Microsoft Windows XP Professional Upgrade [OLD VERSION]

XP certainly looks different, with rounded window corners, larger and more detailed icons, and a clean-look desktop that on first installation shows only the taskbar and recycle bin. XP is also more customizable than previous versions of Windows, and includes visual themes that let you change the whole appearance of Windows in an instant. That is the window-dressing, but underneath are some significant improvements. One of the most interesting is Remote Desktop. A standard XP feature, this uses technology from Microsoft Terminal Server to enable users to access their computer over any connection; for example, by dialing into the office from home. This is not just file access--this technology lets you run applications remotely as if you were sitting at your desk at work. This is mature technology, stable and carefully thought-out. So, for example, you can print from a remote word processor to a local printer. A variation on the theme is Remote Assistance, where the user can allow a remote helper to view their desktop, or optionally gain control of the keyboard and mouse, in order to troubleshoot a problem. The feature can also be disabled to ease security concerns.

Laptop users benefit from enhanced power management, with options to extend battery life by reducing CPU speed and display brightness. IrDA support has been fixed so that, unlike Windows 2000, XP can easily use modems in mobile telephones via infrared. A new screen font, ClearType, improves legibility for laptop or other flat screens, and there is built-in support for wireless networking using the popular 802.11 standard. A great feature of XP, also found in Windows 2000, is the ability to synchronize network files with offline copies. Previously these files could not be stored securely, but now they can be encrypted.

For Web browsing, XP comes with Internet Explorer 6.0. The enhancements in IE 6.0 are mainly of interest to Web developers, and in any case Microsoft makes IE freely available to all Windows users. Although Java is not installed by default, it is not difficult to download a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Windows Messenger, originally a chat client, has evolved into a collaboration tool that allows for video conferencing and application sharing.

The most significant new feature for Internet users is the built-in firewall. A firewall protects against one of the most disturbing security risks, in which other users unknown to you might connect to your computer while it is online, reading private files or causing other damage. XP's built-in firewall is a simple affair, but does prevent most types of unauthorized connection.

Windows XP has strong multimedia features. The new Media Player lets you copy music from CD to hard disk, create your own playlist, and write your own music CDs if you have a CD writer. Although there is loss of quality as a result of compression, the process is easy and convenient. Media Player 8.0 can play back DVD video, but only if a hardware or software DVD decoder is already installed. You can also play MP3 audio files and MPEG videos, but sadly not the popular RealMedia formats. In the end, Media Player does nothing that you cannot also do with free alternatives, but it is slick and nicely integrated.

The XP user interface is not a radical departure from earlier versions of Windows, but there are a number of small changes that together add up to a significant improvement. The Start menu now automatically features the most frequently used programs at the top of the list, and you can add and remove shortcuts by right-clicking the icon and selecting Pin or Unpin from the pop-up menu. Windows online help is integrated into a Help and Support Center that works like an internal Web site, with searchable help, tutorials, and walk-throughs.

Windows XP Professional includes all the features of Windows XP Home, and adds support for dual processors, encryptable file system, offline folders, the Remote Desktop as described above, and extra administration features that come into play when connected to a Windows server domain. XP is demanding on hardware, and it would be a mistake to install it on less than Microsoft's recommended minimum requirements. There is also activation to consider, a mildly annoying anti-piracy measure that requires you to obtain a code from Microsoft for full installation, and in the future if you reinstall or make major system changes.

Overall, it's a big step forward for those coming from Windows 9x or Me, and attractive rather than compelling as an upgrade from 2000. --Tim Anderson

Amazon.com Product Description
Designed for reliability, security and privacy, high performance, and ease of use, the Windows XP operating system provides a host of benefits forbusiness and home users. A clean and simple desktop, rock-solidreliability, and easy-to-use features that take advantage of the digitalage all contribute to the value of Windows XP.

Enhancements in real-time voice, video, and data communications will allowthe PC to become a center of communications and creativity beyond juste-mail and instant messaging. Windows XP will also allow the user toconnect back to the desktop from any location, and support for new wirelessnetworks will be built in. Windows XP will unify the user's supportexperience by enabling the user to provide temporary and secure control oftheir PC over the Internet to whomever can best help them.

Windows XP takes an end-to-end approach to how people transfer videos andpictures onto their computer, how they use them on their PC and otherdevices, and how they share them, whether in person or through e-mail, over the Web, or through removable media like DVDs and CDs. It extends this experience through applications that help users buy music and videos, mobile devices, services for saving your music on the Internet, and more. Windows XP will make it easier for households to share a single PC and share pictures, music, files,printers, and other resources.

It makes installing hardware a breeze with enhanced plus and play technology. Simply plug in your camera, usb device, hard drive, external storage, etc and Windows XP will automatically install and set it up for use. Integrated CD Burning will save you time and money from having to purchase 3rd party applications. Remote Desktop is a wonderful feature for administering your Windows XP computer away from the home or office on a separate computer. All you need to do is install the Remote Desktop client on any computer that does not run Windows XP and you are set.

You can also use Remote Assistance to send an invite to a friend, co-worker, relative, anyone you know using Windows XP to control your computer and fix any issue you may be having with it.

Windows Media Player 8 is wonderful, allowing you to encode high quality songs from CD's and also including options to display the Album Cover artwork for identifying your music on the folder.

My favorite thing is the ability to change the appearance with the new XML skinning engine to completely have a custom and unique style from anyone in the world.

There are many wonderful feature to list, and despite the talk that it is just a small step from Windows 2000 is ludicrous. Windows 2000 is similar and on the same codebase, but does outperform and include more useful tools. I would recommend purchasing the full version and not the upgrade, that way if you ever need to install a clean version of Windows XP you will not have to install an OS to upgrade from.


