XP Home vs Pro

[Strong Lead]

I am about to build a second system. I currently have XP Home on my computer and I own both Home and Pro.

I have never installed or worked with Pro and I wanted to see what the major difference was between the two.

When I do the second build and I plan on having them share an internet connection and files, would it be bad to have Home on one and Pro on another? Both Pro, both XP?

I'm just curious why I spent a substantial amount more for Pro than for Home.

I suppose I'm looking for a pros and cons list of the two OSs

Thanks

[pam123]

I understand the curiosity, in a measure I share it, so have fun trying stuff out.
When you're done try a few Linux distros as well, they're free.
The Pro version of XP has features that make sense in a business but are overkill for the home.

[andyms18a]

as you have xp home on one computer unless you plan to get another copy of it you will have to use xp pro as the licence is for one computer only. as a xp pro user on my main computer and xp home on the other 7 computers the only problems i had with pro was with the net working setup as the security is a lot tighter but once you get it set up its rock solid and the ability to make a backup of it using the built in backup program then restore it with a floppy disk and the backup media during a reinstall is very good