Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade with Service Pack 2

Feeling brave and not having enough money for a new PC at the moment I decided to upgrade to Windows XP Home. After Slotting in the CD and running the upgrade took a couple of hours in all on my old Dell 500Mhz PC. There were no problems and I was up and running again with great new features. My faithfull old dog (PC) has learn't some new tricks and so far after 2 weeks is running nice and smoothly.


Based on the rock-solid Windows 2000.   December 4, 2004
90 out of 97 found this review helpful

Windows XP Home Edition is another step for Microsoft. Based on Windows 2000 with more features and a new look it really is good, NT operating-system, not DOS.

Installion is quite straight forward, just follow what it tells you to do and choose where you want to install it. After the installation you will have to activate Windows by the key that came with the CD. If you do not activate you will be able to use all the features for 30 days then all users will be locked-out except the Administrator who will only be albe to activate it. You will need an internet connection to do this. Also after the installation you will have the choice of registering the product with Microsoft for full techinical-support.

Networking is better than in previous versions of Windows, especially DOS. You can make different workgroups and access all other computer files unless restricted or password-protected. Icons at the bottom bar will appear showing all your networks and what speeds they are running at, it will also show you internet connectivity.

Service Pack 2 gives you lots more security features. Windows will now have a built in Firewall, Windows will be able to monitor your anti-virus software for you if you have any and if it is a Microsoft-approved type. You will also have the feature of automatic-updates which will download the updates automatically and/or ask you if you want them to be installed. Quite a good-feature, just runs in the background whilst your doing something on your computer, the only problem is suddenly, if it is a crucial update, it will want you to restart your computer and will keep asking you.

The new-look is very different to all previous versions of Windows, modern. You will no longer have the classic look, but you can if you choose on your login. It will show all the users in square blocks with your own customized icons so you know who-is-who and will show your name. Only problem is if there are lots of users you will have to scroll-down to eventually find your logon button.

This new Windows is much more secure than to previous version, you will have to types of users, "limited user" and "administrator." All administrators get to choose this option for other users. With Administrator you get to access and edit important-files and also download and install files in places that are very important. The first-ever administrator will always have even more features though, you will find them out when you get it.

This is how this version of Windows is rated compared to others:
Windows 3.1 1/5
Windows 95/98 3/5
Windows ME 2/5
Windows 2000/NT 5/5
Windows XP Home/Professional 4/5

The reason it is not 5 stars is because it is not as stable as Windows 2000 even though Microsoft say it is. Also the built-in DOS emulators are not very good and sometimes delete themselves, an annoying bug. You cannot play many DOS games with XP.

So this is the new version and one of the best versions of Windows, looking hopeful for the future.


The one to buy   March 1, 2005
82 out of 87 found this review helpful

The previous reviewer has written an excellent review ands theres little point in repeating what he's already stated.

But having read his comments and being a long - standing user of Windows 98, ME, 2000 and now XP I know these various operating systems well and I feel I have to make the following corrections to what the previous reviewer has mentioned:

XP is MUCH more stable than Windows 2000. XP contains a System Restore function - if something causes a serious error you can roll back to a previous stable configuration - very useful indeed. 2000 doesn't have this and this more than anything else makes it much less stable. In addition XP includes a compatibility mode for old DOS based software, especially games, that used to run on Windows 9x/ME and that Windows 2000 does not have - most simply will not work with 2000 but can be got to work with XP. It's not perfect but it's very good, probably around 80%. XP will boot up and shut down MUCH faster than 2000 - this might not sound like much but if you have a lot of software installed 2000 will take many minutes whilst XP will take mere seconds - if you use a computer a lot the delay becomes very frustrating.

XP is the most rock-steady OS there is and is by far Microsoft's best effort to date. If you're used to Win9x/ME you won't believe how much better this OS is. I had occasion to use Windows 98 again recently and I couldn't believe just how much trouble it was what with it's perpetual freezing and crashing and the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. I've become very spoilt using XP indeed. It copes effortlessly with large partitions and large amounts of software while Windows 98 will not.

BUT you do need to make sure your hardware will cope with it. It is VERY hungry on resources you'll need at least 512mb of RAM and the full install will take 7.5 GB of hard disk space compared to 414 MB or so for Windows 98 SE! It also needs a fairly fast processor, old Pentium 2 based systems need not apply you're better off sticking with Windows 2000 in that instance.

So in short is it worth it? If you have a fairly modern PC, yes.I know every likes to complain about Bill Gates and Microsoft but there really is nothing this good to compare. Linux (and yes, I have used that too) doesn't even come close, although it is free.


Great service from Amazon, not a bad purchase   May 19, 2006
DeltaKent (Kent, UK)
78 out of 80 found this review helpful

I have just installed an XP upgrade. It is very easy although it takes nearly two hours to complete. It was my very first upgrade hence I am not certain if it is quick or not exactly so.
Word of warning though for those who upgrade from Windows Me. I have discovered that it is much easier to reload my computer and start reloading the rest of the software afresh than just to install the upgrade. Although the upgrade worked as such I needed to update most of the drivers for my printer, broadband connection etc. Reload seemed to be an easier option in the long run.
There was one more glitch in the system. After the upgrade my computer refused to switch itself off automatically. I contacted Microsoft UK and a solution was offered (Control Panel, Power Option, APM, enable APM support). They diagnosed the problem and offered a solution really quickly. Great customer service.
As to the Amazon' service: I placed an order, I was kept informed about the progress, they delivered on the day indicated. Judging by my past experiences it is pretty much standard. I would highly recommend them as well.


Please don't buy this   July 3, 2005
71 out of 128 found this review helpful

Don't buy this OS if you have any knoweldge of computing. Several months ago I migrated my home pc to Linux and I couldn't be happier. With windows I spent hours of my time servicing it for spyware and viruses and It got on my nerves. So I got Fedora Linux, and in short its great. Imagine an OS that doesn't crash, can't get viruses and has more free software than you can count without long downloads or services. I know people claim that Windows is easy and simple and that Linux is hard, but they're lying, now linux is as easy as windows and more secure! Buy SUSE linux instead of this junk, and you'll get the fastest and most secure OS in the world! If you don't believe me download a live cd called knoppix that lets you run linux off a cd; it won't affect your hard drive and you can try linux harmlessly!