Differences in Windows Editions

Windows XP, Vista, and 7 are available in several different editions. When evaluating a system’s suitability for a particular task, make sure you understand the differences. Table 6-2 provides a brief overview of the differences.

Chapter 6: Operating Systems 99
Table 6-2 Differences in Windows Editions (XP, Vista, 7)
OS	Editions	32-bit	64-bit	Major Features
Microsoft	Home	Yes	No	Base edition
Windows
XP
Professional	Yes	Yes	Home + domain networking, EFS,
IIS, group policies, roaming user
profiles, remote desktop server;
64-bit support in 64-bit Professional
edition
Media	Yes	No	Professional + Windows Media
Center	Center for use with big-screen TVs
Edition	and home theater systems, Media
Center Extenders, DVD burning
(MCE 2005)
Microsoft	Home Basic	Yes	No	Base edition
Windows
Home	Yes	Yes	Home Basic + Aero Glass, Tablet
Vista
Premium	PC support, Windows Media Center
and extenders, scheduled file backup,
Windows Movie Maker HD, games
Business	Yes	Yes	Home Basic + Aero, Tablet PC
support, scheduled image and file
backup, Windows Fax and Scan,
Remote Desktop Connection, domain
networking, EFS
Ultimate	Yes	Yes	Home Premium + Business +
BitLocker full disk encryption for
system drive + multilingual UI
Enterprise	Yes	Yes	Business + Multilingual UI +
BitLocker + UNIX application
support

100 CompTIA A+ Quick Reference

Table 6-2 Continued

OS	Editions	32-bit	64-bit	Major Features
Microsoft	Starter	Yes	No	Base edition
Windows 7
Home	Yes	Yes	Starter + Aero, multiple monitor sup-
Premium	port, Tablet PC support, Windows
Mobility Center, Windows Media
Center
Professional	Yes	Yes	Home Premium + domain network-
ing, backup to network drives,
Remote Desktop Connection,
Windows XP Mode (requires
Windows Virtual PC), group policy,
EFS, offline folders
Ultimate	Yes	Yes	Professional +BitLocker disk encryp-
tion, language packs, direct boot
from VHD
Enterprise	Yes	Yes	Professional +BitLocker disk encryp-
tion, language packs, direct boot
from VHD

Table 6-3 provides more information about specific Windows features. Note that Vista Home Basic and Windows 7 Starter lack most of these features.

Compare Windows 10 Home vs. Pro

Find the right fit for your needs. Check out our list of product offerings to see which Windows 10 version checks all of your boxes.

Windows Security

Windows 10 changes the game for security by protecting user identities, devices, and information with a comprehensive solution driven by intelligence that only Microsoft offers.

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Using facial recognition, a fingerprint, or PIN, Windows Hello is a fast, secure, and password-free way to unlock your compatible Windows devices.

Device encryption is available on a wide range of Windows devices and helps protect your data by encrypting it. If you turn on device encryption, only authorized individuals will be able to access your device and data.

Your Windows device comes with comprehensive, built-in security features, including firewall and internet protections to help safeguard against viruses, malware, and ransomware.

App & browser control in Windows Security provides the settings for Windows Defender SmartScreen, which helps protect your device from potentially dangerous apps, files, websites, and downloads.

Manage screen time, limit access to mature content, control online purchases when you connect your family’s Microsoft accounts, and check to make sure the family’s devices are secure and up to date.

Secure Boot helps prevent malicious software applications and unauthorized operating systems from loading during the system start-up process.

If your device is lost or stolen, BitLocker and BitLocker To Go put everything on lockdown, so no one else can access your systems or data.

WIP helps to protect against potential data leakage without otherwise interfering with the employee experience. WIP also helps to protect enterprise apps and data against accidental data leaks on enterprise-owned devices and personal devices that employees bring to work, without requiring changes to your environment or other apps.

Windows Defender Antivirus uses the power of the cloud, wide optics, machine learning, and behavior analysis to protect your devices from emerging, sophisticated threats.

Windows Fundamentals

Windows 10 comes with automatic updates enabled, which means you get all the latest features at no extra cost. +

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Windows Fundamentals

Take notes, navigate, draw, doodle, edit, and create. Improve what you do with a digital pen. 6

Get faster browsing 7 8 and better battery life 8 9 across your devices with Microsoft Edge, the browser built for Windows 10.

All you have to do is ask Cortana. Your digital assistant on PCs and mobile devices can schedule a meeting, tell you when it’s time to leave for an appointment, or check the weather, news, and traffic.

Extend battery life by limiting background activity and push notifications.

Get instant access to your Android phone’s texts and photos on your PC, 11 or connect your iPhone for seamless browsing, calendar and app experiences. 12

Free up time and your hands by talking to your computer. Get information and reminders or listen to music and manage your emails and calendar. 13

Business Management and Deployment

Built-in security, productivity, and management features save you time, money, and hassle.

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Feature	Windows 10 Home	Windows 10 Pro

Business–Management and Deployment

Windows 10 mobile device management (MDM) provides an alternative to traditional PC management processes: you can transition to cloud based management at your own pace.

Manage PCs, user accounts, and groups, and get easy access to files and printers when you pair Windows 10 Pro with Windows Server. ** You can even define specific security and networking policies for your users and devices.

Available to any organization with an Azure AD Premium or Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) license, Enterprise State Roaming provides users with a unified experience across their Windows devices and reduces the time needed for configuring a new device.

Your one place to find, manage, and distribute apps to Windows 10 devices in volume.

With Assigned Access, Windows 10 Pro devices run different applications depending on the user and keep individual identities separate and secured.

With Dynamic Provisioning you can take a new PC out of the box, turn it on, and transform it into a productive organization device, with minimal time and effort.

