General Considerations


So much for the hype about Windows XP, all its new features, and some of the details of its design and architecture you learned about in Chapter 1, "Introducing Windows XP Professional." So, the question at this point is, "Are you really going to install it?" If you are, you should go ahead and read this chapter and the next one. In this chapter, I'll coach you on preparing for the installation and checking your hardware and software requirements; then I'll discuss some compatibility issues that might affect your product-purchasing decisions. The next chapter covers more specific installation issues, such as choosing disk formats, upgrading versus installing fresh, and dual-booting. I'll also walk you through the setup procedure.

Of course, if Windows XP Professional is already installed on your PC, you can probably skip Chapter 3, "Installing Windows XP Professional." You should at least, however, take a brief look at this one because it includes some discussion that might affect software and hardware installation decisions you might make when using Windows XP Professional in the future. Understanding what you can do with, and shouldn't expect from, an operating system is always good background material when you use as complex a tool as a computer on a regular basis. Pay particular attention to the section about RAM and hard disk upgrades, and how to research Hardware Compatibility and find the Windows XP-approved applications list on the Windows Catalog site.

As you'll learn in the next chapter, the Windows XP Setup program automatically checks your hardware and software and reports any potential conflicts. Using it is one way to find out whether your system is ready for prime time. It can be annoying, however, to find out something is amiss at midnight when you're doing an installation, especially when you could have purchased RAM or some other installation prerequisite the previous day when you were out at the computer store. Likewise, you don't want to be technically capable of running Windows XP Professional only to experience disappointing performance. To help you prevent such calamity or surprise, the first part of this chapter will cover hardware compatibility issues.

In general, I'll say this about Windows XP hardware compatibility. Microsoft's goal was for 90 percent of systems sold since January 2000 to have a "positive upgrade experience." Microsoft defines a positive upgrade experience as everything working without any issues at all. This is a significantly high figure. The remaining ten percent may have a speed bump along the way, not necessarily a computer that doesn't boot. Generally, these speed bumps are devices in, or attached to, your PC that might not have a driver that tells Windows XP how to use it; or maybe there's an application or two on your system that doesn't run.



Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Special Edition Using Microsoft Windows XP Professional (3rd Edition)
ISBN: 0789732807
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 450

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