Windows XP

This means that while Service Pack 2 will not install on copies of Windows XP which use the older set of copied keys, those who use keys which have been posted more recently may be able to update their systems.¹. Occasionally, some groups, such as Sabbatarians or Adventists reject the idea of a present Kingdom of Heaven as interpreted by other groups, instead preaching of the Kingdom of Heaven existing only in heaven, but will later be extended over the Earth after the Second Coming of Jesus. Service Pack 2 only checks for the same small list of commonly used keys as Service Pack 1. Traditionally, Catholicism, Liberal Christian and Pentecostal denominations have tended to emphasize its present aspect, while conservative Fundamentalists and evangelicals have emphasized its future aspect. After an outcry from security consultants who feared that denying security updates to illegal installations of Windows XP would have wide-ranging consequences even for legal owners, Microsoft elected to disable the new key verification engine. The tension between the present and future aspects of the Kingdom has been referred to as "the now and the not yet" of God's Kingdom. Microsoft developed a new key verification engine for Windows XP Service Pack 2 that could detect illicit keys, even those that had never been used before. The future aspect of the Kingdom is the belief of a future, post-apocalyptic implementation of God's theocratic rule, especially in a premillennialist interpretation of the prophetic genre of scriptural texts.

The service packs contain a list of these keys and will not update copies of Windows XP that use them. The present fulfillment of the Kingdom was treated by Jesus as a provisional foretaste of a greater, future reality. These product keys are unique to each boxed (or bundled) copy of Windows XP and are included with the product documentation, but a small number of product keys have been posted on the Internet and are responsible for a large number of unauthorized installations. In Roman Catholicism, Jesus's proclamation of the Kingdom of God is one of the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary. Microsoft Windows XP service packs are designed so that they will not install on computers running installations of Windows XP that use product keys known to be widely used in unauthorized installations. Some modern fundamentalist religious denominations view the concept of the Kingdom of God as the heart of believers, where the commandments of God are proclaimed, heard and observed. 16 bit applications have been incompatible with newer revisions of Windows XP like the 64-bit edition and it's successor Windows Vista. Protestants, however, believe that the Church is the instrument by which the Kingdom is manifested, but is not synonymous with the Kingdom itself.

Under pressure from the United States Department of Justice, Microsoft released a patch in early 2004, which corrected the problem [39]. In Roman Catholic theology, the Kingdom of God can also refer to the Church. Whether this flaw was intentional or simply an oversight is unclear. Jesus's use of "Kingdom of God" language can be contrasted with that of the first century CE Jewish revolutionaries who believed that the Kingdom was a political reality, that would come about by the violent overthrow of Roman rule and its replacement by a Jewish theocracy. In addition, the first release of Windows XP, the "Buy Music Online" feature always used Microsoft's Internet Explorer rather than any other web browser that the user may have set as his/her default. The Kingdom of God also refers to the changed state of heart or mind (metanoia) within Christians (see Luke 17:20-21), emphasizing the spiritual nature of His Kingdom by saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is within (or among) you.". Dino Nuhagic created his nLite software to remove many components from XP prior to installation of the product [38]. Following his resurrection, the kingdom of God was the centerpoint of the teaching of the Twelve Apostles and Paul of Tarsus as they carried the message out to the gentiles.

One critic, Shane Brooks, has argued that Internet Explorer could be removed without adverse effects, as demonstrated with his product XPLite [37]. Jesus maintained the importance of seeking The Kingdom throughout his ministry (Matthew 6:33; Mark 9:43-47). The components themselves remain in the system; Microsoft maintains that they are necessary for key Windows functionality (such as the HTML Help system and Windows desktop), and that removing them completely may result in unwanted consequences. The Kingdom of God is referred to 36 times in the book of Matthew alone, primarily in parables beginning with phrases such as "The kingdom of heaven is like...". Later, Microsoft released a utility as part of the SP1 which allows icons and other links to bundled software such as Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, and MSN Messenger to be removed. Jesus treated the subject with great importance, so that in the Lord's Prayer, he said it should be the second most important subject in prayer (Matthew 6:9-10). Competitors dismissed this as a trivial gesture [36]. By His sinless life, and through His miracles, He also demonstrated to the Jewish people what the Kingdom of Heaven would be like.

