Having been involved in Windows XP's development and beta testing, I was satisfied with its stability and didn't think twice about installing it on all my workstations.
But then I had a rude surprise. My Microsoft Phone System would not run under Windows XP. After discussing the issue extensively with Microsoft, I discovered there was no way to make the phone system run under XP and that I had to either give up my Microsoft Phone System or give up Windows XP on that computer.
To make a long story short, I kept Windows XP and bought a different call management system. The moral of this story is that some software (and hardware) just won't run under Windows XP, and it's a good idea to perform thorough testing before making the switch. Here are some tips to help you determine your applications' Windows XP compatibility.
Start with a software inventory
There are several steps you can take to determine whether your applications will function with Windows XP. I recommend you begin by performing a software inventory on the machines that will be migrated to Windows XP. Once you have this software list, look for applications that have a tendency to be OS specific, such as:
- Antivirus software.
- Software relying on features that don't exist in Windows XP, such as DriveSpace.
- Any programs that require DOS-level drivers.
- Custom Control Panel Applets.
- Custom Power Management.
- Custom plug-and-play software.
- Software tied directly to legacy hardware (such as my Microsoft Phone System).
If you have such software and it currently runs under Windows 9x or Windows NT, it is very likely the software is not Windows XP compatible. If your workstations are presently running such applications on Windows 2000, there's a much better chance those applications will work with Windows XP.
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WHY DO MICROSOFT INSTALL THESE NEW WINDOWS IF THEY NO THAT THEY WILL NOT BE COMPATABLE TO OTHER SOFTWARE, ITS NOT VERY GOOD REALY THAT THEY DO THIS , HAS WHEN YOU HAVE A UPGRADE , IT DOES NOT STOP THERE , HAS YOU THEN HAVE TO BUY ALL NEW SOFTWARE & PROGRAMS TO BE COMPATABLE TO THERE NEW WINDOWS ==XP, WELL THEY HAVE THE MONEY TO DO THIS WE THE OLDER PEOPLE THAT DO THIS FOR A HOBBY TO PASS TIME CANNOT --SO EVERY TIME THERE IS A NEW WINDOWS - THERE IS ANOTHER SHOPING DAY FOR NEW SOFTWARE--I THINK THEY ARE WRONG TO DO THIS , THEY SHOULD DO LONGER TESTS JIMMYBEE