A bit of history
Operating system Microsoft Windows XP (for England. EXPerience - experience) is a new family of OS Windows, set up technology-based NT. Initially, Microsoft Corporation plans to develop two independent operating systems, a new generation. The first project was a working title of Neptune, this OS was to be the next update of Windows Millennium Edition, the new line of Windows 9X. The second project, called Odyssey, to create operating system on the platform of Windows NT, which had come to replace Windows 2000. However, the Microsoft felt it inappropriate disperse resources for the promotion of two different operating systems, resulting in both directions of development have been combined into one project - Microsoft Whistler.
Perhaps precisely because of this decision, Windows XP combines the advantages already familiar to users of previous generations of operating systems: convenience, ease of installation and maintenance of the family of OS Windows 98 and Windows ME, as well as the reliability and versatility of Windows 2000. If you want to install on your computer friendly, easy-to-use operating system with flexible configuration for a comfortable and stable operation, Microsoft Windows XP - that is what you need.
Currently, Windows XP for desktop PCs and workstations available in three versions: Home Edition for home PCs, Professional Edition - for the office PC and, finally, Microsoft Windows XP 64bit Edition - this version of Windows XP Professional for PCs, assembled at the Base 64-bit Intel Itanium processor with a clock speed of more than 1 GHz. There is also a server version of the operating systems based on Windows XP, which are positioned in the market under the brand Windows Server 2003: the platform of Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition and Windows Server 2003 Web Edition. Accordingly, the technical capabilities of these operating systems are different: for example, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition supports multiprocessor hardware platforms and has embedded systems to ensure increased security for business applications and local area networks, Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition supports the machine, the hardware configuration that includes up to 32 sync working processors and has a more modern security arrangements, and Windows Server 2003 Web Edition is designed specifically for Web servers and posting data on the Internet.
In 2003, Microsoft released to the market products that have received the designation Windows XP Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP1 and SP2) - packs for the operating systems Windows XP Home and Professional Edition, to address a number of authorized developers and found in the practical use of these operating systems errors, as well as to replace some system modules, programs, libraries and components with newer versions.
In late 2003, Microsoft released to the market a further implementation of Windows XP for desktop computers, known as Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 - for the moment, this OS is only available in a preloaded on new PCs. This operating system is initially focused on the recording, playback and processing of multimedia data, it includes a variety of specialized modules designed to turn your PC into an entertainment center present. In addition to updated versions of Microsoft Windows Messenger, Windows Movie Maker, Media Player Windows Media, as well as built-driver packages and libraries, Microsoft Direct X 9, Windows XP Media Center Edition includes a number of additional components, markedly improving the quality playback of audio and video user to make work with digital video and cameras, viewing photos, listening to Internet radio stations and search of multimedia information on the World Wide Web more convenient and comfortable.
As part of the encyclopedia, we will consider only the operating system, Windows XP Professional and Home Edition, as well as several individual components that are included in the standard packs and version of Media Center Edition 2004. Detailed comparison of two basic realizations of Windows XP offered in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1. Comparative characteristics of Windows XP Professional and Home Edition

Component Professional Home
Themes change Windows XP Yes Yes
System Search Search Companion Yes Yes
The media player Windows Media Player Yes Yes
Help and Support Center (Microsoft Help and Support Center) Yes Yes
Microsoft Windows Messenger Yes Yes
Windows Movie Maker Yes Yes
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 Yes Yes
Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0. Yes Yes
MSN Explorer Yes Yes
A standard set of applications Yes Yes
Automatic system configuration LAN Yes Yes
Remote access to a computer (Remote Desktop) Yes No
Remote Support System (Remote Assistance) Yes No
Offline Files and Folders - provides access to files and folders stored on a network drive Yes No
Scalable processor support, including support for symmetric multiprocessor systems Yes No
Encrypting data stored in sections NTFS Yes No
Personal firewall to protect your computer in the Internet Da Da
Access Control - a ban users access to files, folders and applications Yes No
Centralized administration - to connect systems running Windows XP, Windows Server to the domain Yes No
Group administration - the group of users and computers on the network Yes No
Moved user profiles - access to all your documents and settings, regardless of the computer used to login Yes No
Remote Installation Services - Support for remote installation of the operating system on computers connected to the network Yes No
Support - Recruitment and display text in different languages Yes Yes
Multilingual interface - to display localized menus and entire programs that include elements of the interface in different languages Yes No

The latest release for «desktop» versions of Windows XP is build 2600. Look for the number of your version of Windows XP you can open the Quick Start program, which should click on the icon Run (Run) in the Windows Start menu and type the command in the field winver.

General information
The new problem-oriented interface of Microsoft Windows XP allows you as soon as possible to learn the principles of the operating system, even to users who have never before experienced systems Windows. Used in Windows XP advanced Web technologies offer the opportunity to exchange text and voice messages, web projects of different levels of complexity, shopping online to connect and share applications not only in the local network, but also on the Internet. Using a special function Automatic Update (Automatic Update) Windows XP users receive remote access to any necessary updates and drivers «in one press of a mouse», with all the necessary changes to the configuration of the operating system are carried out automatically.

Setting up Windows has become even more convenient, and Control Panel - still visible. Like other operating systems built using technologies NT, Microsoft Windows XP fully supports multi-mode, with improved access control mechanism ensures the highest levels of security are stored on disk private data, and advanced control algorithms guarantee the stability of the new version of Windows. At a preliminary presentation of a beta version of Microsoft Whistler, on 13 February 2001 in Seattle, Chairman of Microsoft Corporation Bill Gates told the press that the version of Windows, to create and test which spent more than 1 billion U.S. dollars - the most important development of Microsoft since the release of to market Windows 95, a vice-president of the corporation Jim Ollchin added: «Windows XP - is not just a new version of Windows, it is - Update lifestyle».

System requirements
To run Microsoft Windows XP requires a personal computer, meet the following minimum system requirements:

processor - Pentium-compatible, clock speed of 233 MHz and higher. Allowed the use of families of processors Intel / Celeron or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron;
RAM - 64 MB;
free disk space - 1.5 gigabytes (only for the needs of the operating system, separately installed software requires additional disk space).
graphics card is equipped with at least 8 MB of video memory and SVGA-compatible display that supports a screen resolution of at least 800x600 pixels.

However, for stable and fast work recommended that the operating system on your computer with the best characteristics:

processor - Pentium-II-compliant (or above), clock speed of 500 MHz or higher;
RAM - from 256 megabytes;
free disk space - of 2 GB.
graphics card is equipped with at least 16 MB of video memory and SVGA-compatible display that supports a screen resolution of at least 1024x768 pixels.
A device for reading compact discs (CD-ROM)
The modem at speeds of at least 56 Kbit \ c.