To avoid the possibility of an injunction, which might have delayed the release of Windows XP, Microsoft changed its licensing terms to allow PC manufacturers to hide access to Internet Explorer (but not remove it). Having the Messiah, the King of the Jews, with them, is of course one aspect of the Kingdom: the King had come to represent His Kingdom. Microsoft asserted that these tools had moved from special to general usage and therefore belonged in its operating system. The reported activity of Jesus in healing diseases, driving out demons, teaching a new ethic for living, and offering a new hope in God to the poor, is understood to be a demonstration of that Kingdom in action. Microsoft responded on its "Freedom to Innovate" web site, pointing out that in earlier versions of Windows, Microsoft had integrated tools such as disk defragmenters, graphical file managers, and TCP/IP stacks, and there had been no protest that Microsoft was being anti-competitive. The Gospels describe Jesus as proclaiming the Kingdom as something that was "at hand", and forcefully advancing since the days of John the Baptist, and not merely a future reality (see Mark 1:15). The battle being fought by fronts for each side was the subject of a heated exchange between Oracle's Larry Ellison and Microsoft's Bill Gates [35]. The Christian understanding of the Kingdom of God encompasses several ideas.

ACT and CompTIA are both partially funded by Microsoft. Jesus Seminar scholars have translated the phrase "Kingdom of God" as "God's imperial rule", or sometimes "God's domain", to better grasp its sense in today's language. ProComp is a group including several of Microsoft's rivals, including Oracle, Sun, and Netscape. Wells wrote: "This doctrine of the Kingdom of Heaven, which was the main teaching of Jesus, and which plays so small a part in the Christian creeds, is certainly one of the most revolutionary doctrines that ever stirred and changed human thought.". Both of these claims were rebutted by the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) and the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) [33] [34]. G. In 2001, ProComp claimed that the bundling and distribution of Windows Media Player in Windows XP was a continuance of Microsoft's anticompetitive behavior [31], and that the integration of Passport into Windows XP was a further example of Microsoft attempting to gain a monopoly in web services [32]. Historian H.

Microsoft case which resulted in Microsoft being convicted for illegally abusing its operating system monopoly to overwhelm competition in other markets, Windows XP has drawn fire for integrating user applications such as Windows Media Player and Windows Messenger into the operating system, as well as for its close ties to the Microsoft Passport Network service. However, most interpreters, including many premillennialists, believe that there is no basis for such a distinction. In light of the United States v. Some premillennialist interpreters believe that "Kingdom of Heaven" refers to the millennial kingdom of God, while "Kingdom of God" refers to His universal reign. David Coursey, Executive Editor of ZDNet's AnchorDesk [29], and Paul Thurrott, who runs SuperSite for Windows [30] have both written positive reviews of the operating system. Mark and Luke addressed their gospels to a more general audience who would be unfamiliar with the term "Kingdom of Heaven". CNET's web site lists hundreds of positive and negative reviews of Windows XP Home [27] and Professional [28] from users. The standard explanation for this is that Matthew's Gospel was addressed to a Jewish audience who would avoid the direct use of the name of God.

