Comparing Windows Operating Systems

Windows XP represents the merger of two different Windows operating system product lines. One of these lines is based on the Windows 9x kernel and consists of Windows 95, 98, and Me operation systems. The other line is based on the Windows NT kernel and includes Windows NT 4, 2000, and both versions of Windows XP.

Microsoft would have liked to do away with the Windows 9x family of operating systems with the introduction of Windows NT 4.0. However, this was not possible. The Windows NT operating system represented an entirely new way of thinking. It introduced a new and highly secure file system known as the NTFS. It was designed from the ground up to provide high levels of security, performance, and stability. Unfortunately, achieving these goals meant abandoning many of the features supported by the Windows 9x line of operating systems. For example, applications were restricted from directly accessing hardware resources. Windows NT effectively isolates each application from every other application and from the computer's hardware. This design provided Windows NT with the ability to tightly control applications and prevent them from interfering with each other or the operating system. As a result, many applications, especially games, were unable to run on Windows NT. This was true of many DOS, Windows 3x, and 9x applications, all of which ran just fine on computers running Windows 9x.

Compatibility

The majority of home users and a large number of corporate users are heavily invested in applications and legacy hardware that until now were only supported by the Windows 9x kernel. As a result, many application and games developers are not eager to abandon the Windows 9x platform that was very profitable for them. So although there is no question that Windows NT 4.0 and 2000 are better and more reliable operating systems, Microsoft finds itself forced to continue supporting the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It continues to do so in the form of Windows Me.

Microsoft originally planned to bring together the Windows 9x and NT lines of operating systems with the release of Windows NT 5.0. This never happened.

In 2000, Windows NT 5.0 was renamed and released as Windows 2000. Windows Me soon followed as the final operating system in the 9x line. Windows 2000 Professional, which was the replacement operating system for Windows NT Workstation 4.0, represented a major leap forward in bridging the gap between the NT and 9x lines of operating systems. Microsoft supplied with it Plug and Play support and even provided the Windows 9x Device Manager utility. In addition, Windows 2000 was compatible with significantly more hardware devices than Windows NT 4.0 had been. Microsoft also made sure that Windows 2000 supported the most popular Windows 9x applications. However, Windows 2000 was still based on the NT kernel, and there were still plenty of DOS, Windows 3.x, and Windows 9x specific applications that it did not support.

Windows XP Home Edition and Professional are both based on the Windows 2000 kernel. The introduction of Windows XP Home Edition represents the end of the Windows 9x line of operating systems. Microsoft promises that Windows XP Home Edition (and Professional) will run the 1,000 most popular applications right out of the box. In addition, Windows XP's hardware support has also been expanded, ensuring that in most cases any Windows 9x compatible hardware will also work properly with Windows XP.

Before upgrading any computer to Windows XP, it's prudent to check and make sure that its hardware and software will continue to operate as expected. Any hardware that is not supported must be either upgraded or replaced. In the event that you must run a legacy application or use a piece of hardware that is not supported by Windows XP, you'll have to stick with your current operating system. Hopefully the manufacturer of the application or hardware will eventually provide an upgrade path or replace the product with a Windows XP compatible solution. If you are upgrading from Windows NT Workstation or Windows 2000 Professional, then the odds are very good that all your hardware and software will be compatible. Upgrading computers that are running Windows 98 and Me operating systems are likely to be more problematic.

Windows Me vs. Windows XP Professional

Administrators that support former Windows 98 and Me users will find that these users will have more questions and will take longer to adjust to Windows XP Professional than Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Windows 2000 Professional users. However, Windows 98 and Me users will be pleased with the reliability and stability of their new operating system and by its support for all the latest hardware. Windows XP Professional will outperform Windows Me on a computer that meets Windows XP's minimum requirements.

Perhaps the biggest inhibitor to upgrading computers running Windows 98 and Me to Windows XP Professional is the hardware requirements imposed by Windows XP. Windows Me's minimum hardware requirements are a 150MHz processor, 32MB of memory and 480MB disk drive. Microsoft recommends a 300MHz processor, 128MB of memory, and 1.5GB of free disk space before you consider upgrading to Windows XP Professional.

Because Windows XP Professional is based on the Windows 2000 kernel, it provides a significantly more reliable platform. Windows XP's NTFS file system support provides user-level security, allowing administrators to apply strong security over the computer and its resources. In addition, Windows XP Professional provides the following features that distinguish it from Windows Me.

• Enhanced user interface. Windows XP's enhanced graphical user interface provides the end user with a more intuitive computing experience.

• Help and Support Center. Windows XP's new Help and Support Center helps the user to be more self-sufficient in solving common problems.

• Remote desktop. Allows users to remotely access their desktop using terminal server technology that has been built into Windows XP.

• Remote Assistance. Provides administrators with the ability to provide users with remote desktop support.

• Reduced reboot scenarios. Windows XP reduces the number of scenarios that require the administrator to restart the computer and reduces the amount of time required to make changes to a user's system.

• 802.11x wireless networking enhancements. Windows XP provides enhanced support for 802.11x wireless networking, making the job of administrators of wireless networks a lot easier.

• EFS. Windows XP's EFS service provides strong protection of user data and provides needed protection on mobile computers.

• Device driver verification. Provides the administrator with assurance that software drivers have been properly tested.

• Driver rollback. Assists the administrator in backing out faulty drivers.

• Windows file protection. Helps prevent users from accidentally changing, deleting or otherwise damaging critical system files that might inhibit computer operation.

• Dynamic Update. Ensures that administrators have the most current set of Windows XP installation files and reduces the chances of installation errors.

