Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Hardware and software needed to install Windows XP

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Windows XP, developed by Microsoft used on personal computers, also home and business desktops, laptops, and media centers. XP means eXPerience, given the codename "Whistler", after Whistler, British Columbia. Windows XP is the successor to both Windows 2000 Professional and Windows Me, first released on October 25, 2001. Succeeded by Windows Vista, which was released to volume license customers on November 8, 2006, and worldwide to the general public on January 30, 2007.Hardware and software requirements are minimal and simple.

Some of the most common editions of the operating system are Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional. Along with these two others are windows XP Media Center Edition ,windows XP Tablet PC Edition .Also two different 64-bit versions of Windows XP were also released, Windows XP 64-bit Edition for IA-64 (Itanium) processors and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition for x86-64.

Few things to keep in mind before installation: first, run the Setup program, checking hardware and software compatibility with the Windows XP Professional list, secure that the hard disk partition is enough to meet the space requirement. The hard disk should be partitioned with the FAT/FAT32 or NTFS file system. Confirm other required peripheral devices such as the CD-ROM drive, Network adapter card, keyboard, mouse, etc., are properly attached.

Basic hardware requirements to install windows XP can be summed up like this- Processor: Pentium II processor running at 233MHz or faster, 300MHz being recommended. RAM can be of 64MB or 128 MB, 1.5 GB free hard disk space is needed for the booting purpose,2 GB will b comfortable. Video card and monitor must have VGA resolution, network card has to be PXE-enabled or a network boot disk and network card for a network-based installation. For other appliances like CD-ROM or DVD drive for CD-ROM or DVD based installations, keyboard and a pointing device, respectively.

Software needed to start the installation is WINNT.EXE and WINNT32.EXE from the command line. WINNT is used for installation from a DOS or boot disk and Windows 3.0. WINNT32.EXE can be run from Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4, or Windows 2000 Professional command prompt. Several functions of WINNT.EXE are: it specifies the location of the Windows XP Professional source files. If the required files are not in the current folder, the location must be a full path of the form, indicates an identifier (id) that Setup uses to determine which values in the UDF file are used to override the values in the answer file.

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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

What is XP?


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Windows XP is a streak of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. The name "XP" stands for eXPerience. Windows XP is the descendant to both Windows 2000 Professional and Windows Me, and is the first consumer-oriented operating system created by Microsoft to be built on the Windows NT kernel (version 5.1) and architecture. An advanced client version of Windows 2000, Windows XP offers numerous changes to the user interface, including the Start menu, Taskbar and control panels. XP includes improved support for gaming, digital photography, instant messaging and wireless networking.

Microsoft launches various editions for its software. They are explained below:


  • The most universal editions of the operating system are Windows XP Home Edition, which is targeted at home users,
  • Windows XP Professional, which has additional features such as support for Windows Server domains and two physical processors, and is targeted at power users and business clients.
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition has additional multimedia features enhancing the ability to record and watch TV shows, view DVD movies, and listen to music. Windows XP Tablet PC Edition is designed to run ink-aware applications built using the Tablet PC platform.
  • Two separate 64-bit versions of Windows XP were also released, Windows XP 64-bit Edition for IA-64 (Itanium) processors and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition for x86-64.

Windows XP has lot of improved features over its previous versions. Some of the features / advantages of XP are:

  • Windows XP is known for its improved stability and efficiency over the 9x versions of Microsoft Windows.
  • It presents a significantly redesigned graphical user interface, a change Microsoft promoted as more user-friendly than previous versions of Windows.
  • New software management capabilities are introduced to avoid the "DLL hell" that plagued older consumer-oriented 9x versions of Windows.
  • It is also the first edition of Windows to use product activation to combat software piracy, a restriction that did not sit well with some users and privacy advocates.
  • Windows XP is Faster start-up and hibernation sequences
  • Windows XP has Remote Desktop functionality, which allows users to connect to a computer running Windows XP from across a network or the Internet and access their applications, files, printers, and devices
  • Windows XP provides support for most DSL modems and wireless network connections, as well as networking over FireWire, and Bluetooth.

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