Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade [OLD VERSION]

Customer Reviews

Unstable and ...

2005-11-03
This operating system was one of the most unsatisfactory I have ever used--including DOS, Win 3.1, Windows 95 and Windows 98.

Aside from being incompatible with older hardware, XP Home Edition crashes frequently-particularly if you like to work with several windows open at once.

Most important, the program is highly susceptible to viruses and hackers. Preventing these two problems requires expensive add-on software and hardware.

True enough, the built-in firewall OUGHT to work. But in my case, hackers got in anyway. I had to hire an expensive data recovery guru-another story in itself.

Even reinstalling the program did not solve the problem. My computer was completely compromised. I was eventually forced to junk the machine.

After my dreadful experience with XP Home Edition, I have sworn off Windows forever. Mac and Linux are both far superior.

Windows XP Computer

2005-07-31
I'm StoryMaker. Sometimes, Windows XP gives you the XP face. What do I mean? Look at XP sideways. Sometimes, it gives you that face. Sometimes, it gives you the C: face. Look at C: sideways. Well, anyways, something I don't like is it advertises that a wide variety of programs run on it. I don't like that because IT'S NOT TURE. Many programs DO NOT work on Win XP. Petz 3, Petz 4, and Babyz don't work on Win XP inless you do what I explain in my Babyz review. Only something I like about it is it is brighter. Win 95 & 98 are dull with no full-color photo desktops but with XP it's so bright. Next, screen savers. Windows XP & Windows 95-98 all have screen savers, little previews that, when computer not played with enough, show up. To change the SS or preview the SS, right-click the desktop and select "Properties" from the list and click the screen savers tab. They have different screen savers and I am not sure witch I like more. Win 95-98 have "3D Maze", Win XP has lots of 3D shape SS's. And I like how Win XP recognizes Jpegs & Gifs, not Win 95-98. You should buy 1 Win XP and one Win 98/95. Signed, StoryMaker. "Gotta trust the kid's review!"

MicroCrap

2005-04-08
I have used DOS, Win3.1, Win95, Win98 and now this piece of crap OS. Microsoft's only interest is making money, thats why they come out with a new release of an OS upon a new release of an OS. Each one just as buggy, insecure and unstable as the previous version.
Anything coming from Microsoft just plain sucks.
I have now switched from InterCrap explorer to Mozilla and from Out-Crash-express to Thunderbird, soon I will completely switch to Linux, a FAR better and FUNCTIONAL OS for a far better price, namely free. My next laptop will be a Mac.
Dont waste your money, Microsoft designed software is garbage by definition. And for the person saying he can understand we are not all geeks : I shouldnt HAVE to be a frigging geek to use an OS

Very Stable

2005-04-02
As previous reviewers have mentioned, you should make sure your hardware and software is XP compatible before you buy. Assuming everything is compatible Windows XP upgrade is a breeze to install, once installed it is very funtional and stable. The main irritation about previous Windows operating systems was the instability. My Windows XP installation has not crashed a single time since I installed 768 MB of Ram. For a stable system it is very important that you have enough Ram. When I only had 256 MB of ram installed the system was not much more stable than Windows 98 SE. I am very pleased with Windows XP, you will be too, if you have enough Ram, and XP Compatible software and hardware.

XP only ME dressed up

2005-03-30
Since buying the upgrade of windows XP i have had to reinstall
it 3 times -onto a clean hard disk- The first time it just disappeared and turned into a blue screen,with messages that hive files were gone missing? 2nd time round the registery got
corrupted and the last time it refused to boot,and not wanting
to have to trall through another install i used the XP CD to try the recovery consol. This was as much use as a cigarette
lighter on a motor bike. None of the commands worked,and even trying the help file was useless. There seems to be a serious
problem with system restore in XP, and im fully updated with all the latest SPacks,and stacks of space on my hard disk alotted to SR! Check dates will disappear and when you really need ST to get you back and running -it goes pear shaped! I now running 3 restored version of XP completly backed up on a seperate hard disk using Power Quests Drive image.
My experences with XP are ITS NOT RELIABLE..