More a product of marketing than a true upgrade   October 2, 2001
Reginald Heeme (Phoenix, AZ)
65 out of 81 found this review helpful

As a network administrator for a large firm using UNIX, Windows 2000 Server, and Windows NT, I have been watching the development of XP for some time. I have used the RC candidates at home and in our network environment in order to better understand how this could influence our networking efficiency, security, and stability.

Keep in mind these opinions are based on release candidates, and are therefore not necessarily indicative of behaviors in the official product release. That being said, there are some interesting features I would like to note:

1). Security: nmap, other scanning software, and rudimentary penetration tests performed at our network facility seem to indicate a greater security risk from outside attacks than Windows 2k (both were tested "out-of-the-box"). Once the Internet Connection Firewall was enabled and configured correctly, this greatly reduced the amount of incoming traffic that could be allowed, but the product still failed many of the less-standard port scans. We also logged several interesting outgoing port calls from XP through our OpenBSD/IPFilter firewall, the nature of which we could not determine (most were UDP, but there several port calls to TCP ports < 1024). So, while the built-in firewall does offer more protection than win2k, it is still quite insufficient by itself. NAT seemed to be standard, though port redirects were not possible in either RC.

2). GUI: To put it simply, I am not pleased with the GUI. People have said this operating system is the combination of Mac OS and win2k. Obviously these people are not aware of the underlying architecture of Mac OS (especially the Mac OS X and 10.1 graphics engine), but that's not the issue here. What I dislike about the GUI (besides the design, of course), is it's now harder than ever to probe into what is really going on in the innards of the beast. This latest release has effectively hidden all but the barest of system calls rendering technical support a real nasty affair. No doubt MS technical support will have plenty of KB articles on how to troubleshoot issues hidden behind the new GUI, but that will be some time in coming.

3). Cost: Based on the points above (and many more that are more or less negligible and circumstance-dependent), I would not recommend Windows XP professional over Windows 2000 professional. If it were a free upgrade or of minimal cost, I could see certain IT departments migrating to XP, but overall, the expense of even upgrading a few machines is a hefty price to pay for what looks to be a moderately useful upgrade. In other words, users will not be more productive, more secure, and happier (unless they're fans of the GUI). They will not buy the IT dept. cake or throw a party, and the IT department will not be throwing a party either. At least none of us did.

I *would*, however, recommend this product to users of Windows ME (quite the worst OS MS has put out since win3.x), especially if you're fond of ME.


GOOD, IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT   June 30, 2002
reviewer (Zurich, Switzerland.)
41 out of 43 found this review helpful

The Upgrade version of Windows XP Professional is fast, feature-rich, and has a fine interface. It is crash-resistant; does not hang during shut-down, and supports dual processors. It boasts of good networking options, as well as built-in Firewall internet security; yet, its value-for-money is suspect.
Installation is time-consuming: budget one hundred minutes for it. Like the Office XP before it, there are activation woes: the money you paid notwithstanding, Microsoft dictates how and where you will use it. Again, bear in mind that Windows XP may compel you to spend more on updating other applications that would not run on it. There is also, this voracious demand on hardware: your PC must conform to at least 128MB of RAM, 1.5GB of free hard-disk space, and 300MHz of clock speed in order to do a decent job. Gambling on anything with lower statistics may backfire.
In a nutshell, upgrading to XP may not worth the financial hassles, unless you're running Windows 98 or earlier model; and wouldn't mind replacing older software that this new Operating System may shun.


I Wish I Knew Now What I Didn't Know Then   October 18, 2002
dan williams (Columbia, md USA)
33 out of 34 found this review helpful

I upgraded to Win XP Pro from Win ME. Yes, XP is more stable and usable. But, and this is a big one, be prepared to carefully look at your existing programs. Norton Antivirus 2001 will not work with XP and the 2003 Upgrade has problems; I spent 3 days making it work. Office 2000 has several problems and the best I can get from the admittedly flustered folks in Redmon is "we don't have a fix for that."

So, my...upgrade has now cost me the price of Norton and, probably, the price of Office XP.


Not Flashy but it Works   October 8, 2002
R. Speizer (San Francisco, CA)
32 out of 33 found this review helpful

I installed this over Windows ME because I bought Visual Basic.NET and it was required to make it run.
It installed fine, but be prepared for it to take several hours to install. It does not however require you to interact much. The install is very automatic.
You can change the look and feel back to Windows 98, like I did. This took a bit of hunting to find all the parts but it does work.
I have seen other comments about software and hardware problems, so let me address them: I would tend to agree that if you have a machine that is four or five years old you would be better off buying a new one than installing this. The biggest warning: If all your software and hardware is very old, this will not work.
You must have drivers and software that are compatible. Some NT/2000 stuff will work. If you have OEM installed software, it probably will not work. I had to replace my virus software and CD-Burner software. (I chose Norton antivirus and Burn and Go by IOMEGA, priced right and installed fine.)
On the plus side the install has one great feature. You can run a test first to see what will be incompatible with the new OS, and get what you need.(You should have PLENTY of time to run to the store while it installs!!) I suggest uninstalling incompatible items before you do the install, as the uninstall may not work later. I had this happen with McAffee antivirus.
Also it insisted that all my USB peripherals be conected and turned on for the install.
I also installed Service Pack 1 from the internet. This took about 5 hours to download and another hour plus to install, so be forewarned. Be prepared to spend MANY hours fine tuning your system.
Otherwise works OK. It did hang once when I had a CD miss-aligned in the drive. Otherwise no real problems.
The only thing I do not like is having to log-in at power-up. I am the only user.