Supporters of the new interface praise its task-oriented nature and the automatic grouping of related windows on the taskbar to reduce clutter, and point out that the higher system requirements of Windows XP allow it to easily handle the increased processor demand; with a small amount of tweaking, it is possible to return to the Windows 2000 look, (or with minimal additional effort, the Windows 95 look can be achieved) which is faster, but which many consider to be less visually attractive. Matthew usually uses the term "Kingdom of Heaven", while Luke and Mark use "Kingdom of God". Critics have claimed that the default Windows XP user interface (Luna) adds visual clutter and wastes screen space while offering no new functionality and running more slowly. The Kingdom of God is a term used interchangeably with Kingdom of Heaven in the Synoptic Gospels. The most famous volume license key (VLK) is one beginning with FCKGW, which was released with the first pirated copies of the final version of Windows XP. It is a kingdom peopled by the righteous, among whom the humble will be the greatest, and stands in stark contrast to the only other kingdom available to people: the kingdom of Satan. According to Microsoft, 90% of pirated installations of Windows XP use a volume-licensed version to circumvent WPA. The kingdom is a spiritual kingdom that people willingly enter through belief, spiritual rebirth, and carrying out the will of God.

These copies, intended for use by customers with many PCs, are referred to by some as "Windows XP Corporate Edition". The idea of God's Kingdom is found predominantly in the New Testament, specifically the Synoptic Gospels. There exist volume-licensed copies of Windows XP Professional that do not require Windows Product Activation at all. This has been interpreted by believing Jews and Christians to mean that "King David's descendants, or his Descendant, the Jewish Messiah of Israel, would sit upon the Throne of David and rule for eternity". However, as key changers and keygens were soon available on the Internet after Windows XP's release, many users managed to circumvent the product activation process. The Kingdom of God was expressly promised to the patriarch and prophet, King David, because he was a man "after God's own heart"; and God made the Davidic Covenant with King David, promising him that he would "never lack a man to sit upon His throne, forever". According to Microsoft, no specific details about the hardware are transmitted. It is tied to Jewish understanding that God will intervene to restore the nation of Israel, and return to rule over them.

This information is used to seed the generation of a number which, along with the CD Key and country of installation, is transmitted to Microsoft. The Kingdom of God is referred to frequently in the Tanakh (see 1 Chronicles 29:10-12 and Daniel 4:3 for example). It includes a cryptographic hash of the following ten values:. . Microsoft then released details about the nature of the information transmitted [26]. It refers to the reign or sovereignty of God over all things, as opposed to the reign of earthly powers. Privacy fears were raised about the nature of the data transmitted to Microsoft. The Kingdom of Heaven (or the Kingdom of God, Hebrew מלכות השמים, malkhut hashamayim, Greek βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ basileia tou theou) is a key concept in both Judaism and Christianity.

If the user's computer system ever changes — for example, if two or more relevant components (see list below) of the computer itself are upgraded — Windows may refuse to run until the user reactivates with Microsoft. Activation requires the computer or the user to activate with Microsoft within a certain amount of time in order to continue using the operating system. The system was introduced by Microsoft to curb illegal distribution of Windows XP [25]. While product activation and licensing servers are common for business and industrial software (especially software sold on a per-user basis for large sums of money), Windows XP gave many casual computer users their first introduction to it.

For example if a user tries to run an executable File downloaded from an untrusted security zone, Windows XP with Service Pack 2 will prompt the user with a warning. Service Pack 2 attempts to remedy this with the Attachment Execution Service that records the origin of files in alternate data streams attached to files downloaded with Internet Explorer or received as an attachment in Outlook Express. There is little defense against a user opening an e-mail attachment without realizing that it is malicious (the default setting of Windows XP to hide file extensions doesn't help in this regard), or failing to keep reasonably current on Windows Update patches. Perhaps the greatest threats against Windows security are the actions of Windows users themselves.

This allows Windows XP to prevent code from being executed on areas of memory flagged with an NX bit and stops buffer overflow exploits from running arbitrary code. It also adds increased memory protection to let the operating system take advantage of new No eXecute technology built into CPUs such as the AMD64. Service Pack 2 enables the firewall by default. Windows XP offers some useful security benefits, such as Windows Update, which can be set to install security patches automatically, and a built-in firewall.

In January 2005, Microsoft released a free beta version of Microsoft AntiSpyware which removes spyware and adware from computers. Spyware is also a concern for Microsoft with regard to service pack updates; Barry Goff, a group product manager at Microsoft, said some spyware could cause computers to freeze up upon installation of Service Pack 2 [24]. Spyware and adware are a continuing problem on Windows XP and other versions of Windows. [23].

