Windows XP [Electronic resources] : Visual Quickstart Guide, Second Edition

The Editions of Windows XP

Table i.1 lists the editions of Windows XP (so far); this book covers the Home and Professional editions.

Table i.1. Windows XP Editions

E DITIONS

D ESCRIPTION

Home

Minimal budget edition usually bundled with home and small-business PCs

Professional

Includes everything in Home Edition, plus components for power users and network administrators

Media Center

Pro Edition plus digital-media support for video, audio, pictures, movies, and recorded TV (meant more for living rooms than offices)

Tablet PC

Pro Edition plus digital-ink support that lets you use a stylus to write on Tablet PC screens directly

64-Bit

Pro Edition plus support for high-end systems using Intel or AMD 64-bit processors

In general XP Home and Pro look and work alike, so most discussions apply to both editions equally. You'll see this symbol wherever I discuss a Pro feature not offered in Home (Table i.2 on the next page).

Table i.2. Features Unique to XP Pro

PROF EATURE

LETS YOU DO THIS

Domain membership

Join a large group of networked computers that's administered as a unit. (Home Edition PCs can use domain servers and printers but can't be domain members themselves.)

Dynamic disks

Treat multiple hard disks as a single large disk.

Encrypting file system

Encrypt files and folders to keep them safe from intruders.

Internet Information Services

Host and manage simple web sites.

Multilingual support

Dynamically change the language used for input, spell checking, help files, user-interface elements, and other text.

Multiprocessor support

Recognize and use a second processor automatically. (Home Edition will run on a two-processor system but will use only one processor.)

Offline files

Make network files available offline by storing shared files on your laptop so that they're accessible when you're not connected to the network. Reconnecting to the network updates your changes to the network files.

Remote Desktop

Control a remote computer, via internet or LAN, from another computer. Use your home PC to work with all your work PC's data and programs remotely, for example.

Roaming user profiles

Have your personal settings and desktop appear on any networked computer you log on to (not just your personal PC).

User management

Use Group Policy to define and enforce complex disk-, folder-, and file-level security policies by user. (Home Edition has only two simple security levels.)

To find out which edition you're running, choose Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > System > General tab (or press Windows logo key+Break) (Figure i.1 ).