Windows XP

Windows XP

Development of Windows XP began in the late 1990s under the "Neptune" codename, built on the Windows NT kernel and explicitly intended for mainstream consumer use. An updated version of Windows 2000, codenamed "Odyssey", was also initially planned for the business market. Both projects were scrapped and merged in January 2000 in favor of a single OS codenamed "Whistler", which would serve as a single platform for both consumer and business markets. As a result, Windows XP is the first consumer edition of Windows not based on theWindows 95 kernel orMS-DOS.

Upon its release, Windows XP received critical acclaim, noting increased performance and stability (especially compared to Windows Me), a more intuitive user interface, improved hardware support, and expanded multimedia capabilities. However, some criticisms of Windows XP were its security issues at launch, and many people believed theirproduct activation and anti-piracy schemes had gone too far. Windows XP and its server counterpartWindows Server 2003 were succeeded byWindows Vista andWindows Server 2008, released in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Mainstream support for Windows XP ended on April 14, 2009, and extended support ended on April 8, 2014.Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, based on an embedded version of Windows XP Professional, was the last supported version of Windows based on the Windows XP codebase, and received security updates until April 2019. Prior to Windows XP's end of support date, unofficial methods were made available to apply the updates to other editions of Windows XP, which Microsoft discouraged, citing compatibility issues.

As of September 2022, the majority of PCs in some countries (such asArmenia) still appeared to be running on Windows XP,^[3] with just 0.39% of Windows PCs globally and 0.1% of all devices across all platforms running the operating system.^[4]

Description[]

Windows XP was the firstWindows NT kernel-based OS designed for both the business and general type consumer markets, and was much more stable than theWindows 9x line due to the improved codebase (heavily based onWindows 2000). It was also the first version of Windows to implementproduct activation to prevent piracy. Windows XP was also a major advance from theMS-DOS based versions of Windows in security, stability, and efficiency due to its use of Windows NT. Windows XP runs on32-bit (i386/x86),64-bit (amd64/x64), and Itanium (ia64) machines.

Development[]

Main article:Development of Windows XP

In the late 1990s, development of a new OS began, and during this time it was codenamed "Neptune". Neptune was based on theWindows NT kernel, but was made specifically for home users. An updated version of Windows 2000 called "Odyssey" was also planned for the business market. However, in January 2000, both projects were shelved in favor of a single OS codenamed "Whistler", which would serve as a single platform for both home consumers and businesses alike. On February 5, 2001, Microsoft announced that "Whistler" would be officially named Windows XP and that “Office 10” would becomeOffice XP, with "XP" representing "eXPerience".^[5]

Release[]

In June 2001, Microsoft indicated that it was planning to spend at least US$1 billion on marketing and promoting Windows XP, in conjunction with Intel and other PC makers.^[6] The theme of the campaign, "Yes You Can", was designed to emphasize the platform's overall capabilities. Microsoft had originally planned to use the slogan "Prepare to Fly", but it was replaced because of sensitivity issues in the wake of the September 11 attacks.^[7]

New and updated features[]

Main article:Features new to Windows XP

User interface[]

While retaining some similarities to previous versions, Windows XP's interface was overhauled with a new visual appearance, with an increased use of alpha compositing effects, drop shadows, and "visual styles", which completely changed the appearance of the operating system. The number of effects enabled is determined by the operating system based on the computer's processing power, and can be enabled or disabled on a case-by-case basis. XP also addedClearType, a new subpixel rendering system designed to improve the appearance of fonts on liquid-crystal displays. A new set of system icons was also introduced. The default wallpaper,Bliss, is a photo of a landscape in the Napa Valley outside Napa, California, with rolling green hills and a blue sky with stratocumulus and cirrus clouds.

The Start menu received its first major overhaul in XP, switching to a two-column layout with the ability to list, pin, and display frequently used applications, recently opened documents, and the traditional cascading "All Programs" menu. Thetaskbar can now group windows opened by a single application into one taskbar button, with a pop-up menu listing the individual windows. The notification area also hides "inactive" icons by default. A "common tasks" list was added, andWindows Explorer's sidebar was updated to use a new task-based design with lists of common actions; the tasks displayed are contextually relevant to the type of content in a folder (e.g., a folder with music displays offers to play all the files in the folder, or burn them to a CD).

