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Windows XP WinXP (codenamed Whistler) is a personal computer operating system produced by Microsoft as part of the Windows NT family of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and business users and Windows Me for home users, and is available for any devices running Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows Me that meet the new Windows XP requirements. Windows XP is the merger of two cancelled projects: Windows Neptune and Windows Odyssey, where were merged in early 2000. The name "XP" is short for "eXPerience", highlighting the enhanced user experience.

Development of Windows XP began in the late 1990s under the "Neptune" codename, built on the Windows NT kernel and explicitly intended for mainstream consumer use. An updated version of Windows 2000, codenamed "Odyssey", was also initially planned for the business market. Both projects were scrapped and merged in January 2000 in favor of a single OS codenamed "Whistler", which would serve as a single platform for both consumer and business markets. As a result, Windows XP is the first consumer edition of Windows not based on the Windows 95 kernel or MS-DOS.

Upon its release, Windows XP received critical acclaim, noting increased performance and stability (especially compared to Windows Me), a more intuitive user interface, improved hardware support, and expanded multimedia capabilities. However, some criticisms of Windows XP were its security issues at launch, and many people believed their product activation and anti-piracy schemes had gone too far. Windows XP and its server counterpart Windows Server 2003 were succeeded by Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, released in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

Mainstream support for Windows XP ended on April 14, 2009, and extended support ended on April 8, 2014. Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, based on an embedded version of Windows XP Professional, was the last supported version of Windows based on the Windows XP codebase, and received security updates until April 2019. Prior to Windows XP's end of support date, unofficial methods were made available to apply the updates to other editions of Windows XP, which Microsoft discouraged, citing compatibility issues.

As of September 2022, the majority of PCs in some countries (such as Armenia) still appeared to be running on Windows XP,[3] with just 0.39% of Windows PCs globally and 0.1% of all devices across all platforms running the operating system.[4]

Description[]

Windows XP was the first Windows NT kernel-based OS designed for both the business and general consumer markets, and was much more stable than the Windows 9x line due to the improved codebase (heavily based on Windows 2000). It was also the first version of Windows to implement product activation to prevent piracy. Windows XP was also a major advance from the MS-DOS based versions of Windows in security, stability, and efficiency due to its use of Windows NT. Windows XP runs on 32-bit (i386/x86), 64-bit (amd64/x64), and Itanium (ia64) machines.

Development[]

In the late 1990s, development of a new OS began, and during this time it was codenamed "Neptune". Neptune was based on the Windows NT kernel, but was made specifically for home users. An updated version of Windows 2000 called "Odyssey" was also planned for the business market. However, in January 2000, both projects were shelved in favor of a single OS codenamed "Whistler", which would serve as a single platform for both home consumers and businesses alike. On February 5, 2001, Microsoft announced that "Whistler" would be officially named Windows XP and that “Office 10” would become Office XP, with "XP" representing "eXPerience".[5]

Release[]

In June 2001, Microsoft indicated that it was planning to spend at least US$1 billion on marketing and promoting Windows XP, in conjunction with Intel and other PC makers.[6] The theme of the campaign, "Yes You Can", was designed to emphasize the platform's overall capabilities. Microsoft had originally planned to use the slogan "Prepare to Fly", but it was replaced because of sensitivity issues in the wake of the September 11 attacks.[7]

New and updated features[]

Removed features[]

Support lifecycle[]

Support for the original release of Windows XP (without a service pack) ended on August 30, 2005. Both Windows XP Service Pack 1 and 1a were retired on October 10, 2006, and both Windows 2000 and Windows XP SP2 reached their end of support on July 13, 2010. The company stopped general licensing of Windows XP to OEMs and terminated retail sales of the operating system on June 30, 2008, 17 months after the release of Windows Vista. However, an exception was announced on April 3, 2008, for OEMs producing what it defined as "ultra low-cost personal computers", particularly netbooks, until one year after the availability of Windows 7 on October 22, 2009. Analysts felt that the move was primarily intended to compete against Linux-based netbooks, although Microsoft's Kevin Hutz stated that the decision was due to apparent market demand for low-end computers with Windows.

