I was wondering what all this hype was about XP, I mean people were supposedly eating and sleeping XP. Never the one to believe anything until tested, I decided to do just that-put it under the hammer.
Test System configuration
Pentium 4 1.5Ghz
Intel 850GB Motherboard
128 MB RD RAM
20GB Seagate HDD
SB Live 5.1
Riva TNT2
Creative Modem blaster 56K
LG 563n Monitor
Minimum requirements
233Mhz processor
64Mb Ram (Will severely limit performance)
1.5GB Available HDD space
These are the bare minimum. Trying to run Xp in this setup will severely degrade your ‘eXperience’
If you start off the installation in your existing version of windows you will be given the option to do a hardware compatibility test. Don’t skip this. You will be warned of potential hardware incompatibilities. Legacy drivers may give you problems leading to incompatible hardware. Check with your manufacturer for XP specific drivers.
The system then reboots, enters into dos installation mode and setup proceeds from there (in true NT style, if I may add). The installation is pretty straightforward, lesser questions asked and more importantly, lesser reboots.
TIP: If you would like to install XP on a separate partition, don’t forget to check the box under the advanced option.
XP installation takes about an hour (or more), the longest yet in the windows series. After copying all the files, the system restarts and you are presented with a cool new startup logo (goodbye clouds).
I must admit it, the interface IS cool. They have redesigned the entire OS to comply with the new theme. Users familiar to the previous versions may feel a bit overwhelmed by all this user friendliness. Microsoft implements several new features in its new OS.
User login
Each user using the computer has a separate login profile. The OS keeps track of where each users files are stored reducing management complexity. Now you don’t have to worry about other users peeking into your files.
Task Panes
No matter where you are in Xp, task panes show you relevant features making it easier to manage files and content.
Remote connectivity
Access your XP computer from virtually anywhere using VPN’s, lan, cable or dial up.
Remote assistance
Enables you to let a friend or Microsoft support personnel help you out when you are having trouble with your PC, remotely.
ICS (Internet connection sharing)
ICS enables you to share tour DSL or dialup connection with multiple computers. This feature provides a certain level of protection to client computers as they are not directly visible on the internet.
ICF (Internet connection firewall)
A basic level firewall to protect home users. Does not match up to other players in the market though.
Xp provides far more features that can be listed here. Windows 2000 users will have more or less an idea of what to expect in terms of features and stability.
What impressed me was the level of hardware support that came right out of the box.
Xp detected and configured ALL my devices perfectly WITHOUT asking for a single driver CD! Very impressive.
In the test run(9 hours) Xp did not crash or hang even once. The only moot point is the support for your applications that used to run on Win 98 or ME. The standard applications such as visual studio, Photoshop, Dreamweaver etc worked fine.
Xp provides an application compatibility toolkit, which allows you to run your previous OS applications on XP if it is not directly supported. (\support\tools folder in the CD) .
TIP: To check if your hardware or software is compatible with XP, check out the following URL
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/catalog/catalogshell/shell.asp?subid= 22
The bottom line is that Microsoft has done really well in this release of windows by successfully marrying a friendly interface and stability into a single OS. With the release of XP, Microsoft has done its part to push Linux back into the shadows.