Fast user switching allows additional users to log into a Windows XP machine without existing users having to close their programs and log out. Although only one user at a time can use the console (i.e., monitor, keyboard, and mouse), previous users can resume their session once they regain control of the console.Service Pack 2 andService Pack 3 also introduced new features to Windows XP post-release, including theWindows Security Center,Bluetooth support, Data Execution Prevention,Windows Firewall, and support for SDHC cards that are larger than 4 GB and up to 32 GB.

Infrastructure[]

Windows XP usesprefetching to improve startup and application launch times. It also became possible to revert the installation of an updated device driver, should the updated device driver produce undesirable results.

A copy protection system known asWindows Product Activation was introduced with Windows XP and its server counterpart,Windows Server 2003. All non-enterprise (Volume Licensing) Windows licenses must be tied to a unique ID generated using information from the computer hardware, transmitted either via the internet or a telephone hotline. If Windows is not activated within 30 days of installation, the OS will cease to function until it is activated. Windows also periodically verifies the hardware to check for changes. If significant hardware changes are detected, the activation is voided, and Windows must be reactivated.

Networking and internet functionality[]

Windows XP was originally bundled withInternet Explorer 6,Outlook Express 6,Windows Messenger, andMSN Explorer. New networking features were also added, including Internet Connection Firewall,Internet Connection Sharing integration with UPnP, NAT traversal APIs, Quality of Service features, IPv6 and Teredo tunneling,Background Intelligent Transfer Service, extended fax features, network bridging, peer-to-peer networking, support for most DSL modems,IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) connections with auto configuration and roaming,TAPI, and networking over FireWire.Remote Assistance andRemote Desktop were also added, which allow users to connect to a computer running Windows XP from across a network or the Internet and access their applications, files, printers, and devices, or request help. Improvements were also made toIntelliMirror features such asOffline Files, roaming user profiles, and folder redirection.

Backward compatibility[]

To enable running software that targets or locks out specific versions of Windows, "Compatibility mode" was added. It allows pretending a selected earlier version of Windows to software, starting with Windows 95. This feature was first introduced inWindows 2000 Service Pack 2, released five months before the release of Windows XP, and was backported from prerelease Windows XP builds. Unlike with Windows XP, however, it was hidden from the operating system as it was not enabled by default and had to be manually activated through the Register Server utility. It was also only available to administrator users. Windows XP has this feature activated out of the box and also grants it to regular users.

Other features[]

• Improved application compatibility and shims compared to Windows 2000.
• DirectX 8.1, upgradeable to DirectX 9.0c
• Several new features inWindows Explorer, including task panes, thumbnails, and the option to view photos as a slideshow
• Improved imaging features such asWindows Picture and Fax Viewer
• Faster start-up (because of improvedPrefetch), logon, logoff, hibernation, and application launch sequences.
• Numerous improvements to increase the system reliability, such as improvedSystem Restore, Automated System Recovery, and driver reliability improvements through Device Driver Rollback.
• Hardware support improvements, such as FireWire 800, and improvements to multi-monitor support under the name "DualView"
• Fast user switching
• TheClearType font rendering mechanism, which is designed to improve text readability on liquid-crystal display (LCD) and similar monitors, especially laptops.
• Side-by-side assemblies and registration freeCOM
• General improvements to international support, such as more locales, languages, and scripts,Multilingual User Interface (MUI) support in Terminal Services, improved Input Method Editors, and National Language Support.

Removed features[]

Main article:List of features removed in Windows XP

Some of the programs and features that were part of the previous versions of Windows did not make it to Windows XP. VariousMS-DOS commands that were available in itsWindows 9x predecessor were removed, as were thePOSIX andOS/2 subsystems.

In networking, NetBEUI, NWLink, and NetDDE were deprecated and not installed by default. Plug-and-play incompatible communication devices (like modems and network interface cards) were no longer supported.

