Customer Reviews

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition [Old Version]

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(42)

 

 

I purchased a new dell computer to replace my laptop and of course it came with XP already installed on it. I was open minded and gave it a chance, but ulitmately, I reformated my hard drive and put windows Me back on it. Hopefully this review can help you decide if this if for you or not.

-IF YOU HAVE NEVER OWNED A COMPUTER AND YOUR FIRST SYSTEM ALREADY HAD WINDOWS XP ON IT, KEEP IT, THIS IS DEFINITELY FOR YOU.
--here is why, this is a great operating system when all the drivers are compatible with it. Of course if your system came with XP on it, all the drivers are pre-installed and thus compatible.
--for those not on the technical side, your computer will be more reliable with XP on it because it doesn't crash nearly as often as 98 or ME.
--it is pretty user friendly in that it doesn't require that you have to read a huge book to learn how to use it. The tutorial in the begginning is sufficient enough to get you started and the overall use of the system is not complex.

-IF YOU HAD A PREVIOUS COMPUTER AND WANT TO UPGRADE TO XP AND YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF WINDOWS IS BASIC, STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS XP.
--here is why, if you are upgrading your computer, you'll find that a lot of your stuff that worked fine with 98 or me will not work with windows XP. You'll have to download those drivers from the internet and if your modem is not working with XP, your [messed up] because there is no way you'll be able to get onto the internet to download your drivers, unless you have a second computer and a way to transfer files from each other.
--overall it can get very complicated and fustrating to get everything to work the way it did when you had 98 or ME so it requires a fair amount of advanced knowledge to get things to work right. So unless you are comfortable with some advanced trouble shooting, stay away.

-IF YOU ARE WINDOWS SAVY, HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE, STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS XP.
--here is why, the control you have over XP is very little compared to that of 98 or ME. The whole program is like an airplane that is always on auto pilot that can't be turned off.
--I for one was frustrated with that because I like to have total control over my OS and be able to disable programs, etc that I don't want running or options that I don't need which take up a lot of memory. With XP there is very little control over that. If you try to go to system configuration and look for the start-up tab to disable programs that load on startup, it's not there, for some reason XP does not give you the option to disable those programs loading on startup. If you push ctrl-alt-del and disable them from there, once you restart windows, you'll have to do it again.
--Be prepared to have some of your favorite programs or games to not work correctly with XP, I'm sure enough has been said about that with other reviews.
--Expect some of the new drivers you do download to not fully work, ie. for example I downloaded an XP driver for my scanner's make and model from their site, XP recognized my scanner and the diagnostic on it was successful, but a couple of my art applications did not recognize it.
--many things are forced on you. XP will force you to use that dumb little MSN messenger, which starts up everytime you log onto XP. You can't easily disable it unless you get into the regedit, but good luck.
--lastly is the activation protection, which you must do within 30 days or you can no longer user it. This is the worst feature about XP because if you are like me who is consistantly upgrading your computer, it will cause a problem. I reformat my hard drive at least twice a year to clean up old junk, with XP everytime you do, you'll have to re-activate XP by calling microsoft or going online. If your computer came with XP on it, you wont have to activate it, but if you make a change to your computer (ie. hard drive, peripherals), you'll have to then activate XP. Microsoft put this in there so that people couldn't pirate XP by swapping hard drive with a computer system that doesn't requrie activation and installing XP from there and then swapping back hard drives. XP wont let you, you'll have to activate XP once you put your hard drive back in because windows will start recognizing different hardware.

Overall I gave it a low score based on my personnal experience. I didn't think it offered that much new. Sure it doesn't crash nearly as much, but the minute you try install your peripherals, you may run into problems and then XP will start crashing on you. The last straw for me was XP would not work with my RIO mp3 player. I already sacrificed a scanner and webcam not working but no one can take away my music. When I switched back to ME, life was much better because everything was compatible again and I look back at my XP experience as just a horrible nightmare. XP is not break through, most of it consist of improved media (ie. media player or movie maker) but those are just programs and can be downloaded from microsoft. The actual inner guts of XP is nothing revolutionary that requires you to consider upgrading. In a year or so, everything will be XP compatible and you most likely will be forced to upgrade but for now, stay away until all the kinks are worked out and reliable drivers become available.

-most XP incompatabilities were with USB peripherals, external hard drives, mp3 players and webcams-
-XP seemed to do well with many printers though.

