95

but yeah, grab some free microsoft software. also, the upgrade will upgrade home to pro without much hassle, or so I've been told (as in without reinstalling the WHOLE OS). Any truth to that?

[Edited on January 24, 2006 at 8:10 PM. Reason : ]

1/24/2006 8:08:40 PM