Later service packs, from Service Pack 2 onwards, would gradually remove features from Windows XP, such as support for TCP half-open connections, theProgram Manager, and theAddress bar toolbar option on the taskbar. The boot screens for all editions of Windows XP have also been unified by Service Pack 2 onwards, where the blue progress bar is used for all editions, including Home Edition (which previously used a green progress bar in Service Pack 1 and prior), and the SKU and copyright years on the boot screen were removed.

Support lifecycle[]

Support for the original release of Windows XP (without a service pack) ended on August 30, 2005. Both Windows XP Service Pack 1 and 1a were retired on October 10, 2006, and bothWindows 2000 andWindows XP SP2 reached their end of support on July 13, 2010. The company stopped general licensing of Windows XP to OEMs and terminated retail sales of the operating system on June 30, 2008, 17 months after the release of Windows Vista. However, an exception was announced on April 3, 2008, for OEMs producing what it defined as "ultra low-cost personal computers", particularly netbooks, until one year after the availability ofWindows 7 on October 22, 2009. Analysts felt that the move was primarily intended to compete against Linux-based netbooks, although Microsoft's Kevin Hutz stated that the decision was due to apparent market demand for low-end computers with Windows.

Variants of Windows XP for embedded systems have different support policies: Windows XP Embedded SP3 and Windows Embedded for Point of Service SP3 were supported until January and April 2016, respectively. Windows Embedded Standard 2009, which was succeeded byWindows Embedded Standard 7, andWindows Embedded POSReady 2009, which was succeeded byWindows Embedded POSReady 7, were supported until January and April 2019, respectively. These updates, while intended for the embedded editions, could also be downloaded on standard Windows XP with a registry hack, which enabled unofficial patches until April 2019. However, Microsoft advised Windows XP users against installing these fixes, citing incompatibility issues.

End of support[]

On April 14, 2009, the main Windows XP exited mainstream support and entered the extended support phase. Microsoft continued to provide security updates every month for Windows XP; however, free technical support, warranty claims, and design changes were no longer offered. Extended support for the main version ended on April 8, 2014, over 12 years after the release of Windows XP; normally, Microsoft products have a support life cycle of only 10 years. Beyond the final security updates released on April 8 for the main version, no more security patches or support information are provided for XP free of charge; "critical patches" will still be created and made available only to customers subscribing to a paid "Custom Support" plan. As it is a Windows component, all versions of Internet Explorer for Windows XP also became unsupported.

In January 2014, it was estimated that more than 95% of the 3 million automated teller machines in the world were still running Windows XP (which largely replaced IBM'sOS/2 as the predominant operating system on ATMs); ATMs have an average lifecycle of between seven and ten years, but some have had lifecycles as long as 15. Plans were being made by several ATM vendors and their customers to migrate to Windows 7-based systems over the course of 2014, while vendors have also considered the possibility of using Linux-based platforms in the future to give them more flexibility for support lifecycles, and the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) has since endorsedWindows 10 as a further replacement. However, ATMs typically run the embedded variant of Windows XP, which was supported through January 2016. As of May 2017, around 60% of the 220,000 ATMs in India still run Windows XP.

Furthermore, at least 49% of all computers in China still ran XP at the beginning of 2014. These holdouts were influenced by several factors; prices of genuine copies of later versions of Windows in the country are high, while Ni Guangnan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences warned that Windows 8 could allegedly expose users to surveillance by the United States government, and the Chinese government banned the purchase of Windows 8 products for government use in May 2014 in protest of Microsoft's inability to provide "guaranteed" support. The government also had concerns that the impending end of support could affect its anti-piracy initiatives with Microsoft, as users would simply pirate newer versions rather than purchasing them legally. As such, government officials formally requested that Microsoft extend the support period for XP for these reasons. While Microsoft did not comply with their requests, a number of major Chinese software developers, such as Lenovo, Kingsoft, and Tencent, will provide free support and resources for Chinese users migrating from XP. Several governments, in particular those of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, elected to negotiate "Custom Support" plans with Microsoft for their continued, internal use of Windows XP; the British government's deal lasted for a year, and also covered support forOffice 2003 (which reached end-of-life the same day) and cost £5.5 million.