Several years ago, I made the horrible mistake of upgrading my home computer from Windows 98 to Windows ME. From that point on it was nothing but trouble. I thank God that my home office is in a windowless basement room or I would have thrown my computer out of the window. Finally, after numerous crashes I came to the realization that something had to be done. Going back to Windows 98 was not an option (I had misplaced my disc long ago) so I upgraded to Windows XP.

Aside from the sticker shock, I am pretty happy with it. No longer does my computer freeze up every thirty minutes or so. Although I am sure that it has new and improved features, I am not a new and improved kind of guy- Email, some web surfing and word processing pretty well describes my computer use. For this, Windows 98 was just fine. But, time marches on. If you have Windows 98 and are doing fine, there probably no compelling reason to upgrade (I still use Windows 98 on my church computer), but if you are into video, advance graphics or the like, an upgrade would be in order.

There are two features that I appreciate. You can set up user accounts that keep people from changing your settings or reading your private correspondence. And, you are given the option to change the look of the screen to the older Windows look- I guess you cannot teach an old dog new tricks. If you have Windows ME, to not hesitate, dump the junk and buy XP, you will never regret the change.

First off, WindowsXP is by far the most stable version of Windows yet. And this is coming from a computer programmer/power user that has run every type of application known to mankind on his home computer. But while stability is important, here are the gripes I have with the product:

- The product activation. My hard drive crashed twice on my brand new computer (it was defective from day one) and I have had to re-activate XP three times now. I have never had to re-install an operating system due to a hard drive crash in my lifetime. Funny how it happens now when Microsoft tries to reduce software piracy. The fact that I can only reinstall it one more time before I've used up my activations is ridiculous. Does this company not have enough money already? Imagine having to activate EVERY piece of software you buy before using it. The computer industry would collapse and people would throw their computers out the window.

- So much for efficient operating systems. Without a top of the line system, most users won't be able to run XP. But that is after all the point isn't it? Microsoft and Intel have a good pact going where they both help each other. Microsoft creates the most bloated and demanding operating system, and Intel creates a new Pentium chip (for $700) so you can run it. A continuous cycle of profits. Of course you can always stand pat and get left behind as applications stop being written for the older versions of Windows...

- The endless advertising for Microsoft. Without a doubt, Microsoft is using XP to promote a whole host of other Microsoft products. Whether it's Outlook, Passport, Internet Explorer, or whatever the case may be, this is a truly unfair advantage to other companies.

- The childish search feature. A perfectly good search engine has been crippled and now features a silly dog animation. Whatever happened to just being able to type in a file name with wildcards and find it?

- The new start menu. Simply put, use the old one.

- Explorer. I need to sift through TWO ADDITIONAL LEVELS of garbage to get to my C drive. What a pain in the behind. And the default view for EVERY folder is tile view instead of detail view. You need to switch them one by one to detail.

- Scan Disk. It used to take about one minute, now it takes about one hour. You've gotta love that.

With that said, it does have a refreshing look. It does start up MUCH faster than older versions of Windows, and without fail, consumers will be forced to buy it eventually whether they want it or not because there is no alternative.

- Chris

This is the highly anticipated Windows OS that everyone needed to get. It truly does appear revamped in a lot of places. The desktop is less cluttered, the start menu is more organized, and there are extra things one can do with the folders they create. For example, putting a custom made picture or graphic to the folder icon itself: If you have a folder with a lot of Jimmy Buffett songs, you can put up a picture of Jimmy Buffett as the folder icon. The folders are also designed to be more picture and graphics oriented, as instead of simply using a folder to house the picture files, one can turn a it into a photo album of sorts. One can use scanners and cameras through the control panel, bypassing having to use the software that came with them.

Of course, while the operating system has a new look and new gadgets, it offers little else I'm afraid. It can't run correctly on a computer that has less than 128 megabytes of RAM. Anything less than that, and you have a computer that, very frequently, lags terribly or simply stops responding. So this OS has very little to offer to those of us who have older computers -- computers that are at least over a year and a half old. With that in mind, when the computer does cease functioning, normally one would go to ALT-CTRL-Delete to disable the program(s) causing the problem. Unfortunately, in Windows XP when this command is given, it brings a CPU usage monitor. This monitor has no special purpose, as it simply displays graphs depicting how much of the CPU is being used. Naturally, one would think that by hitting ALT-CTRL-Delete again, it would shut down the computer entirely, but instead, it pulls up another CPU usage monitor. Now you have two CPU usage monitors running simultaneously. Going through the start menu and selecting 'Turn Off Computer' doesn't help either. After that is selected, you get the usual display choices Standby, Turnoff, Reboot, or Cancel. Selecting any of those first three will simply close the selection box -- and the computer will still continue running. You can do this over and over and still get no response from the computer.

