Difference between Windows 7 Home Premium and Ultimate
Key Difference: Windows 7 Home Premium is an edition that the company has released that is aimed at the Home market. In many countries, such as the US, this edition is the only edition available for Home users. Windows 7 Ultimate is one of the highest versions of the system offered by Microsoft. This version shares the same features as the Windows 7 Enterprise; however, it is available for home users on an individual license basis.
Windows 7 is an operating system that was launched by Microsoft in October 2009 as an upgrade to Windows Vista. Similar to the other Windows operating systems, the company launched editions or a variety of the operating system with limited or additional features. These variations all come for different prices and allow users to spend only on the features that are bound to use, with the other features reserved for professionals. This is done to ensure that each user will only have to pay for the features that he/she requires. Windows 7 Home Premium and Ultimate are two different versions of Windows 7 that is available in the market. The Home Premium version is the main version that is available for home users and has placed more focus on entertainment and aesthetic appeal. The Ultimate version has all of the features that are available and is the costliest. The 7 Ultimate edition shares the same features as the Enterprise, but is available for retail rather than volume licensing.
Windows 7 Home Premium is an edition that the company has released that is aimed at the Home market. In many countries, such as the US, this edition is the only edition available for Home users. Microsoft has placed heavy focus on the making it home-friendly and an entertainment OS, offering features such as Windows Media Center and multi-touch support. In addition to these features, it also offers Windows Aero layout for providing aesthetic appeal. It offers updates for Internet Explorer, ability to create a home network to allow easy access to printers and other gadgets.
These new features are in addition to the features that are already available Windows Starter and Home Basic (available only in emerging markets). This is go-to edition for many people that wish to have a family PC at home or for children.
Windows 7 Ultimate is one of the highest versions of the system offered by Microsoft. This version shares the same features as the Windows 7 Enterprise; however, it is available for home users on an individual license basis. This is the most expensive variant of Windows 7 and is offers all the features of the other versions and much more. The Ultimate version was created for users that wanted every type of upgrade available in their computers, along with for those that require high-end security features for their home systems. There are only a few features in Windows 7 Ultimate that could be proven useful for individuals, while others are better suited for IT Professionals. Additional features include: BitLocker Drive Encryption, 35 different languages to choose from, AppLocker (allows blocking of certain software from running on the comp), BranchCache, Direct boot from VHD, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, DirectAccess, etc.
These features are more beneficial to corporate companies that require more system protection.
All versions of Windows 7, except the Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic version will play DVDs without the need for downloading any extra software. All versions of Windows 7 will receive Mainstream Support until January 2015 and Extended Support till January 2020.
This checklist is adapted from the diagrams provided by Microsoft to Neowin.net.
|
|
Windows 7 Home Premium |
Windows 7 Ultimate |
|
Improved Windows Taskbar & Jump Lists |
YES |
YES |
|
Windows Search |
YES |
YES |
|
Join a HomeGroup |
YES |
YES |
|
Windows Media Player |
YES |
YES |
|
Back-up and Restore |
YES |
YES |
|
Enhanced Media Player |
YES |
YES |
|
Action Center |
YES |
YES |
|
Device Stage (Crates a homepage for a device attached to the computer) |
YES |
YES |
|
Enhanced home media streaming |
YES |
YES |
|
Bluetooth support |
YES |
YES |
|
Fax & Scan |
YES |
YES |
|
Basic ‘inbox’ games |
YES |
YES |
|
Credential Manager |
YES |
YES |
|
Application Capabilities |
YES |
YES |
|
Live Thumbnails Previews from Taskbar |
YES |
YES |
|
Fast User Switching |
YES |
YES |
|
Create ad-hoc wireless networks |
YES |
YES |
|
Internet Connection Sharing |
YES |
YES |
|
Multi-monitor support |
YES |
YES |
|
Windows Mobility Center (without presentation settings) |
YES |
YES |
|
Aero Glass & Advanced Window Navigation |
YES |
YES |
|
Aero Background |
YES |
YES |
|
Windows Touch (Multi-touch and handwriting recognition support) |
YES |
YES |
|
Create a HomeGroup |
YES |
YES |
|
Windows Media Center |
YES |
YES |
|
Remote Media Streaming |
YES |
YES |
|
DVD Video playback and authoring |
YES |
YES |
|
Premium ‘inbox’ games |
YES |
YES |
|
Snipping Tool, Sticky Notes, Windows Journal |
YES |
YES |
|
Windows Sideshow |
YES |
YES |
|
Location Aware Printing |
|
YES |
|
Domain Join and Group Policy Controls |
|
YES |
|
Remote Desktop Host |
|
YES |
|
Advanced Back-up (Network & Group Policy) |
|
YES |
|
Encrypting File System |
|
YES |
|
Windows XP Mode |
|
YES |
|
Windows Mobility Center (Presentation Mode) |
|
YES |
|
Offline Folders |
|
YES |
|
BitLocker & BitLocker To Go |
|
YES |
|
AppLocker |
|
YES |
|
DirectAccess |
|
YES |
|
BranchCache |
|
YES |
|
MUI Language Packs |
|
YES |
|
Enterprise Search Scopes |
|
YES |
|
VDI Enhancements |
|
YES |
|
Boot from VHD |
|
YES |
Do you need more than Windows 7 Home Premium?
