Differences between XP Pro and XP Media Center?

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@JamesSwan wrote:

Can anyone explain the differences between XP Pro operating system and XP Media Center?  Dell is offering Media Center on many of its new computers but you have to pay more for XP Pro.  What are the additional benefits of Pro that justifies the higher price?  I'm using a wireless network with XP pro and want to add another computer.  JamesSwan

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Windows Media Center Edition 2005 is essentially Windows XP Pro with the Media Center components added.

One major difference is that Media Center 2005 trades the ability to use Media Center Extenders for the ability to join a domain. In other words a Media Center computer cannot join a domain. There are some workarounds for this limitation. (joining the computer to a domain during a clean install of the operating system) If you do so you loose the ability to use extenders as they (the extenders) require Fast User Switching to be enabled and domain membership requires that Fast User Switching be disabled.

See; Five editions of Windows XP compared

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/evaluation/compare.mspx

Message Edited by datapod on 09-27-2005 01:41 PM

Message Edited by datapod on 09-27-2005 01:42 PM

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@JamesSwan wrote:
Thanks Datapod.  Am I right in concluding that while you can't join a domaine, you can join a work group and that the security protections are the same as XP Pro?  JamesSwan

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