Overview of Windows XP Professional Support for Mobile Users

Windows XP Professional offers several new features for mobile users. In addition, several Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0 and Microsoft Windows 2000 features, as well as processes such as starting, hibernating, standby, and resuming, are enhanced in Windows XP Professional in order to increase functionality for mobile users.

Fast system startup

Windows XP Professional provides improved system boot and resume performance, resulting in fast system startup. The standby feature reduces power consumption by turning off the display, hard disk, and other system components while preserving the contents of memory. Standby also allows you to return to work quickly after waking the system. The hibernate feature saves the entire system state to the hard disk and turns off the computer. When the system restarts from hibernation, the desktop and all applications are restored to their previous state.

Folder Redirection

Folder Redirection allows the administrator to direct the contents of special shell folders, such as My Documents, to an alternate location on a server or a network share. When Folder Redirection is applied to these special folders, the redirection is transparent to the user; he or she can continue to work with documents on the server as if the documents are on the local drive. Folder Redirection is best used in conjunction with Offline Files.

Offline Files

The Offline Files feature allows users to disconnect from the network and work as if they are still connected. When the computer is offline, files and folders appear in the same directory that they appear in online. By using Offline Files, users can continue to work with copies of files that are available on a network when they are not connected to the network. Offline Files stores the data in the computer s cache to make network files available offline. When users reconnect to the network, Offline Files synchronizes the files stored on the local drive with the files on the network.

Hibernation

The hibernation feature allows the Microsoft Windows desktop to be restored quickly after a computer is shut down. When a computer is put into hibernation, the current system state is saved to the hard disk before the computer is turned off. Then, when a user restarts the computer, Windows restarts any programs that were running when the computer entered hibernation, and restores all previous network connections. ACPI and APM support Windows XP Professional supports the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) specification for robust power management and system configuration. Windows XP Professional also provides some power management features for portable computers with a legacy Advanced Power Management (APM) version 1.2 based BIOS.

Enhanced battery life

Windows XP Professional provides several new features to enhance battery life. Windows XP Professional automatically dims a laptop s display when it is switched to battery power, and turns off the display panel when the laptop s lid is closed. In addition, Windows XP Professional features intelligent processor throttling to reduce CPU power consumption. Windows XP Professional also provides more accurate estimates of remaining battery life.

Processor performance control

Windows XP Professional provides native support for processor performance control technologies such as Intel SpeedStep Technology, AMD PowerNow! , and Transmeta LongRun . Windows XP Professional also features an adaptive processor performance control algorithm that dynamically balances system performance and power consumption, based on the current CPU workload and remaining battery life.

Battery and processor metrics

Windows XP Professional displays information about processor performance and battery activity in System Monitor. The processor performance data available includes the current processor frequency and power consumption. Battery information provided includes the charge and discharge rates, voltage, and remaining capacity.

Wake-on-critical battery

Windows XP Professional supports wake-on-critical battery for portable computers that implement this feature. This allows a computer to awaken from standby when battery power becomes critically low and switch to hibernation to prevent data loss.

Dynamic configuration of hot added devices

When you insert and remove devices such as CardBus cards or Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices, Windows XP Professional detects and configures them without requiring you to restart the computer.

Hot and cold docking or undocking

With your portable computer fully powered, you can dock to a docking station and undock from a docking station without shutting down the computer.

Table 7-1 lists the new or enhanced features in Windows XP Professional that support mobile users, and indicates which of these features are available in Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0, and Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional.

Table 7-1: Mobile User Profile Computing Features in Windows XP Professional

Windows XP Professional Feature	Windows 95	Windows 98	Windows NT 4.0	Windows 2000 Professional	Windows XP Professional
Offline Files				X	X
Folder Redirection				X	X
Roaming User Profiles			X	X	X
Briefcase	X	X	X	X	X
Hibernate				X	X
Power management	X	X		X	X
ACPI support		X		X	X
APM support	X	X		X	X
Standby (APM and ACPI only)	X	X		X	X
Battery management (APM and ACPI only)		X		X	X
Dynamic configuration of PC Cards	X	X		X	X
Hot and cold docking or undocking	X	X		X	X
Hot insertion and removal of devices in hot swappable module bays		X		X	X