When I first order my computer in August, I opted to have an upgrade version of Windows XP Home sent to me in December. I had been really excited about it coming, and the wait seemed like forever. On December 18th, the upgrade CD came in the mail.

My Computer System:
AMD Athlon 1200mhz
512mb pc133 SDRAM
40gb Hard Drive
ATI Radeon VE 64mb DDR

Installation:
Due to the fact that Windows 2000 cannot be upgraded to the HOME EDITION, I had to do a clean install. I decided to reformat my hard drive an start off on a clean slate. Installation went smooth, and I was done in about 45minutes. When XP first started up, I had my first error. The screen would go black, with no display, upon startup. The drivers that XP had assigned to my video card were wrong, so I had to start my computer in safe mode and install Gateway's XP certified drivers. After that, everything was great!

What I think of the OS:
Microsoft is marketing XP as a totally new os that will change your life. Don't give in to that crap. XP is just a mix of Windows 2000's stability, and Windows ME's features, with a new GUI (graphical user interface). The new GUI is really pleasant to look at. Although you can opt to revert back to a GUI that looks like previous versions of windows, I decided not to.

Compatibility:
XP is compatible with the majority of today's hardware. It has it installs all of it's own drivers during installation, so you don't have to. XP's minimum requirements are a machine with a 300mhz processor or faster, and 128mb ram or higher. Xp will run on this type of setup, but it will be VERY slow, and almost unusable. I would recommend at least a 500mhz processor and 256mb of ram if you want the OS to be running smoothly.

Overall:
A very good OS.


Recommended: Yes