On March 8, 2014, Microsoft deployed an update for XP that, on the 8th of each month, displays a pop-up notification to remind users about the end of support; however, these notifications may be disabled by the user. Microsoft also partnered with Laplink to provide a special "express" version of its PCmover software to help users migrate files and settings from XP to a computer with a newer version of Windows.

Despite the approaching end of support of the main version, there were still notable holdouts that had not migrated past XP; many users elected to remain on XP because of the poor reception ofWindows Vista, sales of newer PCs with newer versions of Windows declined because of the Great Recession and the effects of Vista, and deployments of new versions of Windows in enterprise environments require a large amount of planning, which includes testing applications for compatibility (especially those that are dependent on Internet Explorer 6, which is not compatible with newer versions of Windows). Major security software vendors (including Microsoft itself) planned to continue offering support and definitions for Windows XP past the end of support to varying extents, along with the developers of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera web browsers; despite these measures, critics similarly argued that users should eventually migrate from XP to a supported platform.

The United States' Computer Emergency Readiness Team released an alert in March 2014 advising users of the impending end of support, and informing them that using XP after April 8 may prevent them from meeting US government information security requirements. Microsoft continued to provideSecurity Essentials virus definitions and updates for itsMalicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) for XP until July 14, 2015. As the end of extended support approached, Microsoft began to increasingly urge XP customers to migrate to newer versions such as Windows 7 or 8 in the interest of security, suggesting that attackers could reverse engineer security patches for newer versions of Windows and use them to target equivalent vulnerabilities in XP. Windows XP is remotely exploitable due to numerous security holes that were discovered after Microsoft stopped supporting it.

Similarly, specialized devices that run XP, particularly medical devices, must have any revisions to their software—even security updates for the underlying operating system—approved by relevant regulators before they can be released. For this reason, manufacturers often did not allow any updates to devices' operating systems, leaving them open to security exploits and malware.

Despite the end of support for the main version, Microsoft has released three emergency security updates for the operating system to patch major security vulnerabilities:

• A patch released in May 2014 to address recently discovered vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer 6 through 11 on all versions of Windows.
• A patch released in May 2017 to address a vulnerability that was being leveraged by the WannaCry ransomware attack.
• A patch released in May 2019 to address a critical code execution vulnerability inRemote Desktop Services, which can be exploited similarly to the WannaCry vulnerability.

Researchers reported in August 2019 that Windows 10 users may be at risk for "critical" system compromise because of design flaws of hardware device drivers from multiple providers. In the same month, computer experts reported that the BlueKeep security vulnerability, CVE-2019-0708, which potentially affects older unpatched Microsoft Windows versions via the program'sRemote Desktop Protocol, allowing for the possibility of remote code execution, may now include related flaws, collectively named DejaBlue, affecting newer Windows versions (i.e.,Windows 7 and all recent versions) as well. In addition, experts reported a Microsoft security vulnerability, CVE-2019-1162, based on legacy code involving Microsoft CTF and ctfmon (ctfmon.exe), that affects all Windows versions from the older Windows XP version to the most recent Windows 10 versions; a patch to correct the flaw is currently available.

Microsoft announced in July 2019 that the Microsoft Internet Games services on Windows XP and Windows Me would end on July 31, 2019 (and for Windows 7 on January 22, 2020).

In 2020, Microsoft announced that it would disable the Windows Update service for SHA-1 endpoints for older Windows versions. Since Windows XP did not get an update for SHA-2, Windows Update Services are no longer available on the OS as of late July 2020. As of March 2024, many of the old updates for Windows XP are available on theMicrosoft Update Catalog. A third-party tool named Legacy Update allows previously released updates for Windows XP to be installed from the Update Catalog.

Hardware limitations[]

Physical memory limits[]

The maximum amount of RAM that Windows XP can support varies depending on the product edition and the processor architecture. All 32-bit editions of XP support up to 4 GB, except the Windows XP Starter edition, which supports up to 512 MB of RAM. The 64-bit editions support up to 128 GB.

