Is Windows XP meeting your expectations or causing more exasperation than you bargained for?
Microsoft's latest operating system just turned six months old, and most would say that it's neither a failure nor a raging success. While XP promised the latest and greatest multimedia, security, and ease-of-use features available, many users have not yet upgraded, fearing the hefty system requirements and potential compatibility disasters inherent in a major OS upgrade.
At the end of the day, some 17 million of us chose the XP route. Did we really get what we paid (quite a lot) for? Is XP really more stable and more secure? Does it support all of our hardware and software? Does it really have cool, new features we can't live without? In honor of its half anniversary, we checked in on XP to see what major issues linger, if any, and what features you might be missing.
The system requirements swamp
Windows XP seems to come with two sets of system requirements, confusing many would-be upgraders. Microsoft issued a minimum requirement for hardware performance and capabilities; if you don't meet that requirement, XP simply refuses to install. But the company also issued a minimum recommendation--a set of far more stringent specs that should result in optimum performance. So, which set applies to you?
We've taken the last six months to play around with various hardware configurations and found that you need worry only about the minimum requirements. You can run XP on any system that meets or exceeds those specs--namely a 233MHz CPU with 64MB of RAM memory, 1.5GB free drive space, 800x600 display capability, and a CD-ROM drive. But if you want XP to run fast and crash-free, the minimum recommendation offers a sort of best practices target point.
More is better
Over the past six months, we've determined that XP runs just fine on a Pentium III-500 with 128MB of RAM. As expected, however, boosting both hard drive speed and RAM makes a significant difference in XP's performance. For best results, choose a hard drive that spins at 7,200 or 10,000RPM (vs. a 5,400RPM drive), a fast enough processor to feed it (400, 600, or 800MHz vs. 233 or 266MHz), and generous amounts of RAM (256 or 512MB vs. 64 or 128MB). You should probably avoid 8- or 16-bit ISA or legacy I/O cards for sound and video, and we highly recommend PCI or AGP video cards, too, in order to enjoy XP's nifty video effects, such as menus that fade in and out and drop shadows on windows and desktop icons.
Many complaints indicate that several system-board and hardware vendors have not and do not plan to provide XP drivers, but we've found that most hardware works well using Windows 2000 drivers. For example, you can't install Windows XP if your motherboard contains the HighPoint Technologies HPT-366 chipset (Highpoint's tech-support personnel confirm this); XP just doesn't have the drivers to support the chipset. To get XP to work on that hardware, you can download and use Windows 2000 drivers for the chipset or contact HighPoint Technologies' help desk and ask for XP-specific drivers, which you must load early in the XP setup process.
Service pack, anyone?
Every operating system has glitches and gotchas; the key to an OS's success is how quickly they are discovered and fixed. So far, Microsoft has released approximately 30 critical and recommended updates for XP, including 9 patches covering security problems.
Of course, all that constant tweaking can be a pain. Perhaps you're wondering if your OS just isn't ready for prime time. If you're holding out for a second edition of XP, dig in for a few more months. Microsoft plans to release its first service pack in the second half of this year. The company won't tell us exactly what Service Pack 1 will include, but we expect it to have many of the updates you can already get via Windows Update, such as USB 2.0 and Bluetooth support.
Microsoft belatedly released USB 2.0 drivers for Windows XP in February, and recently announced that it will include both Bluetooth support and a line of Bluetooth peripherals, such as keyboards and mice, in the service pack.
Microsoft also announced that, in addition to the usual fixes, this service pack will include support for new smart displays such as Mira, new tablet-style PCs, and Freestyle digital-media devices for consumers.
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