One of the most frequent questions I get these days comes from people who’ve been running the Windows 7 beta and RC and are planning to upgrade to the final version when it’s available on October 22.
“Which edition of Windows 7 do I need?”
Interestingly, this question also comes up in other contexts as well. When Apple defenders appear in the TalkBack section here, they regularly insist that the Home Premium edition is “crippled” and “stripped-down.” Sooner or later, they insist, any self-respecting Windows user will have to upgrade. Based on that argument, they say that you must use the more expensive Ultimate edition to compare the costs of a Windows PC to those of a Mac, which comes in only a single edition. As you’ll see from the table below, this isn’t accurate.
On the Windows side, many users just automatically assume that more is better. By that logic, Ultimate is obviously the best and lesser versions are inferior. Because they’re power users, they assume that Home Premium’s missing features mean they’re going to be lacking a feature they really need.
But is that true? If you’re buying Windows Home Premium, what features are you missing, exactly? What would you get if you paid extra for Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate? And is it fair to compare OS X and Windows 7 Home Premium?
A few weeks ago, I did an exhaustive comparison of the differences between Windows 7 editions.
For the comparison here, I decided to strip the list down to a single, simple table, which represents the entire list of features that are in Professional or Ultimate editions that are not in Home Premium edition (with one esoteric exception, which I documetned at the end of the notes page). For comparison’s sake, I included OS X in the table as well. As you can see, OS X has much more in common with Windows 7 Home Premium than it does with the features in Professional and Ultimate editions. That shouldn’t be a surprise, because those two upgraded Windows editions are specifically aimed at customers running on Windows-based networks.
Note that this is not a Windows 7 versus Mac OS X smackdown. Rather, it’s strictly designed to help you see whether you need one or more unique features from the Professional and Ultimate editions or whether the mainstream Home Premium edition will meet your needs.
Table: Features found exclusively in Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate
Note: this chart has been updated since its original publication as described on the next page.
For a detailed discussion of what these items mean, see the notes on the next page.
Next —>
These notes apply to the feature table and introduction on the previous page.
The items in the table on the previous page include all features that are available only with Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate. In many cases, similar or identical functionality is available through add-ons or third-party software. However, I have only credited a product with a Yes and the accompanying green shading if the feature is a part of the operating system. Click the image to the right to see the larger version of this table on the previous page.
MEMORY Windows 7 Home Premium supports a maximum of 16GB of installed RAM, whereas Professional and Ultimate can address a maximum of 192GB of RAM. [Update: To access more than 3.5GB of RAM, you need the x64 version. All editions of Windows 7 will be available in x86 and x64 versions and will ship with dual media.
] The OS X story is a little more complicated: According to Apple, the upcoming Snow Leopard release will be able to address 16 TB of RAM. However, Apple’s current lineup of hardware maxes out at 8GB (for MacBook Pro and iMac lines) or 32GB (for the Mac Pro).
PRESENTATION MODE/NETWORK PROJECTOR The Professional and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 have a pair of tools designed to make life easier for people who give presentations regularly, with easy access to network projectors and a one-button way to disable things like pop-up notifications and screen savers. Nice, not likely that anyone will pay extra for this.
