windows professional?

<p>My system just failed, so I’m in the need of a new computer. There’s a Dell XPS 8700 that fits my needs, but it comes with Windows 7 professional. Are there any issues or disadvantages (for photo editing or otherwise) of using professional instead of the home version?</p>

<p>no, just more features turned on.</p>

Right up there with XP as far as good OSs go.

<p>Primary difference is in networking and domain management, as I recall. Nothing that you would notice.</p>

Been using it at work for over a year. Go ahead. Solid OS.

<p>Thanks for the recommendations!</p>

<p>The only difference I've come across that makes a difference to me is when I watch a movie on the computer: Win 7 Home Premium can play DVDs natively, whereas Pro requires a 3rd party player.</p>

<p>Windows 7 Pro has several benefits over Windows 7 Home Premium. (1) Win 7 Pro can utilize 192 GB vs 16 GB of main memory, (2) Win 7 Pro can run a Windows XP environment which is useful for old SW/HW and (3) Win 7 Pro can support two physical processors vs 1. #1 and #3 should be of particular interest to anyone wishing to run PS since PS can take advantage of both.<br>

FYI - @James Lai -- Windows 7 HP is a subset of Windows 7 Pro. If your DVD player isn't working it's a configuration issue.</p>

<p>James, Richard, thanks. I have an old Nikon Coolscan V ED scanner which might work with XP. It wasn't compatible with Windows 7.</p>

<p>@Richard: It could well be a configuration error, but I suspect MS intentionally set it up that way. I have 1 machine with 7 Pro and several others 7 HP and 7 Ultimate. The Pro machine is the only one that can't play DVDs in Windows Media Player. I had the same issue with Vista Business so I figured 7 Pro was the same. I looked into this issue a bit when I bought my 7 Pro machine a few years back, and found that Microsoft always seems to omit 7 Pro from the list of DVD capable editions, for example:</p>

<p>"For Windows 7. Windows 7 Home Premium, Ultimate, and Enterprise come with DVD playback capability built in. If you're running Windows 7 Home Basic or Starter, you can <a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows/shop/windows-anytime-upgrade" data-id="ID0EDBDBLBA">upgrade</a> your edition of Windows 7 to add full DVD capability." (from http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows/windows-media-player-plug-ins).</p>

<p>My solution was the same as for my Vista Business machine, I just installed VLC instead.</p>

<p>I'll go against the standard and advice to give a serious look at getting Windows 8.1 Pro instead. The internet is very good at condemning it as an operating system, but once you get over the "shock" of not having a start menu anymore, and disabling some of the touch-oriented features such as the Charms-bar popping up, it is a very solid and fast OS. I use Win7Pro at work, Win8.1Pro at home. Give me 8.1 any day (but I admit to never having thought of the start menu as a very good solution - always prefered the Win3.1 approach, and Win8 resembles that more). Either way, I would not dismiss it because the techies on the internet cannot accept its looks.<br>

As a newer OS, it supports a number of new technologies better out of the box (USB3, SSDs etc.). And latest rumours are the upgrade to Windows 9 might be free; I doubt this will also be the case for Windows 7.</p>

<p>Lifecycle is another consideration to opt for Windows 8.1, although I don't think the Dell machine has the option of 8.1 Pro preinstalled.<br>

<a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows/lifecycle">http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows/lifecycle </a></p>

<p>Various Windows 8 editions and features:<br>

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_8_editions">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_8_editions</a></p>

<p>Jack Nortine wrote...<br>

"James, Richard, thanks. I have an old Nikon Coolscan V ED scanner which might work with XP. It wasn't compatible with Windows 7."</p>

<p>Actually, I have the same scanner and it works fine with Win 7 64b as well as Vista and Win 8. You need to make a small change to a inf file and everything works as it should. I posted about it a few months back in the Nikon forum.<br>

http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00cFLd</p>

<p>To my knowledge, the professional version comes with bit locker, which allows you to encrypt your hard drive. I never cared about it either until my computer was stolen...<br>

I use WIN 7 Enterprise on my desktop and it works just fine.</p>

<p>Don't have a link, but according to some figures I saw earlier today in discussion of Windows 10 ("9" has been skipped, chortle), about 25% of users were still using Windows XP, some 50% were using Windows 7, and the various versions of Windows 8 were each in the single digits or close to it.<br>

I might be a little off on the numbers, but that was the gist of it.</p>

<p>You decide what this means, if anything. </p>

<p>Windows 10 will apparently be released in mid 2015. It'd be good incentive to buy 8.1 now if the free upgrade rumor that Wouter eluded to is true, but even if not, Microsoft has always had a history of low upgrade cost at (or pre) introduction of a new OS such as the $40 special for Windows 8 Professional upgrade when it was first released, and free Media Center with purchase. </p>