Increasingly widespread use of Service Pack 2, and greater use of personal firewalls, appears to have been making worms like these less of a common occurrence. In May 2004, Sasser quickly spread through computers running Windows XP and Windows 2000. Windows XP was also vulnerable to the Sasser worm, spread by using a buffer overflow in a remote service present on every installation. Even security-conscious users had trouble with Blaster, since it could infect a computer with a newly installed copy of Windows XP before the user had time to download security fixes [22].

In August 2003 the Blaster worm, which became one of the most well known Windows worms, exploited a vulnerability present in every unpatched installation of Windows XP and capable of compromising a system even without user action. Notable worms of this sort that have infected Windows XP systems include Mydoom and Bagle. A user who opens the file attachment(s) can unknowingly infect his or her own computer, which then e-mails the worm to more people. Many attacks against Windows XP systems come in the form of e-mail trojan horses which are sent by worms.

Microsoft executives have stated that the release of patches to fix security holes is often what causes the spread of exploits against those very same holes, as crackers figured out what problems the patches fixed, and then launch attacks against unpatched systems. Security holes are often invisible until they are exploited, making preemptive action difficult. Windows, with its large market share, has traditionally been a tempting target for virus creators. Nicholas Petreley for The Register notes that "Windows XP was the first version of Windows to reflect a serious effort to isolate users from the system, so that users each have their own private files and limited system privileges." [20] However, Rob Pegoraro, for The Washington Post, noted that "XP Home's 'limited account'," the only other option, "doesn't even let you adjust a PC's clock." [21] Windows XP Home Edition also lacks the ability to administer security policies and denies access to the Local Users and Groups utility.

If the administrator's account is broken into, there is no limit to the control that can be asserted over the compromised PC. Security issues are compounded by the fact that users, by default, receive an administrator account that provides unrestricted access to the underpinnings of the system. Windows XP has been criticized for its susceptibility to buffer overflows, malware, viruses, trojan horses and worms. Security concerns have long been an issue with Microsoft products.

Another page[19] suggests improvements to managing the list of "hidden" wireless networks. A document[18] on Microsoft's web site suggests that Service Pack 3 will include additional support for doing true "per-user" application installing. It will be released after Windows Vista has been finished; presently, Microsoft's web site indicates a "preliminary" release date of "2H 2007" for Service Pack 3.[17] Service Pack 3 may include Internet Explorer 7, Windows Media Player 11, and many other changes, but Microsoft has not made any official statement on feature sets. Windows XP Service Pack 3 is currently in development.

Thomas Greene from The Register claimed that SP2 was merely a placebo of sorts in terms of features, fixes, and security updates:. While well received in general, Service Pack 2 was not without its critics. In addition, the Wireless Network Connection Icon, which used to show two computer symbols (like the LAN Connection Icon) now shows just one, with a radio wave symbol on the right side. "Home Edition" or "Professional").

On the opening screen (where it says Microsoft Windows XP with the three scrolling squares), the "(C)1985-2001" designation at the bottom was removed, and the edition name was removed (e.g. There were also some visual changes made with Service Pack 2. [15]. SP2 also includes major updates to Windows XP Tablet PC Edition and Windows XP Media Center Edition, and also supports 24 new languages from every continent.

[13] [14]. The company AssetMetrix reports that one out of ten computers that upgraded to SP2 had severe compatibility problems with their applications. However, when the service pack was released some programs did stop working, and Microsoft officially listed several of them on its website [12]. Other features include enhancements to the Internet Connection Firewall (ICF), now the Windows Firewall (which is also turned on by default), advanced memory protection that takes advantage of the NX instruction that is incorporated into newer processors to stop buffer overflow attacks, removal of raw socket support (which has caused a drop in "zombie" machines: infected computers that can be used remotely to launch denial of service attacks) [10], and improvements to e-mail and web browsing [11] (a full list of service fixes and modifications for SP2 is available on Microsoft's website).