ENCRYPTING FILE SYSTEM Home Premium does not support EFS, which allows you to encrypt a file or folder so that it can only be unlocked when you log on with your user credentials. (Don‘t confuse this with BitLocker, which allows you to encrypt an entire drive.) OS X has a feature called FileVault that allows you to encrypt the entire home folder.
You can’t encrypt anything outside the home folder and you can’t specify individual locations to encrypt. For Mac and Windows PCs, there are a variety of third-party add-ons that allow this function.
WINDOWS XP MODE The primary benefit of this feature is that it includes a licensed copy of Windows XP at no additional cost for Professional and Ultimate editions. If you use Windows 7 Home Premium or OS X, you must supply your own XP license (at extra cost) and virtualization software, which may or may not require a paid license.
BACKUP TO NETWORK In a major change from Windows Vista, the Windows 7 Backup program now allows creation of system image backups and scheduled backups on any edition. The Previous Editions feature, which allows you to recover changed or deleted files using automatic System Restore points, is also available in Home Premium edition. The only extra backup feature you get with an upgrade is the ability to specify a network location for a backup.
In OS X, the Time Machine feature is primarily intended for use with an external hard drive. According to Apple’s documentation, the only supported network location is an Apple Time Capsule, which costs $299 and up.
OFFLINE FILES I’ve previously called this “the single most useful Windows feature you’ve never heard of.” If you want seamless access and synchronization between a portable PC and a local server, it’s a great solution. For Home Premium, you can get many of the same benefits using Windows Live Mesh or a third-party program. OS X does not have an equivalent feature.
JOIN A WINDOWS DOMAIN The Professional and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 can join a Windows domain, where they can use security, policy management, and deployment features that are especially useful to large enterprises. Home Premium edition can access resources on a domain-based network but can’t use Active Directory or management tools. OS X clients can connect to a domain’s Active Directory but lack support for Group Policy and other domain tools.
REMOTE DESKTOP HOST Every edition of Windows 7 includes the Remote Desktop client, which allows you to connect securely to a Windows machine that has been configured to allow access. To make your machine available for incoming Remote Desktop connections, you must be running Professional or Ultimate edition. OS X makes this feature available as an extra-cost add-on that starts at $299 for a 10-license package. [Update: Some correspondents via Twitter have pointed out that Apple includes VNC server with every version of OSX since 10.4. Ironically, if you go to Apple.com and search for VNC, you get this:
You can match this capability in Windows 7 Home Premium (or any edition) by installing any of several free versions of VNC.]
BOOT FROM VIRTUAL HARD DRIVE An extremely esoteric feature, supported only on Ultimate/Enterprise editions.
LANGUAGE PACKS Here’s a confusing feature primarily of use for multilingual speakers.
Within two weeks of launch, Windows 7 will support 35 languages. Your base installation will use the language you purchase initially (U.S. English for most readers of this article), but any user of any Windows edition including Home Premium can download a Language Interface Pack that allows switching to one of the other supported languages. LIPs translate most of the user interface elements. For Ultimate/Enterprise editions only, you can install Multilingual User Interface (MUI) packs that encompass the entire interface. Apple boasts support out of the box for 18 languages.
BRANCHCACHE AND DIRECTACCESS Both of these features are designed to improve connectivity on networks that use Windows Server 2008 R2. This feature is most likely to be used in large organizations that use Windows 7 Enterprise Edition (which is the same code as Ultimate edition, licensed differently).
APPLOCKER This enterprise-oriented feature allows administrators to whitelist applications for locked-down environments.
It has no counterpart in OS X. (Don’t confuse this with the consumer-focused Parental Controls feature, which is available in Windows 7 Home Premium and in OS X.)
BITLOCKER DRIVE ENCRYPTION Enterprises love the capability to encrypt an entire hard drive so that if the computer is lost or stolen the data can’t be accessed. Windows 7 adds BitLocker To Go, which works on removable media such as USB flash drives. If you use Windows 7 Home Premium or OS X, you need third-party software such as TrueCrypt to accomplish the same goal.
