Differences Between Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home?

Answer 1

With the introduction of the Windows XP operating system, Microsoft started to offer more than one version of its software, aimed at different subsets of customers. With Windows XP Home, Microsoft has targeted the home computer user, while Windows XP Professional is designed for businesses and power users. What exactly differentiates Windows XP Professional from Windows XP Home? Both are based on the same underlying software, but Windows XP Professional has more activated features that will appeal to businesses and power users.

Windows XP Professional includes everything that Windows XP Home offers, but adds more features for professionals and businesses that need them. One of the most striking differences between XP Professional and XP Home is that Windows XP Professional supports multiple computer processors. While, the Home edition of XP supports one CPU, XP professional supports one or two, boosting the potential performance of the system. Multicore computing allows the operating system to divide calculations between different processors, improving speed and efficiency.

Windows XP Professional also includes Automated System Recovery (ASR), which is turned off by default in the Home edition. ASR is a backup utility that will help the computer recover from an unexpected crash. ASR is designed to return the computer to the previous working state should something go wrong with the current operation of Windows. Windows XP Home can be equipped with ASR, but users will have to install it manually from a recovery disk or from Microsoft’s web page.

Another feature that is exclusive to Windows XP Professional is Remote Desktop. This feature allows users to remotely access the computer from another location and to administer a network from a distant locale. Along with this extra connectivity feature, XP Pro includes support for IPSec, TCP/IP, SNMP, Client Service for Netware, and network monitor. Microsoft has also given XP Professional fax support, which is not present in Windows XP Home.

Finally, Windows XP Professional also includes more advanced security protocols and features than the Home edition. For one, XP Professional allows users to encrypt files or folders to prevent them from being accessed by unauthorized individuals. Next, users with administrator account privileges can prevent other people on the network from accessing certain files and folders.