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Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Windows XP, Part 1: Best version of Windows yet, but it needs a lot of memory


Oct. 14, 2001


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2001, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2001, The Post Standard

   The best version of Windows currently available reaches stores this month.
   It's called Windows XP. Despite the silly name, which stands for "eXPerience," Windows XP is just plain outstanding.
   Stores officially start selling Windows XP Oct. 25. It's not cheap -- about $90 at discount for most Windows users who are upgrading -- but it's worth the cost.
   You can get Windows XP two ways:
   1. XP will be included with most new PCs. Don't buy a new Windows PC unless it has Windows XP. I can't say this any more strongly.
   2. XP can be installed as a replacement operating system on current Windows PCs. If you are adding Windows XP to your present PC. you can buy the Windows XP software separately. You don't have to buy a new PC to get Windows XP.
   You can get XP as a full-installation version or as an upgrade. It comes in two versions -- Home and Professional. (There's a third version made for 64-bit Intel processors. We'll ignore that version in the description here.) The full-installation Home version lists for $199; the upgrade lists for $99 . The full-installation Pro version lists for $299, and the upgrade is $199.
   I have two suggestions on how to save money when you switch to Windows XP.
   First, ignore the Professional version. It has administrative extras useful in a large office environment and can support two processors, using Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP). In all other respects, the Home version is ideal for most users, even those in small offices.
   Second, even if you plan to do a clean installation (a full install, in other words), don't buy the full version. As long as you have an installation CD from Windows 98, 98 SE, Me, NT 4.0 or 2000, you can perform a clean installation with the upgrade version. (Just keep the previous installation CD handy. You'll be asked to slip it in the drive for a disk check.)
   Microsoft is picky about which previous versions of Windows qualify for upgrades. If you have Windows 98 or Windows Me, you can upgrade to either XP Home or XP Professional. If you have Windows 2000 Professional or Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, you cannot upgrade to XP Home. You have to choose XP Professional, which is operationally similar in vital ways to those two earlier versions of Windows. Windows 95 does not qualify for an upgrade. It's too old.
   Note that you must have an actual Windows 98 or 98 SE, Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 CD-ROM to qualify for the Windows XP upgrade. You can't use a so-called emergency restore CD. Only retail Windows installation CDs (either full ones or upgrade versions) qualify. Also qualifying are Windows installation files stored on your hard drive. If you did not get a Windows CD with your computer, chances are the installation files are on the drive.
   Windows XP needs a considerable amount of disk space, PC memory and processor power to run properly. Disk space isn't much of a problem -- you can always have a larger hard drive installed -- and memory can be added to most PCs cheaply. But processor upgrades usually aren't worth the cost and seldom deliver much of a boost anyway. So be sure to check the following list before you try to upgrade your PC.
   To run Windows XP, your computer should meet these requirements:
   At least 64 megabytes of memory to run XP slowly, and at least 128 megabytes of memory to run it well.
   At least a 200 MHZ processor to run XP at all, and at least a 300 MHZ processor to run XP slowly. If your PC is used for games and simulations, XP needs at least 500 to 600 MHZ.
   At least 6 gigabytes free on your main hard drive.
   The ideal Windows XP PC would have a processor speed of 1 GHz or more, 256 to 512 megabytes of memory and a fast hard drive with 40 to 100 gigabytes capacity. Unlike Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows Me, Windows XP is able to work with vast amounts of memory intelligently.
   Next week: The dreaded Windows XP "activation" feature and why you should not worry about it.