Should I consider upgrading to Windows XP?

Answer

This question was answered on October 22, 2001. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

Windows XP (XP stands for "Experience") is based on the Windows 2000 platform, which has been proven to be substantially more stable than Windows 98 and ME. XP integrates the stability of 2000 with the flexibility that 98 and ME had when working with older hardware and software, especially gaming programs.

One of the biggest improvements in Windows XP is protection against what I call "self-inflicted gunshot wounds". Most computer problems are created when a user attempts to install programs or drivers (software that controls hardware) that are incompatible with their version of Windows. Windows XP can actually block the installation of incompatible device drivers before they are installed and will actually allow different versions of the same "DLL" (Dynamic Link Library,) file to co-exist in the same system, which was another common source of problems in older versions of Windows.

Windows XP comes in two flavors: Home Edition and Professional Edition. Both of them contain the same basic feature upgrades but the Pro Edition is more suited to corporate networking environments. It includes many administration tools that are unnecessary for the average home user and costs more per machine.

The first upgrade question is "Do I have enough hardware"? XP requires at least 128MB of RAM, a 300MHz or faster processor and a minimum of 1.5GB of free disk space. This pretty much eliminates upgrading systems that are more than a couple of years old.

The real question is not "whether you should upgrade", but "when should you upgrade" since at some point in the future you will likely be running Windows XP.

I have always contended that upgrading for the sake of upgrading is not a good approach for the average user. Your current situation and what you need your computer to do will play the biggest role in determining whether you should upgrade now or wait.

My advice has always been "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" so if your computer is working just fine, I find little reason for you to run out and upgrade to Windows XP.

There are three main approaches to moving to Windows XP: Buy a new system pre-loaded with XP, install it from scratch on an older system or perform an in-place upgrade.

If you were in the market for a new system your best bet would be to simply buy a new system with XP pre-loaded on it. If you have older programs or hardware that is not supported by XP, you may want to keep your old system around to run those items if they are still important to you. Integration of older programs and hardware has always been one of the biggest problems in upgrading to a new Operating System, so try and avoid it for the best results.

If you want to upgrade an existing system, it is always "cleaner" to install if from scratch because any of the existing issues are not carried forward. This means getting rid of the old version of Windows first and re-installing all of your programs after the Windows XP installation is complete. This is the most time consuming method of upgrading but the one preferred by the tech savvy user.

The in-place upgrade of an older version of Windows has the most potential to cause you grief because of all of the potential variables that it brings. Microsoft has done much in XP to minimize the problems associated with in-place upgrades, but if your system has an existing problem you should get the problem fixed before attempting to upgrade to XP.

Windows XP is capable of being what Microsoft calls "the most significant upgrade since Windows 95" if it does everything that they say it will, but remember that "Pioneers get arrows"!

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