Variants of Windows XP for embedded systems have different support policies: Windows XP Embedded SP3 and Windows Embedded for Point of Service SP3 were supported until January and April 2016, respectively. Windows Embedded Standard 2009, which was succeeded by Windows Embedded Standard 7, and Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, which was succeeded by Windows Embedded POSReady 7, were supported until January and April 2019, respectively. These updates, while intended for the embedded editions, could also be downloaded on standard Windows XP with a registry hack, which enabled unofficial patches until April 2019. However, Microsoft advised Windows XP users against installing these fixes, citing incompatibility issues.

End of support[]

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Reception[]

Upon its release, Windows XP received mostly positive reviews from critics. Critics generally noted the increased performance of Windows XP, especially in comparison to Windows Me. They also reported that it had a more intuitive user interface, improved hardware support, and expanded multimedia capabilities. However, it was not free from criticism at the time of its release. Many users had criticized the new licensing model and the product activation system, as well as its many security flaws and zero-days upon its release. However, after Service Pack 2 was released, Windows XP received critical acclaim from many users and critics. It is estimated that over 400 million copies of Windows XP were sold during its first five years of availability, and that at least one billion copies were sold by April 2014.

Windows XP was an extremely popular operating system and remained popular even after the release of newer versions, particularly due to the poor reception of its successor, Windows Vista. Windows 7 finally took over XP's market share at the end of 2011 only to have it taken over by Windows 10 just 6 years later compared to XP's 10 years. Part of its popularity was also due to its extremely minimal system requirements; Windows XP can start on 32 MB of RAM (although 64 MB was the recommended minimum), and run smoothly with just 128 MB of RAM. Windows XP has the second most variants of any Microsoft operating system ever (just behind Windows 7). Windows XP was so popular that its default background, the 1996 photograph Bliss, became the most viewed photograph in the world after Windows XP release.

Gallery[]

Graphics elements[]

References[]

  1. Windows XP - Microsoft Lifecycle, Microsoft Docs. 2014-04-08.
  2. Aide et Support - Windows Embedded POSReady 2009 (French), Microsoft Support. Archived 2014-10-10.
  3. Desktop Windows Version Market Share in Armenia – September 2022, StatCounter. 2022-09-30.
  4. Desktop Windows Version Market Share Worldwide, StatCounter. Archived 2019-04-20.
  5. Microsoft Announces Windows XP and Office XP, Microsoft. 2001-02-05.
  6. "Windows XP marketing tab to hit $1 billion". CNET. January 2, 2002. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. 
  7. Law, Gillian (October 15, 2001). "Microsoft changes XP slogan in wake of US attacks". Computerworld NZ. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. 

External links[]

VersionsComponentsHistory
Original
DOS-based
Windows 1.0Windows 2.0Windows 2.1 (Windows/286Windows/386) • Windows 3.0Windows 3.1
Windows 9x
Windows 95Windows 98Windows Me
Windows NT
Early versions
Windows NT 3.1Windows NT 3.5Windows NT 3.51Windows NT 4.0Windows 2000
Client
Windows XP (development) • Windows Vista (editionsdevelopment) • Windows 7 (editionsdevelopment) • Windows 8Windows 10Windows 11
Windows Server
Server 2003Server 2008 (2008 R2) • HPC Server 2008Home ServerSmall Business ServerEssential Business ServerWindows Server 2012Windows Server 2016Windows Server 2019Windows Server 2022
Specialized
Windows EmbeddedWindows PEWindows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs
Mobile
Windows MobileWindows Phone
Cancelled
CairoNashvilleNeptuneOdysseyWindows 10X
Related
MetroMidoriOS/2Windows AeroWindows SetupWindows XP themesMicrosoft Plus!
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