Run Windows XP Home on Two PCs with Windows XP Support
Be it for playing games or performing multiple tasks simultaneously, it’s quite likely that you might have felt the need to run your PC on two CPUs. However, if you are currently running on Windows XP Home edition, the Windows XP support team says that, you would find it quite difficult and perhaps impossible to configure the OS with a computer having two CPUs. As such, if you have failed in your attempt to run Windows XP Home on two CPUs, and are seeking help, the Windows help team says that, you have knocked at the right door for assistance.
Running Windows XP Home on two CPUs
As mentioned earlier, it’s quite difficult, rather impossible to run Windows XP Home on two CPUs. The reason being that the OS is designed to run on single processor CPUs. In order to run the Windows XP on two CPUs, you will have to upgrade the OS to its Professional version. Here, we assume that you are upgrading your Windows XP OS to its latest version, so that running on two CPUs won’t be a problem for you at all.
Windows XP Home vs. Professional
Upgrading to Windows XP Professional
The following procedure is in order for upgrading your Windows XP from the Home edition to Professional.
- Commence the procedure by turning on your Windows XP computer.
- As the PC starts up, insert the Windows XP Professional disc into the optical drive of your PC.
- Press any key on your keyboard when prompted, and select the option “Install Windows” when it appears.
- Click on “Next”.
- Read the Windows XP license agreement and click on the option “I agree the license terms”, followed by “Next” to accept it and thereby initiate the installation procedure.
- You may now click on the option “Custom”.
- Select “Drive Options” to open a list of drives connected to your PC.
- Click on the option pertaining to your existing drive and select “Format”.
Before formatting your hard drive, do ensure that you have created backup of all your required documents and files.
- Click on “Next”.
- You may now execute the pivotal step of the procedure by selecting the option “Install”. Execute the instructions on-screen for choosing options such as user name and account configurations.
The above account would surely prove helpful in upgrading your Windows XP Home edition to Professional and thereby run your OS on two CPUs.
For any further assistance, do get in touch with Windows XP support.
Windows XP support explains the difference between Home and Professional editions
The Windows XP Home edition is different from its counterparts in many features. One such feature is the support for the connected processor. Windows XP Home Edition will support only one physical CPU or processor, whereas it will support multiple core processors. Windows XP Professional edition, on the other hand, will support two physical systems and multiple core processors. According to Windows XP support, the operating system counts the multiple core processors as a single physical unit. This is documented in the licensing document too.
Multi-Core Processor Licensing
Multi coring refers to a single physical unit with two or more processing core. These are normally preferred in the form of dual core (two) or quad core (four) processors. Windows XP support explains that these multiple cores can perform an array of tasks simultaneously, giving better results. Even before the
Windows XP Running on Two PC's
release of these core processors, Microsoft decided to treat multi-core processors as a single physical unit and included that in the licensing agreement. Windows XP Home supports both dual and quad core processors.
System requirements and Memory Limitations
For Windows XP Home, the minimum system requirements are:
- A Pentium 233 MHz or faster processor.
- Minimum 64 MB of RAM, 128 MB recommended.
- 1.5 GB of hard disk space.
- Additional space for programs and data is recommended.
- Memory limitations:- Apart from the single physical unit limitation, XP has the following memory drawbacks too-
- Since Home Edition is a 32-bit edition, the physical RAM is limited to 4GB.
- Windows XP Professional 64-bit Edition can support up to 128 GB RAM for 64-bit hardware platforms.
Other differences of Home edition and Professional Edition of XP
Windows XP support says that besides the processor count, Windows XP Home and Professional differ in many other ways. The main difference is that Windows XP Home doesn’t have a 64-bit version, it only has a 32-bit version. The enhanced features like Group Policy, Folder Redirection and Offline Files and Folders (Corporate management tools) are not included in Home Edition. The Encrypting File System and Windows domain logging are also available in Home Edition.
If a more enhanced experience is required with corporate tools and features, upgrading to XP Professional is the best option. Home users, who have only a single physical unit and limited requirements, can stick to the Home edition.
