The differences between XP Pro and Home are as given below:

1) XP Pro systems can join a domain; XP Home systems can't, which limits its use to home and SOHO environments

2) Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.1 and Personal Web Server (PWS) are found only in XP Pro.

3) Direct access to the Administrator account is available only in XP Pro. XP Home users must log on using Safe mode to access the Administrator account.

4) XP Pro supports Remote Desktop, which is basically a single-user version of Windows 2000 Server Terminal Services. XP Home supports only Remote Assistance.

5) Networking-related Group Policy Objects (GPO) are available only in XP Pro. XP Home supports no group policies.

6) The Network Monitor application, The UI for IP Security (IPSec), SNMP support, Simple TCP/IP Services, the service access point (SAP) and Client Services for NetWare (CSNW) are available only in XP Pro.

7) XP Home supports only simple file sharing. Detailed file-level security permissions are available only in XP Pro and it lets users limit the number of connections to shared folders and control user access by account.

Answered by Gyan Singh , an ibibo Master, at 4:43 AM on June 18, 2008

The differences between XP Pro and Home are as given below:

1) XP Pro systems can join a domain; XP Home systems can't, which limits its use to home and SOHO environments

2) Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.1 and Personal Web Server (PWS) are found only in XP Pro.

3) Direct access to the Administrator account is available only in XP Pro. XP Home users must log on using Safe mode to access the Administrator account.

4) XP Pro supports Remote Desktop, which is basically a single-user version of Windows 2000 Server Terminal Services. XP Home supports only Remote Assistance.

5) Networking-related Group Policy Objects (GPO) are available only in XP Pro. XP Home supports no group policies.

6) The Network Monitor application, The UI for IP Security (IPSec), SNMP support, Simple TCP/IP Services, the service access point (SAP) and Client Services for NetWare (CSNW) are available only in XP Pro.

7) XP Home supports only simple file sharing. Detailed file-level security permissions are available only in XP Pro and it lets users limit the number of connections to shared folders and control user access by account.

For more detailed comparison between XP Pro and Home, refer to: www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pr o/how tobuy/choosing2.mspx

Answered by shaista , an ibibo Master, at 2:17 PM on June 06, 2008

Pro has more features then Home. Pro also has registry tweaks. If you just want to play games and web surf then I suggest Home.
http://www.microsoft.com/win dowsxp/home/...

Answered by banish , an ibibo Specialist, at 7:01 PM on May 31, 2008

Windows Professional Edition is the Superset of Home Edition. The difference between Professional Edition and Home Edition are given below-

Windows XP Home Edition Overview
Windows XP Home Edition includes a number of enhancements over Windows 2000 Professional. These include:

* Improved software (application) and hardware compatibility
* Simplified security
* Simplified log-on featuring new "welcome" screen
* Fast user switching
* A new user interface featuring context-sensitive, task-oriented Web views
* Enhanced support for digital media (movies, pictures, music)
* DirectX 8.1 multimedia libraries for gaming

Professional Edition is a strict superset of Home Edition, confirmed Chris Jones, Vice President of the Windows Client Group. "Everything you can do in Home Edition, you can do in Pro. So we do think there are home users who will buy Pro."

Pro features that aren't in Home Edition
The following features are not present in Windows XP Home Edition.

* Power user Remote Desktop - All versions of Windows XP--including Home Edition--support Remote Assistance, which is an assisted support technology that allows a help desk or system administrator to remotely connect to a client desktop for troubleshooting purposes. But Only Pro supports the new Remote Desktop feature, which is a single-session version of Terminal Services with two obvious uses: Mobile professionals who need to remotely access their corporate desktop, and remote administration of clients on a network. You can access a Windows XP Remote Desktop from any OS that supports a Terminal Services client (such as Windows 98 and, interestingly XP Home). XP Home can act as the client in a Remote Desktop session; only Pro can be the server.
* Multi-processor support - Windows XP Pro supports up to two microprocessors, while Home Edition supports only one.
* Automated System Recovery (ASR) - In a somewhat controversial move, Microsoft has removed the Backup utility from the default Windows XP Home Edition, though it is available as an optional installation if you can find it on the CD-ROM (hint: it's in the /valueadd folder). The reason for this the integration of Microsoft's new Automated System Recovery (ASR) tool into Backup. In Pro, ASR will help recover a system from a catastrophic error, such as one that renders the system unbootable. ASR-enabled backups are triggerable from XP Setup, allowing you to return your system to its previous state, even if the hard drive dies and has to be replaced. Unlike consumer-oriented features such as System Restore, ASR is not automatic: It must manually be enabled from within the Backup utility in Windows XP Pro. In any event, while there is a Backup utility available for Home Edition, you cannot use ASR, even though mentions of this feature still exist in the UI. Confusing? Yes. But it's better than no Backup at all, which was the original plan.
* Dynamic Disk Support - Windows XP Professional (like its Windows 2000 equivalent) supports dynamic disks, but Home Edition does not (instead, HE supports only the standard Simple Disk type). Dynamic disks are not usable with any OS other than Windows 2000 or Windows XP Pro, and they cannot be used on portable computers. Likewise, Home Edition does not include the Logical Disk Manager.
* Fax - Home Edition has no integrated fax functionality out of the box, though it is an option you can install from the XP Home CD.
* Internet Information Services/Personal Web Server - Home Edition does not include the IIS Web server 5.1 software found in Pro.