This helps to suppress spyware and viruses. It also includes a new API to allow third party virus scanners and firewalls to interface with a new security center application, which provides a general overview of security on the system. Unlike previous service packs, SP2 adds new functionality to Windows XP, including an enhanced firewall, improved Wi-Fi support with a wizard utility, a pop-up ad blocker for Internet Explorer, and Bluetooth support. Service Pack 2 (SP2) was released on August 6, 2004 after several delays, with a special emphasis on security.

Native support for Serial ATA was added. LBA-48, which allowed the OS to view and use HDD space above 137 GB, was enabled by default. Service Pack 1a was later released to remove Microsoft's Java virtual machine as a result of a lawsuit with Sun Microsystems. This utility was later brought into the older Windows 2000 operating system with its Service Pack 3.

For the first time, users could control the default application for activities such as web browsing and instant messaging, as well as hide access to some of Microsoft's bundled programs. Its most notable new features were USB 2.0 support and a Set Program Access and Defaults utility. Service Pack 1 (SP1) for Windows XP was released on September 9, 2002. Microsoft occasionally releases service packs for its Windows operating systems to fix problems and add features.

In addition, another Microsoft-created theme, called "Royale", was included with Windows Media Center Edition, and is available for download on Microsoft's site for Home and Professional Editions. Several third party utilities exist that provide hundreds of different visual styles. The Windows 2000 "classic" interface can be used instead if preferred. The default wallpaper, Bliss, is a JPEG photograph of a landscape in the Napa Valley outside Napa, California, with rolling green hills and a blue sky with stratocumulus and cirrus clouds.

More computer literate users "patch" the uxtheme.dll file that controls the ability to use visual styles. In order to use unsigned visual styles, many users turn to software such as TGI Soft's StyleXP or Stardock's WindowBlinds. Luna refers only to one particular visual style, not to all of the new user interface features of Windows XP as a whole. As Windows XP requires 64 MB of RAM to install, this means that it is enabled for practically all users.

Luna is the name of the new visual style that ships with Windows XP, and is enabled by default for machines with more than 64 MB of RAM. However, visual styles must be cryptographically signed by Microsoft to run. Windows XP adds the ability for Windows to use "Visual Styles" to change the user interface. However, if the video card is not capable of hardware alpha-blending, performance can be substantially hurt and Microsoft recommends the feature should be turned off manually [9].

[8] Some effects, such as alpha blending (transparency and fading), are handled entirely by many newer video cards. Users can further customize these settings. Windows XP analyzes the performance impact of visual effects and uses this to decide whether to enable them, so as to prevent the new functionality from consuming substantial additional processing overhead. The Start menu and search capability were redesigned and many visual effects were added, including:.

Windows XP features a new task-based graphical user interface. Some of the most noteworthy and recognized include:. Windows XP introduced several new features to the Windows operating system line. ^[4] [5] [6] [7].

Due to the fact that it will be sold at the same price as the full version, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Fujitsu Siemens have chosen not to stock the product, and preliminary figures imply a lack of consumer interest. Microsoft wanted to call this version Reduced Media Edition but EU regulators objected and suggested the Edition N name, with the N signifying "not with media player". This version will not include the company's Windows Media Player but instead encourage users to pick and download their own media player. In the meantime, it plans to offer a court-compliant version of its flagship operating system at the same price as the full version.

Microsoft is currently appealing the ruling. The Commission claimed Microsoft "broke European Union competition law by leveraging its near monopoly in the market for PC operating systems onto the markets for work group server operating systems and for media players". In March 2004, the European Commission fined Microsoft €497 million and ordered the company to provide a version of Windows without Windows Media Player. Many markets where it is available have seen the uptake of cracked or pirated versions of the software instead.

