Vista Editions - So What is the Difference?

Microsoft released a document briefly covering all of the new features ( about 60mb) that includes a long table of differences between the different editions. The differences are covered in a table here that is much more detailed than the comparison featured at the official Vista site.

However, the list is quite long, and while the list does a good job of letting you see what features there are, I think it much easer to focus on what you do not get. So here I have created a simple list of feature differences between the Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista. Think of “Ultimate” as “Everything”. With that as the best you can do, take a look at the features you would miss out on with each edition and you can make a better decision as to what you really need for home, for work or for both…

All editions support a maximum of 4GB of RAM on 32-bit systems. On 64-bit systems, basic offers support for 8GB, Home Premium lets you work with 16GB and the remaining Business, Enterprise and Ultimate editions boast support for 128GB or more.

Features Missing From Ultimate

* None (that’s why it’s “ultimate”!)

Features Missing From Enterprise

* Parental controls are not available
* No Windows Ultimate Extras
* No themed slide shows
* No Windows Media Center (recording television, Xbox extensions, HD movie maker, and DVD maker)
* Small Business Resources

Features Missing From Business

* Parental controls are not available
* No Windows Ultimate Extras
* No themed slide shows
* No Windows Media Center (recording television, Xbox extensions, HD movie maker, and DVD maker)

Features Missing from Both Home Basic and Premium
Note: additional features missing from Basic are listed separately below to avoid lots of duplication

* No support for two processors
* Backup limitations: No support for ShadowCopy or image-based system backup/recovery.
* No file system encryption
* No desktop deployment tools
* No policy based QoS networking
* No Rights Management Services (RMS) Client
* No control over installation of device drivers
* No network Access Protection Client agent
* No pluggable logon authentication architecture
* No integrated smart card management
* No BitLocker drive encryption support
* No support for worldwide interface languages or simultaneous installations of multiple user interface languages
* No subsystem for UNIX-based applications
* Does not provide Virtual PC Express
* No Windows Ultimate Extras
* Small Business Resources
* Windows fax and scan
* Wireless network provisioning
* Only partial support for Windows Mobility Center
* Cannot join a network domain
* Remote desktop client support, but cannot serve as host
* No group policy support
* No offline files and folders support
* No client-side caching
* No support for roaming user profiles
* No support for folder redirection
* You may not install IIS

Additional Features Also Missing from Home Basic
Note: this is in addition to those above

* No support for scheduled backups or for the backup of files to a network device.
* No Aero user interface (glass, live thumbnails, dynamic windows, etc.)
* No themed slide shows
* No Windows Media Center (recording television, Xbox extensions, HD Movie Maker, and DVD maker) Note: home basic does provide Windows Movie Maker (just not the HD version)
* No new premium games
* Limited to 5 SMB peer network connections (vice the 10 supported by the other editions)
* No tablet PC support
* No Windows Slideshow feature
* Windows Meeting space support is limited to “view only”
* No PC-to-PC synchronization
* No network projection
* No presentation settings