Windows 2000 Professional vs. Windows XP Professional

Windows XP Professional's biggest competitor is Windows 2000 Professional, with which it shares a common code base. Windows 2000 Professional already has a huge install base. Individuals and corporations have made a big investment in Windows 2000 Professional and may be hesitant to move too quickly to Windows XP Professional. In addition, tests have shown that Windows 2000 Professional is generally a little faster than Windows XP Professional on similarly equipped systems.

Windows 2000 Professional already has many of the same core features as Windows XP Professional, and many of Windows XP Professional's new features are available for download and installation on Windows 2000. Examples include the most current releases of Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, and Windows Messenger. However, not all Windows 2000 applications will be Windows XP compatible. Examples include antivirus programs and backup utilities.

Despite many similarities, Windows XP Professional provides many features not found in Windows 2000 Professional, including:

• Remote desktop. Allows Windows XP Professional users to remotely control their computer.

• Better hardware support. Windows XP supports UDF 2.01, which is the current standard for reading DVDs. In addition, it provides enhanced support for USB, PCI, and IEEE 1394.

• ICF. A built-in personal firewall that protects a Windows XP Professional computer from external intrusion when connected to the Internet.

• System Restore. Provides the ability to restore a computer to a previous state without any loss of data using restoration points that Windows XP automatically creates.

• Enhanced graphical user interface. A new task-based interface designed to provide the user with a more intuitive working environment.

• Help and Support Center. This service replaces the Windows 2000 help system and integrates access to system and Internet-based help and information. In addition, this service ties together a number of administrative tools, including Remote Assistance and System Restore.

• Enhanced Encrypted File System. Windows XP provides the same encrypted file system as Windows 2000 Professional with the added ability to encrypt offline files.

• Driver Rollback. Provides the ability to reinstall the previous copy of a device's hardware driver in the event that its current driver is not operating properly.

• Network bridging. A feature that allows a Windows XP Professional computer to connect two separate network segments together.

Windows XP Home Edition vs. Windows XP Professional

Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional share a common kernel and user interface. They also share a common set of applications, including Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, Windows Media Play, and Windows Movie Maker. These two operating systems share the same base collection of utilities and features. For example, Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional share:

• A common user interface

• The same reliability improvements

• Common networking features

• Support for EFS

• ICS, ICF, and various Internet applications

• Power management features

Windows XP Home Edition is targeted at the home user. As such, it lacks a number of features required by the corporate consumer. For example, Windows XP Home Edition is not able to join a Windows network that uses the domain networking model. This limits it to stand-alone implementations or to participation on small peer networks. Because ease of use is generally more important to the home user than security, Windows XP Home Edition provides Fast User Switching. Fast User Switching is a technique that allows two or more users to take turns sharing a computer without logging off, losing any data, or closing open applications. Windows XP Professional also supports Fast User Switching but only in stand-alone mode or on peer networks. As soon as a computer running Windows XP Professional is connected to a domain-based network, Fast User Switching is disabled.

Except for Fast User Switching, Windows XP Professional provides all the functionality found in Windows XP Home Edition. Another difference between the two operating systems is that Windows XP Professional substitutes Home Edition's Home Network utility with the Network Setup Wizard. Other features provided by Windows XP Professional that are not found in Windows XP Home Edition include:

• Remote desktop

• User and group security

• Roaming user profiles

Windows XP 64-Bit Edition vs. Windows XP Professional

As powerful as Windows XP Professional is, there are some people who may find that they push its capabilities to the limit. For these people, Microsoft plans to provide a 64-bit version of Windows XP called Windows XP 64-Bit Edition. The 64-bit version of Windows XP runs on the Intel Itanium processor and is specifically designed to leverage the strengths of that processor, which include:

• Support for up to 16GB of memory

• Support for up to 16TB of virtual memory

• Optimization for superior floating-point performance

• Support for Intel's EPIC (Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing) instruction set, which supports up to 20 simultaneous CPU operations

Note 

The 32-bit versions of Windows XP are limited to 4GB of memory and cannot work with a data set greater than 2GB.

Windows XP 64-Bit Edition is designed for deployment on technical workstations that require large amounts of memory and that support memory intensive applications, such as:

• Engineering applications

• Intensive multimedia development applications

• Mathematic intensive applications

• Scientific applications

The main difference between the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows XP is the ability of the 64-bit version to access large amounts of memory. Workstations with gigabytes of memory will be able to load larger amounts of data and, as a result, achieve significantly higher levels of performance.

Windows XP 64-Bit Edition will support the development of new 64-bit applications. Developers will find that its programming environment is very similar to that provided on the 32-bit version of Windows XP and that the application programming interface (API) is nearly identical, except for modifications that enable the exploitation of new functionality provided by the Itanium processor. Support for the 32-bit application is provided in the form of the WOW64 (Windows on Windows 64 x 86) emulator, which provides an isolated environment for the execution of 32-bit applications, thus protecting 64-bit applications from possible conflicts.

Tip 

Windows XP 64-Bit Edition will run most 32-bit applications right out of the box. However, it will not run them as fast as a well-equipped 32-bit Windows XP system. Unless you need to work with data sets greater than 2GB in size, you'll get better performance by sticking with Windows XP Professional.

Windows XP 64-Bit Edition runs only with the Intel Itanium processor and a compatible 64-bit motherboard. Its minimum and recommend hardware requirements are listed below.

• Minimum of a 733MHz Intel Itanium (800MHz Intel Itanium recommended)

• 1GB of memory

The graphical user interface for the Windows XP 64-Bit Edition will look and feel the same as the 32-bit version. In addition, the same core set of features will be provided, including:

• Networking

• Plug and Play

• Security

• Multimedia

Computers running Windows XP 64-Bit Edition can operate on the same networking as computers running the 32-bit versions of Windows XP. Administrators will be able to manage them using the same utilities that they currently use.