The days of "the blue screen of death" which obliterated your 5000 word report the day before the deadline, are gone. If you need to use that excuse though, remember, don't mention you've got Windows XP or the boss will never buy it.

It's hard to even consider why I hated Microsoft OS's after using XP for 2 months. And then I boot up my Windows 2000 machine, I leave the room for a cup of tea and return to witness the computer attempting to standby "No!", I scream, but its too late as the computer crashes halfway through the process. (I wonder if that problem's fixed by Service Pack 35). But...

No more, XP has a technology built in that allows each program to function independently. So theoretically if Word experiences an error, you can still listen to music and surf the web while it sends an error report to Microsoft and recovers your document. But apart from that major feature which has plagued windows operating systems since the dawn of time; it looks great too. All the sexy rounded metallic buttons and taskbars and windows ...ahhhhhhh... Sorry.

Firstly for anyone who has ever spent money and time downloading third party software to edit pictures, slideshows, play music, view movies, burn CD's etc. The all singing all dancing Windows XP is the answer.

If you're one of those people, and I know there are a lot out there who refuse to install a new operating system without a professional engineer by their side for fear of losing their 100,000 word thesis. Then this is probably the best time to actually do more with you're computer than word process.

Can't Upgrade from NT4/2k, to Home
Can't Upgrade from Dos/95, to any edition
Can upgrade 98/98SE/ME/XP Home, to any edition

*********Warning for Non Upgradeable OS***************
You cant upgrade from 95 to any edition so a new install is required, which deletes all settings and Programs!!!!!!
You can't upgrade 2k to XP Home edition, or do a new install to the home edition, again wiping all settings and Programs!!!!!!
NB Though you wont lose any files eg. the thesis you wrote, You won't be able to run programs eg. Word after install!!!!!!
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Starting from the beginning, installation is a doddle first you slap the CD in, it tells you which programs wont work after Windows XP is installed and tells you where to download all the drivers and patches required to make it sing and dance after you complete the install. Then restart the computer, XP installs. And by magic everything is still there. The essay didn't get corrupted. Only difference is it all works even better than before.

******** Although XP will theoretically run at 300Mhz, RUN is the key-word. Don;t expect anything brilliant, and forget Multimedia (eg. Video Editing). So make sure you've got at least a 500Mhz processor and although Microsoft suggests 128Mb RAM, prices are so cheap id go for at least 192-256Mb.********* (My laptop with 128Mb Ram is a bit sluggish with XP)

Everything is so simple; Windows detects and installs all plug & play devices including CD-RW. Now for some of those great features. Instead of buying and installing Nero Burning Rom, and going through a lengthy process to burn a CD. Just... Wait for it.

Select the files you want to put on CD and click on the Burn CD button which is always visible on the Windows Explorer window. That easy. Well it helps me sleep at night knowing I can burn a CD with one click. But make sure you've got at least 1Gb of Hard Disk space before you burn a whole CD, because windows makes millions of temp files.

Shame it cant make the tea, although..(all I need is a water supply a SCSI...) sorry got lost in my dream world again.

Compatibility
Pretty much every application and game I have is compatible, or at least I was warned about it at the installation stage. But if you really love GTA2 and cant live without it Windows XP isn't for you, it refuses to run even with the most up-to-date Graphics Card drivers? Another culprit are old versions of Symantec software (eg. Norton 2001) and they refuse to release patches for XP, so you'll have to buy the 2002 version. Also i cant find any scanner drivers. Arghhhhhhhhhhhh.

********Make sure you check your manufacturers websites for XP drivers, If they dont have them most 2k drivers work for XP. I was running beta versions for 4 months and using 2k drivers.*********

Automation
Downloads latest updates in the background when online. It installs any device you plug in automatically in the background again. It cleans up unused items in the start menu and on the desktop again in the background. It does so much for you it's almost worrying, it could be sending all my info off to Microsoft's HQ ready for their world takeover (well it's just a theory).

Ill leave you to decide if the features are useful for you but a word of advice to laptop users:

******don't upgrade to XP if your manufacturer hasn't released drivers yet, because laptops have video and sound cards built onto the motherboard, the drivers are manufacturer specific!!!! So you could lose functionality in TV-out (like I did) and in manufacturer software (e.g. Sony Vaio's)*******

The only down side is the £100 price tag (£200 from win95/2K), about the cost of a Palm Pilot. But price aside it's still worth the upgrade especially from 95/98 or anyone who lives in a hole and still has 3.11.

Oh and for anyone who was wondering what the differences between Pro & Home are, none (unless you are running a corporate network) apart from multiprocessor support.

Recommended: Yes