gonzo

I'm looking to get my dad a new computer, and I found a really good deal, but it's running Media Center XP. My dad does not have thousands of MP3s and he will not be using it as the center of an entertainment system. Basically, whatever media-related features the OS may have, my dad will not be using them.

All my dad really needs from the OS is for it to work like a regular version of XP. Can Media Center be configured to act like XP Pro or Home?

BBauer42

The thread here may help:

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-6142-0....sageID=1043678

gonzo

Useful thread, thanks. That pretty much answered my questions - a few people were confused thinking it was XP Pro with media enhancements on top, but looks like it's actually XP Home with the extras on top.

Hmmm . . . my dad is running Pro right now, but does he really make any use of the NTFS or the extra networking and security features in Pro?

Nah, I think he's fine running this souped up version of XP Home.

dilettante

Some of the main additions in Pro are things like the ability to participate in a Domain and of course IIS and some other Windows components Joe Home doesn't need.