In the mass market, however, the Starter Edition has not had much success. In late July 2005, Microsoft announced [3] that they reached a milestone of 100,000 units of Windows XP Starter Edition sold. There are also fewer options for customizing the themes, desktop, and taskbar. There is also an 80GB disk size limit, but Microsoft has not made it clear if this is for total disk space, per partition, or per disk.

In addition, the Starter Edition is licensed only for low-end processors like Intel's Celeron or AMD's Duron. The maximum screen resolution is limited to 1024x768, and there is no support for Workgroup networking or domains. Only three applications can be run at once on the Starter Edition, and each application may only open three windows. In addition, the Starter Edition also has some unique limitations [2].

To appeal to foreign markets whose consumers may not be computer literate, the Starter Edition includes additional specializations not found in the Home Edition such as localized help features for those who may not speak English, a country-specific computer wallpaper[1] and screensavers, and other default settings designed for easier use than typical Windows XP installations. According to a Microsoft press release, Windows XP Starter Edition is "a low-cost introduction to the Microsoft Windows XP operating system designed for first-time desktop PC users in developing countries." It is seen as an effort to fight unauthorized copying of Windows XP, and also to counter the spread of the open-source GNU/Linux operating system, which has been gaining popularity in Asia and South America. It is similar to Windows XP Home, but has some features either removed or disabled by default. Windows XP Starter Edition is a lower-cost version of Windows XP available in Thailand, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia, India, Brazil, and Spanish for Latin America (Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela).

Applications will typically be run on a remote server using Remote Desktop. It will only be available to Software Assurance customers, who would like to upgrade to Windows XP to take advatage of its security and management capabilities, but can't afford to purchase new hardware. In March 2006, Microsoft will be introducing a "thin-client" version of Windows XP called Windows Fundamentals For Legacy PCs, which will target older machines (as early as the original Pentium). Another unique edition is Windows XP Embedded, for specific consumer electronics, set-top boxes, kiosks/ATMs, medical devices, point-of-sale terminals, and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) components.

It cannot be purchased separately from a Tablet PC. The Tablet PC Edition is compatible with a pen-sensitive screen, supporting handwritten notes and portrait-oriented screens. For specially designed notebook/laptop computers, Microsoft designed the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Another update was released in 2004, and again in 2005, which was the first edition available for System Builders.

In 2003 the Media Center Edition was updated as "Windows XP Media Center Edition 2003", which added additional features such as FM radio tuning. Originally, it was only available bundled with one of these computers, and could not be purchased separately. The Windows XP Media Center Edition was made for special Media center PCs. The current design, whereby different versions of the same operating system are produced for different architectures, represents a fundamental shift in the design philosophy of Microsoft's operating system and marketing efforts.

The files necessary for all of the architectures were included on the same installation CD and did not require the purchase of separate versions. Microsoft had previously supported other microprocessors with earlier versions of the Windows NT operating system line (including two 64-bit lines, the DEC Alpha and the MIPS R4000, although Windows NT used them as 32-bit processors). This version of Windows XP supports AMD's Athlon 64 and Intel's Pentium 4 with EM64T. AMD 64-bit processors, namely x86-compatible 64-bit (x86-64) ones, may be used on Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, which was based on Windows Server 2003.

However, Itanium support continues in the server editions of Windows. This edition was discontinued in early 2005, after HP, the last distributor of Itanium-based workstations, stopped selling Itanium systems marketed as 'workstations'. The Windows XP 64-Bit Edition was designed specifically for Itanium-based workstations, and is incompatible with most other 64-bit processors. Five different versions of XP for specific hardware were designed, two of them specifically for 64-bit processors.

Microsoft has also customized Windows XP to suit different markets and there are now several different versions available. Some Centralized administration features, including Group Policies, Automatic Software Installation and Maintenance, Roaming User Profiles, and Remote Installation Service (RIS) are also unavailable in the Home Edition. Although it has been reported to work on some dual-core microprocessors available from both AMD and Intel, Microsoft has recommended upgrading to Professional Edition for improved stability and compatibility. Windows XP Home Edition does however support the Hyper-threading functionality present on some Intel microprocessors.

