Windows XP has been out of mainstream support since April 2009 and Microsoft no longer offers any software support. Despite this, it is still a popular operating system.
Upon release, XP received praise from users and critics alike for its performance and ease of use. It also introduced several innovations, including a new user interface and error reporting.
Features
XP prioritizes users’ needs by enabling them to switch between different user accounts or log off their computer with a single click. This feature aims to prevent the loss of data and applications when switching between users. It also includes System Restore, which memorizes the state of system files before any installation or hardware change, allowing them to be “rolled back” to their original, healthy condition.
Unlike previous versions of Windows, XP offers simultaneous multithreading (hyperthreading) support for a processor. This improves the operating speed of a computer, reduces software crashes and allows more programs to be run simultaneously.
To help Windows XP boot in 30 seconds or less, it includes the Logical Prefetcher which tracks frequently accessed pages and stores them on disk for faster access. Other features include kernel page write protection that limits the number of writes that can be made to a memory area, and supports large page swaps for improved address translation performance.
Installation
Before you begin the installation process, it is recommended that you back up anything of value on the computer you are installing Windows XP on. If you do not do this, everything on the computer will be erased during the installation process. This includes Desktop, Favorites and My Documents folders in any other user’s accounts.
Once the program is ready to install Windows XP, it will ask if you want to protect your PC by turning on Automatic Updates now. It is recommended that you choose this option, as it will save you a lot of time and problems later on when you are trying to use your computer.
After you choose the options, the setup program will start to format the drive and copy the files for Windows XP onto it. This will take several minutes, depending on the size of the drive and the speed of your computer. When the program is finished, it will restart your computer.
Compatibility
With technology changing so rapidly, Microsoft had a hard time keeping up. The OS they were using at the time, MS-DOS, was starting to become outdated. The development of XP started in the late 1990’s with two separate projects, one for consumers and another for business, codenamed Neptune and Odyssey.
Upon release, XP received critical acclaim for improved performance and stability (especially compared to Windows ME), a more intuitive user interface, and better hardware support. It also introduced several new features, many of which we still use today.
Among these was program compatibility, which allows a user to run software that was built for a previous version of Windows. This feature is now standard in modern operating systems. This was a big advantage for those who had programs that needed XP to work properly.
Security
Two decades after its release, windows xp continues to run on many computers. It also remains the operating system of choice for some hardware and software that cannot be upgraded to a newer version, including CAD applications used by many engineering companies.
Until April of this year, Microsoft offered free or paid assisted support options and online technical content updates for XP. However, after this date security updates will no longer be available to address vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malware.
Users of XP can still use the Microsoft tool EMET to backport some of the security features introduced in later versions of Windows to XP. This includes Data Execution Prevention and Structured Exception Handler Overwrite Protection, which help to prevent buffer overflow exploits. Other security measures that can be taken include reducing the number of programs that run at startup, limiting the scope of autorun functions and hardening the firewall.