Windows 10 Pro vs. Windows 10 Home for NI Software Development: Which Is Better?

[melissahankins]

Hello NI community,

I've been contemplating the choice of Windows operating system for my laptop, specifically for NI software development using LabVIEW and other NI tools. I know that both Windows 10 Pro laptop and Windows 10 Home are widely used, but I'm trying to figure out which one is the better choice for my needs.

Windows 10 Pro:

Pros:

Enhanced security features.

BitLocker for data encryption.

Remote Desktop for easy access.

Group Policy management.

Hyper-V for virtualization.

Cons:

Slightly higher cost.

Windows 10 Home:

Pros:

Cost-effective.

User-friendly interface.

Suitable for general use.

Cons:

Lacks advanced features of Windows 10 Pro.

I'd appreciate your insights and experiences. Which Windows version do you prefer for NI software development, and why? Is the extra cost of Windows 10 Pro justified for our work? Let's discuss!

[RTSLVU]

As far as LabVIEW development they are identical, in fact you might as well just get Windows 11.

[alexderjuengere]

Windows 10 Home is around 150 €

Windows 10 Pro is around  250 €

Windows 10 Server is around 1000 €

If you want to re-use your licence on a different computer,

add the licence to an microsoft account,

and try to get a retail licence, not oem licence.

Windows Pro does have Hyper-V, Remote Desktop and more administrative Tools e.g. Group Policies Editor - which I do need for NI Software Development (in a more generic meaning)

I assume there are many more Windows Pro features, which are not available in Windows home.

Sometimes Windows Home can be tweaked to be more like Windows Pro e.g. group policies

but often you are stuck with Windows Home and can't proceed or need to find an equivalent alternative (e.g instead of hyper-v use oracle virtual box)

therefore, I'd pay 100 € more to avoid situations like that.

[RTSLVU]

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@alexderjuengere wrote:

Windows Pro does have Hyper-V, Remote Desktop and more administrative Tools e.g. Group Policies Editor - which I do need for NI Software Development (in a more generic meaning)

I assume there are many more Windows Pro features, which are not available in Windows home.

Sometimes Windows Home can be tweaked to be more like Windows Pro e.g. group policies

but often you are stuck with Windows Home and can't proceed

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I don't understand how any of these things are necessary for LabVIEW or any other NI software development.

[alexderjuengere]

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@RTSLVU wrote:

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@alexderjuengere wrote:

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I don't understand how any of these things are necessary for LabVIEW or any other NI software development.

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I have used Hyper-V to develop server-client projects and to test Labview in a different OS

But would agree, in a not-narrow meaning of software development  e.g.  program .vi's and compile projects to .exe - I have noticed no difference between Windows Home or Windows Pro

[Eric1977]

Are there any features within the OS themselves (10 vs 11) to choose one over the other? Reads like there is not...

[billko]

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@Eric1977 wrote:

Are there any features within the OS themselves (10 vs 11) to choose one over the other? Reads like there is not...

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Probably the main feature of win11 over win10 is support past 2025.

[PsyenceFact]

It may be something else entirely, but I've had all sorts of problems getting a machine running Windows 10 Home to connect to an ethernet cDAQ chassis  No problems with the same machine and a USB chassis, and no problems with the same ethernet chassis and a Windows 10 Pro machine.

If I were selecting a new machine for interfacing with any NI hardware, I'd definitely go down the Pro route.

PsyenceFact