Processor limits[]

The maximum number of physical processors that Windows XP supports is: 1 for Starter Edition, Home Edition, Media Center Edition, and Tablet PC Edition; and 2 for Professional.

The maximum number of logical processors that Windows XP supports is: 32 for 32-bit (x86-32) and 64 for 64-bit (x86-64).

Upgradeability[]

Several Windows XP components are upgradable to the latest versions, which include new versions introduced in later versions of Windows, and other major Microsoft applications are available. These latest versions for Windows XP include:

• ActiveSync 4.5
• DirectX 9.0c (June 7, 2010, Redistributable)
• Internet Explorer 8
• Windows Media Format Runtime andWindows Media Player 11
• Windows Virtual PC 2007 SP1
• .NET Framework 4.0
• Visual Studio 2010
• Windows Script Host 5.7
• Windows Installer 4.5
• Microsoft NetMeeting 3.02
• Windows Sidebar
• Windows Defender
• Office 2010 SP2
• TheWindows Services for UNIX subsystem can be installed to allow certain Unix-based applications to run on the operating system.

Reception[]

Upon its release, Windows XP received mostly positive reviews from critics. Critics generally noted the increased performance of Windows XP, especially in comparison toWindows Me. They also reported that it had a more intuitive user interface, improved hardware support, and expanded multimedia capabilities. However, it was not free from criticism at the time of its release. Many users had criticized the new licensing model and the product activation system, as well as its many security flaws and zero-days upon its release. However, after Service Pack 2 was released, Windows XP received critical acclaim from many users and critics. It is estimated that over 400 million copies of Windows XP were sold during its first five years of availability, and that at least one billion copies were sold by April 2014.

Windows XP was an extremely popular operating system and remained popular even after the release of newer versions, particularly due to the poor reception of its successor,Windows Vista.Windows 7 finally took over XP's market share at the end of 2011 only to have it taken over by Windows 10 just 6 years later compared to XP's 10 years. Part of its popularity was also due to its extremely minimal system requirements; Windows XP can start on 32 MB of RAM (although 64 MB was the recommended minimum), and run smoothly with just 128 MB of RAM. Windows XP has the second most variants of any Microsoft operating system ever (just behind Windows 7). Windows XP was so popular that its default background, the 1996 photographBliss, became the most viewed photograph in the world after Windows XP release.

Legacy[]

Windows XP is still considered by many to be the be the greatest operating system ever made. The failure of Vista caused many to revert back to XP. after the failure of windows 8, XP still had significant marketshare. The Windows XP startup and Error sound has also became an internet meme circulating around popular sites including YouTube and TikTok. Some people still use Windows XP to this day including the United States Military, Doctors, and numerous police forces because some features simply will not work on any newer Windows OS. The default wallpaper “Bliss” is by far the most viewed image on the internet. Windows XP was the first operating system that focused on user experience. The colorful interface was inviting, making computers more approachable for the average user.

Gallery[]

Whistler booting screen; Whistler one of the names for Windows XP while in development.

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition logo screen.

Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition logo screen.

Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Intel Itanium) boot screen.

Bootup on first time use.

Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (AMD64) boot screen.

Windows XP Media Center Edition logo screen.

Windows logo screen in all versions after installing SP2.

Internet Explorer 6 running on Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

Windows XP login screen.

Windows XP My Computer screen.

Windows Media Player 8.0 screenshot.

XP "Luna" Windows Style theme.

XP "Classic Windows" theme.

"Energy Blue" theme.

"Energy Blue" XP Media Center theme Start Menu.

Windows XP Display Properties window

Windows XP Control Panel

Set Program Access and Defaults program screen.

Windows Security Center program screen.

The Calculator as seen in Windows XP.

TheTaskbar as seen in Windows XP Professional

The default desktop for Windows XP Professional, featuring theBliss background.

A Windows XP error message generated byAtom Smasher.

A Hong Kong rail transport screen operating on Windows XP.

Graphics elements[]

Taskbar sheet

References[]

External links[]

• Windows XP at Microsoft (archived 2001-10-29)
  • Windows XP support has ended at Microsoft Support
• Windows XP at Wikipedia