Looking to upgrade? Buy XP Pro 32-bit (Service Pack 2)
to breathe new life into your pc.
Windows XP Professional Upgrade is available to students and their families
(home use only). We strongly recommend customers check the health of their hard disk BEFORE installing any upgrade. Please also note that this upgrade will not work with XP Media Center.
How to perform disk error checking in Windows XP
Designed for productivity at home or school, it features improved networking and remote access tools. While there are hundreds of compelling reasons to get Windows XP Professional, these are the 10 at the top of the list.
Helps Protect Your PC
Automatically keep your PC up-to-date with the latest security enhancements including the Windows Security Center, Windows Firewall, and more to help protect your computer from viruses and worms that can spread through the Internet.
Quickly Connect To Wireless Networks
Windows XP Professional provides rich, wireless network support, helping you simply and easily connect to wireless networks whether in your home, library, or out on the road.
Keep Your Laptop More Secure
The Encrypting File System, only in Windows XP Professional, provides an additional level of file protection from hackers and data theft by transparently encrypting files with a randomly generated key. If your laptop gets stolen or lost, unauthorized users should not be able to read or view your confidential files.
Get More Life Out Of Your Laptop Battery
Save battery power when you're working on the road, at the library, or coffee shop. Windows XP Professional extends battery life by managing the way your laptop uses power. Now you can work longer on battery power and more accurately forecast how long your batteries will last.
Set Up And Share Your Computer Quickly And Easily
Quickly set up and connect all the computers, printers, devices, and an Internet connection in your home with the all new Network Setup Wizard. Sharing a computer with others has never been easier; quickly access your personal files and accounts without having to close applications or restart the computer.
Easy To Use
The clean, simple design of Windows XP Professional puts the features you use most often at your fingertips, helping you find them quickly.
Work From Anywhere
The Remote Desktop feature found only in Windows XP Professional allows you to remotely access your PC running Windows XP Professional, from another Windows-based PC, so you can work with all of your files and applications while away from the library or home PC.
Recover Easily From Problems Caused By System Or Application Changes
If something goes wrong with your computer, you can easily remove and roll back any system or application changes without losing files and other valuable information.
Join A Network Or Domain
Windows XP Professional is designed to work with Windows Server networks and includes capabilities for both small networks with up to 10 PCs and Windows Server based networks.
Work With The Tools You Need To Get Things Done
Choose from the widest range of software, hardware, and services designed to work together seamlessly including support for many older applications designed for earlier versions of Windows.
Features & Screenshots
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Upgrade in action:
Windows XP Professional and Service Pack 3 review:
Get SP3 free for Windows XP from Microsoft Update.
With the release in May 2008 of Microsoft XP Service Pack 3, it's proof that there's still life left in this popular favourite operating system despite the last Service Pack update (SP2) having launched way back at the end of 2004.
SP3 works with any version of XP you own, including XP Home and Media Center editions - or in this case XP Pro!
The primary aim of SP3 is integrating every single hotfix and security patch that has been released in the years since SP2, giving you a much more secure baseline installation.
It's also worth remembering that XP Pro on a recent hardware spec still remains faster than Vista in some areas: XP Pro has now reached its peak and can provide immense Va-va-voom(!) and performance.
Upon installation of this new service pack it is extremely unlikely (ie. virtually impossible) to experience nasty problems with corrupt installations or unbootable PCs.
If you're an IT student using Server 2008 then SP3 gives you the Network Access Protection (NAP) client. NAP is a system introduced with Windows Server 2008 that blocks or restricts network access to client machines that are not recognised or do not pass a minimum configuration level.
Windows XP Professional in depth software information and expert advice
The origins of Microsoft Windows XP can be traced back to the NT/2000 codebase which proved much more stable than the error-prone editions of Windows 95/98/Me.
XP Professional is a great upgrade for XP users who need better functionality features such as online networking as well as spring cleaning their existing OS which may have picked up registry errors over time since its first install.
XP certainly looks different, with rounded window corners, larger and more detailed icons, and a clean-look desktop that on first installation shows only the taskbar and recycle bin.
It is also more customisable than previous versions, including visual themes that let you change the whole appearance of Windows in an instant. That is the window-dressing, but underneath are some significant improvements.
One of the most interesting is Remote Desktop; a standard XP feature, this uses technology from Microsoft Terminal Server to enable users to access their computer over any connection, for example by dialling into the office from home.
This is not just file access, but lets you run applications remotely as if you were sitting at your desk.
This is mature technology, stable and carefully thought-out, so for example you can print from a remote word processor to a local printer. A variation on the theme is Remote Assistance, where the user can allow a remote helper to view their desktop, or optionally gain control of the keyboard and mouse, in order to troubleshoot a problem. The feature can also be disabled, to ease security concerns.
Laptop users benefit from enhanced power management, with options to extend battery life by reducing CPU speed and display brightness. IrDA support has been fixed so that, unlike Windows 2000, XP can easily use modems in mobile telephones via infra-red. A new screen font ClearType improves legibility for laptop or other flat screens, and there is built-in support for wireless networking.
A great feature of XP, also found in Windows 2000, is the ability to synchronise network files with offline copies. Previously these files could not be stored securely, but now they can be encrypted.
