Windows XP without the pain!

Windows XP Home edition with Service Pack 2 is the same Windows XP Home released three years ago, patched with Service Pack 2 applied, for better or for worse.

The first thing that must be said is that you do NOT need to purchase Windows XP Home if you don't have Service Pack 2. You can download the service pack, along with other updates, from http://www.windowsupdate.com for free.

That said, for people who haven't yet upgraded to Windows XP, Service Pack 2 represents a better time than ever to do so. Windows XP contains a few important additions which make it much easier, more efficient, and safer than previous versions of windows.

The interface has been completely re conceptualized. Interface improvements include a new skinnable interface, a redesigned start menu, and a variety of small but substantial tweaks, such as grouping of similar windows, simplified configuration utilities, and other tweaks. If you're coming from Windows NT/2000, it comes with msconfig, a utility previously only available in Windows 95/98/ME. If you're coming from Windows 95/98/ME, you'll find a plethora of new utilities and features, from simplified file sharing, to multiple logins, to a vastly improved task manager, which make the switch worthwhile.

Under the hood, there are important improvements over Windows NT/2000 and Windows 95/98/ME as well. Besides being much more stable than Windows 95/98/ME in terms of Operating System tasks, and more forgiving of misbehaving programs than NT/2000, and having compatiblity features which allow programs that don't run in NT/2000 to run fine in XP, the MS-DOS subsystem has been upgraded with sound support, NTFS file system support is faster than ever before, and various system recovery functions exist to allow you to roll back the operating system to a previous known working setup. Those upgrading from Windows 95/98/ME will be pleased to discover that file compression is back, this time as a robust subsystem of NTFS -- you can choose which files to compress, you can choose which drives to compress, and unlike the Drivespace utility, you can compress drives of any size Windows itself supports -- no more 2GB limits on compressed drives, and the compression itself is much more robust, so you don't have to worry about losing everything if your machine gets unplugged.

All that being said, the extra features do drain system resources. Windows XP by default will use more system resources than any version of Windows before it, due in large part to the skinning, various window effects, and the operating system recovery tools working in the background. These can be disabled, however, for a system which uses comparable resources to Windows 2000, though not Windows 95/98/ME. There are also some Windows 95/98/ME programs that will outright refuse to run in Windows XP, and MS-DOS programs have been known to have massive problems running under Windows NT/2000/XP. That said, most of those applications are very old, and they've all but disappeared from most people's memory.

Windows XP has a horrible track record with regards to security, and it's well earned -- a default install of Windows XP without Service Pack 2 can be hacked and infected with a virus within minutes of being started up -- even faster than it can take to download the patches! Luckily, Service Pack 2 has refined the Windows Firewall to the point where it's easily usable in day-to-day use. If an application which doesn't have access to the Internet tries to get on-line, you're prompted whether to give it access. This is perfect for keeping everything secure, even if it can be a little irritating at first adding all the programs you use! In exchange for a perfectly safe Internet experience, with the other addition of features to Internet Explorer to block pop ups and keep you secure, Windows XP Service Pack 2 is very likely one the most secure Windows out of the box yet.

Ultimately, the reasons for upgrading to a new OS are complicated. Like any major upgrade, you should consider the pros and cons, and also take into account the risks -- the vast majority of Operating upgrades go fine, but upgrading a system that has been running for years on Windows 95/98/ME to Windows XP, or even Windows 2000 to Windows XP, can cause serious issues, and you must keep the risks up upgrading in mind as well as the benefits.