Introduction

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Differences Between Windows XP Editions

Windows XP comes in various versions: Windows XP Home Edition (for home and small-office users), Windows XP Professional (for corporate workstations), Windows XP 64-Bit Edition (for Itanium-based workstations), Windows .NET Server (for network servers), and Windows .NET Advanced Server (for network servers that need advanced features).

Windows XP Home Edition and Professional

These two versions of Windows XP are very similar: Microsoft has disabled a few features in Home Edition and made a few cosmetic changes. Here are the major differences:

Microsoft has a comparison of Home Edition and Professional at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/guide/featurecomp.asp.

Windows XP 64-Bit Edition

This edition of Windows XP adds support for the Intel Itanium processor family. These processors are used on high-end engineering, scientific, and graphics workstations.

Windows .NET Server and Advanced Server

These versions of Window are, as the names imply, designed to run on servers rather than on workstations. That is, they are designed to provide services to other computers on a network rather than being used for day-to-day work by someone sitting at the keyboard. They are based on Windows XP, but include these additional features:

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