I left one features off this list. is a feature that applies only to domain-joined laptops. The subsystem for UNIX applications is an extremely esoteric feature that has almost no real-world users as far as I can tell.
So, is there anything on this list that represents a killer, must-upgrade feature for you?
Differences in Windows 7. Differences between versions
Windows
Posted by
Author:
around
/
No comments yet
Article taken from here.
Windows 7 Starter (Initial)
First of all, it should be noted that the Starter is an OEM version, so it comes pre-installed. Also, there is no 64-bit version of Windows 7 Starter, no DVD playback, no support for multiple monitors. Basically, Microsoft Windows 7 Starter is a cut-down version for netbooks because it’s not graphically complete. At the same time, this is a major misconception for many users because Windows 7 Starter still comes with all the important non-graphics programs such as Internet Explorer 8, Windows Media Player 12, a new version of Calculator, Paint and WordPad with a controversial ribbon interface, updated Windows Defender, Firewall and Action Center. Windows 7 Starter still has a new and improved taskbar with pinned apps and Jump Lists with an enhanced SuperFetch that makes opening and switching between apps surprisingly fast. Perhaps most importantly, Windows 7 Starter allows you to run more than three applications at the same time, which was not possible during beta testing.
nine0003
Windows 7 Home Premium (Home Premium)
Windows 7 Home Premium is the cheapest version of Windows 7 available at retail. (There is also Windows 7 Home Basic Edition (Home Basic), which is essentially the same as the Starter version.) Along with Aero, a graphical user interface, Home Premium offers more visual options—including new Windows 7 themes with slide backgrounds. shows — which are not available in the beginner version. There’s also fast user switching, multi-monitor video, and touch support. The main difference between Starter and Home Premium — except for the Aero interface — is the presence of a complete Windows Media Center package, with which you can stream from one Windows Media Player to another over the network, DVD playback, DVD authoring, and all media processing of the previous versions. In Home Premium, you can create a shared homegroup, while in Windows 7 Starter, PCs can only be joined to them. A homegroup is a local LAN that is great for controlling access to shared files over a LAN.
This is ideal for anyone who lives, for example, in a dorm, or who has kids or roommates, and wants to share certain music, files, or images over a common network. nine0003
Windows 7 Professional (Professional)
There are good additional add-ons in Windows 7 Professional such as: local offline file cache, restore point backup for network resources, it can act as a remote desktop server. But the two main pluses are Windows Server domain support and XP Mode. By the way, Windows 7 Professional is the cheapest edition that has an XP Mode emulator and to which you can join a Windows Server domain. nine0003
Windows 7 Ultimate / Enterpise (Ultimate / Enterprise)
The two main additions to Windows 7 Ultimate are BitLocker data encryption and the ability to create AppLockers that can block prohibited programs. It’s unlikely that the average user would need to encrypt local files or create «secure» app lists (although I know a few tech-savvy users who might strongly disagree with me).
Ultimate also has translators and network printer solutions, but again, this is all mainly for business, not for ordinary users. Windows 7 Ultimate supports some UNIX applications, but this feature is mainly aimed at «server farms». The only difference between Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise is that Enterprise is available under volume licensing, with some of it under Windows Software Assurance. nine0003
What are we comparing |
Windows 7 Starter |
Windows 7 Home Basic |
Windows 7 Home Premium |
Windows 7 Professional |
Windows 7 Ultimate / Enterpise |
| Taskbar and Jump Lists | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Search | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Join homegroup | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows Media Player | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Backup and restore | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Extended media playback | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Support Center | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Device Stage | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Remote media streaming | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bluetooth support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fax and Scanner | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Base games | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Credential Manager | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Number of applications | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Thumbnail preview from taskbar | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Fast User Switching | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Setting up an ad hoc wireless network | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Multi-monitor support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Windows Mobility Center (no presentation setup) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Aero — transparent windows and easy navigation | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Aero — Background | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Windows Touch (multitouch and handwriting support) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Create a homegroup | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Windows Media Center | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Remote media streaming | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| DVD video playback and authoring | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Premium games | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Snipping Tool, Sticky Notes, Windows Journal | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Windows Slideshow | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Printing from a known location (Location Aware Printing) | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Domain Registration and Group Policy Control | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Remote Desktop | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Advanced Backup (Network and Group Policy) | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Encrypted File System | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Windows XP Mode | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Windows Mobility Center Presentation Mode | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Offline folders | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Windows BitLocker and BitLocker To Go (data encryption) | ✓ | ||||
| Windows AppLocker | ✓ | ||||
| DirectAccess (Replacement for Trusted Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)) | ✓ | ||||
| Windows BranchCache | ✓ | ||||
| MUI Packs | ✓ | ||||
| Enterprise Search Scopes | ✓ | ||||
| Virtual desktop infrastructure enhancements | ✓ | ||||
| Download from HVD | ✓ |
Windows 7
Differences in Windows 7.