It seems that Microsoft is making quality take a back seat to everything else. It seems that they're only interested in how many more new features could be added. The more new features they add, the more people they can attract to the OS, is what I'm assuming they're thinking. Sooner or later, that's going to deter buyers altogether.

Another problem is the fact that Microsoft is all of a sudden shelling out a new operating system every 12 to 18 months. No one can keep up. Not even the third party companies who make the software and hardware for the OS. It's gotten to the point where nothing is compatible with anything else. As a matter of fact, it seems that these third party companies are taking advantage of the situation. Nowadays, when Microsoft shells out a new OS, instead making a patch available on their website, these third party companies will make you buy the entire product over again. As it stands, I've had to replace my printer and my CD burner.

Another deterrent would eventually be the 'One copy to one computer' idea -- if you have three computers, you have to buy three copies of Windows XP. We're living in an age where the majority of computer owners (myself included) have more than one computer in there home. The idea of having to spend two and three hundred dollars just to upgrade the Operating Systems on my computers makes me shudder. Not to mention having to go out and buy the new versions of these third party programs. So that's two and three-hundred dollars PLUS an additional two and three hundred dollars just to get everything upgraded, third party software and hardware replaced, and get the system in working order. What average Joe, like myself, could go out and dump four to six hundred dollars every 12 to 18 months just to keep up with the game every time Microsoft gets the notion to make a new operating system?

I remember a time when we got three years between upgrades, and that was fine with me. Listen, I've been a Microsoft supporter since Windows version 3.11 for Workgroups was a hot item, but if Microsoft continues on this route, I'm afraid I might find myself looking for other avenues like Apple or Linux.

Well, I have a pc that I bought in 2001, it came with Windows Me. I upgraded to Windows XP Home about eight months ago, give or take, and I've had no problem at all. The only problems I've had is when I upgraded to Windows SP2, the new service pack. It locked some things up and just did a few weird things, so I uninstalled it. I already had good virus protection, a good firewall, I stay completely up-to-date with Windows and Internet Explorer, etc... so for now, I feel I am already pretty secure. But, other than that XP Home had been just about perfect for me. Of course, I feel that the logoff could be a tad faster, and to me, the start could be faster too, but hey, I think most all of us want faster and faster and better, don't we?

Every program I had on PC with Windows ME before upgrading is still on my pc and still works perfectly fine. My pc and Windows XP HOme has been extremely stable, knock on wood, and personally, I am glad I upgraded and I am glad to be rid of Windows ME. Me was ok, but I did have some problems with it and I did have to reload it a few times on my pc from Feb. 2001 to first part of Feb/March 2004. Finally I decided it was time to move on to XP, that surely it couldn't be any worse. I was right.

No, XP may not be ALL THAT and a bag of chips too, may not be for everyone and their computer, BUT, it was a good move for me. I believe that on the whole it will be a good move for most people, especially if you are still running Windows 95-98, and ME. I think you'll like XP.

But, I agree with many... I don't believe that Microsoft should automatically load it on all pc's and expect you to use it. I think when it comes to spending that much money on a computer system and getting what you want... you shouldn't have to accept what they have loaded. You should be given a choice on what OS you would like to run.

Okay, for years, Windows has several colorful names (Win-duhs, Win-doze, etc...), mostly because it's stability is highly questionable. By using NTFS vs. FAT filing system for their latest O/S, Microsoft HAS improved it's stability and given users a few new features in the process! Windows XP handles a lot like a cross between all of Microsoft's platforms. Don't think it's problem-free, but it has gotten better!

1. STYLE: It does take a little bit to get used to XPs layout (especially if you've used '98 for years). If you know the shortcuts (like start button + E to access explorer) you can jump around fairly quickly. The start menu takes a little getting used to, but after you adapt, it becomes almost preferable. Still, using the "Classic" setting for the control panel is a fairly good idea if you don't like bouncing through folders. Good news also is that the defrag software is rather impressive compared to the old stuff and you don't have to run scan-disc unless you really think you need to.