Windows Update for Business can help businesses reduce management costs, provide control over update deployments, enable more efficient delivery of updates, and provide access to the latest innovations from Microsoft.

Configure a device in kiosk mode in a very simple way. You can do this locally on the device or remotely using Mobile Device Management.

Domain Join + Group Policy: IT staff can easily manage PCs, user accounts and groups, security policies, and get easy access to files and printers when you pair Windows 10 Pro with Windows Server. ** You can even define specific security and networking policies for your users and devices.

Employees can use a single login across Windows 10, Microsoft 365, *** and other Microsoft services, making logons and passwords easier to manage. The shared logon works on PCs, tablets, and phones with minimal IT involvement.

Go ahead, get creative

Edit photos and spice up presentations. Windows 10 has the apps you need to get in touch with your creative side.

Microsoft Office

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more—get everything you need to create and present your ideas with a Microsoft 365 subscription. ***

Digital pen and touch

Scribble down a headline, draw a chart, add bullet points—design an entire presentation with a digital pen. And on new Windows 10 touchscreen computers, you can zoom, scroll, and sign documents with the touch of a finger.

Photos

The new Photos app makes it fun and easy to enhance your digital memories. If you liked making videos with Windows Movie Maker, you’ll love what you can do with Photos.

Digital pen and touch

Scribble down a headline, draw a chart, add bullet points—design an entire presentation with a digital pen. And on new Windows 10 touchscreen computers, you can zoom, scroll, and sign documents with the touch of a finger.

Photos

The new Photos app makes it fun and easy to enhance your digital memories. If you liked making videos with Windows Movie Maker, you’ll love what you can do with Photos.

Microsoft Office

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more—get everything you need to create and present your ideas with a Microsoft 365 subscription. ***

Photos

The new Photos app makes it fun and easy to enhance your digital memories. If you liked making videos with Windows Movie Maker, you’ll love what you can do with Photos.

Microsoft Office

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more—get everything you need to create and present your ideas with a Microsoft 365 subscription. ***

Digital pen and touch

Scribble down a headline, draw a chart, add bullet points—design an entire presentation with a digital pen. And on new Windows 10 touchscreen computers, you can zoom, scroll, and sign documents with the touch of a finger.

Quickly capture your thoughts, tasks, and reminders

Use Sticky Notes and type, ink, or add a picture to save ideas, thoughts, lists, appointments, and more—so you don’t miss a thing!

More efficiencies, less energy

Windows 10 has apps and features to help you have fun and get more done with less hassle.

Timeline

Scroll through time to find documents and websites. 17

Voice, pen, and touch

Interact with your Windows 10 computer in new ways.

Windows Hello

Log into your Windows devices three times faster by using your face or fingerprint. *

Gaming

Windows 10 is built for the games you love.

Is your computer ready for Windows 10?

Windows 10 features are best experienced on a modern PC. Find out if your current PC is ready for Windows 10 by answering just a few questions.

Get Windows 10

Speed, security, durability, and great design—you really can have it all.

Get a new Windows 10 device

Get the Windows 10 OS

1 To use Windows Hello with biometrics specialized hardware, including fingerprint reader, illuminated IR sensor, or other biometric sensors is required. Hardware based protection of the Windows Hello credential/keys requires TPM 1.2 or greater; if no TPM exists or is configured, credentials/keys protection will be software-based.

2 Requires modern hardware (InstantGo/AOAC/HSTI-compliant). Review this doc for more details on Device Encryption.

3 Requires TPM 1.2 or greater for TPM based key protection.

4 Windows Information Protection requires either Mobile Device Management (MDM) or System Center Configuration Manager to manage settings in Windows 10 Pro. Active Directory makes management easier but is not required.

5 Windows Information Protection supports Mobile Application Management (MAM) for use in Home edition only.

6 Pen capable tablet or PC required. Pen accessory may be sold separately.

7 Performance claims based upon Jetstream 1.1 tests using Microsoft Edge 18 vs. Chrome 69 and Firefox 62. Go here for more details on this performance claim.

8 Availability and functionality may vary on non-Windows devices.

9 Based on average times; battery life varies significantly with settings, usage and other factors. Go here for more details on this battery life claim.

10 Cortana available in select markets; experience may vary by region and device.

11 Users must link their Android phone to their Windows PC in PC settings. Users will receive an app from Microsoft which they must download to their Android phone and follow the setup prompts, including being signed into same Microsoft Account across mobile apps and Windows 10 PC.

12 Users must link their iPhone to their PC in PC settings. Users will receive an app from Microsoft which they must download to their iPhone and follow the setup prompts.

13 Hardware dependent. Available on limited select devices supporting far-field capabilities. Connect email accounts in the Cortana Notebook; works with Outlook.com, Microsoft 365 and Gmail. Microsoft 365 requires a subscription.

14 Not all MDM capabilities are available in the Home SKU. MDM requires an MDM product such as Microsoft Intune or other 3rd-party solutions (sold separately).

15 Separate subscription for Azure Active Directory Premium required.

16 Available in select markets. Functionality and apps may vary by market and device.

17 Timeline shows 3-5 days of past activities, including activities done on a tablet and mobile phone when users are signed into their Microsoft accounts. To see up to 30 days of activities, users must choose this option in settings. Available in select markets. Functionality may vary by device.

* Based on average time comparison between typing a password and detecting a face or fingerprint in order to successfully authenticate. Requires specialized hardware, including fingerprint reader, illuminated IR sensor or other biometric sensors and capable devices.

+ Additional requirements may apply for ongoing updates.

*** Microsoft 365 subscription sold separately.

Feature	Windows 10 Home	Windows 10 Pro