Win XP Home or Professional?

[Alex Thens]

I am likely to be buying the Dell XPS box today. Does anyone have a recommendation for which OS I should have installed? I am using the machine mainly for PS, InDesign, and Illustrator. Is there a strong argument for either OS?
Thanks,

Alex

[Bob Levine]

The only thing I can tell you is that if there is any possibility you'll
want or need the extra features in the Pro version, now is the time to
buy it. You'll never get it for $70.00 again.

Bob

[dpick]

The major difference Pro gives over Home is enhanced security options. You can encrypt files and you can assign "permissions" for individual files. This means if you have multiple user accounts for you computer, you (as administrator) can block access to files and folders or block use of specific programs to other users of your computer.

In simple, everyday use, Pro features are virtually useless if you have only one account for you computer. Pro only uses passwords to grant access to accounts, so if there is one account every person who sits in front of your computer will have complete access to files and programs.

There are other minor differences. Pro supports multi-processors, remote desktop, and some networking features.

Here is Microsoft's comparison chart.

<http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.asp>

I use Pro for the security options. If that appeals to you, as stated by Robert, $70 is a good deal.

[Alex Thens]

Thanks for that link dpick. I like the security additions. But, honestly it is only me on the machine in my home. Should I really be concerned enough to warrant the $70? I will have it networked with one other PC in the house to share cable connection. Also, what about stability? Is one better than the other?

[dave milbut]

if you're ever going to be running more than 1 machine networked in your house (if this is a new machine, think over the life of the system - 3 to 5 years) get pro.

[Bob Levine]

Stability is identical. But I'll give you one piece of advice that you
can take or or blow off. Once you get the machine and you're sure it
works, reformat the harddrive and reinstall XP.

Dell, as well as the other major OEMs simply image everything onto the
harddrive. The installations are never as stable as doing it right from
the CD.

bob

[dave milbut]

I second rob's advice. Install it fresh!

[Alex Thens]

Can I do that from the disc(s) they give me? Never bought from Dell until now. When I bought my HP, they put everything on one CD. No seperate OS disc. What benefit does this method give me? I have heard that (on these forums and elsewhere) but never understood why.

[Bob Levine]

That's the nice thing about Dell. Yes, you get a WinXP CD that doesn't
even require activation. The only restriction is that it's tied to the
Dell BIOS. But once you're done, you have a clean installation without
all the garbage that Dell installs.

Just pop it in the CD drive, set the BIOS to boot to the CD and just
follow the on screen directions. You'll also likely need the Dell
Resource CD which contains all the drivers you'll need. It took me less
than an hour to get the machine ready to install my apps. An hour well
spent, I might add.

Bob

[dave milbut]

LIke what ken. i have a bunch of games w/pro.

freecell
hearts
backgammon
checkers
reversi
spades
minesweeper
pinball
solitaire
spider solitaire.

[Alex Thens]

Thanks Bob. I am not a techie by any means so some of that is over my head. Is there a step by step for that process that I can follow along with?

[Bob Levine]

It's easier than it sounds. And since the machine is new, there's
nothing to back up.

Just enter the BIOS and set it to boot to the CD. Put the XP CD in the
CD drive and restart the computer. When the setup screen comes up, it
will go through a few automated steps and then will come to a screen
which will ask you what you want to do.

I don't remember the order that things happen or the exact commands but
you'll want to delete the partition that is already there. Then create a
new partition.

You might want to consider multiple partitions at this point. One for
the O/S, one for data, one for programs. Makes future backups a bit easier.

Once you're done creating the partition for Windows, the installer will
format it and install Windows. After Windows has been successfully
installed, you'll need to install the Dell Resource CD and that will
assist you in installing any drivers that Windows didn't install, such
as modem and video drivers.

It may sound hard and complicated but it's really easy and you'll learn
a bit along the way.

Bob

[Alex Thens]

Excellent! Thanks Bob.

[dpick]

One important thing if you're going to reinstall. If you have a Raid motherboard (probably unlikely with a DELL system, but good info for others) and your hard drive is on the Raid controller, make absolutely sure you have the Raid driver handy when you "begin" the install. XP will ask for that driver right up front (F6, to install hard drive controller), if not you'll go through the 3/4 of the install then nothing will run.

Alex, I am a home user, too, and I love XP Pro. With my password, I have one toy my kids can't play with.

[Alex Thens]

Thanks dpick. I ordered my Dell XPS box 2 days ago and I can't wait...2.8GHz Pentium 4 with Hyper Threading, 1 G RAM @ 400MHz, 128 MB DDR ATI Radeon 9800 Graphics Card...It should be here by mid next week. Thanks again. Hope XP is better than ME.

Alex

[Bob Levine]

> Hope XP is better than ME.

ME was pure crap. XP is lightyears ahead.

Bob

[dpick]

Alex, sounds like a great system! I've been thinking about upgrading to a hyperthreading box myself. So, I'm jealous.

[Alex Thens]

I have been waiting for this for a long time so I can't wait to get this machine! Should be pretty quick.

[webbolts]

Intersting, but most of the differences pointed out here between Pro and Home are not found on my two computers (one running Pro, the other Home). The security options are available on both versions, the games are available on both versions.

Really, the only significant difference I can see is that Pro offers multi-processor support. If you're going to have 2 or more CPU's (Xeon's or PIII's) in one machine, you'll need XP Pro. If you're running any flavor of Intel's P4, XP Home will do nicely.

[ID. Awe]

Pro also includes a backup utility.