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Thread ID: 81918	2007-08-10 21:09:00	XP Pro vs Vista Biz 4 Small Workgroup file sharing	Geek4414 (12000)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
579156	2007-08-10 21:09:00	Has anyone got any opinions about using XP Pro vs Vista Business on a workgroup file sharing PC? It's only a small workgroup of 6 PCs and it is not worth the expenses to go to SBS 2003 R2 as the CALs are too expensive. These people do not need any fancy server functions. All they need is to have a bunch of shared folders to share files across the workgroup.	Geek4414 (12000)
579157	2007-08-10 21:37:00	If you get SBS2003 OEM it comes with 5 CALs included. Anyway I would stay with XP Pro. I've had, and read too many stories, about problems with networking and Vista.	CYaBro (73)
579158	2007-08-10 21:55:00	The problems with SBS2003 R2 is that you only get 5 CALs. Then you have to buy a 5 CALs pack for the 6th user. This makes it very expensive. Also, these people have zero inhouse expertise to manage a server OS, if there is a problem with the server, the whole place will grind to a halt. With a simple workgroup, all the individual PCs can carry on as usual if the file sharing PC is dead. All they need to do is to plug in an external drive with all the backup files into one of the PC and they are back in business. Yes, I have had lots of problems with Vista lately. Some common web sites simply would not work on some Vista machines whilst working fine on others. It's all very weird. In one case, we have to wipe Vista and put XP back on, as TradeMe would not work properly on it, and one other web site refuse to even open, yet, it opens fine on the XP PCs. I suspect it has something to do with ICS on Vista. The other XP PCs can connect to this web site fine if they were connected directly to the internet, however it won't work if the XP PCs are connected to the internet via the Vista PC's ICS. Couple other sites are also having lots of problems with file uploading to a web site. The problem surfaced when this site upgraded to Vista, it works fine on their XP PC. The site owner blames IE7, however another site running XP with IE7 was working fine until couple of weeks ago and it suddently stopped working. The site owner has been doing some changes behind the scene but they refuse to own up to it. Anyway, the same tweaks that made the XP IE7 work didn't work on Vista! I had to resort to run a VM with IE6 for this site, so they can carry on with this web site. It's a royal pain in the neck to do that. Vista doesn't seem to have "simple file sharing" either, you cannot share a folder without password except the public folder. This is a pain as we have to assign a password to the default user account which means this user will have to log in with a password when he boots up his PC now.	Geek4414 (12000)
579159	2007-08-11 03:23:00	If you get SBS2003 OEM it comes with 5 CALs included. Anyway I would stay with XP Pro. I've had, and read too many stories, about problems with networking and Vista. Just out of interest, how much does a 5 CAL license cost?	winmacguy (3367)
579160	2007-08-11 05:26:00	Usually around $650-700 for 5 CALs (User or Device CALs)	CYaBro (73)
579161	2007-08-11 05:31:00	That is fairly pricey.	winmacguy (3367)
579162	2007-08-11 22:10:00	That is fairly pricey. Well not really when you think about. Say $700 for 5 CALs, that's $140 per user. With that they get access to the server for file sharing etc, a license to use Outlook 2003 which gives them email, shared calendars and tasks etc, access to the companyweb / intranet site. Remote access via SSL or VPN if required.	CYaBro (73)
579163	2007-08-11 22:24:00	Not too bad I guess. You can get an Xserve license for 10 users @$499 which will do 3 platforms.	winmacguy (3367)
579164	2007-08-12 00:08:00	Has anyone got any opinions about using XP Pro vs Vista Business on a workgroup file sharing PC? It's only a small workgroup of 6 PCs and it is not worth the expenses to go to SBS 2003 R2 as the CALs are too expensive . These people do not need any fancy server functions . All they need is to have a bunch of shared folders to share files across the workgroup . Vista Business will work fine the same as XP Pro . To get around the user having to enter a password in run type control userpasswords2 and choose which user to auto login, enter password and click OK and the PC will log into the user account without the need to enter a password . You don't need a server to do what you want . Have set this up many times in a small office enviroment . Your comment about websites not loading and talking about ICS . Why use ICS unless you are on dialup? You don't use ICS with broadband .	berryb (99)
579165	2007-08-12 00:10:00	Not too bad I guess. You can get an Xserve license for 10 users @$499 which will do 3 platforms. And it will still only be an expensive file server!	berryb (99)
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