2. XP is VERY versatile. It can emulate 9X, ME, 2000 and it's DOS emulation runs most my old (and I do mean OLD) games.

3. Stability in Windows XP doesn't seem to equal rock-solid... I've gotten the blue screen of death a couple of times, and with my logitech "QuickCam", if I try to update my drivers, my PC won't powerdown. Also, older peripherals are NOT XP friendly! Some printers are a pain to configure... make sure to download XP specific drivers off the vendor's web-site.

4. POWER: I have 256 megs of DDR memory... and I can tap it out. XP is a real vacuum for memory, and I wouldn't recommend it's use with anything less than 256! 512 if you can swing it!

5. UPDATES: Updates are a real pain... I accidently over-wrote my C: drive with Openlinux, and putting Windows back to it's original operating state took about eight straight hours. Not that XP is by any means that hard or take that long to load, it just takes time to find and download all the XP drivers for your hardware and restart after every program you load... over and over and over again.

NOTE: If you want dual processor support and other, more in-depth hardware/network abilities, you'll need to upgrade to XP Professional.

On the whole, I'd recommend XP. It supports a lot of new features, and is fairly versatile. Still, be aware that MS is still ironing out bugs. I think we can expect XP 2nd edition or some such very soon.

I've been using XP Home on various machines for three years, simultaneously with Linux, and it's enough time to say that XP has been excellent while Linux was just so-so.

Some of the reasons why I love Windows XP:

1. It is amazingly stable. Do you remember Windows 95/98 that were crashing several times a day? It does not happen with XP anymore. At the beginning, in 2001, the Internet Exporer was rather unstable and it had to close many times a week. Such things simply do not happen to me anymore, as a result of the updates that have been done. I am getting the blue screen roughly once a year, and it is never unexpected because I almost always do something controversial.

2. It is getting very secure. The Service Pack 2 made the XP the safest affordable operating system. You know, operating systems are not created by God, and therefore there can be holes in them. The same is true about Windows. But Microsoft is a very active company and the hotfixes are available very quickly if it is necessary. The number of bugs that have survived is very small.

3. XP is compatible with all previous software I tried - including very old-fashioned games that used to run under MS-DOS. Although XP is based on the technology of Windows NT/2000 Kernel, which was more stable, it became compatible with the systems 95/98/ME for the home users. XP also works with all modern games and other programs, as well as all external devices, that I've tried.

4. XP is very configurable. I've changed the icons of everything - every folder and every file type, as well as all the sounds. It is also very user-friendly, and international support works smoothly.

5. In the case that something goes wrong, it is still very likely that "System Restore" will save you. It's a time machine that can return all system files on your PC to a moment (checkpoint) in the past. It has been useful several times to fix various small problems with the configurations that appeared because of new programs I installed.

I bought a new computer with XP installed, and I'm not happy. There are a few improvements with XP, but it does lock up and crash randomly--most disconcerting is how much it slows down your computer. My husband is running ME on a 1.5 GH with 256ram and his computer runs much faster then my XP on a 2.2 GH with 512ram (we have the same brand & type computer/chipset). I've also found many bugs, when setting up a network, it automatically changes the network card I select to my firewire--to use the network card, I have to select the firewire! All the online prompts for novice users that can't be turned off, are very irritating to experience users. Especially since you need to be an experienced user in order to figure out all the bugs and how to install all the updates to your old software programs. From my experience and from what others have said Windows 98SE is the most stable and fastest home operating system available.
I recommend that people stay away from XP until a service pack is available to fix many of the bugs.

Round cushiony icons. Fluffy, pillowy menus and dialog boxes. Soft puppy-dog colors. Cutsie bunny rabbit style windows. "Hello Kitty" fonts.

If ever a user interface was designed by a valley girl who had far to much to drink, this is it.

With enough work, you can force the interface back to looking like a more sensible, usable, Windows 2000 interface, but then why not just buy Windows 2000?

There is no easy way to get "under the covers", it's harder than a Mac OS to do any device customization. This OS simply has NO way to easily connect to a home network, with the possible exception of a home network running XP exclusively. It is clearly made for the single computer user who not only knows nothing about what's under the interface but doesn't want to know.

Microsoft has lost their mission of making the machine easier for the user to access. With this version they've made the interface a prison wall to keep you out (maybe in?) rather than a dashboard to provide information and access.