How long will it live?

2008-05-29
Microsoft is trying to kill off Windows XP, but with the non-acceptance of Vista, it will live on for some time. Eventually MS will cut the cord on support, but until then, this is s fine operating system.

Can be a great upgrade.

2008-01-02
I have an older Dell Dimension 4100 Pentium III (800 MHZ) with 128 MB RAM, 30 Gigs, and Windows ME. I decided to try the upgrade as fewer and fewer things are ME compatible, and my computer was still working great. My first try, I lost everything on my hard drive - you can't always restore to what you had, contrary to what the guide tells you. I would say if you are going to do this, first do a fresh install of Windows ME, then install XP before any add on drivers. The second try (with a fresh Windows ME install) went much better. The only problem I had was that when I would go to stand-bye or hybernate, the system ended up having to recover from a serious error. The problem was my video card - a Nvidia Riva TNT 64 (32MB). It is not compatible with Windows XP, and none of the driver updates would help. Other than that, things worked pretty well.

I decided to install a different video card. Found a used Winfast Geforce4 TI4200 (64MB) AGP video card on E-Bay for $14 with shipping. I also decided to upgrade my RAM from 128 MB to 384 MB by adding 256 SDRAM ($25 new) in the open slot. I had never even opened a case before, but the installation of each went very well (be sure to use a static strap).

Now, I couldn't be happier with my computer, and the XP upgrade! Since XP doesn't require anywhere near as much RAM as Vista to operate(1000 MB minimum rec.), 384 MB is very fast. I'm actually planning on upping to the maximum I can of 512 MB RAM. The system is now very stable - haven't had a single problem since the mods! Surfing with multiple windows open while simultaneously synching my Zune, or listening to music is no problem! I'm figuring that I should be able to get at least another few years out of my computer.

I would say if you are thinking about doing the XP add on, first run a check ahead of time to see what compatibility issues you may have (Microsoft has a free on-line check). It CAN be a great way to squeeze a few more years out of an older computer, but there may be some complications which take some time and effort to solve. If you are even slightly mechanically inclined, your older computer is working well, and you don't want to be part of the "throw away" society, I would say to go for the upgrade. After the modifications, I'm extremely pleased with the results - they definitely exceeded my expectations! For how I use my computer, it is just as fast as most brand new computers!

It is probably a good idea to spend a few extra dollars, and get the stand-alone version, and not the upgrade to decrease the hassle, and likelihood of errors.

I gave it three stars because of the initial compatibility problems. After performing the upgrades (now have 512 RAM), I would give it five stars.

Great upgrade from 98/me

2007-04-23
If you are still running a machine with 98 or ME, this could be your last upgrade for that machine to get a little more use out of it before having to break down and buy a new machine capable of running Vista. It drastically cut the down time due to the blue screen errors on 98 and ME.

Overall operating system is very good

2007-04-18
The operating system is a very good operating system for a home computer. But, obviously, if you want a computer with more security features or networking features, you should go with Windows XP Professional. At the time that I am writing this, which is a long time from when I purchased Windows XP, it is a time where Windows Vista is emerging. If you plan on upgrading a slightly older computer, I recommend Windows XP Home/Professional (based on your requirements). But if you are looking for a safe operating system for your beast, try Windows Vista. But one word of warning about Vista, the User Account Control (UAC) is a pain in the butt.

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrgh...

2006-09-08
This is the slowest. Operating. System I have ever used. The first time I installed XP Home, I didn't see what was so bad about it, but when we tried installing it on our new Gateway Machine, it imedettly slowed all system operations down to a crawl. Even My brother's laptop, which is a very Fast Machine, has XP pro, and it randomly slows down. Don't get this operating system. It's slow, buggy, and expensive.