Also absent is Symmetric multiprocessing, the ability to divide work between multiple processors (CPUs) — Windows XP Professional supports up to two CPUs, while the Home Edition supports only one. iSCSI support is also unavailable. The Encrypting File System that encrypts files stored on the computer's hard drive so they cannot be read by another user, even with physical access to the storage medium, is absent. Offline Files and Folders, which allow the PC to automatically store a copy of files from another networked computer and work with them while disconnected from the network, is unavailable.

The Remote Desktop, which lets users operate one PC over a local area network or the Internet while using another PC, is available, however, it can only act as the client and not the server (It can control XP Pro based machines, but other XP Pro or XP Home machines cannot operate it). Several features available in the Professional Edition are unavailable in the Home Edition. It also uses by default a simplified access control scheme that does not allow specific permissions on files to be granted to specific users under normal circumstances. Many businesses that use Windows have a Windows Server and a domain.

For instance, the Home Edition cannot become part of a Windows Server domain — a group of computers that are remotely managed by one or more central servers. The Home Edition lacks several features provided by Windows XP Professional. The two major editions are Windows XP Home Edition, designed for home users, and Windows XP Professional, designed for business and power-users. .

Windows XP is also the first consumer version of Windows to use product activation to combat software piracy, and this restriction did not sit well with some users and privacy advocates. Windows XP also overhauled the graphical user interface (GUI), a change Microsoft promoted as user-friendlier than previous versions of Windows. It also offers more efficient software management to avoid the "DLL hell" that plagued older consumer versions of Windows. Windows XP greatly improved stability and efficiency from previous Windows consumer editions that used the hybrid 16-bit/32-bit kernel by using a pure 32-bit kernel.

Two separate versions of Windows XP were released, the Windows XP 64-bit Edition for IA-64 processors and the Windows XP Professional x64 Edition for what Microsoft refers to as the x64 processors. Windows XP Media Center Edition, released one year later, consists of Windows XP Professional with new features allowing users to record and watch TV shows, watch DVDs, listen to music and more. The most common editions of the operating system are Windows XP Home Edition, which is targeted at home users, and Windows XP Professional, which has additional features and is targeted at power users and business clients. The letters "XP" are said to come from the word experience.

Codenamed "Whistler" during its development, it was released on October 25, 2001. As of February 2006, it is the latest general-purpose version of Microsoft's family of operating systems, and is expected to be succeeded by Windows Vista sometime in the second half of 2006. Windows XP is a major revision of the Microsoft Windows operating system created for use on desktop and business computer systems. CD-ROM/ CD-RW/ DVD-ROM identification.

Hard drive volume serial number. Hard drive device. Processor serial number (if applicable). Processor type.

0–64 MB, 64–128 MB, etc.). RAM amount (as a range, e.g. Network adapter MAC address. IDE adapter name.

SCSI adapter name. Display adapter name. Shadows under menus (Windows 2000 had shadows under mouse pointers, but not menus). The highlighting of recently added programs on the Start menu.

The ability to lock the taskbar and other toolbars to prevent accidental changes. The ability to group the taskbar buttons of the windows of one application into one button. Task-based sidebars in Explorer windows. Drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop.

A watermark-like graphic on folder icons, indicating the type of information stored in the folder. A transparent blue selection rectangle in Explorer. Support for most DSL modems and wireless network connections, as well as networking over Firewire. The 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; and.

The ClearType font rendering mechanism, which is designed to improve text readability on Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and similar monitors;. Fast user switching, which allows a user to save the current state and open applications of their desktop and allow another user to log on without losing that information;. A new, arguably more user-friendly interface, including the framework for developing themes for the desktop environment;. The ability to discard a newer device driver in favor of the previous one (known as driver rollback), should a driver upgrade not produce desirable results;.

Faster start-up and hibernation sequences;.