For Web browsing, XP Pro users can go online and download the latest version of Internet Explorer 7.0 for FREE from Microsoft.com, along with Windows Live Messenger (previously called MSN), Windows Media Player 11 as well as many other software goodies.
Although Java is not installed by default, it is not difficult to download a JVM (Java Virtual Machine) from likes of Java.com for an even better web browsing experience.
The most important new aspect for web users is XP's built-in firewall. This innovative firewall protects you from increasing security risks and is invaluable during the first day set up online of your PC - even if you later intend to upgrade it with a more comprehensive firewall you'll be glad Microsoft had you covered!
XP's built-in firewall is a simple-to-use feature and prevents most types of unauthorised connection.
The XP user interface is not a radical departure from earlier versions of Windows, but there are a number of small changes that together add up to a significant improvement. The Start menu now automatically features the most frequently used programs at the top of the list, and you can add and remove shortcuts by right-clicking the icon and selecting Pin or Unpin from the pop-up menu. Windows online help is integrated into a Help and Support Centre that works like an internal Web site, with searchable help, tutorials and walkthroughs.
Windows XP Professional includes all the features of XP Home and adds support for dual processors, encryptable file system, offline folders, the Remote Desktop as described above, and extra administration features that come into play when connected to a Windows server domain.
XP is demanding on hardware, and it would be a mistake to install it on less than Microsoft's recommended minimum.
Overall, it's a big step forward - are you ready to begin?
Manufacturer's Description
Windows XP Professional, the new standard in reliability and performance, is designed for businesses of all sizes, and for individuals who demand the most from their computing experience.
The advanced productivity tools of the digital age at your fingertips:
With the ultimate communication and collaboration tools, advanced laptop support, remote access capabilities, and more, Windows XP Professional helps you be more productive than ever before.
The new standard for efficient and dependable computing:
Prepare yourself for the most reliable, secure, and responsive Windows yet. Add to that ease-of-use and next-generation Internet services using Microsoft .NET, and this standard isn't just new ... it's unprecedented.
Communications: Ultimate communications and collaboration tool - instant messaging, voice, video, and application sharing. Windows XP Professional with Windows Messenger lets you communicate with customers and colleagues in real-time using text, audio, video, and other collaborative tools. You can make voice calls to your colleagues' computers or phones, or send text messages to their cell phones and pagers. You can send files and documents using Windows Messenger. With a button click, you can start a video session to see who you're talking with, and to share a whiteboard or application. Face-to-face communication makes business calls more effective and improves relationships with your customers and partners. And you can be more efficient and more productive by working with others on documents in real-time.
Go Mobile: Advanced laptop support so you get as much work done on the road as you would in the office, in addition to remote access to all of the data and applications on your office computer.The popularity of laptops shows that people are eager to use mobile technology. But the systems in use today are not as reliable and easy to use as many workers prefer. Windows XP Professional is designed to make mobile computing easier. This operating system is built to provide access to your information while you're on the go. The mobile computing improvements in Windows XP Professional build on the flexibility of Windows 2000 Professional. New features for mobile computing will help you accomplish as much on the road or at home as you do in the office, so you can be productive no matter where you are. Add these capabilities to the rock-solid reliability, performance, and communication features in Windows XP Professional--you have a system that can do things that you always thought a system should do.
Access your office computer from anywhere: When you're away from the office and need a file or application that only exists on your office computer's hard disk, there should be an easy way to get it. With the Remote Desktop feature in Windows XP Professional, you can connect to your office computer from anywhere. You control your office PC while using your home computer, your laptop, or any other computer running Windows 95 or later. While connected, you can use most of your business applications, documents, and network resources on your office computer. Performance is excellent because there is no need to transfer files and applications over the network. Remote Desktop transfers only the screen data, keyboard input, and mouse clicks over your network connection.
Help and Support: Easy to recover from problems and get help and support when you need it. Ever wish you could just click an icon and find the answers to your computing problems? Windows XP Professional answers that wish, with the new Help and Support Center. An easy-to-find icon on the Start menu leads to a central location for Help topics, tutorials, and troubleshooting to keep your computer running smoothly. The Help and Support Center delivers a dynamic, personalized, online resource with easy-to-use search and comprehensive content.
Add the performance, communication, and productivity improvements in Windows XP Professional--now you have a system that works how you've always wished a system would. Microsoft has a vast library of information and software tools to help you get the most out of your computer. In the past, these resources were scattered among books, CDs, and Web sites.
The newly designed Help and Support Center in Windows XP Professional puts the most useful tools and information in one convenient location-on the Start menu. You can save links to Help information in your Favorites folder, run programs that maintain your computer's health, or search to learn about specific topics.
Recommended System Requirements:
To use Microsoft XP Professional Upgrade, you need:
- 1 GHz 32-bit (x86)
- 1 GB of system memory
- 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
- Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:
- WDDM Driver
- 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
- Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
- 32 bits per pixel
- DVD-ROM Drive
- Audio Output
- Internet Access
Minimum System Requirements Details:
- 800 MHz processor and 512 MB of system memory
- 20 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
- Support for Super VGA graphics
- CD ROM Drive
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