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ricer333 · 10-16-2006, 10:05 AM

just like anything else, it depends on what you want to do with your computer.

XP comes in some flavors first two divisions are 'upgrade' packages and 'full' install packages. Briefly the difference is that for the upgrad package, you must have a previous version of Windows (e.g. Win95, Win98, ME, ect) on your computer first. The upgrades are usually cheaper, becuase MS knows that you already have a previous version of their OS on your system.

The full package is just that a self-contained disk that when you pop it in does not need any prior knowledge of an existing OS.

Both versions will reformat your drive and install the WinXP OS, but only the full version can work without a previous OS on it. This means that if you decide to go the 'Upgrade' route, and you must reinstall WinXP (for any reason) you must have a previous version of windows on your computer before reinstalling the WinXp. This can get a bit tedious (extra time to install win98 for example, then reformat drive with new WinXp upgrade, ect..)

Wew... with that being said the next division is WinXP Home, Pro and now a new Media Center edition. My understanding is limited on the Media center edition, but the Home is essentially a stripped down version of Pro (same underlying code, with some flags turned off limiting its use to the customer). For this reason, Pro is usaully $70-$100 more expensive than Home.

If you are just an average user Home is probably the one you need. Pro gives added features like Remote Desktop where you can remote to another comptuer running XP Pro/Home and take control of their computer (used to fix computers without talking over the phone... do this and do that... then wait....). The Home edition cannot make the call, but can receive the request... so with Pro you can do both, send and receive the Remote Desktop client, but with Home you can only receive it from someone.

With all that being said.... check out the following google search. This should start you off to where you need to go. Good Luck!!

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...s+Media+center

10-16-2006, 10:05 AM	#2 (permalink)
ricer333 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 302 OS: Vista (on Laptop) WinXP Pro SP3 (on Desktop)	well.. just like anything else, it depends on what you want to do with your computer. XP comes in some flavors first two divisions are 'upgrade' packages and 'full' install packages. Briefly the difference is that for the upgrad package, you must have a previous version of Windows (e.g. Win95, Win98, ME, ect) on your computer first. The upgrades are usually cheaper, becuase MS knows that you already have a previous version of their OS on your system. The full package is just that a self-contained disk that when you pop it in does not need any prior knowledge of an existing OS. Both versions will reformat your drive and install the WinXP OS, but only the full version can work without a previous OS on it. This means that if you decide to go the 'Upgrade' route, and you must reinstall WinXP (for any reason) you must have a previous version of windows on your computer before reinstalling the WinXp. This can get a bit tedious (extra time to install win98 for example, then reformat drive with new WinXp upgrade, ect..) Wew... with that being said the next division is WinXP Home, Pro and now a new Media Center edition. My understanding is limited on the Media center edition, but the Home is essentially a stripped down version of Pro (same underlying code, with some flags turned off limiting its use to the customer). For this reason, Pro is usaully $70-$100 more expensive than Home. If you are just an average user Home is probably the one you need. Pro gives added features like Remote Desktop where you can remote to another comptuer running XP Pro/Home and take control of their computer (used to fix computers without talking over the phone... do this and do that... then wait....). The Home edition cannot make the call, but can receive the request... so with Pro you can do both, send and receive the Remote Desktop client, but with Home you can only receive it from someone. With all that being said.... check out the following google search. This should start you off to where you need to go. Good Luck!! http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...s+Media+center __________________ AMD X2 5000+ Black w/ XFX GeForce 8200 MoBo 4GB OCZ DDR2 RAM 3/4 of a TB of data storage between 2 HDD's (no RAID)