Microsoft eases switch to XP

zdnet.com. ^ | February 25, 2003

[MeekOneGOP]

Microsoft eases switch to XP
CNET News.com
February 25, 2003, 4:57 AM PT
URL: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-985825.html

Microsoft, hoping to drive greater adoption of its Windows XP operating system, will on Tuesday unveil a new central Web site with revamped tools to help IT administrators make the switch.

The new Desktop Center site includes an updated version of the Windows XP Application Compatibility Toolkit, a set of tools Microsoft devised to assess whether current applications of businesses will work under Windows XP Professional, Microsoft's latest operating system for corporate customers.

Rogers Weed, corporate vice president of Windows product management at Microsoft, said the tool usually helps IT administrators determine that they need to make minimal changes to their existing software roster to run XP.

"A lot of people don't realize that XP is significantly more compatible (with existing applications)," Weed said. "In general, organizations will find 95 percent or more of their apps are fine."

The Desktop Center site also has multiple tools for dealing with the 5 percent of applications that don't make the cut. "We find there are some generic fixes that can address a broad class of the problems we see, and there are tools in the kit to help apply those," Weed said.

Paul DeGroot, an analyst for research firm Directions on Microsoft, said software compatibility has been a minor issue in the tepid pace of corporate adoption of Windows XP.

"XP runs a lot of stuff that Windows 2000 didn't," he said. "There are particular applications you come across where compatibility is an issue, but I don't think it's a show-stopper for Windows XP."

Hardware compatibility has been much more of a factor, DeGroot said. Windows XP requires significantly more memory and other resources than Windows 2000, and many businesses are trying to stretch PC upgrades they made three years ago in anticipation of Y2K. "Large customers hate to go and shake things up on the desktop," he said. "If people are working fine with Windows 2000, they're going to leave them be," said DeGroot.

The Desktop Center site also includes a new version of Microsoft's Baseline Security Analyzer, a tool that checks corporate desktops for the presence of current software updates and patches and for configuration errors that could pose risks.

"We keep investing in tools and information to help customers with deployment," Weed said. "We feel really good about the business case for upgrading to Windows XP, and we want to give customers tools that help them see those advantages."

[Crusher138]

XP has a "feature" that allows you to "go back" to a previous state in case of emergency. It basically records all changes made to your computer so you can undo them.

This can cause a large file to bloat onto your hard drive and/or cause slow downs when trying to keep up with the latest changes to your computer after 6 months or so.

Since I won't put XP on any of my machines, I can't walk you through turning this feature off, but I am sure one of our XP lovers can. As you turn it off it will tell you that you will loose all of your history files. GREAT! Kill the sucker and reboot.

If you really want to, you can turn it back on after you reboot, but you will have to repeat the above every six months or so.

[Bush2000]

Maybe you should simply install the service pack rather than ranting...

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks. I'm glad I posted this article so I can get feedback like yours and others too.

Good to hear you are doing fine with the XP. I've had mine for a week today...

[Bush2000]

VC6 service pack 5 can be installed from http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/downloads/VisualStudio6.asp. Are you sure you're not using VS.NET?

[Bush2000]

But the base OS is immensely stable.

Most OS kernels are immensely stable. It's when you start adding device drivers that things get really interesting (and unstable) ...

[MissTargets]

Hey that's cool! We have to get a Multiplayer game going sometime.
It's a great game, and sure has helped past the time, on these cold, winter, Ohio nights.
I even have a new video card ordered...lol

That's a great pic of you, Xenalyte.

[mrb1960]

I didn't know there was a Service Pack 4.2. When did it come out and what does it do?

[dennisw]

I was just pulling your leg. #3 is the latest service pack.

[mrb1960]

Don't do that to me, here I thought I missed something. It's not nice to pull an older mans leg.

:-((

[Quilla]

Thank you all for your invaluable assistance. I am proud to report that after following much of the advice given and adding an additional 256 meg of RAM our XP slow performance problem is solved! And to think, my engineer in the next office thinks I fixed his computer's problems all by myself! LOL. Again, thank you all.

[buffer]

Glad your issue is resloved and to be of help!

And to think, my engineer in the next office thinks I fixed his computer's problems all by myself! LOL.

Gut busting LOL!