Difference Between Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate Edition

Windows 7 Professional Edition vs Ultimate Edition

The Professional and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 are the top two in the wide list of versions that can be acquired from Microsoft. Although the ultimate edition is more expensive than the professional edition due to the additional features on it, people consider the roughly $20 difference to be negligible.

The BitLocker is among the features that can be found on the ultimate edition but not on the professional edition. This feature is capable of encrypting whole drives to provide security to the user’s files and prevent unauthorized users from tampering or copying those files. There is also a version for portable devices called BitLocker to Go, providing the same functionality. Another feature called Applocker allows administrators to define the applications that can or cannot be run by a certain user. This is utilized with group policy settings to make it easier to deploy even in a very large scale.

The ultimate edition is capable of booting from a virtual hard disk (VHD) while the professional edition cannot. A VHD is simply a drive volume contained within a file so that no actual drive is needed. Booting from a VHD disables the use of certain features. This includes the BitLocker and even the hibernation capability. BranchCache is another feature that cannot be found on the professional edition. It allows the creation of a cache system that is used to store the resources that are frequently accessed across a network. This feature can improve the speed of access, especially in VPNs where the data needs to take a very long route to reach its destination.

Lastly, a few minor changes have been made to the VDI and MUI. VDI stands for virtual drive interface and is used to run guest virtual machines. Additional language packs have for the Multilanguage User Interface or MUI have also been added to the ultimate edition so that users do not have to download them from the Microsoft site.

Summary:
1. The ultimate edition costs more than the professional edition
2. The ultimate edition has BitLocker while the professional edition does not
3. The ultimate edition has AppLocker while the professional edition does not
4. The ultimate edition is capable of booting from a virtual hard drive while the professional edition is not
5. The ultimate edition has the BranchCache feature while the professional edition does not
6. Additional enhancements to VDI and MUI languages are present in the ultimate edition while not in the professional edition

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