The "ET call the mothership for authorization" is a total loser too. The home user who gets their custom hardware-based code and changes their graphics adapter without calling Mama Microsoft first (and you must call and endure the required 800 number time on hold - the web site doesn't handle "I need a new code because I'm about to change my hardware") will find themselves with a vegged out computer, requiring that they have to put the original hardware back in or reinstall from scratch. What happens if the original hardware goes bad and an exact replacement is no longer available? You DID write that Microsoft 800 number down where you can find it, didn't you?

I received this OS already installed on a computer I purchased online. I gave it my best shot for at least four hours, and did another 10 hours of research about it online. I then formatted my fixed disk and installed Windows 2000.

I have worked with, both professionally and as a home user, with Windows286, Windows 3.0, Windows 3.1, Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows 2000. Each has had it's good and bad points, but each was always an improvement over the previous OS. Not so here. This is a step backwards from 2000.

The distribution CD is really pretty with that "Windows" hologram on the face of it. I may make it into a clock.

Put simply, it's hard for me to not get excited about Windows XP.
Why Windows XP Is Important?
Each Windows release has a theme, a reason for it to exist. Windows 95, of course, moved the DOS/Windows world to the 32-bit space, and brought with it a major change to the Windows user interface. Not coincidentally, Windows NT 4.0 was about moving the Windows 95 user interface to the NT world. Windows 98 was a small release designed to add bug fixes and Internet integration, along with new device support. Windows 98 SE, of course, was an even smaller upgrade with the same mission as its predecessor: Add new Internet features, improve stability, and support new hardware. Windows 2000, an NT product, brought a new level of sophistication and compatibility to the business world. And Windows Me--the final 9x product--added stability and digital media features to Microsoft's new consumer line.
Windows XP is also about choice. Contrary to reports that Windows XP was exclusionary, this OS makes it easier for users to decide which applications will work with which tasks. For example, you could use AOL and Netscape for Web and email, and then use Kodak's digital camera software to acquire digital photos, if you wanted. So you don't have to use what Microsoft provides. But for the vast majority of users, what Microsoft does provide in the box is not only sufficient, but actually quite good. That's because the company really thought through each experience end-to-end: What happens when the user plugs in a digital camera? Or a camcorder? It's all in there, and it's about what real users want to do with their computers.
And finally, Windows XP is important because it signals the end of the old DOS/Windows product line. Windows XP is based on a new version of the NT/2000 kernel, dubbed the Windows Engine, which brings the reliability of Microsoft's industrial strength business platform to home users for the first time. That it does so without sacrificing application and hardware compatibility is really the most impressive thing about this release. Microsoft has finally come through on its promise to integrate its consumer and business OS products, and the result is far better than I would have anticipated just a year ago.
Of course, the most obvious change in Windows XP is its new user interface, code-named Luna. Early in the development of Windows XP, Microsoft decided that it would move from the monolithic Explorer shell--first introduced in Windows 95--to a new UI that would be more extensible and easier to upgrade later. This new shell allows the user to provide various Visual Styles to the OS, each giving a unique look and feel, while utilizing users' same basic skill set from the old UI.
Other new shell features include an integrated CD burning capability, which will record (or "burn") audio and data CDs as fast as is possible with your hardware; and the ClearType display enhancement technology for LCD displays (laptops and flat panel monitors only). Both are most welcome additions.
In Conclusions Windows XP is a must-have upgrade for any individual using any version of Windows. I wouldn't recommend that any corporation halt an ongoing Windows 2000 rollout for XP, but for virtually everyone else, it's a no-brainer. It is far more reliable and stable than Windows 9x, while offering a similar level of software and device compatibility. Compared to Windows NT/2000, XP offers a stunning new interface with various integrated experiences, but it's also more reliable, and far more compatible. And features like Remote Desktop, Remote Assistance, and Windows Messenger will make Windows XP indispensable to many current 2000 users as well. Regardless of how you get it, Windows XP is a cause for celebration. For the hundreds of millions of people mired in the unstable hell of Windows 9x, Windows XP is a clean slate, your entry into a new world of reliability and stability. For Windows 2000 users, the upgrade is less dramatic, but still worthwhile, especially for the mobility and digital media features. And for the Mac OS X and Linux platforms, where innovation equates to copying the feature set of Windows, the bar has been raised yet again, this time to great heights. Surely, those platforms will catch up someday. But in the meantime, we've got the best solution right here, right now.