Differences between Starter, Home, Professional, Ultimate and Enterpise
Windows 7 comes in six different editions. Today we will answer the burning question for many PC users, what is the difference between all these versions of Windows 7?
*At the end of the article is a detailed comparison table of Windows 7 Starter, Home, Professional, Ultimate and Enterpise versions.
Windows 7 Starter (Initial)
First of all, it should be noted that the Starter is an OEM version, so it comes pre-installed. Also, there is no 64-bit version of Windows 7 Starter, no DVD playback, no multi-monitor support. Basically, Microsoft Windows 7 Starter is a stripped-down version for netbooks because it’s not graphically complete. At the same time, this is a major misconception for many users as Windows 7 Starter still comes with all the important non-graphics programs such as: Internet Explorer 8, Windows Media Player 12, a new version of Calculator, Paint and WordPad with the controversial ribbon interface, updated Windows Defender, Firewall and Action Center.
Windows 7 Starter still has a new and improved taskbar with pinned apps and jump lists with an enhanced SuperFetch that makes opening and switching between apps surprisingly fast. Perhaps most importantly, Windows 7 Starter allows you to run more than three applications at the same time, which was not available during beta testing.
nine0003
Windows 7 Home Premium (Home Premium)
Windows 7 Home Premium is the cheapest version of Windows 7 available at retail. (There is also Windows 7 Home Basic Edition (Home Basic), which is essentially the same as the Starter version.) Along with Aero, the graphical user interface, Home Premium offers more visual options—including new Windows 7 themes with background slideshows— which are missing in the beginner version. There’s also fast user switching, multi-monitor video, and touch support. The main difference between Starter and Home Premium — apart from the Aero interface — is the presence of a complete Windows Media Center package, with which you can stream from one Windows Media Player to another over the network, DVD playback, DVD authoring, and all media processing of the previous ones.
versions. In Home Premium, you can create a shared homegroup, while in Windows 7 Starter, you can only join PCs. A homegroup is a local LAN that is great for controlling access to shared files over a LAN. This is ideal for anyone who lives, for example, in a dorm, or who has kids or roommates and wants to be able to share certain music, files, or pictures over a common network.
nine0003
Windows 7 Professional (Professional)
There are good additional add-ons in Windows 7 Professional such as: local offline file cache, restore point backup for network resources, it can act as a remote desktop server. But the two main pluses are Windows Server domain support and XP Mode. By the way, Windows 7 Professional is the cheapest edition, which has an XP Mode emulator and to which you can join a Windows Server domain.
nine0003
Windows 7 Ultimate / Enterpise (Ultimate / Enterprise)
Two major additions to Windows 7 Ultimate are BitLocker data encryption and the ability to create AppLockers that can block prohibited programs.
It’s unlikely that the average user would need to encrypt local files or create «secure» app lists (although I know a few tech-savvy users who might strongly disagree with me). Ultimate also has translators and network printer solutions, but again, this is all mainly for business, not for ordinary users. Windows 7 Ultimate supports some UNIX applications, but this feature is mainly aimed at «server farms». The only difference between Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterpise is that Enterpise is available under volume licensing, with some of the Windows Software Assurance license.
nine0003
SUMMARY
Most users will choose between Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional, the network factor being the determining factor. If you want to join a Windows domain, you need Windows 7 Professional or higher. If you do not need it, then Windows 7 Home Premium is ideal for you. Windows 7 Starter should be seen as a netbook operating system and Enterprise/Ultimate products for security and hyper-conscious users.