* Security Encrypting File System - Windows XP Professional supports the Encrypting File System (EFS), which allows you encrypt individual files or folders for local security (EFS is not enabled over a network). EFS-protected files and folders allows users to protect sensitive documents from other users.
* Fil

Answered by Nagendra , an ibibo Master, at 8:27 AM on May 31, 2008

At its most basic level, XP Professional is a business- and power-user oriented superset of Home Edition. Because this orientation, it includes features that wouldn't be appropriate, or would be too complex, for the typical home user. Windows XP Professional gives you all the benefits of Windows XP Home Edition, plus additional remote access, security, performance, manageability and multi-lingual features that make it the OS of choice for businesses of all sizes and people who demand the most out of their computing experience. Some of the notable differences between XP Pro and Home are:

1) XP Pro systems can join a domain; XP Home systems can't, which limits its use to home and SOHO environments

2) Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5.1 and Personal Web Server (PWS) are found only in XP Pro.

3) Direct access to the Administrator account is available only in XP Pro. XP Home users must log on using Safe mode to access the Administrator account.

4) XP Pro supports Remote Desktop, which is basically a single-user version of Windows 2000 Server Terminal Services. XP Home supports only Remote Assistance.

5) Networking-related Group Policy Objects (GPO) are available only in XP Pro. XP Home supports no group policies.

6) The Network Monitor application, The UI for IP Security (IPSec), SNMP support, Simple TCP/IP Services, the service access point (SAP) and Client Services for NetWare (CSNW) are available only in XP Pro.

7) XP Home supports only simple file sharing. Detailed file-level security permissions are available only in XP Pro and it lets users limit the number of connections to shared folders and control user access by account.

For more detailed comparison between XP Pro and Home, refer to: www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/how tobuy/choosing2.mspx

Answered by A.R.Karthick , an ibibo Master, at 12:53 PM on May 30, 2008

well kriti
The Home and Professional editions of Windows XP are nearly identical; the only differences are additional features found in the Professional edition that most likely won't appeal to home users. The primary differences, aside from the price and the color of the packaging, are as follows:

Windows XP Home Edition

* Contains basic support for security among multiple users.
* Built-in support for peer-to-peer networking, but only for up to five computers.
* The backup utlity is not installed by default, but is included on the CD.

Windows XP Professional Edition

* Includes extended support for security between multiple users on the same machine.
* Better support for peer-to-peer networking, plus support for joining a "Windows NT domain."
* The backup utlity is installed by default.
* The Professional edition includes the following components not found in the Home edition:
o Administrative Tools (in the Start Menu and Control Panel)
o Automated System Recovery (ASR)
o Boot Configuration Manager
o DriverQuery
o Group Policy Refresh Utility
o Multi-lingual User Interface (MUI) add-on
o NTFS Encryption Utilitiy
o Offline Files and Folders
o OpenFiles
o Performance Log Manager
o Remote Desktop
o Scheduled Tasks Console
o Security Template Utility
o Taskkill
o Tasklist
o Telnet Administrator
* Provides support for multi-processor systems (2 or 4 CPUs), Dynamic Disks, Fax.

These components and concepts are fully documented in Windows XP in a Nutshell, the book.

Answered by jaivir , an ibibo Master, at 8:58 AM on May 30, 2008

very minute diff in networking and media files

Answered by sushil , an ibibo Citizen, at 5:11 AM on May 30, 2008